NX Premiere "Northwest Passages"
Kimiye Tipton;ball of confusion
Well, this was vintage Northern Exposure-- not too exciting, not too
outrageous-- just a typical quality episode. Sort of a relief after
all the gangbusters season premieres, where most shows seem to be
going as sensationalistic as possible to grab ratings.
On to the details...
So, it turns out Maggie was trying valiantly to have a great birthday,
and everyone else was dumping on her. This is great-- real life!
Although it didn't quite go along with previous stories about her
character (remember when she learned she was going far-sighted?),
we can accept that she would try to be adult about it. And that
everyone else would, in their narrow, self-centered ways, project
their fears onto her. Funny that Fleischman is the only one who
stops to think that she might really be okay (except Ed, who knew
all along).
And the dream sequence-- YES! Just what I asked Santa for. Followed
by the best line in the whole show (see my .sig). That whole
troup of boorish jerks-- instead of idealizing her lost beaux with
those little dioramas ("And what does the glued-on macaroni stand
for, man's inhumanity to man?"), Maggie sees what those guys were
like at their worst.
I really liked one-night-stand Steve Scanlon-- they've now
clarified that it isn't the relationship that matters, it's whether
Maggie has sex with the guy. Or at least, that's what's in the back
of her mind. So, she doesn't have to moon over these guys anymore,
but she still has to get over thinking she's a black widow.
It looks like Maggie and Joel are back to status quo, almost.
Interesting that they completely dropped the plot from the Juneau/
Wedding episodes. On the other hand, once I thought about it, that
is what people really do. You have some huge confrontation, get it
all out in the open (well, most of it), and then the next time you
see each other, you both act like it didn't happen. Later, much
later, you finally talk about it again.
I really hated Maurice's storyline, even though I understood it as
contrast to Maggie's sincere self-examination. The final blow was
his reference to "Japs", a term most Asian-Americans find as offensive
as any other racial epithet. At least it was immediately followed
by Ruth Ann's salient comment (POW!). I don't mind hearing Maurice
air his prejudices as part of character development, but this little
dig bordered on gratutious. He doesn't use nasty terms to refer to
his own Korean-born son, does he? Seems like Maurice keeps going
backwards. A more colorful phrase pompously praising Japanese
business acumen while pumping himself up would have fit better
with his character and the atmosphere of the show. And it wouldn't
have felt like a cold bucket of water in the face to me.
Marilyn's driving lessons were fun, and we got to see more of
Chris' own version of pomposity and Ruth Ann's impatience. All
in all, it rated about a 7 on the NX scale (compared only to itself),
with occasional peaks into 9, like the last scene with Maggie and
Joel in the hospital. If I'm ever lying around in a hospital, please
have Rob Morrow come in and give me one of those crinkly smiles,
and I'll be just fine.
Whew! I'm glad NX is back. Now I can sail through these blue
Mondays again.
Kimiye Tipton ki...@kokomo.att.com or ki...@newsance.att.com Maitland, FL
"Now, I'm going to unzip your pants and pull them down around your
hips-- try not to get turned on."
Il Hwan Oh
> On to the details...
> So, it turns out Maggie was trying valiantly to have a great birthday,
> and everyone else was dumping on her. This is great-- real life!
> Although it didn't quite go along with previous stories about her
> character (remember when she learned she was going far-sighted?),
> we can accept that she would try to be adult about it. And that
> everyone else would, in their narrow, self-centered ways, project
> their fears onto her. Funny that Fleischman is the only one who
> stops to think that she might really be okay (except Ed, who knew
> all along).
Well, actually, I thinkg it fits very well. She's been so preoccupied
with it all along that this "milestone" is really no big deal. I
thought it was funny that it was Fleischman that had the midlife
crisis.
> I really hated Maurice's storyline, even though I understood it as
> contrast to Maggie's sincere self-examination.
For that reason, I really loved it.
