Northern Exposure
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{{infobox Television |
| show_name = Northern Exposure
| image = [[Image:Northern Exposure-Intertitle.jpg|250px]]
| caption =
| format = [[Drama]]/[[Comedy]]<br>[[Medical drama]]
| runtime = Approx 45 minutes per episode
| creator = [[Joshua Brand]]<br>[[John Falsey]]
| executive_producer = Joshua Brand and John Falsey (1990-1993) David Chase, Diane Frolov, and Andrew Schneider (1994-1995)
| starring = [[Rob Morrow]]<br>[[Barry Corbin]]<br>[[Janine Turner]]<br>[[John Cullum]]<br>[[Darren E. Burrows]]<br>[[John Corbett]]<br>[[Cynthia Geary]]
| country = [[USA]]
| network = [[CBS]]
| first_aired = [[July 12]], [[1990]]
| last_aired = [[July 26]], [[1995]]
| num_seasons = 6
| num_episodes = 110
| list_episodes = List of Northern Exposure episodes
| imdb_id = 0098878
| tv_com_id=1339
|}}
'''''Northern Exposure''''' is an [[Primetime Emmys|Emmy]] Award-winning [[dramedy]] [[Television series|series]]. It was created by [[Joshua Brand|Brand]]-[[John Falsey|Falsey]] Productions, which was recognized with a rare pair of consecutive [[Peabody Award]]s in 1991–92 for the show's "depict[ion] in a comedic and often poetic way, [of] the cultural clash between a transplanted New York doctor and the townspeople of fictional Cicely, [[Alaska]]"<ref name="peab">http://www.peabody.uga.edu/archives/</ref> and its stories of how "people of diverse backgrounds and experiences strive to accept their differences and co-exist."<ref name="peab" /> Most of ''Northern Exposure's'' [[story arc]]s are character-driven, with the plots revolving around the intricacies and eccentricities of the citizens. Critic [[John Leonard (American critic)|John Leonard]] called ''Northern Exposure'' "the best of the best television in the past 10 years."<ref name="aspirin">[http://twoaspirinsandacomedy.com/extras/Ch8-Producing.html Producing Northern Exposure] from the website for the book ''Two Aspirins and a Comedy'' (ISBN 1594511551)</ref>
The show started as an eight-episode summer replacement series on [[CBS]] in 1990.<ref name="aspirin" /><ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEED71531F931A15757C0A967958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all Review/Television; As Networks Go Rural, CBS Goes a Bit Further], an April 1991 article in ''[[The New York Times]]''</ref> It returned for seven more episodes in spring 1991, then became a regular part of the network's schedule in [[1991-92 United States network television schedule|1991-92]], [[1992-93 United States network television schedule|1992-93]], and [[1993-94 United States network television schedule|1993-94]], three seasons in which the show was among the top 20 in the ratings.<ref>[http://theenvelope.latimes.com/extras/lostmind/ratings/1991_1992.htm The Envelope - LA Times<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://theenvelope.latimes.com/extras/lostmind/ratings/1992_1993.htm The Envelope - LA Times<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://theenvelope.latimes.com/extras/lostmind/ratings/1993_1994.htm The Envelope - LA Times<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Its last season, [[1994-95 United States network television schedule|1994-95]], included a gap during [[Nielsen Ratings#"Sweeps"|May sweeps]] when CBS broadcast other programming. A total of 110 episodes were produced.
==Cast==
{{main|List of Northern Exposure cast members}}
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Northern Exposure.jpg|right|thumb|The cast of ''Northern Exposure'': (left to right) Holling, Shelly, Maurice, Maggie (front), Marilyn (back), Joel, Chris, Ed]] -->
===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 culture|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, on "the cusp of the new Alaskan Riviera," Maurice arranges to bring Dr. Fleischman to the town, which previously had no permanent physician.
*'''[[Chris Stevens (Northern Exposure)|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 flying|bush pilot]] and property agent. She was a [[debutante]] from a wealthy [[White Anglo-Saxon Protestant|WASP]] family in [[Grosse Pointe, Michigan]]. She sometimes believes herself to be [[curse]]d because all of her former boyfriends died in bizarre accidents. She maintains a strong [[love-hate relationship]] with Fleischman.
