TMC
10-31-2018, 08:21 PM
https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-features/stream-this-show-st-elsewhere-hulu-groundbreaking-medical-drama-747833/
There’s a famous episode of South Park called “Simpsons Already Did It,” where Butters proposes various schemes that he then has to abandon upon being reminded that someone on The Simpsons had previously tried it. It was a reflection of the innovation and influence of Bart, Homer and friends, and of the long shadow they cast over so many shows that followed them. It’s damn hard for any animated comedy — including The Simpsons itself, which, like South Park, is still making new episodes 16 years after “Simpsons Already Did It” first aired — to try something that doesn’t in some way echo those classic early seasons in Springfield.
Eighties hospital drama St. Elsewhere didn’t have nearly as long a run, barely making it through six modestly-rated seasons. But those 137 episodes — all of which are now available on Hulu (which previously only had the first season) — featured so much experimentation, so many things that American TV had never tried before, that most of the great dramas of the last 30 years (as well as some of the comedies) could easily do a similar episode called “St. Elsewhere Already Did It.”
There’s a famous episode of South Park called “Simpsons Already Did It,” where Butters proposes various schemes that he then has to abandon upon being reminded that someone on The Simpsons had previously tried it. It was a reflection of the innovation and influence of Bart, Homer and friends, and of the long shadow they cast over so many shows that followed them. It’s damn hard for any animated comedy — including The Simpsons itself, which, like South Park, is still making new episodes 16 years after “Simpsons Already Did It” first aired — to try something that doesn’t in some way echo those classic early seasons in Springfield.
Eighties hospital drama St. Elsewhere didn’t have nearly as long a run, barely making it through six modestly-rated seasons. But those 137 episodes — all of which are now available on Hulu (which previously only had the first season) — featured so much experimentation, so many things that American TV had never tried before, that most of the great dramas of the last 30 years (as well as some of the comedies) could easily do a similar episode called “St. Elsewhere Already Did It.”