> The final blow was
> his reference to "Japs", a term most Asian-Americans find as offensive
> as any other racial epithet. At least it was immediately followed
> by Ruth Ann's salient comment (POW!). I don't mind hearing Maurice
> air his prejudices as part of character development, but this little
> dig bordered on gratutious.
Hmmm... I thought it was consistant with his character. Ruth Ann's
reaction was perfect.
> He doesn't use nasty terms to refer to
> his own Korean-born son, does he?
He referred to him as a "middle-aged Chinaman".
> Marilyn's driving lessons were fun, and we got to see more of
> Chris' own version of pomposity and Ruth Ann's impatience.
I liked Chris in this episode more than in any of last season's episodes.
He's back to what I liked. He's no longer the narrator of the story.
He's actually believable as a small-town quirky DJ.
--
Il Hwan Oh | What is "Martinizing",
Computer Facilities Manager | and why does it
University of Washington, Tacoma | take one hour?
i...@cac.washington.edu |
Keith Winkeler
In article <1992Sep29....@newsance.att.com> ki...@newsance.att.com (Kimiye Tipton;ball of confusion) writes:
>So, it turns out Maggie was trying valiantly to have a great birthday,
>and everyone else was dumping on her. This is great-- real life!
>Although it didn't quite go along with previous stories about her
>character (remember when she learned she was going far-sighted?),
I think it _is_ consistent with the far-sighted episode. In both
shows, she is disconcerted by her age and reveals her insecurities
in her efforts to hide her obvious worries.
>And the dream sequence-- YES! Just what I asked Santa for. Followed
>by the best line in the whole show (see my .sig). That whole
>troup of boorish jerks-- instead of idealizing her lost beaux with
>those little dioramas ("And what does the glued-on macaroni stand
>for, man's inhumanity to man?"), Maggie sees what those guys were
>like at their worst.
Whoa, I thinked you missed this one completely. If anything, this was
the first episode in which the "boorish jerks" were portrayed neutrally
and not negatively. In her delerium, she doesn't see them as jerks, but
sees her own faults in her relationships with them. She is criticizing
herself for idolizing Rick for his figure and sees that she used him, just
like he used her. Remember, she is the one putting words into these
guys mouths. She is beginning to understand how she must have seemed
from the other perspective. Now, having seen her own faults, she
can develop a more healthy relationship (e.g. with Joel. Before, while
conscious, she was always defensive about her role in relationships
(e.g. with Joel). She definitely was not seeing her ex's as jerks,
but as people she hurt just as they hurt her and her father hurt her.
That is, she sees relationships as a two-way street.
>I really hated Maurice's storyline, even though I understood it as
>contrast to Maggie's sincere self-examination. The final blow was
>his reference to "Japs", a term most Asian-Americans find as offensive
>as any other racial epithet. At least it was immediately followed
>by Ruth Ann's salient comment (POW!). I don't mind hearing Maurice
>air his prejudices as part of character development, but this little
>dig bordered on gratutious. He doesn't use nasty terms to refer to
>his own Korean-born son, does he? Seems like Maurice keeps going
Actually, he is very deragotory to his Korean-born son in that episode
until he comes to terms with it. It seems like too much apologizing by
the prime minister has put some y'all in the diaspora on the defensive,
especially about Koreans, etc.
Smith
(...)
>
And another (...) ...
>
>It looks like Maggie and Joel are back to status quo, almost.
>Interesting that they completely dropped the plot from the Juneau/
>Wedding episodes. On the other hand, once I thought about it, that
>is what people really do. You have some huge confrontation, get it
>all out in the open (well, most of it), and then the next time you
>see each other, you both act like it didn't happen. Later, much
>later, you finally talk about it again.
>
>
(...)
>...with occasional peaks into 9, like the last scene with Maggie and
>Joel in the hospital. If I'm ever lying around in a hospital, please
>have Rob Morrow come in and give me one of those crinkly smiles,
>and I'll be just fine.
