(Season 1, Episodes 5-8)
Okay, so I’m through the first (and very brief) season of Northern Exposure and I am not blown away with the show. It is definitely growing on me, though, I’ll give it that. A lot of the issues that I talked about in my earlier reviews seem to have dwindled. Joel is nowhere near as annoying as he was in the pilot and first few episodes. A lot of the supporting characters have taken more prominent roles, which I enjoy. Overall, I can see the appeal.
My one real complaint is that I was expecting a much more serial type of storytelling in the show. Perhaps that will come a little later. As the show premiered over the summer with a very short season, I wonder if the writers were trying to keep everything super accessible for new viewers; trying to drum up interest. If that’s the case, it worked. The episodes, for the most part, seem very self contained.
For example, in this block of episodes Chris agrees to become Maurice’s heir. Clearly, it was a relationship that was doomed to fail, but I would have enjoyed watching it develop and fall apart over a number of episodes. Instead, it was one and done. Ditto for the finale in which Chris meets his long lost half brother over very curious circumstances. Perhaps Bernard will make a return to Cicely before the end of the series, but I was a little sad to see him go at the end of the episode.
One storyline that is continuing through the series is the relationship between Maggie and Joel. At this point it is still more adversarial than anything else, but when characters yell at each other that much, it’s only a matter of time before they start making out. It’s the way television works. I guess I’ll find out just how long it is going to take….
The show really started bringing out some of the quirky storytelling in the last half of the season. It was fun to watch the bizarre dreams (one was even an homage to Twin Peaks) and fantasy sequences. Ed’s daydreams where he placed the characters of the show into popular movies was great. Chris as Indiana Jones was a nice touch.
And with that, I’m on to season two!
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Jun 29, 2010 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
