Summary
Classic sitcomMASHmay very well share a universe with another hit medical drama.MASH’sseason 1 ratings were so poor it was almost canceled, and it was only saved after it rebounded during re-runs. Ultimately,MASHran for 11 seasonsand left a major impact on television as a medium. As the years wore on, it became a hybrid of comedy and drama, mixing quips and clever wordplay with genuinely emotional scenes. It speaks to how large a cultural shadow it left that no reboot attempts have been made since it ended in 1983.
In the decades since,MASHhas influenced everything fromER- where Hawkeye star Alan Alda made numerous guest appearances - toScrubs. The showrunners behindMASHfamously wanted to drop the laugh track, but while CBS refused to allow this, they agreed not to use it during the surgery scenes. The show’s realistic approach to such sequences influenced many medical dramas that followed too, includingScrubsand hit medical dramaSt Elsewhere.
Alan Alda’s Least Favorite MASH Episode Is A Harsh Reminder Of Why It Came So Close To Cancellation After Just 1 Season
Alan Alda’s least favorite episode of MASH comes from season 1, and its quality underlines why the classic sitcom came so close to being canceled.
St. Elsewhere
Cast
St. Elsewhere follows the staff and patients of St. Eligius, a rundown teaching hospital in Boston. The series, which aired from 1982 to 1988, portrays the complex and often challenging lives of medical professionals as they navigate both their personal and professional responsibilities. Notable for its nuanced storytelling and character development, St. Elsewhere features an ensemble cast including Ed Flanders, William Daniels, and Denzel Washington.
St Elsewhere(whose first season earned 85% onRotten Tomatoes) ran from 1982 to 1988 and featured early roles for future stars like Mark Harmon, David Morse and Denzel Washington. The series centered around a rundown Boston hospital called St. Eligius and the staff that work there, including cantankerous heart surgeon Dr Mark Craig (William Daniels). Despite his prickly nature, Daniels is a beloved character from the show, andin the season 3 episode “Wyler, I Presume,” Craig drops a direct reference toMASH.
While treating a patient who has been shot with explosive ammo, Craig mentions he and “BJ” once encountered a similar injury while he served in Korea. In the context of the show, this establishes how dangerous this injury is, butCraig’s throwaway reference to Mike Farrell’s BJ Hunnicutt linksSt ElsewheretoMASHin a very clear way. Season 5’s “Brand New Bag” made this even clearer, with Craig stating while playing with his toy trains that “I haven’t had this much fun since BJ Honeycutt and I closed the Kimchi Palace!”
St Elsewhere Shares A Universe With MASH And Many Other Shows
Wait, is MASH set in the same world as Cheers and Oz?!
SinceHomicide: Life on the Streetscrossed over withLaw & Order,Chicago Hopeand basically every franchise Dick Wolf has created, this makes the number of showsMASHis tied to even more bizarre.
The writers ofSt Elsewherehad a lot of fun over the years tossing out references to other movies and TV shows. It’s worth noting thatno actors fromMASHactually appeared onSt Elsewhere, but there can’t have been too many BJ Hunnicutts stationed in Korea either. The BJ shout-out is fun, but the medical drama has ties to many other shows. The most obvious came with season 3 outing “Cheers,” whereSt Elsewherecrossed over withCheers.
This saw some doctors from the hospital visiting the iconic watering hole, encountering Cliff (John Ratzenberger), Carla (Rhea Perlman) and Norm (George Wendt). It’s a truly bizarre episode that fans ofCheersmust seek out.St Elsewheretaking place in the same continuity asCheersalso links it toFrasierandWingstoo. A season 6 episode of cop dramaHomicide: Life on the Streettitled “Mercy” saw Alfre Woodard reprising herSt Elsewhererole asDr Turner, while Ed Begley Jr. played Dr. Ehrlich once again inHomicide: The Moviea few years later.
OtherSt Elsewhereeaster eggs referenced shows likeBewitched,The FugitiveandThe Bob Newhart Show.
SinceHomicide: Life on the Streetscrossed over withLaw & Order,Chicago Hopeand basically every franchise Dick Wolf has created, this makes the number of showsMASHis tangentially tied to even more bizarre. Perhapsthe most bizarre showSt Elsewhereis connected with is gritty prison dramaOz, through the fictional company Weigert. This company came to run St. Eligius during season 6, and would later take over the Oswald State Correctional Facility inOz.
How Does St Elsewhere’s Controversial Finale Impact MASH?
Welcome to the “Tommy Westphall” shared universe
St Elsewherecame to an end in 1988 with the fittingly titled finale “The Last One.“This ended with one of the most perplexing twists of any TV show, revealing the entirety ofSt Elsewherehas been a daydream inside the mind of Tommy Westphall(Chad Allen). Tommy is the autistic child of Ed Flanders' Donald, but in the final scene, it is revealed that Donaldisn’ta Director of Medicine but a construction worker. Tommy is then shown playing with a snow globe containing a replica of St. Eligius inside.
The implication is that every season ofSt Elsewherehas been a fantasy of Tommy’s, and this has led to the “Tommy Westphall Universe” fan theorythat continues to rage online. This posits that every single show connected toSt Elsewhere, includingMASHandCheers, is part of Tommy’s elaborate fantasy. It’s a fascinating theory to think about, but not one that needs to be taken too seriously either. Tommy may be imaginingSt Elsewhere’sending itself, and that’s a meta rabbit hole it’s best not to tumble down.
MAS*H
MAS*H is a drama-comedy series set during the Korean War, centering on the lives of the staff at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital as they navigate the challenges of wartime medical service with humor and resilience.