>
My take on the relationship now, based on that very hospital room
scene, was that there have indeed been some changes. The very fact
that Joel would ride on a helicopter (a medevac one, I assume), which
he admits he's terrified of...and that he was up for 36 hours straight,
obviously waiting through the surgery till she woke up...a little
past the average level of concern of the doctor for the patient. :-)
Then there was that kiss...
I especially liked Joel's closing the blinds and curling up in the
chair to stay with her. Finally they sleep together...more or less! :-)
Il Hwan Oh
> ki...@newsance.att.com (Kimiye Tipton;ball of confusion) writes:
> >It looks like Maggie and Joel are back to status quo, almost.
> >Interesting that they completely dropped the plot from the Juneau/
> >Wedding episodes. On the other hand, once I thought about it, that
> >is what people really do. You have some huge confrontation, get it
> >all out in the open (well, most of it), and then the next time you
> >see each other, you both act like it didn't happen. Later, much
> >later, you finally talk about it again.
> My take on the relationship now, based on that very hospital room
> scene, was that there have indeed been some changes. The very fact
> that Joel would ride on a helicopter (a medevac one, I assume), which
> he admits he's terrified of...and that he was up for 36 hours straight,
> obviously waiting through the surgery till she woke up...a little
> past the average level of concern of the doctor for the patient. :-)
> Then there was that kiss...
This is a bit tacky, but I gotta pass it on. A coworker made the
observation, so don't blame me. She said that when Maggie was in
Joel's examining room, she (my coworker) kept wondering if this was
Maggie's annual pelvic exam.
Jeff Meyer
>Well, this was vintage Northern Exposure-- not too exciting, not too
>outrageous-- just a typical quality episode.
More of a typical episode, I'd say -- the Maggie arc was the only plotline I
think really worked, and it didn't really start to roll until the second
half.
>On to the details...
>Funny that Fleischman is the only one who
>stops to think that she might really be okay (except Ed, who knew
>all along).
Actually, that's one of the fine points I like best (or maybe that Ed and
Joel are two of my favorite characters in this show.)
>It looks like Maggie and Joel are back to status quo, almost.
>Interesting that they completely dropped the plot from the Juneau/
>Wedding episodes. On the other hand, once I thought about it, that
>is what people really do. You have some huge confrontation, get it
>all out in the open (well, most of it), and then the next time you
>see each other, you both act like it didn't happen. Later, much
>later, you finally talk about it again.
In fact, if I had guesses about where the season will go, vis-a-vis their
relation: they tend to return to a more genial version of their standard
bickering back and forth -- a bit more friendship there. Anthony Edwards
shows up as the Guy-In-The-Bubble, another almost-perfect candidate for
Maggie's taste in men. She gets started toward him (with subdued angst
occuring in both her and Joel), we let it run a while -- and then, this
time, she stops herself from going that route yet again, and returns to
single-ness, but with some real interest evidenced in Fleischman. (A
perfect season ending would have her dump Edwards for no evidenced reason,
go around as if nothing had happened, and then finally dump a full
confessional / explanation on a flummoxed Joel. Damn, I should write this
down...)
>I really hated Maurice's storyline, even though I understood it as
>contrast to Maggie's sincere self-examination. The final blow was
>his reference to "Japs", a term most Asian-Americans find as offensive
>as any other racial epithet.
Well, that's Maurice. I did think this sub-plot week, though.
>Marilyn's driving lessons were fun, and we got to see more of
>Chris' own version of pomposity and Ruth Ann's impatience.
This was one of those episodes with Chris at his most annoying. I don't
mind when he talks a lot, but they really need to give him some good
dialogue to back that stream up.
>with occasional peaks into 9, like the last scene with Maggie and
>Joel in the hospital.
An 8.8. (I.e., I agree. :-) )
"High tech is potent, precise, and in the end,
unbeatable. The truth is, it reminds a lot of
people of the way I pitch horseshoes. Would you
believe some of the people? Would you believe our
dog? Look, I want to give the high-five symbol to
high tech."
