Newsgroup FAQ


for the alt.tv.northern.exp newsgroup

Last updated:
2/17/04. Last modified.
3/30/03. Updated FAQ to new location.

**Please email contributions, corrections, suggestions, etc.

A note from Moosechick: This is the original official FAQ. I have received permission from the last official FAQ manage, Jason Cowart, to revise and update this.


**What is an FAQ anyway??
/F-A-Q/ or /fak/ n. [Usenet]
1. A Frequently Asked Question.
2. A compendium of accumulated lore, posted periodically to high-volume newsgroups in an attempt to forestall such questions.
Some people prefer the term `FAQ list' or `FAQL' /fa'kl/, reserving`FAQ' for sense 1.
Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2003 Denis Howe
The alt.NX newsgroup faq was first created in the early 1990s by Andy Bates (see Part V, K for more contributors and maintainers). Since alt.tv.northern-exp no longer is a "high-volume" newgroup these days, the FAQ has become more of a tradition but remains available for this information. Most of the longtime readers, lurkers, and posters welcome any questions - repeated or not.


**What is a troll? What should I do when I see one?
troll v.,n.
1. [From the Usenet group alt.folklore.urban] To utter a posting on Usenet designed to attract predictable responses or flames; or, the post itself.  Derives from the phrase "trolling for newbies" which in turn comes from mainstream "trolling", a style of fishing in which one trails bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite. The well-constructed troll is a post that induces lots of newbies and flamers to make themselves look even more clueless than they already do, while subtly conveying to the more savvy and experienced that it is in fact a deliberate troll. If you don't fall for the joke, you get to be in on it. 2. An individual who chronically trolls in sense 1; regularly posts specious arguments, flames or personal attacks to a newsgroup, discussion list, or in email for no other purpose than to annoy someone or disrupt a discussion. Trolls are recognizable by the fact that they have no real interest in learning about the topic at hand - they simply want to utter flame bait. Like the ugly creatures they are named after, they exhibit no redeeming characteristics, and as such, they are recognized as a lower form of life on the net, as in, "Oh, ignore him, he's just a troll." Compare kook. 3. [Berkeley] Computer lab monitor. A popular campus job for CS students. Duties include helping newbies and ensuring that lab policies are followed. Probably so-called because it involves lurking in dark cavelike corners.

A troll is an attempt to start a prolonged flame war, a fierce argument with rude, personal insults. Usually, a troll is an article that is so outrageous, insulting and stupid that you feel you _have_ to reply. You can often recognise it because it is crossposted to several groups (very few articles posted to more than three groups are worth reading). If it is posted by someone you never saw posts from before (especially if they are using an anonymous account), that's a good sign of a troll. Often, it will flagrantly violate basic netiquette.

If you see a troll, don't post an angry reply. If you do, the troller will have succeeded. It's better to ignore the troll. (A humorous putdown is another option, but one that might backfire.) If you have a killfile facility in your newsreader (sometimes called a filter), you can set it to ignore future posts from this person. A good newsreader can also be set to "kill"a subject (ignore future posts with that subject line).

There's also a FAQ about trolls.

It's perhaps worth mentioning that not everything you personally find offensive is necessarily a troll.


**Where can I find Northern Exposure now??
In the US, Northern Exposure is not currently airing. The Hallmark Channel owns the syndication rights. Contact Hallmark to show your support online or email them Viewers@hallmarkchannel.com.

In Canada, Viewers can find Northern Exposure up to three times a day (!) on the digital cable channel Country Canada.

**Please email me if you can view NX in your country


**What about DVDs??
The long-awaited good news! - May 25, 2004 the first season will be due on DVD in the US.
More on: tvshowsondvd.com -- You can pre-order on Amazon.com.

NEW! - The first season will be released shortly in Australia. You can get this from a couple of places, ezydvd.com.au or Empire DVD. The Empire DVD listing only shows 6 of the 8 episodes from the first season. The ezydvd listing doesn't show episode names. I'm not sure if this is just an oversight or if there really are only 6 episodes. The DVD is due down under on Feb. 26. It is also due in Spain on Feb. 26 - see more information on Cicely Online.

The first season (eight episodes) has been released on DVD in the UK. You can get this from HMV. Note that this is a Region 2 DVD - which means in the US (which is Region 1), you need a multi-region or other specialized DVD player (may work on your computer though - it runs on my Macintosh).

There aren't any official DVD releases in the US ... yet. See more information: http://www.moosechick.com/DVD.html

NOTE TO U.S. EBAY USERS: The first season is available on DVD in the UK (as mentioned above, US release is May 25, 2004). There have been many DVDs on ebay - the authentic ones are those marked Region 2 only. If you have a DVD player that is "region-free," "multi-region" or for Region 2 DVDs (how to tell), you will have no problem watching this DVD. (I watch it on my Macintosh, which is set for Region 2 right now). If you do have a compatible player, it would be cheaper to buy it directly from HMV, then to buy it on ebay. The DVDs marked as Region 1 (for U.S. players) are copied/converted from the UK DVD -- they are not official releases - yet.

Fan created DVDs - If you can't wait and would like to get US/Canada region DVDs burned from a digital cable feed, contact Art at Frameables@hotmail.com - I haven't seen these DVDs. This FAQ does not endorse the DVDs or the copying, but does endorse supplying NX information to the fans. So there you go ...


Frequently Asked Questions List for "Northern Exposure"
and the Usenet newsgroup alt.tv.northern-exp
==================================================================
Abbreviations used in this document:
NX, NoEx = Northern Exposure (NoEx was commonly used by the cast and crew.)
Episode titles are listed in [] after a particular reference.
==================================================================
Table of Contents:
I. FAQ and Newsgroup Information
A. About this FAQ
B. Related documents
C. About this newsgroup

II. Northern Exposure
A. What was Northern Exposure?
B. What awards did NX receive?
C. Characters and their histories
D. Characters in episode "Cicely"
E. How did the town of Cicely get its name?
F. Where is Cicely?
G. Other facts about Cicely
H. Which characters are gay/lesbian?
I. How long was Joel in Cicely?
J. Why are there no children in the show?
K. Where is NX filmed?
L. The fling thing
M. How have the various boyfriends of Maggie O'Connell died?
N. Legends
O. Dedication
P. Did Cynthia Geary do her own singing?
Q. Who played the flying man?
R. Wedding vows
S. Where was Maggie going in "Tranquility Base?"

III. Music Used in NX
A. Northern Exposure CD (U.S. version)
B. Northern Exposure soundtrack (German version)
C. If We All Go Insane [Spring Break]
D. Toy Cows [Roots]
E. Piano tuner piece [Duets]
F. Turkey In The Straw [Learning Curve]
G. Ebudae [Northern Lights]
H. This Must Be The Place [Dinner at 7:30]
I. Forever Night Shade Mary [The Quest]
J. Our Town [Tranquility Base]
K. Ruth-Anne's dance on her grave [A-Hunting We Will Go]
L. Mo shuil ad dheidh [Lucky People]

IV. Literature Used in NX

V. Miscellaneous Information
A. Related shows and films
B. Syndication information
C. NX Merchandise
D. NX books
E. NX Videos
F. Voice-Overs & Other Roles
G. Contacts
H. Other services
I. Internet sites
J. Roslyn Mini-FAQ
K. Legal Stuff and Acknowledgements
==================================================================
I. FAQ and Newgroup Information
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A. About this FAQ:
**MC: As of March 2003, I've (Moosechick) taken over as the FAQ maintainer - please send comments to me.

Previous owners comments:

In September 1998, [**Kimiye Tipton] became the third person to maintain the Northern Exposure Frequently Asked Questions list. Before me, Jason Cowart cared for it beginning June 96, and Sharon Bond (nee' Crichton) was the originator of the document way back while the show was in its first run. The FAQ will be posted to the newsgroup around the first of every month. It is also archived on a number of places on the internet (see NX Internet Resources in this document), but be sure to check the "last modified" date to make sure you are getting the most recent version.

As of June 96, [**Jason Cowart] taken over as the FAQ maintainer from Sharon Bond, (formerly Crichton) who wrote and compiled basically this entire document. Thus far the changes I've made have consisted of reorganizing things into what I hope is still a reasonably logical format. Guarantees cannot be made for the accuracy of any of the information in this document. If you wish to flame me for my lack of knowledge, please do so only if you can also provide me with the correct information. I have tried not to influence the information in this document with my own opinions, but I can't guarantee that I've been entirely successful. Included are references to episodes where facts in this document were revealed, based on the episode titles in the Episode Guide by Andy Bates and Kimiye Tipton. Episode titles are listed in [] after a particular reference.

