St. Elsewhere - Season 1
by Allan Arkush, Bruce Paltrow, Kevin Hooks, Mark Tinker, Thomas Carter
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: David Birney, Ed Begley Jr., Ed Flanders, G.W. Bailey, Terence KnoxDirector: Allan Arkush, Bruce Paltrow, Kevin Hooks, Mark Tinker, Thomas Carter
Brand: Fox
Writer: Andrew Laskos
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 1081 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-11-28
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of St. Elsewhere - Season 1
Movie Review: It Only Gets Better From Here
Summary: 5 Stars
St. Elsewhere remains my absolute favorite TV show, and it even ranks high among all of the other forms of entertainment that I enjoy, like movies, music and books. It's the first show I remember watching that achieved a certain level of realism with its characters, and that had continuing storylines without being a soap opera. You could watch each episode without having seen previous ones, but you were definitely rewarded if you watched each week. It was also the first show I remember that wasn't afraid to take risks with its many characters- they weren't perfect people, and sometimes very bad things happened to them. St. Elsewhere was intelligent but highly entertaining TV, and it (and Hill Street Blues) paved the way for some excellent shows today that maintain similar standards.
And so I've waited for a long time for St. Elsewhere to be on DVD. I'm not disappointed, but the first season is definitely different from later years. I don't remember much of the first two seasons, but it seems to me that the show hit its stride in year two and peaked in it third and fourth seasons. The first season is very good, but the characters haven't been developed quite as well as they would later, and its hard to be invested in some of them knowing that they would disappear after the first season with no explanation. Also, some of the storylines (especially those involving the psychiatric wing of the hospital) seem silly and unrealistic- almost more like something out of a sitcom than from a serious drama.
Still, though, this is where it all started and it's clear that the groundwork was being laid for a great show. Minor details mentioned here will become major storylines later on, and events that impact characters now will play even bigger roles later. There are many genuinely emotional and dramatic moments, as well as interesting and well-written stories about medical cases and, more importantly, about the personal lives of the employees at St. Eligius.
It would have been nice to have more extras, as other reviewers have mentioned, but I'm glad that the first season is fully intact (although it seems like they did substitute some of the songs- that is definitely not Bruce Springsteen singing "Born to Run" in the first episode). It's frustrating that there is no word yet on future seasons, but hopefully sales will be enough that we'll get the complete show in a relatively short period of time.
Summary of St. Elsewhere - Season 1
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