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Why doesn't Northern Exposure get the love it deserves?

posted 8 years ago by TMC-4
11 replies | jump to latest

http://www.vulture.com/2015/12/stay-tuned-jessica-jones-scrubs-northern-exposure.html

Why doesn't Northern Exposure get the love it deserves? I never see or hear the show referenced anywhere, and it's not available anywhere to digitally stream or purchase (that I've seen). I know the DVDs are a bit of a bust for true fans, because they replaced much of the copyrighted music, but that's not a good enough reason to ignore the show. —Tracey

Well … that's the reason, Tracey: Not being obviously or widely available will certainly reduce a show's chances of being part of the conversation. But that's not the only reason. Northern Exposure doesn't have any clear descendants and never really did — it's a fantastic show, but it's not clear which present-day shows owe their vibe in part to Northern Exposure. Compare that to how many shows can and should tip their hats to, say, ER in terms of visual style or The X-Files, in terms of ongoing complicated mythology. I wish there were more shows aspiring to be the next Northern Exposure, because I love that style, but quirky fish-out-of-water dramedies are not currently a mainstay. (RIP, Hart of Dixie.) The show's creators didn't go on to create other similar shows — like, say, David E. Kelley — and its leads didn't go on to other major shows. (No, Numb3rs is not a major show.) John Corbett, not a lead on Northern, is probably the most present alum, and that's because of his role as Aidan on Sex and the City, not because of Chris in the Morning. The most famous writer alum is David Chase — and he'll always be cited as "the creator of The Sopranos," not as "a producer of Northern Exposure."

But I feel you, Tracey. I love Northern Exposure, and I wish it were more widely beloved. At least Sisters is finally on DVD? There is not enough love for those early-'90s shows. Come to me, Picket Fences devotees. Let's talk about I'll Fly Away and The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, or Dream On. Where are my fellow Life Goes On people? Brooklyn Bridge? Homefront? I have enough British cop shows, Netflix. How about a subsection of "surprisingly excellent early-'90s television."

[–] J-Street1 8 years ago

I think the main reason is because it left on such a bad note. Yeah; the final show was decent and had a happy ending, but Season 4 was a sign of bad things to come, and it only got worse until the end.

I recall over the years, talking with many fans, that it made them bitter to think about because of how it ended, but the first 3 seasons are truly gold and should be what's honestly remembered of it -- because those 3 seasons have the magic.

I still think it's a special show overall, but it didn't resonate with too many people because it took such a nosedive in the mid 90's. Time has also really held it back, unfortunately.

It only has so many friends now, it seems. People are more tuned into what's trending and then they go to the next new thing. NX was one of a kind.

🎄

[–] Infamous-Sulla 8 years ago

There may be several explanations as to why the show doesn't get much attention. One is it's an intellectually demanding show which appeals to a literate audience. If you don't have much of an education, you simply won't get the humor in some of the references.

A large segment of viewers today seem more interested in what mundane first-world problems are being experienced by manufactured celebrities, or cute animal videos which don't require more than a couple of minutes of our time, or the pseudo-drama of which alleged real housewife has once again become offended because a friend supposedly disrespected her.

It's not the kind of show where most people will get hooked after one episode (although that's what happened to me). It requires time and patience to get to know the characters. And the competition today has exploded. There just isn't enough time to see all the new shows much less the older ones.

I do believe some people would become interested if I could show them clips of certain scenes. There were several of them on YouTube which I had bookmarked for that purpose. I recently noticed the parent company has now had them deleted. I'll never understand why they would destroy free publicity for a 20 year-old show. They're just helping to push it into oblivion.

With the wind at my back, I'm gonna fly so free

[–] baran_erik 8 years ago

Lots of the episodes are again on Youtube. Chris in the Morning is limited because of the music rights, ala WKRP, but the rest is there.

[–] 06986 8 years ago

Get over yourself Sulla, it does not take a special educated elitist person to like or get "Northern Exposure", it was not intellectually demanding. You sound like a pretentious snot by saying that and lashing out at people. What makes you so special?

I loved "Northern Exposure" when I started watching it when I was 13 and I was not some super educated elitist, my parents loved it too, I also loved Coach, Wings, Cheers, Seinfeld, SNL, Married With Children, Dukes of Hazzard, A Team, Air Wolfe, Magnum PI, Knight Rider, Super Dave, X files, etc from around that time too which did not require a high IQ to understand.

The reason Northern Exposure is mostly forgotten is because it really faded and changed when the main character left and was not the same show, people just stopped paying attention to it and it just kind of ended on a bad note. The fact that it has never been re shown to my knowledge in re runs by any mainstream or cable channels or is really mentioned or referenced anywhere just adds to people forgetting about it and it unable to gain a new audience. There were certain shows that were huge in the 90's yet are now totally forgotten because they did not hold up/too yuppy, stars did not break out, no re runs shown nor are they really mentioned or referenced anywhere by anymore or they were just flat out boring like "Mad About You", "Quantum Leap", "Murphy Brown", "Picket Fences", "Ellen", "Grace Under Fire", "Anything But Love", etc.

[–] dancetildawn 8 years ago

Totally disagree with you about 'Ellen' being boring. Have seen reruns of it on the Laff channel recently and was reminded of how enjoyable it was. Ellen is hilarious and Paige (Joely Fisher) and Spence (Jeremy Piven) were totally hot together!