-- George Bush
---
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
INTERNET: mori...@tc.fluke.COM
Manual UUCP: {uunet, uw-beaver, sun, microsoft}!fluke!moriarty
CREDO: You gotta be Cruel to be Kind...
**>> Keep circulating the tapes <<**
Charles Blair
the writers decide to have Joel and Maggie go back to fighting again?
Maybe she could find a reason to sue Joel for malpractice?!
Roger Tang
>In <1992Sep29....@newsance.att.com> ki...@newsance.att.com (Kimiye Tipton;ball of confusion) writes:
>>Marilyn's driving lessons were fun, and we got to see more of
>>Chris' own version of pomposity and Ruth Ann's impatience.
>This was one of those episodes with Chris at his most annoying. I don't
>mind when he talks a lot, but they really need to give him some good
>dialogue to back that stream up.
Still, didn't anyone think it hilarious when we saw the expression
on Marilyn's face when Joel suggested that he teach her driving? A better
example of pure, unadulterated terror I haven't seen....
Kimiye Tipton;ball of confusion
>In article <1992Sep29....@newsance.att.com> ki...@newsance.att.com
long as this one:
>>So, it turns out Maggie was trying valiantly to have a great birthday,
>>and everyone else was dumping on her. This is great-- real life!
>>Although it didn't quite go along with previous stories about her
>>character (remember when she learned she was going far-sighted?),
>
KW>shows, she is disconcerted by her age and reveals her insecurities
KW>in her efforts to hide her obvious worries.
Well, I thought she was trying very hard not to be disconcerted, but
nobody was helping her in the least ('cept Ed). Whereas, in the
optometrist episode, it had just hit her that she was showing signs of
aging, and it was blowing her away. She was self-pitying, self-absorbed,
and kept whining to everyone. I guess what I was trying to say is
that there was growth in Maggie's attitude about aging since the
far-sighted episode, and we really hadn't witnessed her getting to
that point. It was still great, however, and so true that even when
you try to come to terms with something, you can't bring everyone
else along with you.
The episode pointed out that the problems of aging are real, and it
wasn't just Maggie's insecurities and worries that were the problem,
but all of society's attitudes about youth and missed opportunities.
Ruth Ann's speech about how it was fine never to have children was
great-- Maggie really wants kids and is fooling herself that she's
got all the time in the world to do it. But that's a valid worry
of aging, which she is trying to throw out along with the worry about
yogurt bum.
>>And the dream sequence-- YES! Just what I asked Santa for. Followed
>>by the best line in the whole show (see my .sig). That whole
>>troup of boorish jerks-- instead of idealizing her lost beaux with
>>those little dioramas ("And what does the glued-on macaroni stand
>>for, man's inhumanity to man?"), Maggie sees what those guys were
>>like at their worst.
>Whoa, I thinked you missed this one completely. If anything, this was
>the first episode in which the "boorish jerks" were portrayed neutrally
>and not negatively. In her delerium, she doesn't see them as jerks, but
No, no, no, _I'm_ the one who thought they were jerks. Maggie was
idealizing these guys like crazy, while she was writing all those
letters for the river (except for the little digs that kept creep-
ing in :-). The gang-bang at the picnic made them seem
like jerks to me, because much of what they were saying may have
been true, but it was so petty. It was like they had to slap her in
the face with their criticisms before she could even remember what
they were really like--normal, complaining, self-absorbed men, and not
a one of them who cared very much for her.
I really did think they were at their worst, but Maggie seemed to be
astonished at seeing this side of them, maybe because they were all there
at once, dumping on her at the same time? I still think she's trying
too hard to be Little Miss Perfect (even to the point of this
dream, under the control of her subconscious, where all her past
boyfriends dump petty stuff on her--she's making herself a victim
at the same time that she's acknowledging her mistakes). Whoa--heavy!