**The FAQ will be posted to the newsgroup on roughly the first of every month. Be sure to check the "last modified" date to make sure you are getting the most recent version. You can download the latest version from
http://home.comcast.net/%7Emcnotes/AltFAQ.html
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B. Related documents
Companion documents to the FAQ include the Northern Exposure Episode Guide, originally authored by Andy Bates and finished by Kimiye Tipton <kimi@gate.net>. It's available via http from http://www.gate.net/~kimi

A music guide is available from The Moose's Guide to Northern Exposure at http://www.netspace.org/~moose/moose.html, and was maintained by Debra Richards. [**MC: This hasn't been updated for several years. However, a couple of energetic fans have been collecting MP3s and searching for more music. More to come!]

The quotes list for the show, previously maintained by Erin Sasaki <usagi@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu> was given to Cliff Chen <cliff@eniac.seas.upenn.edu>. The list at the FTP site is up to date as of episode 4.19, "Family Feud." (?)
**MC: Another quote list is available at http://www.eskimo.com/~kwright/nx.html

A complete fan site also is available at http://www.moosechick.com or http://home.comcast.net/~mcnotes/
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C. About this newsgroup
alt.tv.northern-exp was created in the fall of 1992. If you are sending a message to the group for the first time, we ask only that you send a
message that is appropriate for the group and that it is not insulting, flaming, or trolling (see alt.folklore.urban for examples and explanations of trolling.) It also helps to read the group for a few weeks until you get the general feel of the group.

Please refrain from using this newsgroup for personal messages. Remember that a post without any explicit distribution usually defaults to "world" in most news software. This newsgroup is not to be used for commercial purposes. And please don't post to "remind" us that it's only a TV show and that we need to get a life. We already know that and most of us already have one, thank you very much :-)

A note on spamming: if anyone spams Usenet, including our group, please do not followup to the article. Rest assured that the FAQ author, as well as thousands of other Usenet readers, will be replying immediately to the postmaster at the offending user's site. If you see a spam show up in our group, hop over to news.admin.misc to see what happens to the little bugger. If you don't know what spamming is, it's the posting of the same article to multiple newsgroups (usually every newsgroup) regardless of the appropriateness of the topic. Previous spams have included "Make Money Fast," "Global Warning For All: Jesus is Coming", the infamous Skinny Dip advertisement, and the scum lawyers at Canter and Siegel with their Green Card lottery advertisements. When someone spams, chances are they will not read our group to see your witty followups. Although a large core dump placed in their incoming mail will do nicely :-)

A note on posting binaries to the group: it is not forbidden, it is not against "the law," and it doesn't even violate the charter of the group. However, the posting of large binaries is not nice. It's easier to post locations of FTP sites and let people retrieve that way. Or post them to one of the alt.binaries.pictures groups.

**MC: For any questions about "netiquette," please peruse one of these great sites:
http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html
http://www.fau.edu/netiquette/net/dis.html
==================================================================
II. Northern Exposure
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A. What was Northern Exposure?
NX was originally a summer replacement show from 1990 which developed a large following, and was eventually picked up as a regular network show. The show was created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey, who were also the principal forces behind "St. Elsewhere" and "I'll Fly Away." NX was not renewed for the Fall 1995 season. The last episode aired on July 26, 1995. And an auction was held that sold ALL of the props and equipment from the show, so any revival is highly unlikely.

There have been six seasons of NX:
1. Summer of 1990 (eight episodes)
2. Spring of 1991 (seven episodes)
3. Fall 1991 (23 episodes)
4. Fall 1992 (25 episodes)
5. Fall 1993 (24 episodes)
6. Fall 1994 (23 episodes)

NX was the story of Joel Fleischman, a New York City raised Jewish internist who financed his medical education through a scholarship from the state of Alaska. Unfortunately, the terms of this scholarship required him to repay it by serving as a doctor in Alaska for four years. Because there were no openings in Anchorage, Joel was sent to the town of Cicely ("on the cusp of the new Alaskan Riviera") to serve his term. But after certain circumstances happened, Joel first went "up river" and turned native, then returned to New York. The circumstances are best explained by viewing the episodes "Up River" and "The Quest." Joel was replaced in Cicely, by Dr. Phil Capra, who longed to escape the rat race of life in Los Angeles.
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B. Emmy awards:
**For a complete list: http://home.comcast.net/%7Emcnotes/awards.html

For 1993-94:
Sound Editing - "Fish Story"
For 1992-93:
Drama Series
Supporting Actress, Drama Series - Valerie Mahaffey
Writing, Drama Series - "Seoul Mates"
Cinematography, Series
Editing, Single Camera, Series
Art Direction, Series
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C. Characters and their histories
**For a complete list: http://home.comcast.net/%7Emcnotes/castcrew.html
Main characters:
Phillip Capra (Paul Provenza)

The new doc in town. He and his lovely wife Michelle left the Los Angeles area to start a new life in Cicely. They hated Los Angeles, but were they really ready for the charms of life in Cicely? Phil speaks French (?! **Italian) and enjoys biking.
Michelle Capra (Teri Polo)
Wife of the new doctor, she is a free-lance journalist. She is not very accustomed to life in the wild, since she first tried to defend herself against unknown woodland creatures with a thighmaster.
Ed Chigliak (Darren E. Burrows)
Ed is a half-native Alaskan who was raised by one of the local tribes when his parents abandoned him. Ed wants to be a film director, and has already started pen-pal correspondences with Martin Scorcese, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, Peter Bogdanovich, and others. Ed works for Maurice and Ruth-Anne, and has an IQ of 180. Ed has met the man who could be his father, Pete [Duets] and is in training (by Leonard) to be a shaman.
Joel Fleischman (Rob Morrow)
A New York (Flushing) raised doctor who fulfilled the terms of his medical scholarship ($125,000 to attend Columbia University) by serving four years as general practitioner in the town of Cicely, Alaska (earning $465 a month after taxes [Grosse Pointe 48230]). Joel was the only Jewish person in the entire Borough of Arrowhead County, Alaska [Things Become Extinct]. After becoming engaged to Maggie, then thrown out of her home because it wasn't working out, Joel headed "up river" to start his life over. He has since returned to New York (it's a "state of mind.")
Ruth-Anne Miller (Peg Phillips)
The owner of the general store in town, Ruth-Anne left the lower 48 in 1971 with an old station wagon, all her household possessions she could carry, and her cats, to make a new life in Alaska. Regrettably, one of her children is an investment banker.
Maurice Minnifield (Barry Corbin)
Ex-astronaut with a family fortune of $68 million [On Our Own], Maurice had big plans for the town of Cicely. The local radio station, KBHR (K-Bear 570 AM), is the flagship of the Minnifield Communications Network, and is almost solely run off the extensive music collection of Maurice (including a fabulous collection of show tunes). Maurice also owns the local newspaper and 15,000 "acres of opportunity."
Mary Margaret (Maggie) O'Connell (Janine Turner)
A bush pilot who owned the Capra's cabin, she was constantly at odds with (but once engaged to) Fleischman (rarely did they call each other by their first names). Maggie was raised in Grosse Pointe, MI and is the daughter of the youngest CEO in automotive history ("Do you remember the hatchback? That's my Dad.") She flies a Cessna 170 (an old tail-dragger) [Birds of a Feather], N4423V [The Gift of the Maggie] or N8326A [Russian Flu] (for filming reasons, they use different planes in different episodes.) She is also the mayor of Cicely.
Christopher Danforth (Chris) Stevens (John Corbett)
(alias: Chris in the Morning)
A free-spirit who can converse on Kafka and theoretical physics, as well as philosophize on any topic that might come to mind, Chris was the DJ at KBHR. He began acquiring his vast wealth of knowledge when he spent time in prison in West Virginia (for grand theft auto, which is why he can no longer vote.) He jumped parole in 1986 [Democracy in America]. He lost his extradition hearing in 1992, but the judge ruled that the town must find a suitable replacement in three years or he is to be handed over to the authorities from West Virginia "should they show up." Chris also doubles as the town's minister, being ordained in the Worldwide Church of Truth and Beauty after answering an ad in the back of "Rolling Stone."
Shelly Marie Tambo-Vincoeur (Cynthia Geary)
Shelly was the woman over whom Maurice and Holling wanted to kill each other. A former Miss Northwest-Passage, Shelly came to Cicely to marry Maurice. But once she met Holling, she left Maurice to be with him (Holling is more than 60 years old, but Shelly hasn't even hit "the big 21" [Northwest Passages]). Shelly is the only confirmed non-US citizen (she's still a Canadian citizen. [Northern Hospitality])
Holling Gustav Vincoeur (John Cullum)
The owner of one of the local bars, The Brick, Holling was an ex-trapper and hunter who swore off killing. Holling and Maurice are old and dear friends, but once were mortal enemies over the love of a woman. His family history of long life spans has lead him to believe that he would outlive any woman that he would marry (he was born Jan 1, 1929 [Things Become Extinct]), but he overcame that objection to marry Shelly. Holling was also a direct male-line descendant of French aristocracy [The Body in Question.] He and Shelly are the parents of Miranda (Randi) Bliss Vincoeur.
Marilyn Whirlwind (Elaine Miles)
Phil's receptionist, who raised ostriches at her farm. She was in love with the Flying Man (Enrico Bellati) from a travelling circus, but could not leave Cicely to accompany him. (Character note: Elaine got the part when she accompanied her mother to the audition. The producers and director liked her timing and sense of humor better.)

