Northern Exposure

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For other uses, see Northern Exposure (disambiguation).
Northern Exposure
Image:Northern Exposure logo.gif
Format Drama/Comedy
Created by Joshua Brand
John Falsey
Starring Rob Morrow
Barry Corbin
Janine Turner
John Cullum
Darren E. Burrows
John Corbett
Cynthia Geary
Country of origin Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States
No. of episodes 110 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time Approx 45 minutes per episode
Broadcast
Original channel CBS
Original run July 12, 1990 – July 26, 1995
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Northern Exposure is a quirky, surreal, character-driven American dramatic comedy television series. It was created by Brand-Falsey Productions, which was recognized with a rare pair of consecutive Peabody Awards in 1991-92 for the show's "depict[ion] in a comedic and often poetic way, the cultural clash between a transplanted New York doctor and the townspeople of fictional Cicely, Alaska"[1] and its stories of how "people of diverse backgrounds and experiences strive to accept their differences and co-exist."[1] Most of Northern Exposure's story arcs are character-driven, with the plots revolving around the intricacies and eccentricities of the citizens. Critic John Leonard called Northern Exposure "the best of the best television in the past 10 years."[2]

The show started as an eight-episode summer replacement series on CBS in 1990.[2][3] It returned for seven more episodes in spring 1991, then became a regular part of the network's schedule in 1991-92, 1992-93, and 1993-94, three seasons in which the show was among the top 20 in the ratings.[4][5][6] Its last season, 1994-95, included a gap during May sweeps when CBS broadcast other programming. A total of 110 episodes were produced.

Contents

[edit] Cast

Main article: List of Northern Exposure cast members

[edit] Main characters

  • Joel Fleischman (Rob Morrow) is the central character, a young, Jewish doctor from New York City who is contractually bound to practice in the remote Alaskan town of Cicely for four years to repay a student loan from the state. The comedy centers originally on the clash between Fleischman's neurotic urban mindset and the easy-going, community-minded people around him. As time went on, the show focus shifted to the quirky characters of the town. Morrow left the series in the middle of the sixth (and final) season.
  • Maurice Minnifield (Barry Corbin) is a patriotic ex-astronaut and millionaire entrepreneur, owner of the local radio station KBHR and newspaper, as well as fifteen thousand acres (60 km²) of local land. Determined to make tiny Cicely the next boomtown, "the cusp of the new Alaskan Riviera," Maurice arranges to bring Dr. Fleischman to the town, which previously had no physician.
  • Chris Stevens (John Corbett), an ex-felon, is the disc jockey at KBHR. He intersperses the music of his morning show with musings on the nature of life and readings from such writers as Walt Whitman, William Shakespeare, Leo Tolstoy, Carl Jung and Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are). Chris is also Cicely's only clergyman, ordained through an advertisement in Rolling Stone magazine.
  • Maggie O'Connell (Janine Turner) is a professional bush pilot and property agent. She was a debutante from a wealthy WASP family in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. She sometimes believes herself to be cursed because all of her former boyfriends died in bizarre accidents. She maintains a strong love-hate relationship with Fleischman.
  • Shelly Marie Tambo Vincoeur (Cynthia Geary) is a young beauty pageant winner, "Miss Northwest Passage," brought from Saskatchewan to Cicely by Maurice, who hoped to marry her. Shortly after her arrival, she met and fell in love with the much older Holling Vincoeur. Shelly nearly becomes a bigamist when she almost marries Holling, having previously married schoolmate and hockey player Wayne Jones solely to get him to stop proposing.
  • Holling Vincoeur (John Cullum) is a sexagenarian hunter and owner of 'The Brick' bar and restaurant, where he lives upstairs with Shelly. Born in Quebec and later becoming a naturalized US citizen, he had been best friends with Maurice until they fell out over Shelly. His father and grandfather both lived to be over 100 years old, spending most of their lives as widowers despite having married much younger women; fearing the same bitter fate, Holling forswore love until Shelly appeared. He claims to be a direct descendant of King Louis XIV of France and attempts to distance himself as much as possible from his despotic forebears. After 23 years as mayor of Cicely, he loses that post to Edna Hancock who runs against him because of a grudge.
  • Ed Chigliak (Darren E. Burrows) is a mild-mannered, amiably tactless, half-Native Alaskan foundling raised by an Indian tribe. He does odd jobs for Maurice and also works part-time at Ruth-Anne's general store. A film buff and would-be director, Ed learned everything he knew about life and the outside world from movies, especially those of Woody Allen and Federico Fellini. He is a Shaman-in-training and is occasionally visited by his invisible spirit guide, One-Who-Waits, and by his personal demon, Low Self Esteem, who resembles a leprechaun. Ed writes, directs and produces his own film about Cicely.
  • Ruth-Anne Miller (Peg Phillips) is the septuagenarian owner of the general store. A widow, Ruth-Anne lives alone until late in the series, when she becomes involved with retired stockbroker and fur-trapper, Walt Kupfer.
  • Marilyn Whirlwind (Elaine Miles) is Fleischman's stoic, Native American receptionist. Marilyn speaks as little as possible, while her boss rarely stops talking.

