St. Elsewhere

The series' iconic ending reveals that the entire show may have been imagined by Tommy Westphall, an autistic boy staring into a snow globe containing a model of St. Eligius hospital, sparking the famous 'Tommy Westphall Universe' theory about which other TV shows share the same fictional universe.

Mimsie the Cat, the MTM Productions mascot who appeared in the closing logo of every episode, was shown 'dying' in a special flatlining heart-monitor animation for the series finale; coincidentally, the real Mimsie the Cat died in real life shortly after the finale aired, at age 20.

An original advertisement for St. Elsewhere quoted a critic calling the show 'Hill Street Blues in a hospital,' referencing its shared production company (MTM Enterprises) and similar ensemble, serialized storytelling style.

The Franklin Square House Apartments in Boston's South End, formerly the St. James Hotel, was used for the exterior establishing shots of the fictional St. Eligius Hospital, including in the opening titles.

The third-season finale 'Cheers' was filmed on the actual Cheers soundstage (Stage 25 at Paramount) and featured Cliff Clavin, Norm Peterson, and Carla Tortelli crossing over with the St. Elsewhere doctors, creating a shared TV universe between the two shows.

Use of the fictional corporation name 'Ecumena' in season five prompted a real trademark-infringement lawsuit from Humana, which felt the name sounded too similar to its own; NBC began airing disclaimers and eventually changed the corporate name mid-season to 'Weigert'.

In the episode 'A Moon for the Misbegotten,' Dr. Westphall's resignation scene—dropping his pants and mooning his new boss—was allowed by NBC's censors, who did not consider the exposed buttocks to be erotic in nature.

Tim Robbins' first major acting role was playing domestic terrorist Andrew Reinhardt in the first three episodes of St. Elsewhere.

Despite critical acclaim and 13 Emmy Awards, St. Elsewhere never ranked higher than 47th place in the yearly Nielsen ratings, and its first season's poor ratings led NBC to nearly cancel it before network CEO Grant Tinker personally intervened to renew it.

A film adaptation of St. Elsewhere was announced by Walden Media and Roth Films in May 2003, but the project was never made.