Recurring characters:
Adam (Adam Arkin)
The world's worst pathological liar (as far as Joel was concerned), Adam was a gourmet chef who was originally thought to be the Cicely version of Bigfoot [Aurora Borealis]. He popped up occasionally to cause havoc in life of Cicely. He and Eve are the proud parents of baby Aldrich.
Eve (Valerie Mahaffey, winner of a Best Supporting Actress Emmy, 1992)
Adam's wife, also the heiress to a $22 million tungsten fortune, she was the world's champion hypochondriac and once chained Joel to her cabin so that she could have a doctor in-house round-the-clock [The Bumpy Road to Love].
Dave the Cook (William J. White)
Cook at The Brick, he took a lot of abuse from Adam over his style of cooking (bacon is not pancetta). Dave and Ed are cousins to Marilyn
through their clans (Dave and Ed are of the Bear; Marilyn is of the Raven). Note: William J. White gave up his role as Dave after reinjuring an old diving injury.
Eugene (Earl Quewezance)
Cook at the Brick (also known as "not-Dave" in this group), who had almost seamlessly taken over from Dave. He has a wife and two small kids.
Ron Bantz (Doug Ballard) and Erick Hillman (Don R. McManus)
Owners of one of the local bed and breakfast establishments. They bought the property from Maurice, whom they thought at first to be a "kindred spirit," since he lives alone, loves gourmet food and show tunes. They also doubled as archaeological excavationists [Survival of the Species], and Ron served as a translator for Maurice and his Korean son, Duk Won [Sleeping with the Enemy]. Ron served as a Marine in Korea. They were married in a lovely ceremony.
Edna Hancock (Rita Taggart)
Edna was the mayor of Cicely, having been elected when she ran against long-time mayor Holling Vincoeur (vote was 255 to 247.)
Lester Haynes (Apesanahkwat)
A fellow Sons of the Tundra member to Maurice, he was also Maurice's nemesis in business. He was the richest man in the county/area, even wealthier than Maurice, and he's scammed Maurice on a few land deals.
Cal Ingram (the violinist) (Simon Templeman)
Cal was the violinist hired by Maurice to appraise the priceless Guarneri violin that Maurice was buying as an investment. His discovery that Maurice planned to lock the violin away in his safe, and not make it available for playing, drove him over the edge into deep psychosis. He eventually ended up in the state mental institute at Ellisburg. He escaped, visiting Cicely many times, where he has been hidden by Maurice and treated by Phil. He recently turned himself in (and turned on Officer Semanski) and is now in a half-way house. His first name Cal is short for Caldecott ("Cottie" to his friends.)
Hayden Keyes (James L. Dunn)
The town's ne'er-do-well, he has broken into Joel's office (for Maurice), claimed injuries for insurance and legal suits that did not occur, and fired off guns around the town's citizens.
Walt Kupfer (Moultrie Patten)
Walt lives with Ruth-Anne, and was an old friend of her's and Holling. He's currently a trapper, although he did try a stint as a clerk in the store. He used to work on Wall Street [Hello, I Love You], and was fired by Charlie Merrill himself.
Duk Won Minnifield (Kwi Hyun (James) Song)
Korean son of Maurice Minnifield and a woman that Maurice knew in Korea during the war. Recently engaged to Pak Soon Ae, who was the daughter of Maurice's sworn enemy, Pak Soon Yat.
Mike Monroe (Anthony Edwards)
A lawyer who once suffered from MSC (multiple chemical sensitivity), he lived in a geodesic dome off of Highway 3. He was hyper-allegic to the environment around him, a condition that developed in the last few years of his life. Mike was cured during his stay in Cicely and has since left to fight environmental villains as a lawyer for Greenpeace. Joel thought he was wacko, cured or not, but Maggie was attracted to him. Note: He is NOT dead.
Leonard Quinhagak (Graham Greene)
Leonard was a shaman, and his healing skills have been shown in a number of episodes. Recently, Leonard diagnosed Ed as having the call and the abilities to be a shaman, but he warned Ed that his life would be very different if he takes up the calling.
Elaine Shulman (Jessica Lundy)
Joel's ex-fiance'e-- she left Joel to marry an older man who died shortly after their marriage. She and Joel have since reconciled their relationship and the unfortunate way that it ended.
Sgt. Barbara Semanski (Diane Delano)
A state trooper who shared the mutual hots for Maurice, but at first thought she could not sustain a relationship with him because of his disregard for the law (tax law, that is) [The Bumpy Road to Love]. Since that time, they have spent more time together, and became engaged [Tranquility Base.]
Bernard Stevens (Richard Cummings, Jr.)
Chris' African-American half-brother. Bernard and Chris are psychically connected-- they discovered each other when they both had the same vision of a sculpture about the Aurora Borealis [Aurora Borealis]. They often share the same dreams and thoughts. Their mutual father was a travellin' man who just happened to have two families.
Miranda Bliss Vincoeur (baby twin actresses unknown)
Daughter of Holling and Shelly, Miranda, or "Randi," was born in Holling and Shelly's living room upstairs from the Brick, during happy hour. According to a dream sequence featuring Shelly ["Hello, I Love You"], Randi will, at the age of 18, travel to Dallas, Texas to become a Dallas Cowboy's chearleader. Along the way, she will also be a big fan of Barbie dolls and a drummer in a local rock band.

Morty (Morty the Moose)
Morty est morte (dead.) He was part of the captive moose herd maintained at a Washington State Univ. research station. According to some reports, another moose at the station (Minnie) died of a cobalt and copper deficiency, and it was too late to save Morty. Morty was about five years old at the time of his death. Most moose live only 6 or 7 years in captivity, as opposed to up to 16 years in the wild. Morty is survived by a number of offspring, including Melody and Matilda, sired in the spring of 1993.
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D. Characters in "Cicely" (and their modern day equivalents)
Ned Svenborg = Ed
Mace Mobrey = Maurice
Kit = Chris
Sally = Shelly
Abe = Holling
Mary O'Keefe = Maggie
Franz Kafka = Joel
Nurse = Marilyn
Rhoda = Ruth-Anne (woman at meeting)
The actress who played Roslyn (Jo Anderson) also played Jane, Holling's school teacher, in the episode "Learning Curve."
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E. How did the town of Cicely get its name?
Cicely was founded, but nameless (and lawless) until two women, Cicely and Roslyn, came to town to form a utopian society. For more details, see the episode "Cicely" which tells the history of the two women and the society. For those people who haven't seen the show, the town is (obviously) named after Cicely, due to her selfless death to protect Roslyn.
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F. Where is Cicely?
An offshoot (and popular disussion) is, where is Cicely? Nobody knows for sure-- it's right next door to Springfield, USA. Like The Simpsons, the producers and writers of NX have sprinkled enough misleading clues that it cannot be pinpointed exactly. Some include:
It's in the 63rd parallel, placing it in the main body of the state. [Hello, I Love You]
You can travel from Cicely to Cantwell on Route 8 (Ruth-Anne and Walt did), which again places it in the main body of the state. [Hello, I Love You].
And Route 6 also leads into town [Una Volta in L'Inverno]
The men run naked out to Highway 1 when the ice breaks [Spring Break]
It's just across the border from Sixty Mile, in Canada. [Northern Hospitality]
It is within a 75 mile radius of 143 degrees W, 62 degrees N, according to the ice-sculpture at Maurice's feast. [The Big Feast]
The address on the post card that Joel sends to Maggie is
Maggie O'Connell
P.O. Box 86
Cicely, AK 99729
An alert reader of the group notes that 99729 is the zip code for Cantwell, AK.
It's north of the Arctic Circle because they spend some days in complete darkness [Northern Lights] and some days in complete light [Midnight Sun] It's south of the Arctic Circle because they don't have permafrost [Survival of the Species]
It's 40 air-minutes from Anchorage, the nearest hospital. (Joel tells Shelly she'll be going there to deliver. [Baby Blues]) Maggie also receives her flight service briefings from Anchorage.
It's 200 miles from the next nearest town. [Ill Wind]
It's 200 miles from Sleetmute, and not too far from Unalaklee.
It's 400 miles from Soldotna (the length of the drive for the owner of "Rick" the dog.) [Animals R Us]
It's 500 miles from Sourdough. [Spring Break]
It's located along a river (or at least Roslyn, WA is), and is 1000 miles from Anchorage [Kaddish] (which of course, means that Maggie's little Cessna 170 travels at 1500 miles an hour :-)
It's in the panhandle, because the specific Indians mentioned are Pacific Northwest tribes (Tlingit and Haida.)
It's in the panhandle portion that runs along the coast next to Canada ("The cusp of the new Alaskan Riviera" - premiere episode)
At least we know that it's on a major log truck route, and there are paved roads nearby [premiere].
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G. Other facts about Cicely
According to some publicity photographs, the population is 215 and elevation is 6572 feet. Other people have reported that Brand and Falsey set the town's population at 839, since they were originally paid $839,000 an episode. In "Survival of the Species" Ed states it as 849, which was confirmed in a few later episodes. In the episode where Miranda Bliss Vincoeur was born, it was stated as probably 844.
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H. Which characters are gay/lesbian
Cicely and Roslyn were lesbians. Maurice asked Chris to downplay this part of their town's history. It is alluded to in the pilot episode, where Maurice tries to tell Joel that, despite what other people will tell him, they were just good friends. It is not stated but alluded to in "Cicely" during the conversation between Mary O'Keefe and Roslyn about alternatives to men.The two innkeepers, Ron and Erick, are gay.

