The Good: Decent character work, Decent acting
The Bad: Light on plot, Some quirky for the sake of quirky.
The Basics: "Northern Lights" casts Cicely in darkness and gives Joel a chance to whine and Maurice a chance to learn another valuable lesson.
I know I am in the minority in being lukewarm on the television series Northern Exposure. I know a lot of people think it is one of the funniest, weirdest shows ever to grace television's airwaves, but as someone who got into television-watching with Ally McBeal, it's hard to see why Northern Exposure is considered so groundbreaking. After all, I can see the merit in Twin Peaks (reviewed here!) and I can see how that paved the way for shows like Northern Exposure and Ally McBeal, but on its own, Northern Exposure seems much more the fizzle than the bang.
I mention this before reviewing the Northern Exposure episode "Northern Lights" because while I like this episode just fine, I do not think that it is the perfect episode some reviewers have considered it to be. Indeed, within the context of the series, "Northern Lights" might suffer a little more than the average Northern Exposure episode for the simple fact that virtually everything in the episode has been done in a prior episode. Or, at least the inverse of what has been done before is in this episode . . .
Unlike the many episodes involving the unending sunlight in Alaska, Cicely is cast into darkness for days on end and its residents begin to go somewhat batty. Joel throws a fit over losing his Caribbean vacation, an event he has been looking forward to for quite some time. He is threatened with legal action by the citizens of Cicely, who maneuver Mike Monroe into taking the doctor out when Joel stages a strike for being denied his vacation.
While Joel does his pretty typical thing, Maurice discovers the local homeless man in Cicely is actually an ex-marine and he does his best to take him in and make sure the man is provided for. Of course, pride of a marine being what it is, this does not go quite the way he planned. As well, Chris is stuck with the visual artist's equivalent of writer's block and Holling goes into hibernation to survive the dark night. Maggie, for her part, begins looking into advancing her relationship with Mike, a huge step for her, Mike, and - of course - Joel.
"Northern Lights" plays on the tired and equally true idea that the weather in Alaska has a profound impact on the citizens there. Often in this series, that takes the form of the unending sunlight, as it did in an earlier fourth season episode where Joel takes over the basketball team. This is a pretty standard conceit on Northern Exposure and while it is good, it is by no means original on this series. In fact, it seems every season there is either the sunlight episode or the waiting for the thaw from the long winter, etc. The whole long dark idea is hardly a new one or an exciting premise.
Perhaps the only real benefit of this "weather of the season" episode of Northern Exposure is that it gives a good excuse for Chris's brother Bernard to make an appearance. As Chris wigs out into his art, Bernard takes on some of the responsibilities at the radio station. In "Northern Lights," the viewer begins to see that (perhaps) Bernard is just about as crazy and wonderfully weird as Chris is. Bernard has the same easygoing mannerisms, but he has - traditionally - been more grounded in reality and numbers than his half-brother.
What "Northern Lights" does least effectively as it tries to present itself as a new episode is make the viewer think they are watching anything truly original about the characters in Cicely. Much of the episode is dominated by the Joel plotline and the truth is, anyone who does not get by now that Joel will whine and complain about any setback to his plan to getting back to New York City to practice medicine is either not awake or completely dense. Joel does this. All of the time. He is a pathological complainer and by this episode, fairly late in the fourth season, it would be nice to see some growth from him. Instead, we get more of the same. Neurotic doctor is entertaining for a while, but after seeing glimpses of what he could be, this is just flat-out disappointing that he does not grow. Watching Fleischman complain throughout this episode, the viewer just wants to scream, "Grow up already!"
The only Joel-related aspect of the episode that works is that it effectively delays the inevitable hooking up between Joel and Maggie. As Maggie debates the merits and potential dangers of having sex with Mike Monroe, she and Joel come to understand more about themselves and their hot and cold relationship. This is almost enough; it is something so delayed because in the season premiere, it seemed like that relationship would actually get going that now it is just annoying that it is being delayed, though this episode does that pretty effectively.
The character aspect that works the best in this episode is the arc involving Maurice. Minnifield is often treated as the arch-conservative and something of a whack as a result. His initial outrage over Cicely having a homeless man quickly subsides to the Valuable Lesson Maurice Learns. The problem here is that Maurice is pretty consistently learning the Valuable Lesson Of The Week and at some point, it would be nice to see him be ahead of the curve of racism, homophobia or flat-out classism. "Northern Lights" is not the episode where he achieves any real sense of enlightenment, but at least his character works in this episode.
Part of this is because Barry Corbin, who plays Maurice, does a great job in this episode. Corbin is able to play Maurice as ignorant, but less boorish to begin with, making his character's journey make more sense. And while the plot fix might be a little obvious, Corbin makes it seem fairly original as Maurice struggles with the state of the veteran. He loosens his body language some throughout the episode, visually indicating how Maurice is becoming less rigid and that works.
But the one who steals every scene he is in is Richard Cummings, Jr., who plays Bernard. Cummings has an awesome ability to deliver some of the most extreme and quirky lines and make them seem perfectly reasonable and sensible. He makes the episode fun where it could otherwise just be yet another Northern Exposure morality tale.
On the balance, there is enough here for anyone who likes a good dramedy to appreciate, but fans of the series are likely to get a bit more out of the episode than those who are not already sold on the series. It's good, but not knock-your-socks off good and certainly not a great episode of the series.
[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Northern Exposure - The Complete Fourth Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the last worthwhile season by clicking here!
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6/10
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© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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