The Tommy Westphall Universe[1], also known as the Tommy Westphall Hypothesis, is a theory that hundreds of television shows exist in a shared universe, which is imagined entirely by Tommy Westphall, a character in St. Elsewhere. The origin of this hypothesis is "Six Degrees of St. Elsewhere" by Dwayne McDuffie.[2] Keith Gow and Ash Crowe took it further creating the Tommy Westphall Universe.[3] It has grown to the rank of internet meme.[4] The central source for adherents is The Multiverse.
Given the fame of the hypothesis, it has quite naturally gathered differing opinions. The most negative of these have created counterarguments, the most notable of which is "Six Objections to the Tommy Westphall Hypothesis".[5]
Other opinions exist without denying the concept. This creates widely varying interpretations. Some reject cartoon crossovers, while others accept them under somewhat stricter guidelines. Most insist that the phenomenon be restricted to television, but a select few allow crossovers to branch through nearly all types of fiction.
Franchises included in the Tommy Westphall Universe[]
Franchises in the Tommy Westphall Universe include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Law & Order
- Doctor Who
- Star Trek
- All in the Family
- Happy Days
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Criminal Minds
- CSI
- NCIS
- Battlestar Galactica
- Arrowverse by DC Comics
- The Disney Television Universe
- The Marvel Cinematic Universe
- All of Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon
- Most Nintendo games
- Anything in the The Big Bang Theory or The Simpsons
- All of Pixar
References[]
- ↑ from Tommy Westphall Hypothesis on the Tommy Westphall Universe wiki
- ↑ Six Degrees of St. Elsewhere by Dwayne McDuffie
- ↑ The Tommy Westphall Universe by Keith Gow and Ash Crowe
- ↑ Know Your Meme
- ↑ Six Objections to the Tommy Westphall Hypothesis by Brian Weatherson
See also[]
- The Tommy Westphall Universe by Keith Gow and Ash Crowe