The Good: Concept, Some of the acting, Moments of humor
The Bad: Holling's story is belabored, Silly, Surprisingly unoriginal, Overall tone
The Basics: In the days before Spring, the men of Cicely go crazy, picking fights, falling in love and becoming kleptomaniacs in a surprisingly disappointing episode.
Those who follow my reviews might know that Northern Exposure was a television series that it took me quite a bit to get into. Unlike most people who praise it for its quirkiness and originality, I find it to be remarkably dated and somewhat predictable. In its first two seasons, it retread itself and material it had already covered a disturbing amount considering that the seasons were only eight episodes long! In the third season, it hit a new stride and I enjoyed that. Unfortunately for "Spring Break," it falls within the second season and it suffers many of the problems and conceits of the second season.
As the last days of winter fall and the citizens of Cicely, Alaska await the arrival of Spring. This leads most of the residents to a communal form of stress which causes them to act out and act in uncharacteristic fashions. The mild-mannered Holling picks fights with whomever comes into the tavern, someone in town begins stealing radios from all over - including cars - and Maurice suddenly becomes affectionate. Meanwhile, Dr. Joel Fleischman becomes sexually frustrated beyond all reason or belief.
The situations all come to a head, with Holling preparing to box Minnifield's new Trooper love interest and Joel deciding to participate in the running of the bulls, wherein all the men of Cicely run through the streets . . . with a catch. And Ed plays detective to hunt down the radio thief who turns out to be someone few would suspect!
"Spring Break" is not a bad episode of Northern Exposure, but it is stiflingly average television. Instead of being truly original, it is often just silly and that tone does not work so well for this particular series. Northern Exposure works best when it is being ironic and insightful, not when it is being over-the-top silly with shades of ridiculous.
As a result, none of the regular characters are well-represented in this outing. Holling, who is usually evolved and subtle is a punchline who angry goading of customers makes him seem barbaric. This simply does not work for the character. Holling is fine and realistic when he is testy and actor John Cullum does an excellent job of keeping Holling edgy on the few occasions he reveals a temper. But in this episode, the script forces Cullum over the edge of good taste and into the banal and predictable as he becomes a ludicrous bully.
Fleischman does his usual complaining schtick and here the result is just plain annoying. Sometimes he has a point or there's some way that his discomfort with Cicely is amusing or poignant, in "Spring Break," he's just an annoyance and his part does not advance his character well.
And while Maurice has some interesting moments as the love-struck Maurice, the side of him revealed by his attentions to Officer Barbara Semanski is not as new as writer David Assael would like the viewer to believe. After all, when the show began (pilot episode reviewed here), Minnifield was still carrying a grudge against Holling who had "stolen" Shelly away from him. Thus, from day one the viewer has known that Maurice has the ability to love and be powerfully smitten. So, watching him moon over Semanski only makes explicit what was cleverly implicit before. His character does not suffer much as a result, but it does leave the viewer feeling a little cheated. Minnifield is quirky in his way as the conservative icon of Cicely and while this puts some chinks in his emotional armor, it still manages to work.
This may be because actor Barry Corbin is teamed up with the scene stealing Diane Delano. Delano, I recognized from the absolutely terrible remake of The Wicker Man (reviewed here!) but here she is great. Delano is understated and watchable as the gruff, efficient Officer Semanski. Semanski is portrayed as a feminine Minnifield and that works perfectly to establish her within the series. Delano's performance includes some of the same quirks and eye motions that define Minnifield's somewhat suspicious and conniving nature and that level of detail in the performance makes the viewer covet her return. But equally important, Delano and Corbin have wonderful on-screen chemistry. They play off one another expertly and the budding relationship for their characters works as a result.
But in the end, the fundamental problem with "Spring Break" is it's a one-line plot stretched into a forty-eight minute episode. "The men in Cicely go a bit nuts waiting for Spring." The episode does not ever become much more than that. Sure, there's a charming bit of dialogue between Ruth-Anne and Fleischman about erotic magazines, but the episode simply does not pop.
And outside the performance by guest star Diane Delano, the acting does not pop. The performers end up either going through the motions or playing at being a parody of their characters - as Cullum does with Holling. The result is an episode that underperforms and leaves the viewer ultimately disappointed, despite the being the first appearance of a new, memorable recurring character.
[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Northern Exposure - The Complete Second 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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5/10
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© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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