*'''[[Shelly Tambo|Shelly Marie Tambo Vincoeur]]''' ([[Cynthia Geary]]) is a young [[beauty pageant]] winner, Miss Northwest Passage, who comes from [[Saskatchewan]] and is brought to Cicely by Maurice, who had 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 ([[Brandon Douglas]]) 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 [[Québec]] (or the [[Yukon]]; both are mentioned in different seasons) and later becoming a naturalized US citizen, he had been best friends with Maurice until they had a falling 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 had sworn off 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-[[Alaska Natives|Native Alaskan]] foundling <!-- not orphan, as his parents were unknown, not dead --> raised by the local [[Tlingit]]s. 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 barely ever speaks, 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.{{Fact|date=May 2007}} 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.
===Recurring characters===
* '''Lester Haines''' ([[Apesanahkwat]]) is the fifth wealthiest man of the [[tundra]] and is considered a rival by ''the'' richest, Maurice. He is the father of Heather Haines, who becomes Ed Chigliak's love interest.
* '''[[Adam (Northern Exposure)|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 to 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, whom she finally dumps for protecting the fugitive Cal Ingram.
* '''Mike Monroe''' ([[Anthony Edwards]]) is a hyper-[[Allergy|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 [[sex addict]] who cheated on Maggie with hundreds of other women.
* '''Leonard Quinhagak''' ([[Graham Greene (actor)|Graham Greene]]) is a native [[medicine man]] and Ed's mentor.
* '''Eve''' ([[Valerie Mahaffey]]) is a [[hypochondriac]], heiress to a [[tungsten]] fortune, and Adam's wife. Mahaffey won an [[Emmy Award]] in 1992 for her portrayal. Eve and Adam spend part of each year as [[jet-set]]ters and part as near-[[hermit]]s in a cabin near Cicely. She and Adam eventually have a child together.
* '''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 (actor)|William J. White]]) is the Native American cook at the Brick. In early episodes, he has few speaking parts, but in later seasons, began participating in scenes, particularly with Holling and Shelly.
* '''Caldecott E. Ingram''' ([[Simon Templeman]]) is a violinist hired by Maurice to check out a rare [[Guarneri]] violin. When Maurice explains that he plains to lock the violin away as an investment, rather than allow it to be played, Cal snaps and tries to kill Maurice; but Maurice forgives him, allowing Cal to play the Guarneri occasionally, and even connives at his escape from the state mental hospital.
* '''Rabbi Schulman''' ([[Jerry Adler]]) is Joel's rabbi in New York who inexplicably appears to Joel in "visions".
* '''Hayden Keyes''' ([[James L. Dunn]]) is a Cicelian, generally liked but occasionally dishonest.
* '''Eugene''' works at the Brick as a bartender and as a cook who fills in for Dave.
===Guest stars===
* [[Jo Anderson]] was Roslyn and Jane Harris. She appeared in "Cicely" and "Learning Curve".
* [[Adam Ant]], a British pop star, appeared as Brad Bonner, the lead singer of a [[heavy metal]] band, who 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 (actor)|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 is 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".
==End==
Under the increasingly dark 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{{Fact|date=October 2007}}), 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.
In its original conception, ''Northern Exposure'' was intended to be a show about Joel Fleischman, with storylines revolving around his fish-out-of-water difficulties with adjusting to Alaska, and his hot-and-cold romantic involvements with Maggie O'Connell. In keeping with this original vision, Morrow was top-billed in the credits as the "star" of the series.
In two unforeseen developments, ''Northern Exposure'' became a ratings hit, and minor characters such as Chris, Ed, Holling and Shelly, and Ruth-Anne (along with newly-created characters as Adam and Eve, Barbara Semanski and Bernard) became part of a strong ensemble cast, undermining Morrow's status as the "star" of the show, just as its popularity rose to unexpected heights.
Morrow and his representatives spent much of Seasons 4 and 5 lobbying for an improved contract, and intermittently threatened to leave the show. The producers responded by reducing Fleischman's role in the storylines, and introducing characters such as Mike Monroe (season 4) and Dr. Phil Capra (season 6) to partially compensate for the absence of Morrow. With Morrow's reduced presence in (but not departure from) the show, several ongoing storylines involving Fleischman were unable to be logically resolved.