>guys mouths. She is beginning to understand how she must have seemed
>from the other perspective. Now, having seen her own faults, she
>can develop a more healthy relationship (e.g. with Joel. Before, while
I think she's remembering what she covered up in guilt over their
deaths, and the addition of Steve Scanlon, the one-night-stand whose
death was news, was a hint that she has idealized every relationship
in her life, not just those whose funeral she's attended. It's true
that she could see her own faults reflected by these guys, but I didn't
think that was half as important as her seeing that none of those guys
was any great shakes. It's like the time right before and after the
divorce when you really hate your (ex-)spouse, because you resent the
hell out of them for not being loveable anymore. Maggie's so guilt-
ridden that she never got to that point (well, maybe with Rick).
Maggie has always turned into Suzie Homemaker with the men in her life,
in direct contrast to the independent, adventurous woman she wants to
be. She's chosen men who would never really care deeply about her
so she could separate those dependent, little-wifey game-playing needs
from the rest of her life.
Of course she was using every one of them, and she probably even
knew it at the time. What she didn't realize was the possibility that
they weren't just as happy with the arrangement as she was. After all,
she was doing with them just what was expected, right? Submerging her
own ego (when it suited her), waiting on them, being gratingly cheerful
and forgiving, being a great sex partner, all the "good wife" stuff
that Mommy and Daddy (or society) taught her she must do. So she
assuages her guilt over not staying in Grosse Pointe and marrying the
right guy by playing the role with unsuitable partners that could never
get serious about her, who never cared enough about her to try to get
under her skin. And during her fever dream, it bit her back, big time.
Joel was right-- Maggie is in denial, but not so much over her age as
over all those dead boyfriends, and love in general.
On the other hand, I really think the writers are doing a wonderful
job of writing Maggie and her travails lately-- she's turning into
a very complex person, rather than the knee-jerk feminist/liberal
Joel-baiter that she tended to be in the past.
So, what else did I miss completely? Obviously, this was an even
better episode than I thought, with so much fodder for thought.
Excuse me while I go chew my cud for a while longer. I haven't
even begun to think about Joel's place in the story....
Kimiye Tipton ki...@kokomo.att.com or ki...@newsance.att.com Maitland, FL
I know you all remember Rick's predecessor Dave. He fell asleep on
a glacier and froze to death. But before Dave there was Glenn, and
Glenn and his Volvo took a wrong turn and ended up on a missile
test range. And then there was Bruce--victim of a terrible fishing
accident. And then there was Harry. Remember Harry? He died when
he was out ... uh ... umm ... how was it?
Picnic. At a picnic.
Picnic. Right. Potato salad.
Chris eulogizes with Maggie's help (2.7)
Kimiye Tipton;ball of confusion
>the prime minister has put some y'all in the diaspora on the defensive,
>especially about Koreans, etc.
Why don't we get personal about this? Sheesh. My point is that
A) Maurice now knows better than to use terms like Jap, and B) there
was _no_ reason in the context of the story for him to use that parti-
cular epithet. You don't hear "nigger" or "kike" on TV unless it is
being used to further the dramatic tension of the plot. I suggested
to someone in a mail message that "Asian chip-jockeys" or some other
colorful phrase would have worked just as well, and not have been
as offensive. It might have even fit Maurice's character better, to
slyly be even more critical while avoiding using a standard epithet.
In my almost forty years on earth I have been called Jap, chink, gook,
slant, geisha-girl, and my personal, jaw-dropping favorite, "slant-
eyed slit". Please don't try to tell me I shouldn't take offense,
or that I wouldn't be bothered by it if I weren't suffering from some
"yellow man's burden" of guilt over World War II or internal Japanese
politics. You may feel that "Jap" is just a mildly derisive term
regarding national origin. It isn't--it's racist, and it shouldn't
be _casually_ used on television.
I expect more creativity and sensitivity out of the people who create
Northern Exposure. This line of dialogue was beneath them.
