46ST. ELSEWHERE - TIE

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.