Monday, September 11, 2006

A Little Northern Exposure


N and I have been watching DVDs of Northern Exposure that we ordered from Hs' DVD club. I was surprised that they have stood the test of time and are not too dated and I was also surprised that N who is almost 14 has really got into watching it too. I first watched the series when N was about 3 or 4, they used to show it late at night on channel 4, and they must have been re-runs then as it was filmed in the very early 90s. For those of you who don't remember it Northern Exposure is an American semi comedy series set in Alaska, The main character Joel is a Jewish doctor from New York who finds himself posted there after the Alaskan government pays for his medical training.

It is so much more than that though, with a cast of intriguing characters including a retired astronaut, a female pilot, an ex beauty queen, an aspiring fim maker, a spiritual dj and Marilyn Joels self apponted and extremely wise receptionist. What is great is that there is a real mix of characters and races, a large number of the cast are native americans. But the things that really steal the show apart from all that are the stunning Alaskan countryside and the music. Although I did read that on some of the later series they have changed the music on some of the dvds which I hope won't detract too much from our enjoyment - as the music was always an integral part of the plot.

This is a series that has dated quite well and I couldn't help feeling that if they showed it on UK tv today it would be more popular than when it was originally broadcast as I think that it was quite ahead of it's time.

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