Is Maurice gay? Well, that depends. Nothing has ever been said or implied on the show that he is gay. However, certain subtle characterizations may indicate that he is gay but denies it. It is up to the individual viewer whether or not they believe that he is gay. Before you choose to post on this topic, please be aware that it has enjoyed a long and lively discussion, but has also created some flames and personal insults.
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I. How long was Joel in Cicely?
Joel's contract originally required four years of service to the state of Alaska. In the episode "Thanksgiving," the rising cost of living and devaluation of the US dollar caused the state to add another year to Joel's "sentence." But in the 100th episode [Horns], the state of Alaska confessed that they could not increase a contract duration during the execution of said contract (precedent from a court case in another state), and gave Joel back his year and $1200.

Throughout the series, Joel had spent the following amounts of time:
(episodes listed in order of their original air dates):
Russian Flu (first season): Joel says that it's been 2 months since he and Elaine were together.
Spring Break (first season): Joel says that he's been in Cicely for 10 months without experiencing intimate sexual contact.
Goodbye to All That (second season): Chris says that Joel has been there eight months.
Lost and Found (third season-- Joel renews his subscription to The New Yorker): 3 years, 8 months, 22 days, and 15 hours to go
Thanksgiving (fourth season):
3 years, 9 months, 17 days, and 1 hour to go (but what's another hour?)
Learning Curve (fourth season): he currently has + 2 months to repay the $800 he borrowed from Maurice.
Love's Labour Mislaid (fourth season, 1993): Ed states that he will have known Joel for 2 years in June.
Family Feud (fourth season): Maggie and Joel argue about their relationship after having known each other for 2.5 years.
Mite Makes Right (fifth season): Joel says he's known Maggie for three years.
The Gift of the Maggie (fifth season): Dr. Pete from Gardner Station remarks that Joel must have been in Alaska for almost 4 years.
The Quest (sixth season): Maggie tells that Joel has been in Alaska for five years.
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J. Why are there no children in the show?
Well, a lot of people who subscribe to this newsgroup are pretty glad there aren't any main characters who are under 18 years of age. Others believe that children are missing and should be included. There have been children in certain episodes; there were children in Ed's film "Cicely" [Animals R Us], there were children around during the visit by the circus [Get Real], and there were children at the wedding [The Wedding]. And of course, there is baby Aldrich, the progeny of Adam and Eve, and Shelly and Holling's daughter Miranda Bliss.
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K. Where was NX filmed?
NX was filmed in the town of Roslyn, WA. Much of the interior scenes were filmed on soundstages constructed in Redmond, WA.

See more info: http://home.comcast.net/%7Ejmoosechick/RoslynSite.html
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L. The fling thing
That thing is called a trebuchet (pronounced tray-boo-shay). For more information, I quote a post by Hank Nunes:
"Car & Driver" did a whole article on the 'trebuchet.' It was called "Seige the Day." Two guys in England built a replica and fling toilets filled with gasoline and small cars and people. They thought that they might sell a few of these, but at the time of the article, they had only sold one-- to NX. If you want one, they only cost $18,000.00."
Some references/cites: Car & Driver, June 1992
"All Things Considered", National Public Radio, Jan. 2 1992.
The Wall Street Journal, July 30, 1991

Items that have been flung:
Maggie's burnt piano [Burning Down the House]
Chris' dead friend Tooley [Heroes]
The exact quote by Chris about the fling: "It's not the thing you fling, it's the fling itself." [Burning Down the House]

The trebuchet was sold at the auction for all props. It is now in Monroe, WI. The owner is John Cyra, who wants to either sell or display it. There is a web page for it: http://www.eskimo.com/%7Everne/treb.html

Piano keys from the piano that was flung were** on sale from Memory Makers in Roslyn. (**Memory Makers went out of business the summer of 2001).
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M. How have the various boyfriends of Maggie O'Connell met their deaths?
This is known as the curse of Maggie O'Connell-- every man she has ever slept with has died in some gruesome accident. The latest was Rick Pederson, who was played by Grant Goodeve in the first season (until Rick's untimely demise). Until her house burned down, Maggie had kept small shrines to each boyfriend.
Harry = potato salad at a picnic
Bruce = victim of a terrible fishing accident
Glenn = took a wrong turn in his Volvo onto a missile test site
Dave = fell asleep on a glacier and froze to death
Rick = merged with a satellite

This is from the eulogy given at Rick's funeral by Chris [Slow Dance].
Additions after "Northwest Passages":
Steve = struck by lightning while working on an oil rig (revealed only during Maggie's hallucination)
Maggie has "cured" at least one boyfriend (Mike Monroe), and she had slept with Fleischman [Ill Wind] but he hasn't died (yet). We will never know about Chris.
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N. Legends
The Raven
A long time ago, the Raven looked down from the sky and saw that the people of the world were living in darkness. The ball of light was kept hidden by a selfish old chief. So the Raven turned himself into a spruce needle, and floated on the river where the chief's daughter came for water. She drank the spruce needle. She became pregnant and gave birth to a boy, who was the Raven in disguise. The baby cried and cried until the chief gave him the ball of light to play with. As soon as he had the light, the Raven turned back into himself. The Raven carried the light into the sky. From then on, we no longer lived in darkness.
From "Seoul Mates," as told by Marilyn Whirlwind.
* * *
The Eagle
[Marilyn]: The Eagle wasn't always the Eagle. The Eagle, before he became the Eagle, was Yucatangee, the Talker. Yucatangee talked and talked. It talked so much it heard only itself. Not the river, not the wind, not even the Wolf. The Raven came and said "The Wolf is hungry. If you stop talking, you'll hear him. The wind too. And when you hear the wind, you'll fly."
[Nadine]: So he stopped talking.
[Marilyn]: And became its nature, the Eagle. The Eagle soared, and its
flight said all it needed to say.
From "Birds of a Feather," as told by Marilyn Whirlwind to Nadine Fleischman.
* * *
The Warrior
[There was] a warrior who had a fine stallion. Everyone said how lucky he was to have such a horse.
"Maybe" he said.
One day the stallion ran off. The people said the warrior was unlucky.
"Maybe" he said.
The next day the stallion returned, leading a string of fine ponies. The people said it was very lucky.
"Maybe" the warrior said.
Later, the warrior's son was thrown from one of the ponies and broke his leg. The people said it was unlucky.
"Maybe" the warrior said.
The next week, the chief lead a war party against another tribe. Many young men were killed. But, because of his broken leg, the warrior's son was left behind, and so was spared.
From "Bolt from the Blue" as told by Marilyn Whirlwind.
* * *
Death (Marilyn explains the celebration of Death) (4.08 Thanksgiving)
Death, like the white man, wasn't happy in his own land. He didn't think his kingdom was big enough. He wanted more. One night, when the good spirit was asleep, Death attacked the world. He killed a lot of people, and he took the Chief's prettiest daughter as his bride. She pretended to be a good wife, but one day she secretly fed him a pumpkin seed. The pumpkin grew and grew inside death. Finally, he exploded, and a million pumpkin seeds covered the earth.
[Joel:] I still don't get it.
A lot of people died, but a good thing came out of it, too.
[Joel:] What was that?
Pumpkins. It's the same with white people. They cleared the forest, they dug up the land, and they gave us the flu. But they also brought power tools and penicillin and Ben and Jerry's ice cream.
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O. Dedication
There was a dedication at the end of March 15, 1993 episode [Homesick] for John "Yomi" Rothlisberger, but no explanation about him. Rothlisberger was an elderly farmer who lived in Roslyn, Wash.,where the show is filmed, and he appeared in virtually every episode as an extra. When he died, the producers and crew felt as if they had lost an adopted cast member.
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P. Did Cynthia Geary do her own singing?
In the episode "Old Tree," Shelly discovers that she can no longer talk; all that comes out of her mouth is music. After both airings of this show, the latest burning alt.tv.northern-exp question was "Did she do her own singing?" (Shelly then became song-less, having lost the ability during her 18th week of pregnancy [The Three Doctors].)

