The Good: Decent acting, Interesting plot, Good character development, Funny and weird
The Bad: Strangely predictable in many ways
The Basics: When Fleischman finds himself in the company of the mysterious Adam and Chris finds himself in the company of a mysterious stranger, Northern Exposure gets a great episode!
Some people saw it, I suppose, the potential within Northern Exposure. Honestly, I didn't. When I started picking up the VHS tapes and the DVDs, the appeal of the program was pretty much lost on me. I had been told it was quirky and different and instead, I found it to be surprisingly typical and remarkably average. That feeling persisted until I hit the final episode of the first season. Despite the overwhelming development of a sexual chemistry between the two main characters preoccupying the first few episodes, the season ends on a genuine high note with "Aurora Borealis: A Fairy Tale For Big People."
Chris, the local d.j. in Cicely, Alaska, has been slacking some with his duties as local entertainer and informer because he has become preoccupied with the massive sculpture he is creating on the beach near the lake where he lives. The size and scale of the project begins to impress even Maurice and while the townfolk wait for Chris to complete it, a mysterious man drives into Cicely on a motorcycle and it becomes instantly apparent he and Chris have a deep connection.
While Chris works on his art and meets with his newly discovered half-brother, Joel is compelled to journey into the wild to give a lonely forest fire ranger a physical. After being teased about the existence of a bigfoot neanderthal man named Adam living in the remote area he will be visiting, Fleischman finds himself out of gas and at the mercy of the real Adam, who is quite different from what everyone thinks!
Right off the bat, it's worth noting that I like "Aurora Borealis: A Fairly Tale For Big People" and part of the reason is that I see its influence now in some other works I've loved for years. There are elements of the Adam storyline that seem like they might have influenced one of my favorite films, The Spitfire Grill (reviewed here!) and after a season of dragging out the not-romance of O'Connell and Fleischman, it's refreshing to see how quickly the relationship between Chris and Bernard is developed.
Perhaps the reason I enjoy this episode so much is that it takes the time to explore some of the other characters and does it quite well. Moreover, when Joel encounters Adam, he is legitimately surprised by what it all means and the skills Adam possesses. As a result, Joel loosens up and we see what he might have been like in his native element. So, unlike the character who has been whining constantly almost since the beginning of the "Pilot" (reviewed here!), here he is articulate and, for lack of a better term, alive. For the first time since the series began, Fleischman appears as a man who wouldn't be so bad to sit and have a meal with.
"Aurora Borealis: A Fairy Tale For Big People" trades on the surreal, most notably with the dreams Chris experiences and the way he and Bernard interact from almost the first moment they meet. This is one of the advantages of having the video (or DVD) where the title is clearly visible. This episode is, in many ways, a fairy tale and as a result, there are certain conceits that are used to sell the extraordinary plot and the simplifications of some of the resolutions. It also lends an ambiguous quality to the episode that forces the attentive viewer to wonder what it truly real. Both Chris and Joel end up in bizarre circumstances and Northern Exposure is not above doing elaborate dream sequences or reality-bending episodes. Fortunately for those who stick with this series, both Adam and Bernard resurface, so this episode becomes essential to the big picture of the series.
Actually, if I had to sell anyone on Northern Exposure, I would recommend picking up this episode and then jumping ahead to Northern Exposure - The Complete Third Season. It's just better that way: you get the meat of the series without the fat.
And "Aurora Borealis: A Fairy Tale For Big People" certainly is meaty, especially on the character and acting fronts. Fleischman, always an outsider in Cicely, comes to learn about another outsider, literally outside Cicely. Despite his appearance, Joel comes to understand that he and Adam share some genuine passions for some of the same things and in the process, the viewer comes to understand more about Joel and who he is at his core.
But the episode's focus is very much more on Chris and Bernard. Chris has been portrayed in the series as a somewhat-liberal, spiritually-connected guy who is remarkably laid back. It seems natural then that he would come to so easily accept that Bernard is his half-brother and that his father was living two lives. Moreover, coming to understand this through the use of his dreams - dreams he and Bernard seem to share - makes perfect sense for his character. Seeing the execution of a storyline where Chris's belief system (i.e. in psychology and dreams and liberal-thinking) actively guides the plot and is fully realized makes his character (and by extension Bernard) that much more real.
Part of what sells it all is the quality of the acting. While Rob Morrow is given a new performer to play off of when Adam Arkin appears as Adam, it is Arkin who steals every scene he is in. The usually even-tempered Arkin gives a performance laced with hostility and frustration without ever diminishing his underlying sense of articulation. He manages to be both brutish and classy at the same time and that's a difficult role to take effectively from the script page into real life and sell it. But Arkin does, with distinction.
Guest actor Richard Cummings Jr. makes an impression as well as Bernard Stevens, a character much more grounded in reality than Chris. Yet, his character has dropped everything, bought a hog and driven off into Alaska. Cummings plays Bernard as levelheaded and cool. He might not be the most unique character - though as a black character in an Alaskan town of 500, he instantly has a unique quality! - but he's interesting enough for the viewer to be engaged by him and Cummings ought to be credited for some of that. He plays the coming to understanding that Bernard goes through slowly, with a decent realism.
But it is John Corbett who carries much of the episode as Chris. This is the first genuine episode that gives Chris a chance to shine and the character comes into his own. But Corbett does as well, infusing a serious undertone to the laid-back character he has been playing for only seven episodes before this one. Corbett is careful to not allow Chris to appear at all flaky, even as he leaps on his artwork over his paid job. It, like Arkin's performance, is one that takes what is written somewhat problematically on the page and transforms it into gold on the screen.
And it's refreshing to see a fairy tale for big people that isn't just dumb or oversimplified! Instead, the writers and directors make a generally adult story which results in the first truly worthwhile episode of this otherwise overrated series!
[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Northern Exposure - The Complete First Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the premiere season by clicking here!
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8.5/10
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© 2011, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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