The Good: Funny, Moments of charm and character, Decent acting, Interesting enough plot
The Bad: Concept gets stretched for a while.
The Basics: "Thanksgiving" is a surprisingly fun episode of Northern Exposure that lives up to the hype of the show being quirky and smart, funny and dramatic.
In the fourth season of Northern Exposure there are a few episodes that work and that I do enjoy enough to rewatch. One of the very few of those is "Thanksgiving," the annual episode focusing on, you guessed it, Thanksgiving. In truth, Northern Exposure (complete series reviewed here!) is one of two severe disappointments for me as a connoisseur of television shows on DVD. In my travels, I had heard much about how truly great Northern Exposure was and when I finally found it on DVD (and video), I found myself drastically underwhelmed.
However, since it is not a big special effects endeavor, when I encountered the VHS video of choice episodes, I have not minded spending on them. One such episode is "Thanksgiving" and that it managed to stand out in a season as poor as the fourth season of Northern Exposure is - in some ways - no surprise.
As Thanksgiving approaches in Cicely, Alaska, Dr. Joel Fleischman receives two bits of bad news: he is white and he is condemned to Cicely for an additional year over what he was originally contracted for. Being white is a problem in Cicely around Thanksgiving because the Native population launches tomatoes at the white folk as a kind of "f-you!" for past injustices (like taking their land). Fleischman's Jewish heritage becomes vocal as he declares to Marilyn that he is not white. Unfortunately for him, even after the locals stop lobbing tomatoes at him, his extended sentence in Cicely turns out to be ironclad and binding.
While Joel goes through his issues, Chris begins to feel some homesickness for prison when he finds the same beans they served there on the shelves at Ruth-Anne's store. While he reconciles his criminal past with his new philosophical nature, Mike finds himself plagues by yet another environmental anomaly and he considers moving away, which leaves Maggie feeling vulnerable and hurt.
"Thanksgiving" is what Northern Exposure was promised to me as; it is weird, funny, dramatic and compelling. The characters are vivid and border on absurd at times, yet they educate the viewer as well as enlighten them. Joel's comparison of the schtedls and concentration camps to the displacement of Native Americans and the reservation system is an interesting one. The scene where he labors to explain to Marilyn how he is not white and he identifies solely with his Jewish heritage is compelling. Moreover, that Marilyn accepts the explanation is equally intriguing.
The b-plot with Chris is funny for its absurdity and it comes in when the Joel plot begins to get heavy and he reverts to his usual state of whining and complaining. The scenes with Chris, then, take on a much more pleasant and rational tone, despite the fact that the character is pining for a return to prison. Amid the tomato throwing and Chris's acceptance of being pelted with tomatoes, Joel becomes obsessed with fighting the extension of his stay in Cicely.
This also leads to an intriguing scene between Joel and Mike Monroe. Mike has been getting closer and closer to Maggie and his character is essentially established through the absurd. He lives in a bubble; a sterile dome house away from everyone else and coming into contact with the real world as little as possible. While he does leave his bubble - thanks to Maurice's space suit - his character has traditionally been grounded firmly in the absurd.
"Thanksgiving," then, allows Mike to stretch into a much more real and interesting character. In addition to being severely compulsive and/or ridiculously sensitive to the environment around him, it turns out that Mike is a lawyer and a pretty genius one at that. Joel, who has been distant from Mike in no small part because of the relationship Mike has with Maggie, is forced to turn to the greatest legal mind in Cicely. Joel finds himself dismayed when it soon becomes clear that Mike will not be able to find a loophole because the contract has no loopholes.
Of course, the savvy television viewer will figure that the whole contractual issue is based on the real world anyway; Northern Exposure was something of a gamble. No one knew how it would be received and as a result, it started with the premise that Dr. Fleischman is condemned to Alaska for four years because the state paid for his education. Given that the show was such a success and Fleischman is the lead protagonist, something had to be done to keep him on for a fifth season, hence the letter Joel receives. Actually, the idea is clever; because the economy is stalling, Fleischman owes the state more in adjusted dollars, enough to keep him in Cicely for an additional year.
"Thanksgiving" manages to be funny and heartwarming at the same time as well as being both quirky and somewhat educational. Despite the character reverting some, Rob Morrow's performance as Dr. Fleischman is surprisingly diverse over the course of the entire episode. Usually, Morrow is forced to play Fleischman as either arrogant and condescending OR wounded and real. In "Thanksgiving," Morrow is forced to play him at both extremes and the result is that the viewer is treated to acting that covers a great deal of emotional terrain. Morrow does it beautifully.
But it is John Corbett who steals every scene of the episode that he is in. Corbett plays Chris Stevens and while he usually plays Chris as a quiet, philosophical guy, in "Thanksgiving," he infuses the character with a deep and nagging tug from his past and the sense that Chris actually has some torment under the surface. Corbett plays that with a very subtle quietness that comes from playing out the beats a little longer than he usually does and it works perfectly to clue the viewer in to how there is something different from Chris's usual philosophical nature. Here, Corbett infuses an undertone of melancholy and it is masterful.
Who is likely to enjoy "Thanksgiving?" Even those who are not traditionally drawn to Northern Exposure are likely to enjoy this episode. Anyone who likes a decent mix of drama and humor will like "Thanksgiving" as it delves quite well into both the character-driven drama and the plot absurdities needed to make for an entertaining hour of television.
[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 middle season by clicking here!
Thanks!]
8.5/10
For other television program reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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