Now, it’s one of my favorite television comedies. Without its prime spot on Netflix’s “Top Picks” section, I wouldn’t have watched “The IT Crowd,” for instance, as I was three years old when it premiered to mixed reviews. With a Hulu or CBS All Access subscription, you can stream every single season of “Twin Peaks.” One of the greatest gifts that apps like Netflix and Hulu can give us is a casual introduction to media that we may never have encountered otherwise. The key reason for this is accessibility. Yet where one’s legacy endures, the other’s seems to have stopped dead in its tracks. Broadly speaking, comparisons between the two series are apt: Each employs thematic magical realism, the setting of a seemingly idyllic Northern town, a quirky ensemble cast, and a protagonist on the outside of it all. Its surreal satirization of the soap opera format stabs at American audiences’ uncritical engagement with television while pushing its viewers to think deeply about the darker elements of small-town life. To contemplate this question, consider the fate of its most frequent point of comparison, “Twin Peaks.” Airing its pilot just three months prior to that of “Northern Exposure,” television series “Twin Peaks” is widely regarded as some of the best TV and cinematic art of the 20th century. So where did it go? In the vast landscape of critically-acclaimed ‘90s television, why do programs like “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and “Dougie Howser” still loom large where “Northern Exposure” has since fallen into obscurity? As bizarre as “Cop Rock” and as funny as “Seinfeld,” “Northern Exposure” was truly a product of its era, ushering in the new golden-age of television with an easy sense of wit and eccentricity. Through its five-year run, “Northern Exposure” received high ratings, consistent viewership, and 39 Emmy nominations. Burrows), “Northern Exposure” achieves what many sitcoms of its era overlook: a soulful portrayal of characters beyond shallow stereotypes. From the exploration of protagonist Joel Fleischman’s (Rob Morrow) experience as a Jewish man in rural Alaska to the central role of indigenous teen movie buff Ed Chigliak (Darren E. Where minority representation on renowned dramedies such as WB’s Gilmore Girls or even NBC’s M*A*S*H is often sorely lacking, Northern Exposure bakes it into the show’s very foundation. It even included the second same-sex wedding story arc ever featured on American primetime television. With episodes including dream swaps, ghosts, fake twins, and even Franz Kafka, “Northern Exposure” constantly challenges its audience intellectually while effortlessly straddling the line between comedy and drama.īeyond the series’ groundbreaking redefinition of TV genres, the complex female, Jewish, and Native American characters at the heart of “Northern Exposure” make it intensely compelling. While the first season sets up a classic fish-out-of-water comedy, the show truly finds its bearings as a piece of longform magical realism in its second season. Its premise is simple enough: a young doctor from New York City must move to the backwoods of Alaska as part of his scholarship to Columbia’s medical school. Text her about it now, and I’ll bet that she even mentions the moose in the title sequence. “Northern Exposure” is the type of throwback TV show that your mother loved.
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