101 Best Written TV Series

Aired: NBC, 1982-1988

Like other important shows from the 1980s MTM stable, St. Elsewhere, which twice won Emmys for its writing, featured a writing staff whose future series appear elsewhere on this list. Creators Joshua Brand and John Falsey went on to make Northern Exposure, while Tom Fontana created Oz. Bruce Paltrow, another St. Elsewhere executive producer, had already done The White Shadow. Other writers on St. Elsewhere John Masius, Mark Tinker, John Tinker, Charles Eglee and Channing Gibson have since created or written on shows as varied as Touched By An Angel, Murder One, and Dexter. That said, the series, set in a South Boston hospital called St. Eligius, was lauded in its day for its tougher-than-usual storytelling approach. The series finale, in which viewers discovered it was all a figment of the imagination of the chief of staff's autistic son, puzzled those wanting a more heartwarming conclusion.

Credited Writers

David Assael
Steve Bello
Joshua Brand
Dennis Cooper
Leigh Curran
Neil Cuthbert
Frank Dandridge
Robert Daniels
Cynthia Darnell
Johnny Dawkins
Robert DeLaurentis
Raymond DeLaurentis
Elizabeth Diggs
Michael Duggan
Charles Eglee
John Falsey
Mitchell Fink
Tom Fontana
Channing Gibson
Jamie Horton
Judith Kahan
James Kahn
Susan Kander
Lyle Kessler
James Kramer
Richard Kramer
Andrew Laskos
Steve Lawson
S. J. Lewis
Susan Lindner
D. Keith Mano
John Masius
Grace McKeaney
Michael Moody
John Ford Noonan
Eric Overmyer
Bruce Paltrow
John PiRoman
Emily Potter
Ann Reckling
Bob Rosenfarb
Charles Rosin
Marc Ross
Aram Saroyan
Paul Schiffer
Emilie Small
Duncan Smith
Douglas Steinberg
Garn Stephens
Joel Surnow
John Tinker
Mark Tinker
Norma Safford Vela
Douglas Brooks West
Chris Whitesell
Steve Willey
Lydia Woodward
Russ Woody
Jorge Zamacona