I decided to indulge my need of nostalgia with an old TV series instead, and what I believe to be the best show ever on TV- Northern Exposure. I got a steal on the entire series on DVD. Not too many people remember the show now so not many people are looking for it. The show ran for almost exactly five years, from 1990 to 1995, which coincidentally coincides with the period of time that I was most happiest in my life, and in fact the last time I was really happy.
The show was set in a fictional town called Cicely, Alaska. It would be hard to describe what made the show so special. I guess you'd just have to see it. Of course it had great writers. I'd literally find myself with my mouth hanging open after some of the episodes. What really made the show stand out was the casting. There were only four "name" stars- Janine Turner (Maggie), John Cullum (Holling), Rob Morrow (Joel) and Barry Corbin (Maurice). It relied mostly on lesser-known characters, and they even hired a few people who weren't actors, which lent it more authenticity as opposed to a typical show where you see the same faces doing different characters.
The show was so good that when they moved it to Monday night I gave up my lucrative Monday shifts at the crazy restaurant. Mondays were typically slow but we'd usually cut a couple of people and I'd end up being just as busy and making just as much money as a weekend night. Back then you couldn't record shows on your cable box. When Melissa started working Monday nights I got a VCR player and taped the shows, but that's another story.
What appealed to me was the sense that people wanted to start a different gig in life, away from "modern" society- the pioneering spirit and all. For the natives who lived there it was the only life they knew, but for the people who moved there it was a conscious decision to have something new, and hopefully better. In a way that made the show a bit like a Western or something. People were looking for something different, and they found it. Whatever combinations of things that made the show so special to me obviously affected me for life, because here I am a quarter-century after it ended, just now ordering it on DVD. I can't wait.
I could go on and on describing the wonderful characters, the amazing plots, all the things that made me say "Holy sh*t" and so forth but it wouldn't mean much if you never saw the show. I wish everyone could see it. It did sort of peter-out in the last season, and the shows didn't have quite the same magic. Joel, who was pretty much the main character, was basically replaced, and the dynamic between him and the rest of the characters was gone. It was still very much worth watching. I know that if people rediscovered this show it'd freak them out. Since the show didn't rely much on the technology of the day it had a timeless quality. I think almost anyone could fall in love with it like I did. If it weren't for copyright strikes and shit I'd start doing watch parties on YouTube and blow some people's minds.
Yes, we're going to be needing escapes, and I've found a damn good one. Not only will it be a great escape that I can totally immerse myself in but it'll take me back to a time in my life when I was happy. It's going to be great medicine. I just remembered that it was my dad who turned me onto the show. He'd recorded some of the shows on VCR. He gave me the tape and he told me he thought I'd really dig it. He was right, and that makes it even more special. Northern Exposure was the last of the great TV shows. If you never got a chance to see the show, come on over and we'll have us a watch party. Coffee and snacks are on me. No mask required.
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