Democracy in America

Would that the world could be so simple. All the things we were taught in Civics seem to be tested daily. Chris is a spokesperson for that flowery stuff of textbooks. Right now our politicians have forsaken what was once accepted as total truth. Or was it? We have little of that constitutional cleanliness that was promised us as children (like three government entities balancing each other out). But ultimately, we go to the polls. Right? Of course, there may be guys with AK47's standing a few feet from the door, or closed doors where open ones once were. Oh wait. That has been the way it is for a century or more. It's just more obvious. So before buying into Chris's ongoing reverie, let's at least take that grain of salt. In Cicely we have an election that runs smoothly (sort of), but the motives of one of the candidate are selfish. Not one of the better episodes.

Maybe the writers were getting fed up with writing when they strained out this episode, but I think the actors must have hated it as much as I do. It offers nothing. (Okay. There is one saving grace, but it is so quick that Maurice's epiphany is almost lost). Even the music is bad - although I do not own this on VHS, but have the DVD, but the DVD transfer (with the substituted music - cheap bastids unwillings to pay ASCAP/BMI fees), has, of all things the Shaker song, 'Simple Gifts' as part of the polling place sequence.

It is as though the writers, *yes, you, Mr. Brand, et al), used their original conceptual character draft and stuck solely to those brief outlines of "type."

I find it hard to believe that the creators of 'Northern Exposure', wrote other than from some "cosmic=level" force, because the conceptualization and execution of this series seems to be so far above what the human imagination can conceive, and then put into action, is astonishing. (I know that when I paint, for example, it is not "of" me).

Not to sound like 'Chris', (who, starting with this episode becomes unbeatably prominent), but I've listened to the interviews with the writers and cannot believe otherwise; there isn't the remotest suggestion that these are people you would even want to have coffee with.

The episode is flat. It is annoying. It should have stayed in the can until the writers felt they could do justice to the theme.

Having found this old gem in 2023 I can't help but applaud the way creators of this show navigated some touchy subjects. Show runners today can take a page from their book on how to present and educate their audience without being preachy or appearing biased.

The show has an air of maturity and wisdom about it which we can hardly find these days.

From all the episodes I have watched I get the feeling that its creators wanted to advocate unity and tolerance. Emphasizing on things that make us come together rather than divide us.

Although the subject matter of this episode can potentially be dividing they managed to stay true to the heart of this show and once again present a scenario where at the end people can come together despite their differences.