Linda G. Hill says:
Your prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “television.” Talk about your favorite show, past, present, or future, or about the apparatus itself. Enjoy!
TV is such a pervasive part of US culture that it almost seems like it is part of the family. Kurt Vonnegut wrote about The Family in his book, Farenheit 451, where The Family was in a room in each home that had a giant TV on all of the walls(if I remember correctly) where the characters on the television were like part of the family. Let’s face it, anyone who watches multiple seasons of the same TV show get to know the characters in-depth and gets to care about them. Was Vonnegut right – are they like part of our family?
It’s been awhile since Northern Exposure was on the air, but it remains one of my top 2 TV shows of all time (The Waltons is the other). I loved the setting, where it was often winter time so the environment became a regular plot line. I liked the remoteness of the setting, where nature was your next door neighbor who was always intruding into your daily activities. I loved the joining of traditional European culture with that of Native populations who live in Cicely, Alaska and the surrounding area.
All of the above set a magnificent stage for The Brick, the bar and grill which is the hub around which so much of the plots take place. The interactions of the people who inhabit Cicely is still a drug that I find hard to resist. It doesn’t matter which combination of characters are interacting, it is food for the soul. What often drives a story forward is some kind of conflict, and the perfect agent for conflict in Northern Exposure is the whiny out-of-place big city doctor that comes to town as part of a residency agreement. Way back when it was airing on TV Joel Fleishmann bugged me to no end. His whining about any and everything was just so irritating! Now when I watch it, I also see how the other characters respond to him and how he adjusts over time. Other characters likewise were irritating to me, such as Minnifield, the rich former astronaut, and Maggie, the pilot, but now are simply part of the exquisite tapestry that is Northern Exposure.
I recently read they are bringing the show back, with the same writers. I can’t wait!
Tao Talk 
I never got into Northern Exposure. I prefer to read or play my games or paint than watch TV. My mother, on the other hand, was quite fond of CHiPs, Nights Rider, the A Team and others. Lol
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Nowadays my TV is used only for netflix and movies. I do not miss the commercials!
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Mine is mainly background noise.
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How did you dub your voice in there at the end?!
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Yes, yes, yes! Northern Exposure (not so much the Waltons)! It has been impossible to find for streaming. Maybe if they do a reunion show or whatever, someone will let go and let the show stream. I love that show. And I did click on the video and it was… yup. Big grins.
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I wanted to buy the complete set of NE but when I went to amazon, I learned that there are none out there with the original music soundtracks 😦 That makes me sick! I refuse to buy them that way and hold out hope they make new ones with the soundtracks.
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Loved Northern Exposure!
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🙂
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Oh I’m so happy you wrote about Northern Exposure! I loved that show so much! The video sure brought back good memories of the show. I had the whole series on VHS, and then my daughter wanted them, so I guess she still has them.
Another show I loved was Lost. After that went off was probably the last time I watched any show regularly. Nothing else has caught my interest.
My other daughter got me started watching Roswell, a long time ago, though. I have all of the shows on DVD, and it was a favorite of mine, too.
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If your daughter can get those VHS transferred to DVD and they have the original soundtracks on them they would be worth getting a copy of. Glad to hear you enjoyed the show so much. I bet you are looking forward to the new NE series as much as I am 🙂 Never saw Lost or Roswell. I have gotten into some series on HBO and Showtime, but only after they come out on disk at the video store, then I binge watch them. I really love Game of Thrones!
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That would be super if they brought back NE. I’d watch that for sure. I’ll mention to my daughter that she could get the VHS copies put on DVD,
We don’t get HBO or anything so haven’t seen a lot of newer shows that have come out that I hear people talking about.
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if you have a video store nearby you can rent a whole season of a show pretty cheap. with the last season (7) of Game of Thrones, they rented it out by disc instead of series. I’m sure they made a bundle from it.
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OMG! They’re bringing it back?! I love Northern Exposure! It’s my second favorite show. Ed was my favorite and Ruth Ann – what a role model. Our kids would watch it with us sometimes. My daughter was too young to stay up for it every week, but she always got to see the moose walk down the street with the opening song. I think I’m going to put your link in my comments. Can’t wait too!
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Ed was my favorite too ❤ always the dreamer. I really loved Shelly and Holling also. Ruth Ann, yes such a wise crone. I love those scenes in the store!
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Really, a wonderful show.
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Love the Waltons! I have a post in my drafts folder. Will Geer was the man that made that show to me. The others were all great but Geer was the grandfather I wanna be.
I like Northern Exposure but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen it.
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I loved both grandpa and grandma Walton. The mom and dad rocked also. When I was pregnant for my son, my plan was to name the baby Olivia if it was a girl.
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I may have told you but we named our son after George on It’s A Wonderful Life… Bailey…
Yes the Grandma added spice to the mix…both of them did. All of them were natural acting…great acting also.
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No, you didn’t tell me, but I love that. Does he know who he’s named after? My son is named Dan but we called him Danny when he was little. After Danny Boy the Irish song, Danny’s Song Loggins & Messina. I love the name.
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Yes and he likes it…one of his favorite movies now.
Yes I know and like that song…that is cool.
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I totally forgot about that show, but I remember enjoying it and it was one of my regulars. Thanks so much for the fond reminder.
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You’re welcome, Dango 🙂
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I really need to watch all of these some day!
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