Donald Westphall and David Paymer played resident Dr. Daniel Auschlander, tried speaking with an Austrian accent Josef Sommer played Auschlander’s friend, Dr.
But shooting the pilot proved to be difficult: Venerable character actor Norman Lloyd, who would quickly become co-anchor of the show as wise Dr. Elsewhere, which was co-created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey (who would later co-create Northern Exposure), was originally pitched to NBC as “ Hill Street Blues in a hospital.” That show, about a police precinct, had been a critically-acclaimed hit for NBC beginning in 1981.
