Like lots of pilots, this one suffers from some slight inconsistencies with the actual series. Darren E Burrows hasn't gone "full Ed" yet in locking down his character's wonderful idiosyncrasies. And certain characters - Chris and Shelly - don't even have speaking parts here. And for a series that could be uneven as Northern Exposure was, you wouldn't be surprised if the pilot was a little off the map. However, to the contrary, this episode serves as a great introduction to Dr Fleischman's predicament in the wilds of Alaska and the quirky town he'll be based in for the next six seasons.
3 Reviews
The Beginning of a Lovely Show
Hitchcoc15 January 2024
This episode needs to get out of the way and let the magic happen. I never missed this show when it was on for the first time. My wife and I set aside time to watch it religiously. Here we are introduced to the situation. Joel Fleischman, a New Yorker, just out of Columbia medical school, finds himself with an obligation. To pay off 150,000 dollars in educational fees, he must spend four years in service to Alaska. He thinks he will be in the nicer areas in Anchorage, but instead he is sent to Sicily, a backwoods town full of fascinating characters. Try as he might, there are no loopholes and he is now stuck here. He acts like a petulant little boy. He insults the community and the people. His biggest problem is Maurice, a transplanted NASA astronaut who is going to be watching him. He sort of runs the town. He also meets Maggie who he rents from. She is a bush pilot. There are a couple of native people: Ed Chigliak and his receptionist, Marilyn. I won't go on into more characters. Since it's be 30 years since I watched this show, I will treat it as if I had never seen it.
A Hesitant Yet Encouraging Beginning on the Alaskan Riviera
darryl-tahirali26 November 2023
On his flight to Anchorage, New York doctor Joel Fleischman explains to his seatmate (John Aylward) that the State of Alaska funded his medical education, and in return he agreed to serve as a doctor in Anchorage for four years. However, he learns from slick functionary Pete Gilliam (Robert Nadir) that his services are not needed in Anchorage; instead, Joel is lured to the backwater town of Cicely, "on the cusp of the Alaskan Riviera," where he discovers that he has no choice, beyond criminal prosecution, but to serve as the town's doctor.
So begins the premise of the "Pilot" episode of "Northern Exposure," which blended distinctive, richly layered characters with smart, sophisticated storytelling to become one of the greatest series in American television history, filled with intellectual expansiveness, endearing charm, and emotional complexity. The first season played to broad stereotype as the comedy-drama, which began as a midsummer replacement, tried to find its depth. This means that a number of the characters Joel meets flirt with caricature, including Maurice Minnifield, a former astronaut turned rustic tycoon and Cicely town father; Ed Chigliak, a young native hip to urban culture including film; Holling Vincoeur, a tough woodsman turned bar owner; and Maggie O'Connell, a debutante turned bush pilot.
Maggie also rents Joel his cabin, but their initial meeting---and Joel's misunderstanding---turns antagonistic, setting the tone of their relationship. Reluctantly, and helped by enigmatic native assistant Marilyn Whirlwind, Joel begins to see patients, including taciturn Walter (Art LaFleur), subject to his exasperated wife Edna's (Lois Foraker) murder attempts, and Joel's mediation establishes his bona fides as a medical professional, with Rob Morrow similarly developing Joel into the series' focal point, the fish out of water certain to learn life lessons in the Alaskan wilderness. The script by series creators Joshua Brand and John Falsey laces droll humor throughout its expository narrative, although Brand's direction can be a shade leisurely at times. Understandably hesitant, the "Pilot" nevertheless makes an encouraging beginning.
REVIEWER'S NOTE: What makes a review "helpful"? Every reader of course decides that for themselves. For me, a review is helpful if it explains why the reviewer liked or disliked the work or why they thought it was good or not good. Whether I agree with the reviewer's conclusion is irrelevant. "Helpful" reviews tell me how and why the reviewer came to their conclusion, not what that conclusion may be. Differences of opinion are inevitable. I don't need "confirmation bias" for my own conclusions. Do you?
So begins the premise of the "Pilot" episode of "Northern Exposure," which blended distinctive, richly layered characters with smart, sophisticated storytelling to become one of the greatest series in American television history, filled with intellectual expansiveness, endearing charm, and emotional complexity. The first season played to broad stereotype as the comedy-drama, which began as a midsummer replacement, tried to find its depth. This means that a number of the characters Joel meets flirt with caricature, including Maurice Minnifield, a former astronaut turned rustic tycoon and Cicely town father; Ed Chigliak, a young native hip to urban culture including film; Holling Vincoeur, a tough woodsman turned bar owner; and Maggie O'Connell, a debutante turned bush pilot.
Maggie also rents Joel his cabin, but their initial meeting---and Joel's misunderstanding---turns antagonistic, setting the tone of their relationship. Reluctantly, and helped by enigmatic native assistant Marilyn Whirlwind, Joel begins to see patients, including taciturn Walter (Art LaFleur), subject to his exasperated wife Edna's (Lois Foraker) murder attempts, and Joel's mediation establishes his bona fides as a medical professional, with Rob Morrow similarly developing Joel into the series' focal point, the fish out of water certain to learn life lessons in the Alaskan wilderness. The script by series creators Joshua Brand and John Falsey laces droll humor throughout its expository narrative, although Brand's direction can be a shade leisurely at times. Understandably hesitant, the "Pilot" nevertheless makes an encouraging beginning.
REVIEWER'S NOTE: What makes a review "helpful"? Every reader of course decides that for themselves. For me, a review is helpful if it explains why the reviewer liked or disliked the work or why they thought it was good or not good. Whether I agree with the reviewer's conclusion is irrelevant. "Helpful" reviews tell me how and why the reviewer came to their conclusion, not what that conclusion may be. Differences of opinion are inevitable. I don't need "confirmation bias" for my own conclusions. Do you?
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