MovieChat Forums > Northern Exposure (1990) Discussion > Silly storylines

Silly storylines

posted 8 years ago by MrKevinAmold
12 replies | jump to latest

Whilst NX is without doubt one of the best and classiest series ever made, there were often some silly storylines - some of which were downright annoying.

Off the top of my head, the episode where Chris loses his voice to beauty. I find The One Who Waits more plausible than Chris suddenly rendered mute by a woman. Although I actually enjoyed Holling as a clueless stand in DJ.

And pretty much any episode involving Mike Monroe - The Bubble Man or Marilyn's tacit travelling entertainer boyfriend Enrico Bellati.

[–] cind5 8 years ago

Chris and Maggie hooking up.
Anything with the new doctor.
Joel living in the wilderness.
Shelly constantly singing.

Spenser with an "S", like the poet.

[–] J-Street1 8 years ago

Chris and Maggie hooking up.
Anything with the new doctor.
Joel living in the wilderness.
Shelly constantly singing.

👍

[–] HiFiAudioGuy 8 years ago

Joel going even further into exile was one of the best and unexpected ideas they came up with on the show. And for that reason, I'm glad Morrow left the show because it he hadn't, it probably wouldn't have happened.

[–] Punctuality 8 years ago

Jules et Joel

[–] ClementinaSpur (1267) 6 months ago

Agree, although I was surprised to hear Rob Morrow say in a fairly recent interview (2020) that this episode is one of his favorites. I'm thinking he liked it because it allowed him to step outside Joel and play his opposite.

The head bump that put him into the dream in this episode was way too close to the severe head bump Eve gave him with the cast iron pan in the first episode of Season 3. The writers probably forgot.

[–] giadapazazz 8 years ago

Brett/Falsey, creators/writers left after the 3rd or 4th season.

I appreciate at anytime when creators feel better to leave than to prolong the agony through filler episodes.

Sopranos, BB, Mash, Boston Legal, etc., have all produced beyond the point of no return and less enjoyment.

The Newsroom, three seasons and over. Fargo, series beginning to end, s/l wrapped in one season.

Very few eps with Shelley/Holling were memorable, (Grandpa and the Airhead).

[–] tomkaren1994 8 years ago

Most awful story line ideas:

Shelley singing.
Astroturf golf course.
Maurice ending up with Barbara Semanski.
The circus-troupe episodes.
The Adam Ant episode.
Tomato throwing.
Sleep-flying.
Wheelchair race.
Chris's ventriloquism dummy.
All the episodes after mid-season 5.

[–] cind5 8 years ago

I like the Maurice and Barbara story line. I think the actress who plays her was terrific. That's the kind of woman Maurice needs, someone who won't let him get away with any of his B.S.
Now I haven't watched NX in a couple of years, I forgot your last 3

Sleep-flying.
Wheelchair race.
Chris's ventriloquism dummy

Could you please re-jog my memory. I do have to admit that Chris one does sound stupid.

Spenser with an "S", like the poet.

[–] NYG11 8 years ago

100% agree with any episode involving Mike Monroe being hard to watch. Hated that whole storyline. And basically everything after Joel left. His departure should have been the final episode!

[–] ClementinaSpur (1267) 6 months ago

And basically everything after Joel left. His departure should have been the final episode!

I absolutely 100% agree with this. I also think Maggie should've gone with him to NYC. Suddenly being thrown together with Chris was weird and awkward. As much as they fought and antagonized each other, Joel and Maggie should've absolutely been together.

Back to Chris. I do wonder if the writers entertained the thought of pairing him with Maggie a lot sooner than the final episode of the series. I was watching the Slow Dance episode a few days ago (one of my absolute favorites). At the end when Joel announces to the whole bar his support of Maggie at a very emotionally low point for her after Rick's death, and then entices her to dance with him to the fantastic Etta James song "At Last," Chris can be seen off in the distance staring at them dancing. I swear he has a look of longing on his face. This makes me wonder if he carried a torch for Maggie.

[–] roger1 (3834) 3 months ago

Shelley singing.
The circus-troupe episodes.
The Adam Ant episode.
Tomato throwing.
Sleep-flying.
Wheelchair race.
Chris's ventriloquism dummy.

"And pretty much any episode involving Mike Monroe - The Bubble Man or Marilyn's tacit travelling entertainer boyfriend Enrico Bellati."

--

Having recently binged all seasons of Northern Exposure, I found myself in a weird place:

I agree that all the story lines above(I plucked them out of other posts) were very irritating to me(if "inspired" and "whimsical" to the showrunners and writers.)

The "silent" circus guy combined the best aggravations of mime and overemoting (the guy who played him -- Bill Irwin -- was beloved in some circles and much promoted at the time -- but DEFINITELY not my type of entertainer.)

And the Bubble Guy -- played by Anthony Edwards just before his big breakthrough on ER -- seemed to be a split decision: was he NOT insane with his over-protective but scientific approach to his own well being? Was NOT his final(blessed) departure from Cicely to go "do good" with Greenpeace not rather a parody of the "narcissistic do-gooder" for whom it is "all about him"? (That Maggie fell for this guy dropped her a few points in my estimation.)

But its like the show simply absorbed those storylines and characters and dispelled them. If you waited long enough( a LONG time for the Bubble Guy, I'll admit)...they eventually went away.

CONT

[–] roger1 (3834) 3 months ago

And there was some "good solid enjoyable" work done by the actors playing Maurice and Chris and Marilyn and Peg and ...especially Joel(the star of the show and the lead of the series, after all.) Maggie was interesting -- a beauty done up with a little boy's haircut and a ventriloquist's dummy face for early episodes(perhaps to curtail a chance of romance with Joel) suddenly given long hair and glamour in the final stretch. But kind of a nitwit, for all her self-relieance. Fell for the Bubble Man?

"Chris the philosophical hunk" hanging around the edges always struck me as a way to provide "back up if Rob Morrow left the show" -- which he was always threatening to do in real life, ala Shelly Long and David Caruso.

AND:

Maurice ending up with Barbara Semanski.

---

No I didn't buy it either. Not only was the character "unforgiving and humorless" in her constant over-pushing of her law enforcement credentials( a bit of a mini-fascist)...but let's face it...Maurice was a VERY rich, VERY famous ex-astronaut, pilot and war hero, and in real life, Maurice could have cashed in on one, two, three, four super-young, supergorgeous wives and/or girlfriends. In real life, once women like found out where Maurice lived...they'd beat a track to his door.

The actress who played Barbara rather "milked" her non-glamourous looks in things like LA Law and the movie The Ladykillers(a character called "Mountain Girl") and here. I'm glad she found employment (for decades in TV by the looks of it) but I didn't enjoy much watching her schtick.

And I'm sure Maurice could have -- and WOULD have -- done better in real life. OK -- maybe NOT supermodel types(if that wasn't Maurice's type -- but wait -- Shelly?) but somewhat better. And yes, we get to judge people's looks out here for characters. THEY take the roles and get paid big bucks. WE watch.