Yes, Cynthia Geary did all of her own singing for this episode. She has a degree in voice from Univ. of Mississippi. The songs in the brick and their apartment were pre-recorded and played back during filming (lip-synched); the scene in Joel's office is live and a'capella. The song about the lady and the snake is not original; that is, the story goes back a long time (other versions of the parable include a frog and a scorpion.) All of her other songs were written for the show.
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Q. Who played the Flying Man? [Get Real]
The Flying Man (Enrico Bellati) was played by Bill Irwin. A bio of him in the Playbill for "Largely New York," one of his Broadway shows, says the following:
BILL IRWIN (The Post-Modern Hoofer, Author, Director and Co-Choreographer) was an original member of KRAKEN, a theatre company
directed by Herbert Blau, and was an original member of the Pickle Family Circus of San Francisco, where he worked with Larry Pisoni and Geoff Hoyle. He appeared as a guest artist with the ODC Dance Company of San Francisco, which first produced his original work. His own pieces, often developed with Doug Skinner and Michael O'Connor, include "Not Quite/New York," "The Courtroom" and "The Regard of Flight" (PBS "Great Performances"). Skinner, Irwin and O'Connor have performed "The Regard of Flight" on and Off-Broadway, across the United States and in Sydney, Australia. Mr Irwin most recently appeared on the New York stage with Steve Martin, Robin Williams and F. Murray Abraham in "Waiting for Godot" at Lincoln Center. At the La Jolla Playhouse he played Galy Gay in Brecht's "A Man's a Man," Medvedenko in "The Sea Gull" and Arlecchino in "Three Cuckolds." He has appeared on Broadway in "Accidental Death of an Anarchist" and "5-6-7-8 . . . Dance!"

On television he has been seen on "Saturday Night Live," "The Tonight Show," "The Cosby Show" and HBO's "Bette Midler, Mondo Beyondo." In Britain he appeared on the BBC "Paul Daniels Magic Show." His film credits include the 1981 Robert Altman movie "Popeye," Alan Alda's "A New Life" and John Sayles' "Eight Men Out."

In 1983 Mr. Irwin was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Choreographer's Fellowship, and in 1984 was named a Guggenheim Fellow and awarded a five-year MacArthur Fellowship. He gratefully acknowledges those awards.

The Playbill was copyright 1989, and since then he has appeared in: "Steppin' Out" as Liza Minelli's only male student; "My Blue Heaven" as the partner of Rick Moranis; Bobby McFerrin's video of "Don't Worry, Be Happy"; "Eight Men Out"; "Fool Moon" (current Broadway production); Great Performances: "Soundheim: A Celibration at Carnegie Hall"
** and many, many more - see the Bill Irwin Home Page http://indra.com/~eliz/birwin.html
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R. The Wedding Vows
I am the sky says the Hindu bridegroom to the bride. You are the earth. We are sky and earth united. (The ring, Joel) You are my husband. You are my wife. My feet shall run because of you. My feet shall dance because of you. My heart shall beat because of you. My eyes see because of you. My mind think because of you. And I shall love, because of you. (Are you guys cool with that? Then kiss)
From "Our Wedding", the wedding ceremony as recited by Chris.

**This is also known as an Eskimo love song on many wedding planning sites such as
http://www.todays-weddings.com/planning/readings/eskimo.html
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S. Where was Maggie going in "Tranquility Base?"
Longtime newsgroup contributor Paul Strasser provides us with the following explanation:
The question of "where was Maggie going?" in Tranquility Base is one of the more common -- and very reasonable -- questions posed on this forum. Here's what happened:

Maggie was off to visit Mike Monroe (aka Bubble Boy) who invited her to visit him. Chris didn't object, and throughout the episode acted like a horny teenager as some sort of compensatory facade. Okay, okay. None of this was mentioned in the actual episode which aired on CBS. Here's how I (and a few folks on this group) know about this. Someone from Pipeline Productions, the shell company created by
Universal to create NX, posted a very detailed teaser about the final episode herein several months before it aired. This teaser had everything absolutely correct, down to the "Our Town" as the final song. Within this teaser was the explanation that Maggie went to visit Mike.

(As an aside, this teaser was removed from the alt.group within hours, perhaps by someone from the show who didn't like such details getting out. One of our number had immediately posted a comment on it, but since few had seen the original posting we were all curious as to what the responder was talking about. The original poster then tried to eliminate the response as well from the group -- try and cover all the tracks, so to speak. This didn't set well with the responder, who had fortuitously made a copy of the teaser. He then posted it for all of us to see. Tons o'fun on the web.)

** In "real" life, actress Janine Turner had gallbladder surgery and was brought in later to film the "alternate" ending when it apeared that the show was being canned.

==================================================================
III. Music Used in NX
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A. Northern Exposure CD (U.S. version)
"Music From The Television Series Northern Exposure" MCA Records, Inc.
MCAD-10685
1. David Schwartz "Theme from Northern Exposure" [Pilot, Kodiak]
2. Daniel Lanois "Jolie Louise" [Pilot, The Body in Question, Old Tree]
3. Booker T. and the MG's "Hip Hug-Her" [Animals R Us; My Mother, My Sister]
4. Etta James "At Last" [Slow Dance]
5. Chic Street Man "Everybody Be Yoself" [Spring Break]
6. David Schwartz "Alaskan Nights" [It Happened in Juneau, Our Tribe]
7. Magazine 60 "Don Quichotte" [Jules et Joel]
8. Nat "King" Cole and His Trio "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" [The Big Kiss]
9. Miriam Makeba "Emabhaceni" [Roots]
10. Lynyrd Skynyrd "Gimme Three Steps" [My Mother, My Sister]
11. Frederica Von Stade "Bailero from Chants d'Auvergne" [Wake-Up Call] with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Conducted by Antonio de Almeda
12. David Schwartz Medley: "A Funeral in My Brain" [Things Become Extinct, Our Tribe, Ill Wind,...], "Woody the Indian" [Sex, Lies, and Ed's Tape],
"The Tellakutans" [Seoul Mates, The Body in Question]
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More Music from Northern Exposure (U.S.)
"More Music From Northern Exposure" MCA Records, Inc. MCAD-11077
1. Georgia Wettlin-Larsen "Ojibway Square Dance (Love Song)" [Learning Curve]
2. David Schwartz "Theme from Northern Exposure"
3. Johnny Nash "Stir It Up"
4. Ruth Brown "Mambo Baby"
5. Simon Bonney "Someone Loves You"
6. David Schwartz "The Ladder"
7. Big Joe & His Washboard Band "If You Take Me Back"
8. Basin Brothers "Un Marriage Casse (A Broken Marriage)"
9. Vinx "There I Go Again"
10. Brian Eno/John Cale "Lay My Love" [The Bad Seed]
11. Les Paul & Mary Ford "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (and Dream Your Troubles Away)"
12. David Schwartz "Mooseburger Stomp"
13. Joanne Shenandoah "I May Want a Man"
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B. Northern Exposure soundtrack (German version) (Out of Print)
The title is "Ausgerechnet Alaska" (like the series title). It is distributed
by IDEAL Vertrieb, Wichmannstr. 4, 2000 Hamburg 52.
1. The Moose "Northern Exposure Theme-Mix"
2. The Kingsmen "Louie Louie"
3. Little Milton "Stand By Me"
4. Lee Dorsey "Ya Ya"
5. Billy Steward "Summertime"
6. Little Richard "Good Golly Miss Molly"
7. Coasters "Little Egypt"
8. The Drifters "On Broadway"
9. Dolly Parton "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels"
10. Guy Mitchell "Singing The Blues"
11. Patsy Cline "Crazy"
12. Paul Anka "My Way"
13. The Marcels "Blue Moon"
14. Showaddiwaddi "Who Put The Bomp"
15. Trini Lopez "This Is Your Land"
16. Jerry Butler "Moon River"
17. Andy Williams "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing"
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C. If We All Go Insane [Spring Break]
This is the song playing during the famous "running of the bulls" scene. It is by Lindsay Buckingham from the album, Go Insane. It is part of a three part piece ("DW Suite") - another part is used at the end of 5.2 The Mystery of the Old Curio Shop, when Maurice makes the dive from above the water fall.
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D. Toy Cows [Roots]
The song "Toy Cows In Africa" is by a group called Chance from their album Something Ventured. You can buy the CD on http://www.skyislandmusicservices.com/cds.htm
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E. Piano tuner piece [Duets]
The piece played by the blind piano tuner is a Chopin nocturne, from Opus 9, #1: Larghetto in B flat minor.
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F. Turkey In The Straw [Learning Curve]
Kimiye Tipton posted the answer to yet another burning NX music question. The Orlando Sentinel TV critic, Greg Dawson, got the following info from CBS, regarding what sounded like an Native American version of "Turkey in the Straw" in "Learning Curve." The scene was of Marilyn touring around Seattle, accompanied by this piece.