==Production==
The town of Cicely is widely thought to be patterned after the real town of [[Talkeetna, Alaska]].<ref>[http://www.roadtripamerica.com/places/talkeetna.htm Talkeetna, Alaska<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://northerngirl.net/memoirs/2007/02/ Alaskan Explorer » 2007 » February<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/28/TREVRQENB.DTL Fictional places we love: Cicely, Alaska, on 'Northern Exposure'<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The main street of Cicely and the filming location was actually that of [[Roslyn, Washington|Roslyn]], [[Washington]]. Because of this, the bar features a number of signs from Pacific Northwest Microbreweries, which in 1990 were still fairly small and only known outside of the area by beer enthusiasts.
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.<ref>http://www.moosefest.org/About.html</ref><ref>http://www.moosefest.org/index.html</ref>
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."
==Alaskan inaccuracies==
The town of Cicely is sometimes said to be within Arrowhead County, although Alaska has no [[County (United States)|counties]]. The state is divided into [[List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska|borough]]s (and one large [[Unorganized Borough, Alaska|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 signed [[Interstate Highway System|Interstate highways]] (while some Alaska roads have Interstate designations for funding reasons, they are [[unsigned highway|unsigned]] by [[Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities|ADOT&PF]]). Few highways in Alaska have more than two lanes.
There was also an episode in which Ed talks about Alaskan snakes. There are no snakes native to Alaska.
In the episode 40, "Midnight Sun" during the summer solstice is fictional. The fictional town of Cicely is based on Talkeetna, a small town 80 miles north of Anchorage by the Alaska rail, and 300 miles south from the Arctic Circle - too far south for anyone to see the midnight sun.
==Episodes==
{{Main|List of Northern Exposure episodes}}
==Awards==
Over the course of ''Northern Exposure''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s run, the series was nominated for over fifty [[Emmy Award]]s and multiple [[Golden Globe]] awards. In addition, Joshua Brand and John Falsey received two [[Peabody Award]]s, 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"
==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.<ref>[http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/news/2005/03/66696 [http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/news]</ref> 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.
{| class="wikitable"
!Title
!Region 1
!Region 2
|-
| The Complete First Season
| [[May 25]] [[2004]]
| [[May 21]] [[2001]]<ref name="R2DVD">The [[DVD region code#Region codes and countries|Region 2 DVD]] has different cover art</ref>
|-
| The Complete Second Season
| [[November 30]] [[2004]]
| [[May 9]] [[2005]]<ref name="R2DVD" />
|-
| The Complete Third Season
| [[June 14]] [[2005]]
| [[January 30]] [[2006]]<ref name="R2DVD" />
|-
| The Complete Fourth Season
| [[March 28]] [[2006]]
| [[July 31]] [[2006]]<ref name="R2DVD" />
|-
| The Complete Fifth Season
| [[November 13]] [[2006]]
| [[January 22]] [[2007]]<ref name="R2DVD" />
|-
| The Complete Sixth Season
| [[March 6]] [[2007]]
| [[June 25]] [[2007]]<ref name="R2DVD" />
|-
| The Complete First &<br/>Second Seasons
| [[May 9]] [[2006]]<ref>DVD available only in region 1</ref>
| N/A
|-
| Seasons 1, 2, 3, & 4
| N/A
| [[November 20]] [[2006]]<ref name="ONLYR2">DVD available only in region 2</ref>
|-
| The Complete Series<br>(Seasons 1 - 6)
| [[November 13]] [[2007]]
| [[October 8]] [[2007]]
|}
==See also==
*''[[St. Elsewhere]]'', a similar premise medical drama created also by Joshua Brand and John Falsey.
*''[[Due South]]'', a drama-comedy series which in many ways attempted to reverse the central ''Northern Exposure'' dynamic.
*''[[Everwood]]'', a drama from [[the WB]] with a fish out of water doctor moving from New York City to a mountain community full of quirky characters.
*''[[Men in Trees]]'', a more recent series with similarities to ''Northern Exposure''.{{Fact|date=May 2008}}
==References and footnotes==
{{wikiquote}}
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.northernexposuredvd.com/ Northern Exposure DVDs] at Universal Studios
* {{imdb title|0098878|"Northern Exposure" (1990)}}
* [http://www.moosechick.com/ Moosechick Notes] with full episode guides
* [http://www.gate.net/~kimi/ Kimeye's Guide to Northern Exposure]
{{EmmyAward DramaSeries 1976-2000}}
{{Northern Exposure}}
[[Category:CBS network shows]]
[[Category:1990s American television series]]
[[Category:1990 television series debuts]]
[[Category:1995 television series endings]]
[[Category:Television shows set in Alaska]]
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