Crossover TV
By Ever wonder how The Addams Family and Oz ended up in the same television universe?
Crossovers. Lots of them. Some with unintended effects. For example, we know that The Simpsons are in the same fictional universe as Law and Order because Mulder and Scully of X-Files once appeared on the Simpsons. Detective Munch of Homicide: Life on the Streets once appeared on the X-Files, and made several appearances on Law and Order. This is one of the closest connections in this fictional universe that now encompasses 164 different series.
In case you think all of this is pointless, you’re correct. Brian Weatherson over at Crooked Timber has dedicated himself to the Tommy Westphall problem. It seems that many of the shows in the universe find themselves connected to or through St. Elsewhere. St. Elsewhere, of course, ended with an episode that suggested the entire series took place in the imagination of a young boy. Because St. Elsewhere is imaginary within this fictional universe, every other show connected to St. Elsewhere must also be part of Tommy Westphall’s imagination. This conclusion troubles Brian, so he discusses six potential caveats to the argument.
Go read them. It’s all good.