Northern Exposure

Michael Samuel is a lecturer in film and television studies at the University of Bristol. He has published widely in the areas of film, television, technology and video games in several books and peer-reviewed journals. He is the co-editor of a special edition of Critical Studies in Television dedicated to celebrating one hundred years of the BBC, as well as co-editor of Streaming and Screen Culture in the Asia-Pacific and True Detective: Critical Essays on the HBO Series.

In this entry in the Cultural History of Television series, Samuel takes a long look at Northern Exposure, a 1990s darling of both critics and viewers. Chapters highlight the show’s unusual development (originally titled Dr. Snow, it was conceived by the network as a medical drama), the unique goal of its creators, and the enormous real-world impact filming it had on the small town of Roslyn, Washington—the Cicely, Alaska, in which the show was allegedly set. Samuel also considers just how a cult hit is formed and endures while also discussing the almost mythic origins of several of Northern Exposure’s main characters. Fans will certainly find more than backstage nuggets here, and there is plenty on the performance history of the various cast members and how they were encouraged to shine in scripts that continually celebrated the weird, the wild, and the unexpected. With several appendices, including individual summaries of each episode, and a thorough bibliography, this title will enrich media, pop culture, and performing arts collections.

• Note to Reader Referencing AcknowledgementsPrologue: On a Personal NoteChapter 1: Roslyn Chapter 2: Paging “Dr. Snow”: Joshua Brand, John Falsey, and The Making of Northern Exposure Chapter 3: “The Paris Of The North”: The Characters, Setting And StoriesChapter 4: From Critically Acclaimed to CanceledChapter 5: Cultural LegacyEpilogueAppendix A: Episode SummariesAppendix B: Fan SurveyAppendix C: Books about Northern ExposureBibliography and FilmographyNotesIndexAbout the Author