Not A Movie, But.... NORTHERN EXPOSURE

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Several years before I retired from my career as a full-time teacher, there was a highly successful television series entitled Northern Exposure(NE). The series aired from 1990 to 1995, but its popularity persisted many years after cancellation, well into the first decade of my retirement, 1999 to 2009, as dedicated fans continued to enjoy reruns and recorded episodes on VHS or on DVD. Among the thousands of continuing NE fans, many often referred to the program to interpret, endure, and celebrate their everyday experience—as people do with some of the many forms, narratives and images in the print and electronic media.

The program text and its interpreted themes became for many an essential part of their personal, their biographical, narratives. Some of these fans came to understand NE as a narrative for the exploration of their own spiritual questions and spiritual discourse assisting them, in the process, to interpret their experience. NE represented a confluence of popular culture, audience practice, and contemporary patterns of religiosity in the quest for meaning.-Ron Price with thanks to John Mihelich and Jennifer Gatzke, “Spiritual Quest and Popular Culture: Reflexive Spirituality in the Text of Northern Exposure,” The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, Vol. 15, Spring, 2007.

I learned, Joel, over the decades to be(1)
consistently exhilarated and delighted by
the play of intelligence and its psychological
nuances. You are still so very young, Joel.
Sometimes I had to call truce to life’s drama
with its wonderful ten-course banquet for
there was the fatigue as faith strained feebly
against the unbelieving night and there was
the melancholy, Joel, a sadness so ancient as
to have no name and trivializing as it did my
pitiable trophies & my minor virtues garnered
in so many old-sweet but often bitter times.(2)

My imperfections, Joel, are not so epically
egregious as to embarrass the seraphim who,
I am inclined to think, ruefully yawn at their
mention and my shame will not topple cities
or arrest the sun’s climb. Learning is so often
a very slow business, Joel. You gave starved
imaginations: magic, myth, ritual, philosophy,
religious wisdom, folklore, fantasy, and living
sparks from the moral dialectics of diverse
characters as masses discovered their own
meaningful autobiographical experiences.
What more could you want to give, Joel?

(1)The writers of this series thought of the five-year sojourn of Joel Flieshman, the young doctor from New York, in Cicely Alaska in terms of Joseph Campbell's myth of a hero's journey into a strange and magical land. By surmounting great challenges, this legendary hero wins new powers to take back home at the end of his adventure. I, too, had my pioneering adventures and hero’s journey as a Baha’i after nearly 60 years of association with this new world Faith.
We can foresee, so argue some of the series’ analysts, that Joel’s moral and spiritual education will be unlike any in our own lives, and by living through his education vicariously with him, we might both liberate and discipline our own hearts. If this guy can grow, perhaps we can too.

(2) Roger White, “Lines from a Battlefield,” Another Song Another Season, George Ronald, 1979, p.111.---Ron Price 4 July 2010
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married for 48 years, a teacher for 32, a student for 18, a writer and editor for 16, and a Baha'i for 56(in 2015)



matt72582's Avatar
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I remember hearing from a friend with good taste, actually a few, who said this was a great show... I might start watching tonight, but first, I like to ask people on here, mostly for prioritizing.



I bought the first three seasons a few months ago and have yet to pop them in. Really want to rewatch. I liked it a lot when it was on but have only seen it once. That was also a very different time for TV watching so I can't be sure how much I missed. Get to it early next year I hope.
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Women will be your undoing, Pépé
I remember hearing from a friend with good taste, actually a few, who said this was a great show... I might start watching tonight, but first, I like to ask people on here, mostly for prioritizing.
I have a very strong feeling you would really enjoy this show. I was a big fan of it when it was on. Has a wonderfully eclectic, cerebral vibe that gels with the visceral. Witty, clever.
VERY worthwhile.



matt72582's Avatar
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and it just gets better and better as their world opens up and you get to know the people that live there.
ENJOY, Matt!!
Thanks.. Got to the 3rd episode.. I like the semi-transformation with the lead character, who seems to be getting acclimated.... I'll leave a review once I'm finished with the series.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Thanks.. Got to the 3rd episode.. I like the semi-transformation with the lead character, who seems to be getting acclimated.... I'll leave a review once I'm finished with the series.
the show definitely grows and expands in so many ways. I'll be very curious to read your thoughts on it after watching it all.
I know I'm getting curious to look for the full series for a rewatch of my own. I so do miss it.



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Though I don't care for the lead characters (Joel and Maggie), I like the rest (Holling, Chris, Maurice)... The show got strong as Season 1 ended, and the first few episodes in the 2nd season has been pretty good so far.. Endless movie references.

I just read "Ed" is trying to write and pitch for new episodes... Why not?



I have only 6 episodes left..... I wonder if there are any shows like this - I'd probably check them out; I need night-watching...
The creators of "Northern Exposure", Joshua Brand and John Falsey, created "St. Elsewhere" (1982-1988) before. You will find some of the same kind of quirkiness in humor and character there, though obviously the format of a medical drama is different from the Alaskan small town.

Brand & Falsey's third series was called "I'll Fly Away", a 1950s period piece that examined some of the Civil Rights Movement through the prism of a small Southern town. It starred Regina Taylor and Sam Waterston (post-Killing Fields and pre-"Law & Order"). It lasted only two seasons. It was a critical darling but didn't quite catch on ratings wise. It has a much more serious subject matter, so their sense of humor is not as much in the fore.


As for other shows "like" "Northern Exposure", it is unique. The show it obviously was compared to during its initial run was David Lynch's "Twin Peaks", but "NE" was branded the silly, family-friendly version of the weird Pacific Northwest town. Lynch's series, while definitely funny and quirky, is clearly darker and stranger than "Exposure".

As for shows that capture a similar tone and sense of community, I liked "Ed" (2000-2004) starring Tom Cavanagh and Julie Bowen. I am not a fan of "The Gilmore Girls", but my sister and lots of people certainly are, and it too would be in the general sense similar showcasing characters in a small fictional community, heavy on a specific tone and type of dialogue. I never got into it, but I think "Wonderfalls" very much is in that tradition as well.

Thinking outside of that mold a bit but focusing on tone, "Spaced", "Psych", "Better Off Ted", and even "My Name is Earl" are all worth checking out (though a warning that the quality of both "Psych" and "Earl" greatly decreased towards the end of their runs).

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra



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I finished last night..... Took me about 6 weeks to finish. I loved that almost every character has a story-line; I never noticed the leads getting all the time.. The one thing I didn't like was the middle-school Joel-Maggie stuff; the arguing was silly and fake. Once Joel left, Maggie's acting got better.. Maurice is probably my favorite character, because of the type of person he is, an astronaut, almost the Donald Trump of the city, but his conscience kicks in, and he does the right thing, and he cares and helps others, while profiting sometimes, lol..... I kinda wish some characters weren't stereotyped (Shelley, Ed), and Hollin seemed surprised with every word he said, like something occurs with every word..

There are a lot of subtle bits of humor I like.... Paul Provenza and Michelle were great "leads" when Joel is replaced. Also from NYC, but humble, and respectful - they even buy land, but of course the love of Alaska doesn't last long.

I do hope they re-launch this back again.. Sounds like they are in the works for a possible comeback.


7.5/10





Women will be your undoing, Pépé
heard of Due South, can't remember if I had checked it out or not.
Been on the hunt for Northern Exposure, caught the pilot and remember just how much I loved this show and then I had trouble with the place I found it. . . ARGHH
So, the search goes on.