THE VERY BEST OF ST. ELSEWHERE

THE VERY BEST OF ST. ELSEWHERE Denzel Washington, Mark Harmon, Howie Mandel, William Daniels, Ed Flanders, Christina Pickles, Ed Begley Jr. (1998, New Video, unrated, $59.95, four-tape set) Watching episodes of a show you loved years ago is like looking through a school yearbook: You smile at the goofy haircuts, recall favorite moments, and sigh with relief that life goes on. That's the case with the acclaimed St. Elsewhere. It's heartwarming to revisit the run-down Boston hospital via these eight ''very best'' shows from the series' six seasons (1982-88), to see the neurotic, lovable staff again, and watch such memorable guest stars as Laraine Newman (as a woman who thinks she's a bird), Paul Sand (as a kindly shrink), Michael Richards (as an intrusive documentarian), and Tim Robbins (as a baby-faced terrorist). But creators Joshua Brand and John Falsey, who went on to mastermind Northern Exposure, may have trained us too well to expect the unexpected. At 10 years' remove, the goings-on at St. Eligius seem tinny, constrained, and surprisingly formulaic. B

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