Set in the fictional hamlet of Cicely, Alaska, this unique, contemporary-set, hour-long series was created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey, whose earlier brainchild, St. Elsewhere, had also become a surprise hit. Location shooting in and around the towns of Roslyn and Redmond, Washington, offered scenic panoramas invoking cultural images of unspoiled American frontier. Into this haven comes the proverbial “fish out of water,” Joel Fleischman (Morrow), compelled to serve as town doctor in order to repay the State of Alaska for his medical school tuition. His initial disdain for Cicely’s outwardly unsophisticated inhabitants is exceeded only by his desire to return to his beloved Big Apple where his ambition, cosmopolitan tastes, and Jewishness might have free reign.

The frontier theme is extended and personified in many of the town’s multicultural, multigenerational denizens. Former astronaut and wealthy entrepreneur Maurice Minnifield (Barry Corbin) is forever devising ways to exploit Cicely’s natural wonders. No-nonsense septuagenarian Ruth-Anne Miller (Peg Phillips) operates Cicely’s General Store, where Native American Ed Chigliak (Darren E. Burrows) helps out while aspiring to be a filmmaker and, eventually, a shaman. French-Canadian immigrant Holling Vincoeur (played by Broadway star John Cullum) owns and manages Cicely’s watering hole, The Brick. He is assisted by girlfriend-turned-wife Shelly Tambo (Cynthia Geary), an ex-beauty queen some 40 years his junior. Joel’s receptionist, Marilyn Whirlwind (Elaine Miles), orients her “boss,” a man of science, to her Native American customs and spirituality while keeping him in line with the slightest grimace or glare. Chris Stevens (John Corbett), ex-con and disk jockey for Cicely’s KBHR (“Kaybear”) radio, peppers the narrative with eclectic musical selections, self-taught philosophy, and Greek chorus-like commentary. Finally, Maggie O’Connell (Janine Turner), a local bush pilot and Joel’s landlady, engages him in a tangled romance reminiscent of 1930s and 1940s screwball comedy. When Joel exited the scene during the 1994–95 season, Dr. Phillip Capra (Paul Provenza) and his journalist-spouse Michelle (Teri Polo) were introduced.

It was around intermittent characters that some of Exposure’s most groundbreaking episodes and themes emerged. Chris’s African-American half-brother Bernard (Richard Cummings, Jr.) and Marilyn’s healer cousin Leonard Quinhagak, played by noted film actor Graham Greene (Dances With Wolves), deepened and enhanced the show’s representation of many cultures. Gender and sexuality were explored through Ron (Doug Ballard) and Erick (Don R. McManus), proprietors of the local inn, whose gay wedding was a prime-time first. Ron and Erick’s arrival also helped to provide a larger context within which to recollect the town’s founding by a lesbian couple, Roslyn and Cicely, later featured in a flashback episode. Eccentric bush couple Adam (Adam Arkin) and Eve (Valerie Mahaffey) allude to the ongoing battle of the sexes rendered center stage by Joel and Maggie, and, with their exaggerated back-to-nature facade and conspicuously consumptive habits, Adam and Eve poke light-hearted fun at Exposure’s “yuppie” audience.

The “fish out of water” narrative exemplified by Joel’s gradual softening toward Cicely, Cicelians, and small-town life is replicated again and again in episodes about visitors who give of themselves in some fashion while becoming enriched by their inter-actions with worldly wise, innately intelligent, and accepting locals. Humanity’s place within the larger natural environment is another significant thematic thread running through the program’s extended text. Behavior and temperament are often seen to be influenced by phenomena such as seasonal winds, Northern Lights, midnight sun, and ice breaking in springtime. The lesson is clear: nature tames human beings—not the other way around.

A cult favorite whose star rose along with that of the Internet, Northern Exposure inspired fan clubs, websites, and cyberspace bulletin boards—forums for spirited discussion by an international following. Although its network run was short-lived, the program lived on in syndication and clearly made its mark with innovative, postmodern storytelling, an eclectic musical soundtrack, and character-driven themes crystallizing new and ongoing debates about cultural values weighing heavily on a viewing public facing the uncertainty of a new millennium.