In the show's last season, two new characters were introduced:

  • Phil Capra (Paul Provenza) is recruited as town physician after Fleischman takes to the wilderness. A refugee from Los Angeles, Capra is more gracious than Fleischman in a small town setting, but even more hapless. Provenza was originally hired to take over the role of Dr. Joel Fleischman.[citation needed] The difference in their appearance was to be attributed to a new haircut, with Maggie O'Connell commenting "It suits you." This idea was rejected to avoid alienating Morrow's fans.
  • Michelle Schowdowski Capra (Teri Polo) is Phil's wife. She works as a reporter on a newspaper owned by Minnifield. When he starts applying editorial pressure, she decides she prefers waitressing at The Brick and has visions of Fleischman's rabbi, Schulman.

[edit] Recurring characters

  • Lester Haines (Apesanahkwat) is the only man richer than Maurice on the tundra, and is therefore viewed by Maurice as his rival. He is the father of Heather Haines, Ed Chigliak's one-time love interest.
  • Adam (Adam Arkin) is an abrasive, ungroomed, misanthropic gourmet chef who may or may not have worked for the CIA in the past, which explains how he has so much information about everyone. His character was first introduced as a mythic legend figure, something akin to Bigfoot. People in Cicely spoke of him as a tall-tale figure at first. Adam usually has a chip on his shoulder and offers an offensive rebuttal for anyone who compliments him.
  • Bernard Stevens (Richard Cummings Jr.) is Chris' "half-brother and spiritual doppelgänger." Their relationship extends beyond being merely half-brothers, as they also share dreams, emotions, and thoughts. They have the same birthday and birth year, making them "twins," despite having different mothers, one white and the other black. Their father was a "travellin' man," whose double life was exposed only after his death.
  • Sergeant Barbara Semanski (Diane Delano) is an Alaskan state trooper and gun enthusiast, and the on-again/off-again love interest of Maurice Minnifield.
  • Mike Monroe (Anthony Edwards) is a hyper-allergic lawyer, called "The Bubble Man" by the citizens of Cicely at first. Mike comes to Alaska to escape the pollution that gave him multiple chemical sensitivity. Maggie O'Connell, attracted by Mike's show of courage in battling his "illness," encourages him to come out of his airtight house more often, and they briefly become a couple. In an apparent inversion of "Maggie's Curse," Mike's symptoms suddenly vanish, whereupon he leaves to join a Greenpeace ship at Murmansk.
  • Richard 'Rick' Pederson (Grant Goodeve) is Maggie O'Connell's first season boyfriend. He dies at the end of the second season when an errant satellite falls on him during a camping trip. After his death, it is revealed that he was a compulsive sexual addict who cheated on Maggie with hundreds of other women.
  • Earl the Barber (Jerry Morris). Morris was a frequent background extra and was the real owner of the barbershop used in the television series.
  • Walter 'Walt' Kupfer (Moultrie Patten) is a rugged but friendly trapper, and love interest of Ruth-Anne Miller.
  • One-Who-Waits (Floyd Westerman) is Ed Chigliak's spirit guide, the ghost of a long-dead chief.
  • Dave (William J. White) is the Native American cook at the Brick.

