# Spoil the very end of "St. Elsewhere" for me, please
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-the-very-end-of-st-elsewhere-for-me-please/332014
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 21, 2005, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-the-very-end-of-st-elsewhere-for-me-please/332014 "2005-11-21T02:11:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2005, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-the-very-end-of-st-elsewhere-for-me-please/332014/1 "2005-11-21T02:11:01Z")
A few references have been made in CS recently to the end of the television series “St. Elsewhere,” the implication being that it ended on an it-was-all-a-dream type gimmick.
Could someone tell me exactly how it went?
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### Author:  [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2005, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-the-very-end-of-st-elsewhere-for-me-please/332014/2 "2005-11-21T02:16:56Z")
> [@RickJay](#):
>
> A few references have been made in CS recently to the end of the television series “St. Elsewhere,” the implication being that it ended on an it-was-all-a-dream type gimmick.
>
> Could someone tell me exactly how it went?
[Here’s a description of the last episode](http://epguides.com/StElsewhere/season6.shtml#ep137)
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### Author:  [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2005, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-the-very-end-of-st-elsewhere-for-me-please/332014/3 "2005-11-21T02:32:34Z")
Never watched _St. Elsewhere_, but I love the implications. Check the sig.
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### Author:  [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2005, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-the-very-end-of-st-elsewhere-for-me-please/332014/4 "2005-11-21T02:47:42Z")
I loved St. Elsewhere. I even loved the surprise ending. In what I assume was a reference to St. Elsewhere, the movie Just Like Heaven had a very similar ending. Link to the movie [here](http://imdb.com/title/tt0425123/).
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### Author:  [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2005, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-the-very-end-of-st-elsewhere-for-me-please/332014/5 "2005-11-21T03:10:09Z")
I loved the ending. I was maybe 13 when it ended but I still loved it. Remember watching it with my Mother who was none too impressed.
Loved the show, Dr. Mark Craig was (imho) one of the single greatest TV characters ever.
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### Author:  [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2005, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-the-very-end-of-st-elsewhere-for-me-please/332014/6 "2005-11-21T05:51:46Z")
> [@RickJay](#):
>
> A few references have been made in CS recently to the end of the television series “St. Elsewhere,” the implication being that it ended on an it-was-all-a-dream type gimmick.
>
> Could someone tell me exactly how it went?
I assume others will spoil it for you.
As for myself, I was a huge fan of the show, and those last five minutes were a jaw-dropper for me. And I loved it.
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### Author:  [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-the-very-end-of-st-elsewhere-for-me-please/332014/7 "2005-11-21T16:38:11Z")
Also, I think in the “reality” world, Norman Lloyd (one of the other doctors) played the boy’s grandfather in that last scene.
But it has been a few years. I could be wrong.
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### Author:  [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-the-very-end-of-st-elsewhere-for-me-please/332014/8 "2005-11-21T20:29:17Z")
Norman Lloyd is playing Ed Flanders’ father in the final scene while Chad Allen stares at a sno-globe with the hospital in it.
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### Author:  [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-the-very-end-of-st-elsewhere-for-me-please/332014/9 "2005-11-21T22:19:09Z")
It’s only my opinion, but I watched that show from beginning to end of series, and I felt really abused by that ending. I was like the writers & producers said, “Screw you, you were STUPID to invest all of this time in a charade we put together just to show how undeserving you are of any respect! BwahaaaaaaHaaaaaHaaa, dumbass!!!”
Some liked the ending, some even loved it, though. Depends on your outlook, I guess.
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-the-very-end-of-st-elsewhere-for-me-please/332014/10 "2005-11-21T22:26:06Z")
I don’t know why anyone would be bothered by that ending. I mean, the show was a fictional construct anyhow, so the ending was just playing with that concept.
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-the-very-end-of-st-elsewhere-for-me-please/332014/11 "2005-11-21T22:29:00Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#):
>
> I don’t know why anyone would be bothered by that ending.
We’re bothered because it’s a cop-out and put 50 years of primetime TV in that boy’s head.
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2005, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoil-the-very-end-of-st-elsewhere-for-me-please/332014/12 "2005-11-21T22:30:09Z")
40 years, sorry.