The Case of the Series Northern Exposure - Text 1
The television series Northern Exposure (CBS, 1900-95) depicts the difficult adaptation of a young New York doctor to the small village of Cicely, Alaska, and to its comical characters and surreal situations. It is a comedy series, but one which blends drama, philosophical reflection and quotations from cinema and television. It attracted attention in the American landscape in the early 1990s and is typical of the period of complex television. Created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey, in collaboration with David Chase, Diane Frolow and Andrew Schneider, it was broadcast for the first time on 12 July 1990 to fill a summer programming time slot and continued for 100 episodes over five seasons until 26 July 1995. Less elitist that Twin Peaks and yet very cultured, addressing itself to thirtysomething audiences, it broke new narrative and formal ground in many ways. The series won numerous awards: seven Emmy awards, two Golden Globes and two Peabody awards. And yet today it has practically disappeared from view, in part because of cuts imposed by non-payment of music rights (it had an abundant and eclectic soundtrack). The series is not available on any digital platform. Only VHS tapes produced in 1998-99 and DVDs produced in the early 2000s, or the Blu-ray edition of 2018 (with the original music) are available for purchase online. But what characterizes this series, and why is it typical of the age of greater viewer choice?
