statuskuo

If you're a theater nerd, you will enjoy this a lot. The anxiety of putting on a play. Though, well conceived, a lot of it felt off. Starting with the ongoing feud with The Capras. None of it is convincing. We also knew as Maggie is casted as Cheri and Chris as Beau, the continued attraction story between the two would parallel the play. I was more interested in the backstory of how Maurice lost control of his effort of "Oklahoma!" It was simply wrapped by a few sentences.

Despite all that, still all ties in at the end.

Again, the tone of this "Northern Exposure" without Joel feels empty. The dynamics of a married couple are interesting on paper, but between Teri Polo and Paul Provenza, I find myself slowly dreading their next appearance. They just feel like what a step parent would feel like.

You could not make this show today. Why? Because it celebrates a simple life. And no one in 2025 can appreciate life...slowed down.

The show is of a big city doctor who has just graduated from med school. And in order to pay off his education, he is relegated to a frontier town ran by a ultra rich dude who wants him to work off his debt. Indentured servitude makes for great comedy.

While there the doctor slowly integrates himself into their way of life. The eccentric characters are wonderfully realized. And they definitely milk every trope/stereotype they can, while concurrently surprising you.

The evolution of the town film nerd gets you wonderful glimpses of his slow discovery of cinema. While he generously shares it with the town. The single prop pilot debutante who is scrappy. The May-December romance of the bar owner and a much younger beauty pageant contestant. The ex-con. Old trappers. Indians. The texture and culture of that life just seems so...cozy. Each episode leaves you with a better understanding of life boiled down to its basics.

And allowing you also to understand, that a small town can focus our common problems.

Why it isn't perfect is when David Chase takes over. Then it nose dives. All the characters seem lethargic. All the storylines seemed force. It is exhausting to want your kids to do well. But come up short. Actor Rob Morrow makes this look easy, but after his departure and they bring in "The Capras" you can see how hard they wanted to shoehorn them in. And how effortless Rob made Joel's whining appear to be.

A great 90s era show that still remains relevant today.

How appropriate is this episode where the city council members vote on whether they should get people to pick up their trash -Maggie has won the election for mayor. And, as such, has to work on her first case. The authority she possess draws the uncontrollable sex appeal in the eyes of Chris.

-Marilyn buys a stud husky that can't sire -Joel and the new Dr. Capra play a round of golf in the wild. As they assess one another

The episode is just...uncomfortable. Everything about it feels...off. There is a lack of control. It seems to meander aimlessly. And wrap up in such a pointless way. It really scrapes the bottom of the barrel for some of the side characters. Some main ones relegated to sides. Like Shelly all but disappears. And Holling isn't given much to do either.

Then the creepy stalker moments Chris has for Maggie seemed passable in the 90s. But now just gives one the willies. Maurice and Ed are all but extras.

I know including the entire cast in each one and keeping them engaging for the audience is now a tough feat. But you realize now how genius the initial premise was. Or at least the gentle days that were from season one. Here, they attempt to shoehorn it with The Capras. Who are neither fish nor fowl. They seem to be the new fish out of water, but also have no identity other than being from a big city. We already got that from Joel.

This was just so lackluster. And, at times, creepy.