[edit] Guest stars

  • Jo Anderson was Roslyn and Jane Harris. She appeared in "Cicely" and "Learning Curve".
  • Adam Ant, a British pop star, guest starred as Brad Bonner. Brad, the lead singer of a heavy metal band, arrives in Cicely instead of Sicily, Italy, in the fourth season episode "Heroes".
  • Elya Baskin was Nikolai in "War and Peace," a second season episode.
  • Jack Black was Kevin Wilkins, 1/3 of the graduating class of Cicely High School.
  • David Hemmings was Viktor Bobrov in Season 4, Episode 9 "Do The Right Thing" — a Russian ex-spy who arrives in Cicely to sell Maurice his official dossier prepared by the Russian government.
  • Bill Irwin was Enrico Ballati, The Flying Man, a circus performer who woos Marilyn. Irwin was a clown known for his mime and physical comedy talents. The character almost never speaks and communicates through hand gestures and body language.
  • Mickey Jones was Tooley in "Heroes," a season four episode.
  • James Marsters appeared as Father Harding (a friend of the O'Connell family) and a bellhop.
  • Yvonne Suhor was Cicely, lover of Roslyn and eponym of the town. She appeared in the third season episode "Cicely".

[edit] End

Under the increasingly darker production hand of David Chase and due to CBS moving the show into various time slots (as part of the network's future move toward more youth-oriented programming[citation needed]), the show spiraled downward in 1994-95. Unexplained character trait changes, the loss of clashes that had marked Fleischman's tenure, and the departure of Morrow, resulted in a precipitous drop in the show's ratings.

[edit] Production

The town of Cicely is widely thought to be patterned after the real town of Talkeetna, Alaska.[7][8][9] The main street of Cicely and the filming location was actually that of Roslyn, Washington. Until recent years, an annual gathering of Northern Exposure fans was held each year in Roslyn. Known as Moosefest, it was traditionally held the last weekend of July, and often featured some former cast members. An "informal" Moosefest was held in 2006, and others are planned for 2007 and 2008.[10][11]

Prior to producing Northern Exposure, Joshua Brand and John Falsey created the popular television program St. Elsewhere. Series producer and writer David Chase went on to produce, amongst other things, The Sopranos.

According to The Northern Exposure Book, the moose in the opening titles was named Mort and provided by Washington State University, where he was part of a captive herd. Mort was an orphan from Alaska and had been bottle-raised. To film the opening sequence, the crew fenced off Roslyn, set him loose, and lured him around with bananas and willow leaves. $5,000 was paid for Mort's work because "he's the only working moose in the business."

[edit] Thematic and technical details

This section may contain original research or unverified claims.
Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (September 2007)

Northern Exposure's flavor came from a combination of various influences. The show’s creators, Joshua Brand and John Falsey, were members of the Esalen Institute in California where an eclectically "spiritual" worldview was presented, best exemplified in the writings of Swiss psychologist Carl Jung and American anthropologist/mythologist Joseph Campbell (whose works are frequently referenced in the series). There are also fantasy elements inherited from the works of Carlos Castaneda and the magical realism novels and stories of Latin American author Gabriel García Márquez. Both creators were also conversant with classical Russian Literature. This characteristic is evident in the satirical elements from the show that are hallmarks of the Russian literary grotesque style of such authors as Gogol and Dostoevsky.

The show made frequent use of dream and fantasy sequences and other dense imagery. In episode 5 of the first season, there are multiple references to key elements of Twin Peaks, such as cherry pie, coffee and the Log Lady character. The scenes were shot using music similar to Twin Peaks and the same slow, ethereal direction and self-consciously abstruse dialogue popularized by David Lynch.

