Michael Samuel - Northern Exposure: A Cultural History

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Lanham Boulder New York London

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Samuel, Michael, author.

Title: Northern exposure : a cultural history / Michael Samuel.

Description: Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2021] | Series: The cultural history of television | Includes bibliographical references, filmography, and index. | Summary: This book revisits and celebrates the cultural legacy of the cult television series Northern Exposure. With a focus on its production history, fan culture, and individual episodes, it reveals the shows profound influence and argues its status as the prototype contemporary television seriesProvided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021013139 (print) | LCCN 2021013140 (ebook) | ISBN 9781538117446 (cloth) | ISBN 9781538117453 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Northern exposure (Television program) | Television comediesUnited StatesHistory and criticism. | Medical television programsUnited StatesHistory and criticism. | TelevisionProduction and directionUnited States. | AlaskaOn television.

Classification: LCC PN1992.77.N67 S26 2021 (print) | LCC PN1992.77.N67 (ebook) | DDC 791.45/72dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021013139

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021013140

TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

This book assumes that you have watched the series Northern Exposure, which ran on CBS in the United States between 1990 and 1995. It will therefore not only contain spoilers but will take certain liberties in its overall structure and flow. While this book mostly follows a logical order, from Northern Exposures conception to its legacy, at times it will jump forward and backward as it explores the many facets of this 1990s cult television series. Like a torrent, let it wash over you. Northern Exposure is a state of mind.

* * *

When referencing quotes from characters, or overall episodes of Northern Exposure, this book will include information in an endnote. These notes will include the characters name (if relevant), along with the episode title, the number of the season, the number of the episode, and the date it was originally broadcast in the United States. All details related to all episodes of the series can be found in appendix A, Episode Summaries, in the latter half of the book.

Sometimes it is hard to know for whom a book about a thirty-year-old television series is written. At the start of this journey, the question came up a number of times. However, during the process of writing this book, it became overwhelmingly clear. A television series like Northern Exposure is kept alive by its fans, who, with each passing year, sustain its memory and embrace its message and philosophy. In our conversations, online and in person, you, the fans, have been more than generous to me. Therefore, I would like to dedicate my first acknowledgment to you, my fellow Ciceleans.

Though we never met, I would like to personally acknowledge an incredible debt to the late John Falsey, who sadly passed in January 2019. Along with his longtime collaborator Joshua Brand, Falsey pioneered this wonderful television series and many others that continue to be widely celebrated and valued. Falseys contribution to television is profound. Through his work, and through the extensive community that Northern Exposure has fostered, Falsey will be fondly remembered. Thank you.

I could never have completed this project without the continued friendship, interest, and encouragement offered by a select group of people. They include Daniel Harris, Agata Frymus, Daniel Clarke, Rob Stone, Esther Santamara, Travis Wicklund, Josette Wolthuis, Stephanie Prugh, Luis Friejo, Will Carroll, Darran Patton, Todd Sodano, Christopher Whitehouse, David Forrest, Paul Cooke, Rachel Moseley, Helen Wheatley, Karl Schoonover, Jos Arroyo, Tracey McVey, Richard Wallace, Leanne Weston, and all the students I had the pleasure of teaching and exploring television with at the University of Bristol, the University of Warwick, the University of Birmingham (B-Film), Royal Holloway University of London, and the City University of New York (CUNY).

I would like to acknowledge the collective efforts of the team at Rowman & Littlefield for their efforts in bringing this book to print.

I would like to give special credit to my friend and mentor, Scott F. Stoddart, whose years of kindness and support have not only inspired my work but profoundly shaped me as a scholar and as a person.

Likewise, I would also like to extend special thanks to Louisa Mitchell for her friendship and for her editorial work on this project.

I would like to recognize the encouragement and generosity of my ever growing family, Steven, Simeon, Sarah, Rachael, Ryan, Ellie, John, Pauline, David, and Chioma (and all pets), to whom I owe a great debt of gratitude. And lastly, I must acknowledge the inspiration, support, and love of Julia Tanner. In return, you have my love and respect.

On a Personal Note

Throughout the 1990s, each night our family home in the quiet excoal mining town of Treharris in South Wales became an extension of America. With the late arrival and repeat broadcasts of imported American television series onto our small screens, our living room became a Boston tavern with Cheers, a Chicago emergency room with ER, a Seattle radio station with Frasier, a West Village apartment with Friends, the fictional any town of Springfield with The Simpsons, a California high school above a demonic gateway with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the Oval Office with The West Wing