The song is an Ojibway love song. As explained on the second NX CD, a common practice among the Ojibway was to take a song, such as the square dance "Turkey in the Straw," and substitute Ojibway lyrics. It is "Ojibway Square Dance" from Heartbeat: Songs from First Nations Women, performed by Georgia Wettlin-Larsen. It can be ordered from amazon.com. [Heartbeat also includes "I May Want a man" by Joanne Shenandoah - from 5.1 Three Doctors.] It is also available on the second NX CD.
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G. Ebudae [Northern Lights]
The piece played at the end of the episode "Northern Lights," where Chris is displaying his sculpture of light, is "Ebudae" by Enya, from her album "Shepherd Moons." It is sung in Gaelic.
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H. This Must Be The Place [Dinner at 7:30]
The piece played at the beginning and end of the episode "Dinner at 7:30" is "This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)" by The Talking Heads, on their album "Speaking in Tongues" (also available on "Sand in the Vaseline".) It is called Naive Melody because the band members were playing instruments that they normally don't play.
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I. Forever Night Shade Mary [The Quest]
The song played while Joel is on the ferry, looking at New York, is "Forever Night Shade Mary" by Latin Playboys. Their CD is self-titled "Latin Playboys" (eponymous) and is on Slash/Warner Bros 9 45543-2. There is a Los Lobos connection to Latin Playboys. Latin Playboys is a project of David Hildalgo, one of the main members of Los Lobos. The Latin Playboys are David Hildalgo, Louie Perez, Mitchell Froom, and Tchad Blake.
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J. Our Town [Tranquility Base]
The very last song used on NX was "Our Town" by Iris Dement, from her album "Infamous Angel." It is the song playing during the montage of scenes from Cicely that closed the series.
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K. Ruth-Anne's dance on her grave [A-Hunting We Will Go]
No one knows what the music at the end of "A-Hunting We Will Go", where Ruth-Anne and Ed dance on the grave that Ed gave her for her 75th birthday. Speculation in the group is that it's another David Schwartz medley. It is not on either NX CD.
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L. Mo shuil ad dheidh [Lucky People]
Long-time newsgroup contributor Danny in Yorktown provides the following information about the song that closes the episode "Lucky
People": The song is "Mo shuil ad dheidh" and is performed by the Canadian folk/Celtic band, The Rankin Family. It is part of "Gaelic Medley" and can be found on their 1990 release "Fare Thee Well Love." The CD was never released on an American label and can be difficult to find here in the States. Some possible places where you can get it: The Rankin Family's fan club. Info on the club can be found on their web page http://www.islandviewcreations.com/rankins/ Some also had great luck in obtaining obscure Celtic CDs from the
following online music store http://www.tayberry.com or from the above fan site.
==================================================================
IV. Literature Used in NX
There was a syndicated article that appeared in the New York Times and other various newspapers around the U.S. that started to touch on the list of books that Chris has quoted/read on the air.
Edna St. Vincent Millay, "Renascence and Other Poems"
Joseph Campbell, "Power of Myth"
Shakespeare, the complete works
Stephen Hawking, "A Brief History of Time"
Hegel, "Early Technological Writings"
Kierkegaard, "Sickness Unto Death"
Emmanuel Kant, "Critique of Pure Reason"
Walt Whitman, the complete works
Nietzsche, "Logic," and "The Metaphysics of Morals" (note: This would appear to be an error by the NYT)
Tolstoy, "War and Peace"
Maurice Sendak, "Where the Wild Things Are"
Baudelaire, "Flowers of Evil" (in translation, Chris does not read French)
"The Papers of Thomas Jefferson"
Alexis do Tocqueville, the complete works

Additions to the NYT article:
Jack London, "Call of the Wild"
Holling Clancy Holling, "Paddle to the Sea"
Herman Melville, "Billy Budd"
Robert Pirsig, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"
Raymond Chandler, "Red Wind"
Joseph Campbell, "Hero With a Thousand Faces"
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, "One Hundred Years of Solitude"
E.B. White, "Charlotte's Web"
The Portable Jung
Proust, "Remembrance of Things Past"
Mary Wollstonecraft, "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman"
Albert Camus, "The Stranger"
Deborah Tannen, "You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation."
==================================================================
V. Miscellaneous Information
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A. Related shows and films

"Local Hero" is a film by Scottish director Bill Forsythe. In Local Hero, an upwardly-mobile young professional (oilman) goes to a remote part of the world (northern Scotland) where he is initially annoyed by the lack of modern conveniences but eventually enchanted with the local culture. At one point an old Russian town friend stumbles into the scene, both towns are run to some extent by an enterprising man in many roles, and the main character deals with a kind, elderly store-keeper woman.

"Going to Extremes" is another Brand/Falsey creation. It has been described as "St. Elsewhere" on the sand with characters from NX thrown in. Comparisons to NX are natural-- doctors thrown into a foreign culture with lots of colorful local characters. It was cancelled shortly into its first season.

"Doc Hollywood" is a movie that was released in the summer of 1991. It stars Michael J. Fox as a doctor, who while travelling to Beverly Hills to begin a career as a plastic surgeon, ends up stuck in the small town of Grady, trying to pay off a debt by filling in as the town doctor. No one can be certain which came first: NX or "Doc Hollywood." Rumor has it that the script for DH had been floating around Hollywood for years, but NX was created by Brand and Falsey after talking to a doctor friend of theirs. A DH/NX connection is that Roberts Blossom played both the judge who sentenced Fox's character (Ben Stone) to community service in DH, and the elder Ned Svenborg [Cicely].

"Twin Peaks" has also been compared to NX. TP was also filmed in the state of Washington (in Snoqualmie) and took place in a town filled with colorful characters. NX has done an homage to TP. In "Russian Flu," Holling, Joel and Elaine visit a scenic waterfall (Snoqualmie Falls-- the same falls used in TP), there is some vague TP-type music playing in the background (which they hear and snap their fingers to), and they talk about coffee and cherry pie.

"Picket Fences" is another show that is often described as "quirky," a' la NX and Twin Peaks. It is set in the town of Rome, Wisconsin, and is currently showing on the CBS network at 10:00pm Fridays. Picket Fences recently won a number of 1993 Emmy awards, including best drama.

"Mediterraneo" (Italian, 1991) Takes place during WWII, eight Italian soldiers who land on a small Greek island to secure it for the Axis forces and end up staying until the end of the war, partly because their ship was sunk and also because they fall in love with the people and the place. The main female lead is also "resourceful" and brunette (but definitely in a different line of work than Maggie!)

"Calabuig" (Spanish, 1956)An USA scientific fed up with his job on nuclear bombs, flees away and ends in a small fishing village in the Mediterranean coast of Spain, Calabuig, an imaginary place. There he gets "imprisioned" and meets the local people, he makes friends and finds a sense of life, more humane and friendly. After having help the town to win the fireworks contest, he is discovered and forced to return to his job. But he has achived a new way of seeing things. Thanks to Estrella Alamo Alvarez for supplying the information on this film.


B. Syndication information

In the US, Northern Exposure is not currently airing. The Hallmark Channel owns the syndication rights. Contact Hallmark to show your support online or email them Viewers@hallmarkchannel.com.

In Canada, Viewers can find Northern Exposure up to three times a day (!) on the digital cable channel Country Canada.

**Please email me if you can view NX in your country


C. NX Merchandise

There are a few shops in Roslyn, Washington that still carry some Northern Exposure items. Your best bet is Ebay Online Auctions - http://www.ebay.com

For scripts - see Script City online - http://www.scriptcity.net/ or http://home.comcast.net/%7Ejmoosechick/scripts.html


D. NX books

Some of these books are out of print and will be difficult finding in your local bookstore, but people who are perseverant may be able to find a copy.

"Letters from Cicely: a book" / Ellis Weiner; based on the Universal Television series Northern Exposure created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey. -- New York: Pocket Books, c1992. ISBN 0-671-77735-1. CIP (May. 92) A series of letters from each character to various people; the author has tried to keep his voice in sync with the individual characters. [Japanese edition: Tokyo, Fusho, c 1993 FUSOSHA MYSTERY No. 0291 ('93/7/30) Translator: Haruna NAKATANI ISBN 4-594-01201-9]

"The Northern Exposure Cookbook" Ellis Weiner from Contemporary Books
A collection of recipes for a community feast, as the characters would probably fix them.