[–] macleod_conner 8 years ago

Originally posted by 06986:
Get over yourself Sulla, it does not take a special educated elitist person to like or get "Northern Exposure", it was not intellectually demanding. You sound like a pretentious snot by saying that and lashing out at people. What makes you so special?

Actually Sulla is spot on, it IS a highly intellectual show and that is part of the reason why it didn't get quite as big as it could have been. However, that's not to say that it doesn't appeal to non-intellectuals, either. Honestly I think that's part of the show's brilliance is that it has a little bit of everything and it can be enjoyed on different levels. I was actually around the same age when I began watching it and I loved it for its philosophy, nuances and depth but also for its character development and charm. There's much to love about the show, not just its subtext and clever social commentary. The music by itself was phenomenal and so integral to the story and characters. Let's not forget the setting, the beautiful and majestic Alaska (Washington).

I don't think Sulla was being pretentious, I mean think about it, what are the mainstream and most popular shows? 'Reality' shows featuring vapid and soulless people are the biggest ones and that IS a reflection of modern society, or take politics, look at who's leading for the Republican party? He's a former star of said reality shows, need I say more? We're living in the age of the movie 'Idiocracy'.

'Northern Exposure' harkens back to a time of TV when quality writing still mattered, when characters were important, intelligence, originality and insight were woven into the fabric of the collective consciousness. It's obvious that in today's zeitgeist, those redeeming qualities are few and far between.

There can be only one! -Connor Macleod

[–] Tree_Woman 8 years ago

I loved it for its philosophy, nuances and depth but also for its character development and charm. There's much to love about the show, not just its subtext and clever social commentary. The music by itself was phenomenal and so integral to the story and characters. Let's not forget the setting, the beautiful and majestic Alaska (Washington)...

'Northern Exposure' harkens back to a time of TV when quality writing still mattered, when characters were important, intelligence, originality and insight were woven into the fabric of the collective consciousness. It's obvious that in today's zeitgeist, those redeeming qualities are few and far between.

Your words describe my feelings about NX to a 't'... very well said.

Actually Sulla is spot on, it IS a highly intellectual show and that is part of the reason why it didn't get quite as big as it could have been. However, that's not to say that it doesn't appeal to non-intellectuals, either. Honestly I think that's part of the show's brilliance is that it has a little bit of everything and it can be enjoyed on different levels.

My mother loved this show, and she is truly non-intellectual; my father hated it because 1. my mother loved it and 2. he didn't like any show that didn't represent his worldview and 3. he didn't get it. They watched it on broadcast TV, first run.

I didn't discover it until later, when A&E showed it in it's entirety, and I archived it on VHS. Sadly, my VCR has finally died, and I know that the music rights were a problem for a DVD version, so I just have to rely on memory.

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 8 years ago

We're living in the age of the movie 'Idiocracy'.

'Northern Exposure' harkens back to a time of TV when quality writing still mattered, when characters were important, intelligence, originality and insight were woven into the fabric of the collective consciousness. It's obvious that in today's zeitgeist, those redeeming qualities are few and far between.

What planet are you from? Today's era is widely acclaimed by critics and intelligent viewers as the age of "Platinum TV". Yes, there are stupid shows on as well, but there are far more extremely intelligent TV shows now than there ever have been in the history of the medium. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bastard-machine/golden-age-tv-best-tv-814146

And I think that's part of the problem. The assumption (which I'll admit I shared) is that TV now is so great that a show from the early '90s can't possibly be expected to compete, even if it was "good for its time". But just this weekend, when I got the DVD from Netflix and watched the pilot and second episode, I was blown away by how well it does hold up. If someone could figure out a streaming deal to get this on Netflix (not just the disc service), I think it could catch fire again. But if they don't, it's going to languish.

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My top 250: http://www.flickchart.com/Charts.aspx?user=SlackerInc&perpage=250

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 8 years ago

I got re-hooked from the first two episodes. The second episode in particular was amazing. Way better than I remembered (although honestly, I probably never saw that one in its first run).

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My top 250: http://www.flickchart.com/Charts.aspx?user=SlackerInc&perpage=250

[–] oldewill 8 years ago

"Season 4 was a sign of bad things to come, and it only got worse until the end."
TRUE TRUE TRUE

http://youtube.com/watch?v=r7JdfWfoKls .

[–] bwestbroker 8 years ago

I used to try to watch this on tv and even bought the whole dvd set and I now realize why I had so much trouble staying focused.Too much "anger"...stupid kind...noisy... between joel and Maggie which made both characters tiresome to me.I'm now 67 and just tried to watch the series again...and I'm exhausted.It was very creative in story lines in many ways but they really missed the boat with some of the characters you had to see the most..like maggie,maurice and joel who never appeared to LEARN from their mistakes even though they usually tried to make it up to their target..after the fact.Guess I don't know anyone so stupid they can't figure it out faster than that.Also was hard to listen to maggie speaking with a southern accent so often.No one I know in Bloomfield Hills,MI has a "southern" accent without being born IN the south.It took me almost 20 ys to "wonder" where maggie was..frankly I was relieved never to see her on tv again.Yoo bad because in those rare episodes where she talks..normally and not like she's in a play and has to throw her voice into the bleachers...I can almost like her.