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When Northern Exposure came out in the early 1990s, I thought it was a clever series with writers who didn’t hesitate to think outside the box. The show is cerebral and often surreal. It stands apart from the other dramedies of the same era. Some episodes are more like fables, others stretch the imagination to a willing suspension of disbelief. The characters play well off each other and suffer from the one trait that plagues most of humanity - self-doubt. In most cases, it drives the characters and plot lines.
My husband didn’t share the same feelings for the show. He thought it was overdone, pretentious, and didn’t have much to recommend it to the average audience. It’s now streaming on Amazon Prime, and the reaction to the series on social media is much the same. You either like it or don’t. There doesn’t seem to be anything in between.
Although the residents live an isolated life in the small town of Cicely, Alaska, Life Below Zero it’s not. The residents don’t struggle to survive in the harsh environment. On the contrary, their physical needs are easily met. Cicely has a general store, restaurant, radio station, laundromat, doctor’s office, and a variety of other conveniences. The struggles for them are more internal, a crisis of conscience or identity.
The main characters include: Joel, (Rob Morrow), the fresh out of medical school Jewish doctor who owes 4 years of medical practice to the state of Alaska for paying for his education; Maurice, (Barry Corbin), a former fighter pilot and astronaut multi-millionaire who is overbearing and pompous, and makes no excuses for being a racist and a homophobe; Maggie, (Janine Turner), the 20-something debutante who rejects her life in Grosse Pointe to be an Alaskan bush pilot; Holling, (John Cullum), former trapper turned barkeep who runs the Brick, the local restaurant and watering hole: Shelly, (Cynthia Geary), 18-ish beauty pageant winner who is brought to Cicely by Maurice as his love interest and ends up falling in love with and marrying Holling; Chris, (John Corbett), 20-something philosophy spouting DJ and preacher ex-con who works for the Maurice owned radio station.
Regular supporting cast include: 20-ish native Alaskan Ed, played by Darren E. Burrows, a budding filmmaker who does odd jobs for Maurice and Ruth Anne; Ruth Anne, played by Peg Phillips, a 70-ish local shopkeeper who carries everything from canned corn to car batteries; Marilyn, played by Elaine Miles, a 20-something native Alaskan of few words who works as receptionist in Joel’s office; Adam, played by Adam Arkin, a reclusive gourmet chef described by Joel as a ‘certifiable paranoid psychotic’; Eve, played by Valerie Mahaffey, consummate hypochondriac and wife of, you guessed it - Adam.
Thirty years later, I still like the show, but understand why some can’t see the ‘90s through the lens of today. It can be dated and offensive. It’s easy for the audience to be offended by Maurice’s blatant racism and homophobia. The female characters get challenged frequently to justify who they are and why. Two issues that are still very much current problems in our society, but can be difficult to watch. Shelly being married to a man 40 years her senior can be seen as creepy to some audiences. When the flying man from the circus falls in love with Marilyn, he doesn’t take no for an answer when he wants to take her out for dinner, making some feel like he’s stalking her.
Some things are irritating. Ed is a bit too self-effacing. The bickering and sexual tension between Maggie and Joel is overdone. Chris can be a little too philosophical for us to care or even see the point, if there is one. One wonders why he feels the need to recreate the northern lights in sheet metal or electric light bulbs, or fling large objects with a gigantic catapult. We know that Cicely isn’t Flushing, NY, and don’t need Joel pointing it out to us on a regular basis.
But the series is imaginative and quirky. When Shelly needs a break from her intimidating baby shower, she walks into the woods and discovers a mothers’ support group waiting for her made up of Mother Nature, Olympias, Medea, and Queen Victoria. Ruth Anne struggles to learn Italian so she can read Divine Comedy in its original language and is jealous when she realizes Shelly speaks it fluently. The flying man never speaks but communicates well with Marilyn who hardly speaks at all. Both agree that words weigh you down and can keep you from flying. The aurora borealis causes the residents to inhabit each other’s dreams. Maggie has the dubious distinction of having 4 (or was it 5) boyfriends who died while dating her. Ed finds a ruby ring in the belly of a fish he caught that he thinks belonged to Fredrico Fellini.
There are 6 seasons of Northern Exposure, so there’s lots to see in Cicely. Watch a couple of seasons or watch them all. It’s worth a try and you’ll probably love it or leave it.
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From the manufacturer
Northern Exposure: The Complete First Season
This series is a remarkable blend of quirky humor and heartwarming storytelling. With an ensemble cast including Rob Morrow (Quiz Show), John Corbett (Sex and the City), and Janine Turner (Cliffhanger), Season 1 of Northern Exposure takes you back to where it all began. Fresh out of New York's Columbia University, cocky young Dr. Joel Fleischman (Morrow) is looking forward to his comfortable position in Alaska's largest city. Upon his arrival, Joel finds himself a fish-out-of-water as he's instead assigned to a tiny Alaskan village where the offbeat locals would love him to stay forever. Relive the complete first season of the show TV Guide calls '…one of television's truly fine series'.
Top reviews from other countries
W.A Richard Dilley
PAL system not viewable in Canada
Reviewed in Canada on March 9, 2016