"Exposing Northern Exposure", Scott Nance, Pioneer Books, Inc., 5715 N. Balsam Road, Las Vegas, Nevada 89130, 1992
ISBN 1-55698-324-7, $14.95
The book details all the NEXP episodes from the pilot to "Cicely." Included are cast interviews, character bios, and a number of character, location, and set photos, none in color.

"Chris in the Morning: Love, Life, and the whole Karmic Enchilada"
Compiled and Edited by Louis Chunovic, Published by Contemporary Books,
ISBN: 0-8092-3762-8

"The Northern Exposure Book"
Louis Chunovic, A Citadel Press Book published by Carol Publishing Group
120 Enterprise Ave., Secaucus, NJ 07094
ISBN 0-8065-1409-4

"Northern Exposures", Rob Morrow, Published by Hyperion
114 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10011 ISBN 0-7868-6064-2 $9.95
It's a collection of black and white photos taken over the years by Rob around the NX sets (cover photo is Janine wearing a gas mask).


E. NX Videos

MCA released episodes of NX on both VHS and Laserdisc format. For those interested, here is some info:
Laserdiscs: were $34.98 each
MCA41568LD Pilot/Aurora Borealis
MCA41569LD Cicely/Northwest Passages
MCA41682LD Thanksgiving/Seoul Mates
MCA41985LD The Body in Question & Burning Down the House
MCA42021LD The Big Feast & Northern Lights

Videotapes: were$14.98 each
MCA81482 Pilot
MCA81559 Cicely
MCA81560 Spring Break
MCA81562 Northwest Passages
MCA81483 Aurora Borealis
MCA81644 Thanksgiving
MCA81645 Seoul Mates
MCA81920 Burning Down the House
MCA81685 The Body in Question
MCA82016 The Big Feast
MCA82015 Northern Lights

PAL format:
VHR1696 Pilot, Aurora Borealis, Spring Break
VHR1697 Body in Question, Seoul Mates
VHR1698 Burning down the house, Cicely
VHR1699 Northwest Passage, Thanksgiving
VHR1700 Northern Lights, The Big Feast
You can try ordering these videos from either of these two sites:
http://www.amazon.com - for the US
http://www.amazon.co.uk - for the UK

The first season (eight episodes) has been released on DVD in the UK. You can get this from HMV http://www.hmv.co.uk/ . Note that this is a Region 2 DVD - which means in the US (which is Region 1), you need a multi-region or other specialized DVD player (may work on your computer though - it runs on my Macintosh).

There aren't any official DVD releases in the US ... yet. See more information: http://moosechick.com/DVD.html


F. Voice-Overs & Other Roles

The following is old information that we have on voice-overs and other roles that the NX actors have undertaken currently and in the past.
Thanks to Bill Pulliam who ran the names through the movies database and came up with a lot of missing stuff.
**This list is through the mid to late 1990s. For more current information - see the bibliography section on Moosechick Notes - http://home.comcast.net/%7Emcnotes/castcrew.html

Adam Arkin
All Together Now, Babies, Big Wave Dave's, Chicago Hope, Chu Chu and the Philly Flash, The Doctor, Full Moon High, Heat Wave,
It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy, The Monitors, Necessary Parties, Pearl, Personal Foul, A Promise to Keep, Teachers Only, Tough Cookies, Under the Rainbow, A Year in the Life, Baseball (voice-over)

Doug Ballard
Fearless, Sunset Grill

Darren Burrows
Casualties of War, Class of 1999, Cry Baby, Dazed and Confused, Dragnet,Hard Times on Planet Earth, TV101, 976-EVIL

John Corbett
Flight of the Intruder, MTV motorcycle series, The Osiris Chronicles, Wonder Years, Tombstonem Isuzu (commercial, voice-over), MCI (commercial, voice-over)

Barry Corbin
Any Which Way You Can, Ballad of Gregorio Cortez, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Bitter Harvest, Boone, C.A.T. Squad, Career Opportunities, The Chase, Conagher, Critters 2: The Main Course, A Death in California, The Defiant Ones, Fantasies, Fatal Vision, Firefighter, Flight #90: Disaster on the Potomac, Ghost Dad, Hard Traveling, Honkytonk Man, The Hot Spot, I Know My First Name Is Steven, It Takes Two, The Keys, LBJ: The Early Years, Last Flight Out, Lonesome Dove, Man Against the Mob, The Man Who Loved Women, MASH(tv), Murder in Texas, My Science Project, The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, Nothing in Common, Off the Mark, The People Across the Lake, Permanent Record, Prime Suspect, Rage, The Ratings Game,Red King, White Knight, Secret Witness, Short Time, Six Pack, Spies, Spooner, Stir Crazy, Stranger on My Land, The Thorn Birds, Under Cover,Under Siege, Urban Cowboy, WarGames, Warm Hearts, Cold Feet,What Comes Around, Who's Harry Crumb?, Young Harry Houdini, Dominicks' (commercial), Portland General Electric (commercial), Lipton Iced Tea (commercial, voice-over), Moon Shot (voice of Deke Slayton), Nike (TV Commercial), Black Star Beer (TV Commercial)

John Cullum
1776 (film), The Act, All the Way Home, Buck James, Carl Sandburg - Echoes and Silences, Edge of Night, Doctors, Hawaii, Tom Brown's School Days (aka Adventures at Rugby), The Day After, Hamlet, The Man Without a Country, Marie (aka Marie: A True Story), Mattie's Choice, Money, Power, Murder, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (Broadway), One Life to Live, The Prodigal, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Shenandoah, Shootdown, Spenser for Hire, Sweet Country, Quantum Leap (episode "Catch a Falling Star", with Janine Turner), With a Vengeance, EggBeaters (commercial, voice-over), Washington Mutual Bank (comm., voice-over)

Richard Cummings, Jr.
Eve of Destruction, Hyundai (commercial, voice-over), Project X, thirtysomething, Throb, The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, The Wall Street Journal (commercial, voice-over)

Diane Delano
Bakersfield, P.D., Heart Like a Wheel, LA Law, Quantum Leap, Miracle Mile, Platypus Man, The River Wild, Sleepwalkers (aka Stephen King's Sleepwalkers), Wild Card

Anthony Edwards
Delta Heat, Downtown, El Diablo, E.R., Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story, Gotcha!, Hawks,
Heart Like a Wheel, High School U.S.A., Hometown Boy Makes Good, How I Got Into College, The Killing of Randy Webster, Landslide, Miracle Mile, Mr. North, Pet Sematary II, Revenge of the Nerds, Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise, Summer Heat, The Sure Thing,Top Gun, It Takes Two

Cynthia Geary
Adam 12, Dangerous Curves, Divorce Court, Fame (TV), For the Love of Mike, Rich Girl, Superior Court, To Grandmother's House We Go, Us, War Dancing, The Young & the Restless, 8 Seconds

Graham Greene
Benefit of the Doubt, The Broken Chain, Clearcut, Cooperstown, Dances with Wolves, Earth and the American Dream, The Last of His Tribe, Maverick, North, Powwow Highway,Rain Without Thunder, Revolution, Running Brave, Savage Land, Thunderheart

Jessica Lundy
Doogie Howser, M.D., Hope and Gloria, The Second Half, Seinfeld

Valerie Mahaffey
Fresno, Her Secret Life (aka Code Name: Dancer), L.A. Law, Quantum Leap, Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder, The Powers That Be, Till Death Us Do Part, Wings, Woman of the House, Women of Valor

Don McManus (note: this may or may not be Don R. McManus (Erick))
The Bonfire of the Vanities, Double Standard, Gunsmoke: The Long Ride, Head Office, Josh and S.A.M., Killer Party, Knight Rider 2010, Telling Secrets, True Colors, White Mile

Rob Morrow
Fame, Private Resort, Saturday Night Live, Spencer for Hire, Tattingers,Quiz Show, Mastercard (commercial, voice-over), Dentyne (commerical)

Peg Phillips
Chase, Dangerous Affections, Dogfight, Plainclothes, Waiting for the Light, Dominick's (commercial)

Teri Polo
Mystery Date, Aspen Extreme, Golden Gate

Paul Provenza
Comedy Tonight, Comics Only, Empty Nest, The Facts of Life, Pursuit of Happiness, The Sunday Comics

Rita Taggart
1941, Almost Grown, Born to Be Sold, The Cartier Affair, The China Syndrome, Coach, Coupe de Ville, Crossing the Bridge, The Horror Show (aka House III), Inmates: A Love Story, Mae West, Rape and Marriage: The Rideout Case, Seizure: The Story of Kathy Morris, Splash, Too, Straight Time, Wait Till Your Mother Gets Home!, The Webbers, Weeds

Janine Turner
The A-Team, The Ambulance, Behind the Screen, Cliffhanger, General Hospital, Knights of the City, Knight Rider, The Love Boat, Monkey Shines: An Experiment in Fear, Quantum Leap (episode "Catch a Falling Star", with John Cullum), Steel Magnolias, Tai-Pan, Young Doctors in Love, Chevrolet (commercial)


