To help pass the winter days I am continuing to rewatch 90s-era TV gem Northern Exposure—though in truth, it was almost 50 degrees here in upstate New York yesterday. Still, even Cicely, Alaska, had a warm spell or two.
Episode #2 is a really good example of why the show was so damn good. The first word that comes to mind is “skillful.”
The second episode is a master class in three-act writing, and perfectly follows the old adage of “beginning, muddle, end.” The main plot line focuses on Fleischman’s efforts to convince an Indian healer to avail himself of western medicine when the man develops prostate cancer.
What makes the episode so good—structurally—is how the main storyline and multiple subplots all revolve around the idea of Pride and that it can cloud our judgement and separate us from others. The entire episode is well-written, directed and acted. There is little superfluous. The creative skill to produce this episode is apparent throughout the entire 45 minutes.
It includes some excellent dialogue, including a nice Abbott & Costello nod in the scene where Ed is explaining to Fleischman the problem with his sick relative:
Ed: “My uncle wont come in.”
Fleischman: “Your uncle. Oh, right, why? He doesn’t like doctors?
Ed: “He doesn’t trust them.”
Fleischman: “Why is that?”
Ed: “He is a doctor.”
Fleischman: “Oh really? Which kind?”
Ed: “Witch.”
Fleischman: “Which which?”
Ed: “Which what?”
Fleischman: “Which doctor?”
Ed: “Right.”
Fleischman: “Your uncle is a witch doctor?”
Ed: “More like a medicine man.”
Fleischman: “No kidding. Well, I’d love to catch his act sometime.”
There are three storylines in this episode. The arc with Fleischman, Ed and his Uncle Anku (the medicine man) helps direct everything else. There is also a light-hearted line involving Fleischman and Maggie, his plumbing woes and her bad knee; and finally there is the most interesting and problematic, involving the local radio station disc jockey.
In episode 2 we are introduced to Chris Stevens, played John Corbett. Often referred to by fans as “Chris in the Morning,” his DJ moniker, Chris goes on to be the the voice and soul of Northern Exposure. He embodies intellectual curiosity and openness, and his on-air monologues are a useful tool for the show’s writers to advance ideas directly.
In this episode, Chris is fired by Maurice (owner of the radio station, and the town’s wealthy founder) for discussing with listeners the fact that Walt Whitman was either gay or bisexual. Chris has had a troubled past, including lengthy stints in jail, and so we’re introduced to the conflict when he recounts learning of Whitman’s sexuality while incarcerated:
“That Whitman, that great bear of a man, enjoyed the pleasures of other men, came as a great surprise to me and made me reconsider the queers that I had previously kicked around.”
Maurice fires Chris because, in Maurice’s mind this is disparaging to Whitman. Ultimately, Maurice describes his conflict this way:
“We need our heroes. We need men when can look up to. Believe in. Men who walk tall. We cannot chop them off at the knees, just to prove they’re like the rest of us. Now, Walt Whitman was a pervert, but he was the best poet that America ever produced. And if he was standing here today, and somebody called him a ‘fruit’ or a ‘queer,’ behind his back or to his face or over these airwaves, that person would have to answer to me.”
Maurice is often used by Northern Exposure writers to present the dangers of unconscious thought. In this instance, he clearly respects Whitman and loves his work—but can’t separate out or address his wrong belief that being gay is shameful.
Chris, to bring the show to a close, apologizes to Maurice and gets his job back.
Chris’ apology does note that Maurice has a “shallow” mind. But it is left to the viewer to understand that Maurice is wrong.
Northern Exposure was on the air a quarter century before Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court case which affirmed same-sex couples have the right to marry. And a close watch of the show doesn’t validate Maurice’s bigotry (and in fact, it is confronted often in ways subtle and overt). But the apology and the subtlety would almost certainly be handled differently if the show were written today.
Northern Exposure rarely described anything in purely good-bad terms. It went deeper, looking for the complexity of human nature. Maurice (who is an ex-astronaut and often used to embody the supposed American ethos) is rich territory for this.
Whitman was a staple of Northern Exposure, often referenced. In this instance, maybe Maurice is best summed up by this quote attributed to the poet: “I am as bad as the worst, but, thank God, I am as good as the best.”
