How Did ‘St. Elsewhere’ End? A Look at One to Television’s Most Infamous Finales

When St. Elsewhere premiered on NBC in 1982, it took viewers inside St. Eligius, a struggling Boston teaching hospital nicknamed “St. Elsewhere” because it was the place patients ended up when they had nowhere better to go. It was a perfect mix of funny, yet heartbreaking, and even strange, which is why it stood apart from so many other medical dramas.

The series ran for six seasons and helped launch or boost the careers of actors like Denzel Washington, Howie Mandel, David Morse, Ed Begley Jr., Mark Harmon, William Daniels, Bonnie Bartlett, and Norman Lloyd. But even with all of those big stars, St. Elsewhere is still best remembered for one thing: its final scene. If you have ever heard someone mention the very strange “snow globe ending,” this is the finale they are talking about.