Norther Exposure - A (Nearly) Forgotten Gem

There are many TV series I love to return to: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Frasier, Twin Peaks, Moonlighting, Sex and The City. But among them one stands out like the northern Star that it is - Norther Exposure. It is the KOH-I-NOOR among TV diamonds. The series I return to over and over again.

What is Northern Exposure?

Northern Exposure is a TV series which ran on CBS for 110 episodes between July 12, 1990 and July 26, 1995. It won 27 awards out of 57 nominations. The awards for the show included two Golden Globes for Best Television Series in 1991 and 1992, and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 1992.

When the series first hit our screens in 1990, it was love at first sight for me. I loved the eccentric characters of the fictional town of Cicely and the neurotic doctor Joel Fleischman (Rob Morrow) who ended up in the remote Alaskan town against his own will.

Since he couldn’t afford to pay for his medical studies, the State of Alaska offered to pay for them. But there was a catch. By accepting their help, Joel became legally obliged to practise medicine in Alaska for four years. He expected to work in Anchorage, but they sent him to Cicely, the Alaskan Riviera.

Not surprisingly, New Yorker Joel didn’t fall in love with the remote town or its eclectic collection of inhabitants.

I don't like it! I hate it, and I demand to leave!... Well that is because you are not the one who is supposed to spend the next 4 years of his life in this Godforsaken hole in the wall, pigsty with a bunch of dirty, psychotic rednecks! - Dr Joel Fleischman on his arrival to Cicely, Alaska

Originally much of the focus was on Joel's experiences in Cicely. However, as the show progressed, episodes began to focus more on the other main characters, too.

Characters

I have already mentioned Dr Joel Fleischman who was the focal point of the series at the beginning, but the show would not have been the success it was without an ensemble of quirky and lovable characters.

Maurice Minnifield (Barry Corbin) is a retired fighter pilot, former astronaut and multi-millionaire. He is pompous and bigoted and often in conflict with other residents.

One of his sparring partners is his previous best friend Holling Vincoeur (John Cullum), the proprietor of the local bar and restaurant, The Brick.

Their relationship went sour when Maurice brought Shelly Tambo (Cynthia Geary), Miss Northwest Passage to town. Maurice hoped to marry Shelly, but she chose Holling and became a waitress at The Brick.

Holling is at least forty years older than Shelly, but still worries about outliving her as men in his family live well past 100.

Maggie O’Connell (Janine Turner) was my favourite character in the show. She is an independent, tomboy-ish bush pilot who gives back as good as she gets, especially from Joel.

When they first meet, Joel mistakes her for a prostitute and tells her to take her business elsewhere. Maggie believes she suffers from a curse, as all of her romantic partners die strange deaths.

For example, her boyfriend Dave, with whom she arrived to Alaska and who froze to death. You would expect him to know better than to fall asleep unprotected on a glacier, especially as he was writing a book about mountain climbing.

Then there is Chris Stevens (John Corbett), an ex-convict turned DJ at the local radio station who I had a crush on. He serves the town with music and his philosophical, and often controversial, take on life. His opinions lead Maurice, who owns the station, to fire and rehire him several times.

Ruth-Anne Miller (Peg Phillips) is another elderly resident of Cicely and owner of the local general store.

Ed Chigliak (Darren E. Burrows) is half-native film-buff with the dream of becoming a move director. For now, however, he does odd jobs for Maurice and works part-time at Ruth-Anne’s general store.

Marilyn Whirlwind (Elaine Miles) is Joel’s Native Alaskan receptionist. She is a woman of few words and remarkable patience, which you definitely need when working for highly strung Joel.

I could not finish my list of characters without mentioning Adam (Adam Arkin) and Eve (Valerie Mahaffey), two recurring characters.

Adam and Even spend part of their year jet-setting and the other part living a hermit-like life in their cabin. Eve is an heiress to a fortune, a Christian Scientist and a hypochondriac. Adam, her husband, is a cantankerous gourmet chef who might have worked for the CIA.

Joel’s encounters with the couple are worth watching on repeat.

Will They Won’t They

I love a good ‘will they won’t they’ running through a series. In Northern Exposure it was Joel and Maggie.

Following their first meeting, they develop a love-hate relationship and spend most of their time bickering. They hold fairly opposing views on most subjects, but there is an undercurrent of attraction which results in a sexual tension between the two.

There are times when the two come close to ‘doing it’ as in the episode It Happened in Juneau. Joel has a medical conference in Juneau and Maggie flies him there as she wants to see a performance of Les Mis. When they arrive at their hotel, they find that they have to share a suite because of a water leak.

On their final night at the hotel, they end up kissing and agreeing to have sex. However, Maggie falls asleep after being awake for 36 hours and despite his efforts, Joel cannot wake her up.

The next morning, Joel realises Maggie thinks they had sex. He has the best intentions to tell her the truth, but her attitude towards their supposed liaison and wish to keep it a secret angers him and he hides the truth from her.

Although, he does tell her the truth later. And doesn't quite get the reaction he expected.

Bushing The Boundaries

During its 110 episodes, Norther Exposure often experimented with styles and breaking the fourth wall.

For example, in War and Peace (season two, episode six), Joel turns to the camera to protest about a scene. The scene in question Maurice is preparing for a duel with a Russian singer. Joel is not happy with the scene because he believes the audience would not buy it.

In an episode titled Mr Sandman (episode twelve, season five), the residents of Cicely are dreaming each other’s dreams. Revelations about characters include Holling’s fear about being a terrible father like his own and Maurice having a fetish about wearing ladies’ shoes.

In the fifth episode from season two Spring Break, a temporary madness plagues the residents of Cicely as they wait for the ice to break. The episode begins with Maggie dreaming she and Joel are in Eden where she tempts him to eat an apple. They end up kissing, only for Maggie to wake up.

Later in the episode it is Joel’s turn as he dreams he is singing Simply Irresistible by Robert Palmer. He is starring in the music video surrounded by several beautiful women and agrees to 'an eclectic group thing' with them.

One of my favourite episodes where Northern Exposure bushed the boundaries, comes from season four.

In episode 25, Shelley wakes up one morning unable to speak. Instead, everything comes out in a song. A musical episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Once More, With Feeling) from 2001 won a lot of praise, but sorry Buffy, Northern Exposure got there first.

Not So Guilty Pleasure

I am a loud and proud Northern Exposure fan and binge on it openly. If I could only take one TV series with me to a desert island, it would be Northern Exposure and I defy anyone who sees it not to love it.

There is only one problem. It is not yet available on any streaming platform. Currently, you can only watch it on DVD (or dodgy, grainy versions on YouTube). The reason to this according to unverified sources on the internet is the cost of the music rights.

So come on, you major players in the streaming industry. Rescue Northern Exposure, one of the most original TV series ever produced with full of fantastic characters and storylines, and bring it to millions of new viewers.