The Case of the Series Northern Exposure - Text 2
In the race to stand out in an increasingly competitive market because of the advent of cable television, the traditional broadcasters (ABC, CBS, NBC) had to innovate. Some chose to offer series which met a taste for the bizarre and which as a result were uncategorizable, such as Twin Peaks (ABC, 1990-91). Northern Exposure is a part of this niche, refining the mix of genres increasingly present on television and the construction of stories across several episodes or seasons at a time when series of the classical period (the “first golden age”) had a simpler structure based on the autonomy of each episode. We should note that Northern Exposure was conceived under the banner of the successful MTM studio – the initials of the entrepreneur and actress Mary Tyler Moore, who beginning in the 1980s stood out for her refined and quirky style – whose productions featured complex characters aimed at more committed audiences.
Northern Exposure invites us to follow Joel Fleishman (Rob Morrow) as he discovers Cicely in spite of himself: he had been parachuted into this godforsaken village, thinking he was going to settle in Anchorage while maintaining his ties with Manhattan, where his girlfriend Elaine lives. In keeping with the possibilities provided by audiences attentive to details, his discovery of the town occurs in gradual instalments: each episode addresses a group of topics, but these are not necessarily connected as each character follows a precise narrative trajectory, even as Joel remains the protagonist. The scripts give considerable importance to supporting roles, promises of revelations and reflexivity. The supporting actors and actresses include Maggie O’Connell (Janine Turner), an airplane pilot and building manager in Joel’s apartment building and, from the beginning, his partner in a romantic sparring match; a romantic triangle made up of Holling Vincoeur, owner of the bar and the village’s mayor, Maurice J. Minnifield, entrepreneur and former astronaut, and the young Shelley Tambo; Ed Chigliak, a young Indigenous man infatuated with mainstream popular culture; Joel’s assistant Marilyn Whirlwind; and Chris Stevens, a radio host, philosopher and ex-con. Thanks to the interaction of these different individuals, the series’ growth potential is assured, creating an ensemble effect. Rather than being resolved at the end of an episode, situations are more likely to promise later paths to follow. In the technological context, that of reception based on devices such as the videotape recorder and the remote control, a narrative project such as this, less linear and less repetitive than that of series during the “first golden age,” has perfect equilibrium. This equilibrium is based on viewers’ competence, consisting on the one hand in loyal and possibly repeated viewing (in recording episodes, there is no risk of missing a key narrative development) and the possibility of stopping on an image, and on the other hand on intertextual expertise in the media landscape, making it possible to grasp cultural allusions.
In episode eight of season one, “Aurora Borealis,” which in 2007 TV Guide ranked 65th in a list of the 100 best television episodes of all time, we can observe the extent to which these elements characteristic of complexity are present. Several narrative threads are woven together: by chance, Joel runs into Adam, the mysterious thief who prowls the region and who will return on several occasions in later seasons; the relationship between Joel and Maggie develops through dialogue which suggests mutual attraction; the same is true of intrigues involving the supporting characters, particularly Holling and Maurice, ex-best friends now in conflict over their love for the same woman. The main theme is the bewitchment caused by the full moon, which disturbs the residents and gives rise to strange coincidences. The episode is constructed out of sequences three to four minutes in length, broken up by commercial breaks, in which the characters’ actions developing in the various locations alternate.