[edit] Alaskan inaccuracies

The town of Cicely is sometimes said to be within "Arrowhead County", although Alaska has no counties. The state is divided into boroughs (and one large Unorganized Borough), so some episodes refer to "the borough of Arrowhead County".

When being given directions out of town, a visitor is told to follow Main Street down to the Interstate, though Alaska has no Interstate highways. Few highways in Alaska have more than two lanes.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Northern Exposure episodes

[edit] Awards

Over the course of Northern Exposure's run, the series was nominated for over fifty Emmy Awards and multiple Golden Globe awards. In addition, Joshua Brand and John Falsey received two Peabody Awards, in 1991 and 1992, sharing the latter award with CBS and Finnegan-Pinchuk Company.

The show's other awards include:

  • Emmy Award (1992), Joshua Brand and John Falsey, Outstanding Drama Series.
  • Emmy Award (1992), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Valerie Mahaffey.
  • Emmy Award (1992), Andrew Schneider and Diane Frolov for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Drama Series for "Seoul Mates."
  • Golden Globe (1993), Best Drama series.
  • Golden Globe (1994), Best Drama series.
  • Directors Guild Award (1993), Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Shows, "Cicely"

[edit] DVD releases

The DVD sets, which were released by Universal Studios Home Entertainment, have caused controversy among the show's fans, both for their high prices and for the changes to the soundtrack introduced in order to lower their costs.[12] The release of season 1 contained the original music, but retailed for $60 due to the cost of music licensing. Subsequent seasons replaced some of the music resulting in a lower cost release. The first and second seasons were also re-released together in packaging that matches the third through sixth seasons.

Title Region 1 Region 2
The Complete First Season May 25 2004 May 21 2001[13]
The Complete Second Season November 30 2004 May 9 2005[13]
The Complete Third Season June 14 2005 January 30 2006[13]
The Complete Fourth Season March 28 2006 July 31 2006[13]
The Complete Fifth Season November 13 2006 January 22 2007[13]
The Complete Sixth Season March 6 2007 June 25 2007[13]
The Complete First &
Second Seasons 		May 9 2006[14] N/A
Seasons 1, 2, 3, & 4 N/A November 20 2006[15]
The Complete Series
(Seasons 1 - 6) 		November 13 2007 October 8 2007
Northern Exposure
Characters
Joel Fleischman | Maggie O'Connell | Maurice Minnifield | Chris Stevens
Shelly Tambo | Holling Vincoeur | Ed Chigliak | Ruth-Anne Miller | Marilyn Whirlwind
Phil Capra | Michelle Capra
Episodes

[edit] See also

  • Men in Trees, a more recent series with similarities to Northern Exposure

[edit] References and footnotes

  1. ^ a b http://www.peabody.uga.edu/archives/
  2. ^ a b Producing Northern Exposure from the website for the book Two Aspirins and a Comedy (ISBN 1594511551)
  3. ^ Review/Television; As Networks Go Rural, CBS Goes a Bit Further, an April 1991 article in The New York Times
  4. ^ http://theenvelope.latimes.com/extras/lostmind/ratings/1991_1992.htm
  5. ^ http://theenvelope.latimes.com/extras/lostmind/ratings/1992_1993.htm
  6. ^ http://theenvelope.latimes.com/extras/lostmind/ratings/1993_1994.htm
  7. ^ http://www.roadtripamerica.com/places/talkeetna.htm
  8. ^ http://northerngirl.net/memoirs/2007/02/
  9. ^ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/28/TREVRQENB.DTL
  10. ^ http://www.moosefest.org/About.html
  11. ^ http://www.moosefest.org/index.html
  12. ^ [http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/news
  13. ^ a b c d e f The Region 2 DVD has different cover art
  14. ^ DVD available only in region 1
  15. ^ DVD available only in region 2
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