Northern Exposure (TV Series) Soapy Sanderson (1990) User Reviews

Almost there, but not quite...

[soundphury · 8/10 · 16 November 2018]

If "Soapy Sanderson" had run in one of the later seasons of Northern Exposure, we no doubt would have been treated to a joyless and dreary meditation on the nature of aging, or solitude, or suicide or some other such pompous nonsense.

Fortunately, we're still in the first season, where, thankfully, the writers, more often than not, felt these topics were best dealt with using a heavy dose of light comedy. And the result is the beginning of some truly great television.

Soapy Sanderson is the first episode where it really feels like all the disparate elements of this gem of a television series are finally starting to come together - interesting characters, outlandish plots and, at the center of it all, Morrow's causticly petulant Dr Fleischman. And, as a true testament to how great this show is, it's not the main plot (Fleischman's attempts to duplicitously sell off land that he and Maggie have just inherited), that garners the praise here, but, instead, it's the subplots and secondary characters that really start to come to the fore, foreshadowing the strong ensemble nature that this show will eventually take on. Case in point: Ed's introduction to film making by a documentary film crew, as well as how we get to learn more about the citizens of Cicely through their interviews. High points here include the first time we get to hear David Schwartz' beautifully contemplative piano theme that would serve as a sort of leitmotif for Maggie's character throughout much of the series, as well as an early television role from guest star Christa Miller.

A Step Down

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 16 January 2024]

For some reason I couldn't engage in this episode. I think it's because at the base of it is Joel's dishonesty. A hermit, who is a dear friend of Maggie's, whom he has been treating kills himself. He leaves his property to the two of them. Joel gets a big financial offer but never tells Maggie about it. He is dishonest with her, pretending to have good intentions when he was really looking out only for himself. At some point, after some wine, they kiss, but this complicates things. It is the beginning of some feelings for the couple which will grow. But what brings this down is a documentary being done by some amateur filmmakers for a university project. It keeps getting in the way. Also, Maurice is his windbag self. There is a thing with a record collection donated by the deceased.

Launching "Northern Exposure" for Good

[darryl-tahirali · 8/10 · 27 November 2023]

In the annals of the romantic saga involving Joel and Maggie, "Soapy Sanderson" (John McLiam) will forever be the matchmaker who sparked their long, strange relationship, although in typical "Northern Exposure" fashion Soapy kicked them down the road to romance by kicking the bucket with a self-inflicted gunshot, then left them as co-executors of his land along with an excellent bottle of Lafite Rothschild. That's the path the story by Karen Hall and Jerry Stahl (Hall wrote the teleplay) chooses to follow, and it leads to the almost absurd borderline between mirth and poignancy that distinguishes the series.

While in Cicely for his doctor's visit, old hermit Soapy takes Joel's admonition to think about his future a little too much to heart, as Joel and Maggie discover when they find his body---and learn that they are left as partners in his estate. Soon, Joel is approached by Native American businessmen offering to buy Soapy's land for a handsome sum---the land is worthless, but they need a tax shelter, a canny example of how the series neither lionized nor patronized the indigenous locals. Also appearing in Cicely are a documentary-film crew (Christa Miller, Darryl Fong) from Soapy's old university---he was a prominent professor with two doctorates, hardly the rustic sourdough Joel imagined him to be---and Soapy's country-music collection that he leaves to Chris to play on the radio.

That last, along with a distinctive piano theme for Maggie by series composer David Schwartz, inaugurates the impact music would have on "Northern Exposure," in essence becoming another colorful, eclectic, often compelling character. Meanwhile, director Stephen Cragg mixes the documentary crew's footage with the standard shots, inspiring Ed in the process. Rob Morrow and Janine Turner hold the center of "Soapy Sanderson" as Joel and Maggie schmooze before Maggie discovers the land offer and confronts Joel, with Maggie also discovering something about herself that Soapy had recognized. The rough edges still need sanding, but "Soapy Sanderson" launched "Northern Exposure" for good.

REVIEWER'S NOTE: What makes a review "helpful"? Every reader of course decides that for themselves. For me, a review is helpful if it explains why the reviewer liked or disliked the work or why they thought it was good or not good. Whether I agree with the reviewer's conclusion is irrelevant. "Helpful" reviews tell me how and why the reviewer came to their conclusion, not what that conclusion may be. Differences of opinion are inevitable. I don't need "confirmation bias" for my own conclusions. Do you?