Deftly juggling themes of pride, antagonism, prejudice, and reconciliation, Stuart Stevens's script for "Brains, Know-How and Native Intelligence" starts "Northern Exposure" down its warm and witty path by fleshing out its complex cast of characters. The two central conflicts involve Maurice Minnifield and Chris Stevens, the free-spirited disc jockey at Maurice's KBHR radio station, and Joel Fleischman and Ed Chigliak's Uncle Anku (Frank Salcedo), although Joel also locks horns with Maggie O'Connell in a joust of mutual animosity that can only signal sexual attraction.
As Chris, on the air at KBHR, rhapsodizes about Walt Whitman including mention of the poet's homosexuality, Maurice becomes so enraged that he literally throws Chris off the air. Maurice then takes the mike himself, lecturing Cicelians on manliness and the evils of perversion, all the while playing non-stop Broadway show tunes---raising eyebrows about bachelor Maurice's own sexual orientation---that inevitably drive the town bonkers, forcing town mayor Holling Vincoeur to call a town meeting to confront Maurice.
That kind of sly irony informs Joel's encounter with Anku. After yielding to Ed's entreaties to examine his uncle, himself a medicine man, Joel finds himself hoodwinked by the wily Anku, who is perfectly at home with modern life---he faithfully watches Dan Rather---but who is not above playing the native card to get his way. Meanwhile, Joel bristles at Maggie's barbs when his plumbing needs attention, precipitating a feud.
Still feeling for a consistent tone and style, "Brains, Know-How and Native Intelligence" nevertheless pushes past the pilot episode's broad rustic caricature, developing Cicely and its inhabitants, as Maurice quickly assumes dimension, however unlikely it may seem; on the other hand, "Northern Exposure" is already demonstrating its eagerness to transcend convention.
Barry Corbin justifies his second billing as the show's backbone although Rob Morrow, his Joel still having to flop as the fish out of water, takes center stage with confidence; however, Janine Turner lacks the range to transcend foil status but still shows promise. Meanwhile, Darren Burrows's Ed seems tapped to play guileless Man Friday to Joel's exasperated Robinson Crusoe shipwrecked on the cusp of the Alaskan Riviera. "Brains, Know-How and Native Intelligence displays encouraging potential for the future of "Northern Exposure."
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?
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