Kimiye Tipton ki...@kokomo.att.com or ki...@newsance.att.com Maitland, FL
"Remind me not to aggravate you when you've got a knife in your hands".
Jim Carr
>
>contrast to Maggie's sincere self-examination. The final blow was
>his reference to "Japs", a term most Asian-Americans find as offensive
>as any other racial epithet. At least it was immediately followed
>by Ruth Ann's salient comment (POW!). I don't mind hearing Maurice
>air his prejudices as part of character development, but this little
>dig bordered on gratutious.
I can understand why you take offense, but I think it was consistent
and not gratuitous. Remember his reference to "jew doctor" earlier
in the series. Maurice is almost the right age to have been in combat
in Korea (I forget if he has any story about that) but would certainly
have been trained by WWII and Korea era pilots. This particular language
usage is not uncommon in that group. His views concerning non-americans
fit right in with another person born in Oklahoma and who flew high-
performance jets in the 50's and 60's -- my uncle. Lets just say that
Maurice is a racially tolerant and totally mellow person by comparison
to my uncle. It is interesting to watch Maurice learn from the
conflicts between his prejudices and reality.
--
J. A. Carr | "The New Frontier of which I
j...@gw.scri.fsu.edu | speak is not a set of promises
Florida State University B-186 | -- it is a set of challenges."
Supercomputer Computations Research Institute | John F. Kennedy (15 July 60)
Kimiye Tipton;ball of confusion
>ki...@newsance.att.com (Kimiye Tipton;ball of confusion) writes:
>
>> On to the details...
>
>with it all along that this "milestone" is really no big deal. I
>thought it was funny that it was Fleischman that had the midlife
>crisis.
You have a point there-- it does make sense that she's worked through it.
I expected Fleischman to have his crisis (precipitated by Maggie's),
and was really pleased with what he had to say about no longer being
a whiz kid. To this day, people will tell me things like, "You're
just so good at this for someone who's so young," and I have to blush
and tell them I'm pushing 40, and only making par for the course. :-)
Yeah, I could keep my mouth shut, but then the guilt....
>> by Ruth Ann's salient comment (POW!). I don't mind hearing Maurice
>> air his prejudices as part of character development, but this little
>> dig bordered on gratutious.
>
>Hmmm... I thought it was consistant with his character. Ruth Ann's
>reaction was perfect.
Oh, it was consistent with his character, but I thought it was too
strong, and could have been easily replaced by one of his other
prejudiced, colorful and less outrightly offensive phrases. It was
fine from Maurice's viewpoint, but not so wonderful for the rest of
us out here trying to convince people not to use those racial epithets
that don't get as much bad press as others. It was too casual.
>> He doesn't use nasty terms to refer to
>> his own Korean-born son, does he?
>
>He referred to him as a "middle-aged Chinaman".
But that comment, offensive as it was, was an integral part of the
story. It was necessary to show that Maurice was deeply prejudiced,
and how much he had to overcome to accept his son. I'm not so foolish
as to think having a Korean son cured Maurice of his attitudes, but
I think the writers could still show how he retains his prejudice
without using certain inflammatory words at the drop of a hat.
Hell, my own father-in-law, ranting about our impending marriage
some 12 years ago, went around the house saying, "I bombed the Japs
during World War II, and now my son is marrying one of them." Even
I find that comment amusing these days. He probably still says
"Jap", and I know he uses every other racial name in the book, but
he sure doesn't use them around me, or my four-year-old son.
>> Marilyn's driving lessons were fun, and we got to see more of
>> Chris' own version of pomposity and Ruth Ann's impatience.
>
>I liked Chris in this episode more than in any of last season's episodes.
>He's back to what I liked. He's no longer the narrator of the story.
>He's actually believable as a small-town quirky DJ.
Hear, hear. I loved his quote, "Someone asked me to tell them the
time, and I showed them how to build a watch," or something like that.
