Here's a review of the NX pilot episode from the July 12, 1990 edition
of "The New York Times."

Jason K.
___________________________________________________________________

New Doctor Adrift in Alaska

by John J. O'Connor

On a plane to Alaska, Joel Fleischman, fresh out of medical school, is
compulsively telling a complete stranger, "I’m not kidding myself;
Anchorage isn’t New York." But he adds, "It isn’t Cambodia, and it has
five Chinese restaurants." Then, for no particular reason, he declares,
"Let’s face it, Jewish doctors are not exactly an endangered species."

Played deftly by Rob Morrow, Joel is the brash, sometimes obnoxious
27-year-old hero of "Northern Exposure," a new series that begins a
limited run on CBS tonight at 10. It seems that Joel got his medical
degree with the help of a loan from the State of Alaska. Now he must
return the favor by spending at least four years of practice not in
Anchorage, as he thought, but in a small hamlet called Cicely. The
place doesn’t have a single takeout restaurant. Joel desperately wants
out, but his contract has no loopholes. Actually the series is being
filmed in Washington State, within range of "Twin Peaks" territory, and
the scenery is spectacular. What’s to worry?

"Northern Exposure" is not throwaway summer fare. The series was
created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey, who are also the executive
producers. Their past credits include "St. Elsewhere" and "A Year in
the Life." They have carefully explained that "Northern Exposure" is a
"fish-out-of-water show, not a disease-of-the-week show." Clearly Joel
the city slicker will end up being softened and perhaps even enlightened
by his new country cousins, who are certainly an appealingly odd lot.

Running Cicely is Maurice Minnifield (Barry Corbin), a former astronaut
who warmly assures Joel that the town is "delighted to have a Jew doctor
from New York -- you guys have an outstanding reputation." Maurice is
not speaking to his old friend Holling Vincoeur (John Cullum), who
swiped his young girlfriend Shelly (Cynthia Geary), the former Miss
Northwest Passage.

Maggie O'Connell (Janine Turner) hails from Grosse Pointe, Mich., and
now owns her own plane and a shuttle service. Young Chris Stevens (John
Corbett) is the local disk jockey who lives in a mobil home with a
Boston woman he found wandering around the forest. And young Ed (Darren
E. Burrows) is an American Indian with a keen interest in
rhythm-and-blues and the films of Woody Allen.

Will Joel take readily to eating mooseburgers at the local Summer
Wonderland Festival? Will he get used to the giant rats running around
his log cabin? Can he cope wholly inadequate plumbing? Well, not right
away. But by the end of next week’s episode, he has learned how to do
an Indian dance and is beginning to take second and third looks at
Maggie. That’s after Maurice fires Chris the disk jockey for some
comments he made over the air about Walt Whitman. But when Maurice
takes over the radio show to play nothing but show tunes, the entire
village rebels.

The show can get overly cute. It’s hard to believe that anyone these
days, even in remote Alaska, hasn’t heard of a bagel, frozen or
otherwise. And at one point, a passing reference is made to "St.
Elsewhere." Not necessary. But, like Joel, a good many viewers may
discover that the characters kind of grow on you. A first-rate cast
makes it all the more easy. As Ed says to Joel about the gamey
mooseburgers, you’ll get used to it.