User Reviews

I loved St. Elsewhere. This was a series that could make you laugh you butt off, creep you out or terrify you with it's life-threatening situations, and rip out your heart with some of its twists.

The show had a reputation of reflecting television as a whole with loads of inside humor: A reference to the hospital barber named Floyd was summarized with the joke, "He may bury us all." I wonder if Andy Griffith ever saw that one.

But this episode was the tribute episode to all TV endings, with references ranging from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" to "Dallas." And, no, I won't provide the spoiler to the ending, but when it first aired, it literally stunned the fans. We honestly thought the hospital would be torn down at the end of Season 5, but when NBC decided to give the series one more year, we got the ending we would talk about three decades later as one for the ages.

Granted, much of the series could be like a soap opera, but with wonderful performances by so many previously unknown actors (and many known ones) and writing that could often charm and sometimes disgust you, this finale gave us fans what we really wanted.

The best ending ever. What all other television final episodes are judged against. You really need to have watched the series to appreciate the final

I think only the last episode of Newheart comes close.

I'm getting old and wanted to go back and experience this show once again (I hadn't seen it since it's original run). I've commented on every episode in some way. Surprised how few people bothered. This final episode was a little draggy and there seemed to be a few sidetracks. There were an awful lot of goodbyes, which is natural. But we become attached to people in these well done series, from MASH to Mary Tyler Moore, and on and on. They become like family. The final season had a lot of bumps but it was probably because they weren't expected to have a sixth season. Anyway, I've said my piece in all those reviews, characters I liked and didn't like, actions that seemed unlike those tolerated in a real hospital. But I'll put it one the shelf. The snow globe thing at the end. Don't try to make us think that this is someone's imagination. So long!

If ever an episode felt like people were going through the motions, it was this one, and don't get me started on the silly Tommy Westphall ending. Sure it explains the silliness and lack of seriousness with which medical matters were often treated on this show as far as accuracy goes, but to me it was just lame. I thought so when it first aired, I still think so now. The final season really showed the show and characters had worn out and that's too bad. Because the first three seasons were truly spectacular TV.