G. Contacts
Pipeline Productions has shut down and can no longer accept mail about the show. To find contact information through agents or official web sites - see the bibliography section on Moosechick Notes - http://home.comcast.net/%7Emcnotes/castcrew.html

H. Other services
For an updated list of places on the net to chat about NX, see Places to Chat About Northern Exposure on http://home.comcast.net/%7Emcnotes/fans.html

I. Internet sites
For a regularly updated list see Some Great Northern Exposure Fan Sites on http://home.comcast.net/%7Emcnotes/fans.html

J. Roslyn Mini-FAQ

Courtesy of Aaron Naas <aaronn@char.vnet.net>, here is a mini-FAQ on Roslyn.
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List of some of the interesting locations in and around Roslyn, WA.
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Original sources of information
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AAron nAAs (aaronn@vnet.net), visited Roslyn for a week, stayed in Cle Elum.
Mary Andler, Curator of Roslyn Museum.
Free "Visit the Kittitas" tourist guide published by the Ellensburg Daily Record, THE newspaper of the Kittitas.
"Upper Kittitas Country Dining Guide" insert published by N.K.C. TRIBUNE.
Free "Visitor Guide for 1993, Snoqualmie Summit to Blewett Pass".
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Buildings in town
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Roslyn Museum Pennsylvania Avenue. Never shown.
LOTS of Roslyn history about town & people. Packed with antiques. Some NX info. Sign in. Chat with current curator for a while. (**Note: Mary Andler passed away Dec 2002.)

Roslyn Cafe Corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 2nd Street. Never featured, only outside mural seen.
Nice Little cafe. Tourist stop (lots 'o tourists!). Some NX stuff. Former ads declared: "Where the stars dine!" and "As shown on 'Northern Exposure.'" (**Note: The Roslyn Cafe was sold in 2003 and is being completely renovated from the ground up).

Roslyn Cafe Mural Corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 2nd Street. Shown frequently.
Hot tourist spot. People line up for pictures.

Laundrymat Corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 2nd Street. Might only be used as a set.

Village Pizza Pennsylvania Avenue.Never featured, front sometimes seen.
Excellent gourmet Pizza. (**Note: The original Village Pizza burned down in 1996 but has been rebuilt. The new building matches the design of the near by buildings.)

Pennsylvania Station 1st and Pennsylvania Avenue. Never featured, front sometimes seen.
Little cafe. (**Note: This is now the home of Lost in Roslyn - a really fun, eccentric little shop).

Brick Tavern 1 Pennsylvania Avenue. Outside featured but NX Brick inside was on sound stage in Redmond, WA.
Ads declare: "The oldest operating saloon in the State of Washington", "Established 1899", and "Complete with running water
spittoon"

Central Sundries 2 Pennsylvania Avenue. Ruthanne's general store.
Had hot set warning ribbons draped aboutfront of store. Some NX stuff.

Pioneer Restaurant and 3 Pennsylvania Avenue.Sody-Licious Bar Never featured.
Fine dining, great food and atmosphere. Surprisingly impressive. Micro beers on tap.

Northwestern Improvement Co. Corner of Pennsylvania Avenue. (NWI building) Seen frequently from outside.
**Memory Makers - NX gift shop used to be housed here but closed in 2001. The building has been for sale since then but needs many repairs. Minnifield Communications and Network (KBHR radio station) Locked set are still in the building.

Roslyn Brewing Company 33 Pennsylvania Avenue. Never featured or shown.
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Houses of featured characters
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Ruthanne's house 12 5th Street.
Marilyn's house 25 5th Street.
Maggie's old house 8 West Washington Avenue.
Replica was built on vacant lot beside it to look like original house. Replica was burned for show.
Maggie's house Corner of E Street and Washington.
Maurice's house 8 E Street.
Maurice's family Home In backyard of 16 North First Street. Privately owned (**Now a chicken coop).
Built in Ronald. Moved through Roslyn Given to Roslyn Resident.
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Other sites
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Frequently show lake Lake Cle Elum.

Where Maurice & Holling slipped w/ Dead friend Salmon La Sac Campground close to bridge.

Little white church Town of Easton, corner of 1st and Depot.

Site of Maggie's halucination Toward source of Cle Elum River.

Rick's final campsite Disguised vacant lot in Town. Too snowy in forest, had to move into town. Kludged lot into makeshift set to havegreater camara visibility.

Where Ned Svenborg Roslyn Cemetary. visits the grave of Roslyn Interesting breakdown of ethnic groups and
lodges. For example, if you were part of the Moose Lodge then you would have a grave waiting for you.

Flung Piano In Teanaway Area at the Crossetti Ranch.

Mechanic Garage scenes Cascade Motors at 1st and Dakota Avenue.


K. Legal Stuff and Acknowledgements

**Thank you to Jason Cowart and Kimiye Tipton for previously maintaining the FAQ. Thank you to Jason Allen, Meg Bookout, Danny Moses and many, many others on the alt.tv.northern-exp newsgroup for their long-time contribution of information.

Sharon's Acknowledgements
Much thanks to the following people for helping to edit this document, and for helping with contributions to this document (whether they realize it or not :-):
Richard Ahrens, Iain Anderson, Melanie Arabsky, Fred Azier, Pam Baker, Jason Bassford, Andy Bates, Rob Bednark, Terje Berg, Fred Bertelsen, Tin Blaskovic, Greg Bole, Brian Boutel, David Bowen, Ken Brody, Melissa Brown, Rodney Brown, Stan Brown, Denise Bryngelson, John Cohen, Tad Cook, Claudio Costa, Cliff Chen, Terence Chua, Michael E. Costello, Tony Daniel, Eric DeMund, Anton de Weger, Adam Dobrzycki, Peter Douglas, Maureen Dyokas, James Easton, Ulrich Fieseler, Nick C. Fotis, Ralph Foy, Brian Fristensky, Howard Gershen, Maria Giannoni, Gordan Gledec, Gary Goldberg, Dan Goldstein, Lee Groves, F.F. Jacot, Guillarmod, V. M. Haas, Eric R. Hanson, Rob Heerdink, Peter Hillstrom, Doug Hogarth, Anthony Horan, Wendy Hui, Tatsuaki Ihata, Heather Jarman,,Thomas E. Janzen, Kay Jones, Kerrin Rhys Jones, Joe Kirby, Larry Klaes, Visa Kopu, Sascha Krasny, Anne R. Kubelik, Herman Kuiper, Sean Lamont, Jack Lee, Michael Lefever, Chris Lehto, Larry J Lennhoff, Wm. Linden, Joe Lynn, Rick Maddy, Declan Malone, Matt Mccoy, Michael Robert McGrade, Bob McQueer, Doug Merrett, George Mitchell, Pekka Makela, Davorin Mestric, David G. Moore, Tim Moors, Ronan Mullally, Andrew P. Murphy, Aaron Naas, Bill Newman, Henry W. Nunes, Il Hwan Oh, Tom Owens, Tomasz Papszun, Tomaz Craig Patten, Louise Penberthy, Pascal Peng, Aveline Perez, Kate Perkins, George Pete, Tim Pierce, Richard J. Pugh, Bill Pulliam, A.E. Rednick, Darren Reiniger, Douglas J Renze, Evan Rosser, Martin Rothaemel, Gunther Sablon, Melissa Safran, Timothy W. Saffel, Erin Sasaki, AJ Schricker, Debbie Schwartz, Jude Shabry, Tim Short, Craig Smith, Forrest Smith, Werenfried Spit, Hal Stein, Gary Stephens, Rick Stickle, Kimiye Tipton, Wendy Toiwan Hui, Lee Tsen-Ta, Micheal Tucker, Steven Vest, Larry W. Virden, Steve Webb, Jeff Witzer, Gordon Wong, David Yang, Artur Zaroda, Oliver Zechlin, Eriks Ziemelis, Reid (urrraymon@msuvx1.memst.edu), pgut1@cs.aukuni.ac.nz, Dan <johnkey@maths.tcd.ie>, The Bean <kds52568@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu>, <a1burokas@aol.com>, <joel@cs.utexas.edu>, yox@news.delphi.com, jailbait@valhalla.intercon.com, ZOOL190@csc.canterbury.ac.nz, mertonb@aol.com (MertonB), Doug Hogarth, CECILS@delphi.com, SANT_M@CHO004.CHO.GE.COM (Martan), Brenda <frsbear@aol.com>, Kristi <racer@racerrecords.com>

* * *
This FAQ, as a collection of information, is Copyright (c) 2003, 1996, 1997, 1998 by Sharon Bond, Jason Cowart and Moosechick. All Rights Reserved. The removal of this copyright notice is forbidden.


This page updated 8/4/15

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