Tommy Westphall, Where Are We Now?
Many, many years ago when the earth was green, there was a revolutionary medical show called St. Elsewhere. An ensmeble cast show that followed the lives of many doctors at a hospital properly called St. Elegius (after the patron saint of vetrenarians, among other things), which saw many patients other hospitals didn't. It was a serialized drama that inspired many other shows, such as ER. It also had one of the most mindfuck endings to a television show. The camera pulled back from the lasat scene and pulled back to a little boy, Tommy Westphall, sitting on the floor. Tommy Westphall, the autistic son of one of the doctors, was staring into a snow globe, which had the building of St. Elegius insidea. Yes, the entire show was in an austistic child's mind and this concept of what was reality came about long before the Wachowski Brothers played with celluloid.
So, of course, people saw this as a sign that the whole show fiction (which it was). People then started deducing what shows were in the same fictional universe based on who did crossovers on the shows, or what events crossed over into other shows. The entire theory is called The Tommy Westphall Universe Hypothesis and it encompasses a lot of shows. For example, a doctor from St. Elsewhere stopped in for a drink in at Cheers, so they exist in the same universe. People have extrapolated this outward enough by comparing crossovers from shows that crossed over with those in St. Elsewhere. They did it enough that these shows are all considered to be part of the same fictional universe Tommy Westphall was dreaming about. People have a lot of time on their hands.
So much so that people have developed the Objections to the Tommy Westphall Hypothesis. It's an interesting read, despite the idea that maybe this is too many words on the possible dreams of a fictional autistic child. Then again, that's nothing compared to the lj community that has popped up in honor of this kid. There is no what the actor, Chad Allen, thinks about this phenomenon, but it sure has some people thinking a whole. It gets people going about what is fictional, what is fictional to fictional characters and what is real to us. And, of course, what is fictional to us. What do we consider real? And yes, these questions were asked before The Matrix was thought up and was done in a far more elegant way.
So, there are still shows on the air that are, conceivably, part of the little Tommy Westphall's mind. Obviously, none of the reality shows. Obviously, none of the game shows. So, obviously none of the best shows on television are in Tommy's mind. Okay, one exception. And possibly House. (please, no comments on the most recent ep, some here have not seen and I want them to see it). So, Tommy Westphall's autistic mind might be responsible for some ofthe best entertainment on television. Avoiding all the other questions about what is reality, but what is good television? Is it television that takes us awaay from our lives for a little bit? Is it something that is completely accurate in the details so we can relate to it? Is good television just drama? Just comedy?
Or is good television, like every medium of entertainment, good so long as it keeps us asking questions and keeps us wanting just a little more in our lives?
So it is written, so do I see it.
So, of course, people saw this as a sign that the whole show fiction (which it was). People then started deducing what shows were in the same fictional universe based on who did crossovers on the shows, or what events crossed over into other shows. The entire theory is called The Tommy Westphall Universe Hypothesis and it encompasses a lot of shows. For example, a doctor from St. Elsewhere stopped in for a drink in at Cheers, so they exist in the same universe. People have extrapolated this outward enough by comparing crossovers from shows that crossed over with those in St. Elsewhere. They did it enough that these shows are all considered to be part of the same fictional universe Tommy Westphall was dreaming about. People have a lot of time on their hands.
So much so that people have developed the Objections to the Tommy Westphall Hypothesis. It's an interesting read, despite the idea that maybe this is too many words on the possible dreams of a fictional autistic child. Then again, that's nothing compared to the lj community that has popped up in honor of this kid. There is no what the actor, Chad Allen, thinks about this phenomenon, but it sure has some people thinking a whole. It gets people going about what is fictional, what is fictional to fictional characters and what is real to us. And, of course, what is fictional to us. What do we consider real? And yes, these questions were asked before The Matrix was thought up and was done in a far more elegant way.
So, there are still shows on the air that are, conceivably, part of the little Tommy Westphall's mind. Obviously, none of the reality shows. Obviously, none of the game shows. So, obviously none of the best shows on television are in Tommy's mind. Okay, one exception. And possibly House. (please, no comments on the most recent ep, some here have not seen and I want them to see it). So, Tommy Westphall's autistic mind might be responsible for some ofthe best entertainment on television. Avoiding all the other questions about what is reality, but what is good television? Is it television that takes us awaay from our lives for a little bit? Is it something that is completely accurate in the details so we can relate to it? Is good television just drama? Just comedy?
Or is good television, like every medium of entertainment, good so long as it keeps us asking questions and keeps us wanting just a little more in our lives?
So it is written, so do I see it.