Kimiye Tipton ki...@kokomo.att.com or ki...@newsance.att.com Maitland, FL
"You get crow's feet, your nips start heading south,
and your bum turns to yogurt."
Diane Lin
>This is a bit tacky, but I gotta pass it on. A coworker made the
>observation, so don't blame me. She said that when Maggie was in
>Joel's examining room, she (my coworker) kept wondering if this was
>Maggie's annual pelvic exam.
I must confess that I wondered about that as well. Joel was clearly
giving Maggie her annual exam, and that *normally* includes a pelvic
exam and Pap smear. Since he's clearly the only doctor around,
Maggie either has to have Joel do the exams or she chooses to get
her pelvic exam done on one of her many trips to Juneau or
Fairbanks. I'm guessing the latter, because even if Joel could be
completely professional about the exam, I doubt that Maggie could
have maintained such equanimity, even if she *is* obsessed about turning
thirty.
--
Diane C. Lin "Live now; make *now* always the
dl...@weber.ucsd.edu most precious time. Now will
(Dylan's mom, 21 months) never come again." (ST:TNG)
Tonya Flynn
>
>This is a bit tacky, but I gotta pass it on. A coworker made the
>observation, so don't blame me. She said that when Maggie was in
>Joel's examining room, she (my coworker) kept wondering if this was
>Maggie's annual pelvic exam.
>
My immediate thought was that this "annual" examination might be
part of the annual physical required for her pilot's license.
In that case, I don't think a pelvic is required. I also think
that, due to the nature of Joel and Maggie's relationship, her
pelvic examination is probably done in Juneau by an 'uninvolved'
physician instead of by our resident Cicely doctor.
|
Tonya (I'd rather be Sailing) Flynn /|\ 6901 W. Sunrise Blvd.
(305/797-2446) / | \ Ft. Lauderdale, Fl 33313
"Let's just punch through that ---------- UUCP: uunet!gould!tflynn
sand bar"--Crew of Natty Dread ------ INTERNET: tfl...@encore.com
Kimiye Tipton;ball of confusion
>In article <1992Sep30....@u.washington.edu> i...@cac.washington.edu writes:
>My immediate thought was that this "annual" examination might be
>part of the annual physical required for her pilot's license.
>In that case, I don't think a pelvic is required. I also think
No, the medical exam for a pilot's license is biannual, as is the
recertification, and Joel would have to be an FAA certified doctor
to give the exam. But maybe he is... It's a rigorous physical
exam that's changed a lot in just the past couple of years-- in other
words, the FAA is cracking down.
Gordon (hubby) just had one last year-- he was amazed that the doctor
mumbled something at him, and it actually turned out to be part of the
exam-- a hearing test. He said it was totally different from previous
FAA exams, which tended to check for heartbeat and breathing.
Maybe this is the part of NX when we should just say-- "IT'S ONLY TV!".
Kimiye Tipton ki...@kokomo.att.com or ki...@newsance.att.com Maitland, FL
Steve Simmons
[[ quoting NE: ]]
> . . . And then there was Harry. Remember Harry? He died when
> he was out ... uh ... umm ... how was it?
> Picnic. At a picnic.
> Picnic. Right. Potato salad.
> Chris eulogizes with Maggie's help (2.7)
Finally watched the season opener last night (travelling is a bitch,
but a kindly spouse with a VCR made NE the second thing I turned to
after getting home...) and read thru r.a.tv reviews today.
One teeny point -- just as their breaking for a commercial during the
picnic of old boyfriends, you hear some background conversation between
the bfs, wherein they offer the potato salad around . . .
Maggies letters -- we did hear the tail end of the one she wrote to
Rick. Gack! "I know you would have seen the error of your ways..."
Yes, Rick was a jerk. The letter came off as smug and superior, not
as setting oneself at peace.
If Maggie and Joel have some kind of relationship, it'll be different
because it won't start with sex. It's start with recognition of conflicting
world views and be based on a much more honest understanding of each
others flaws.
What'll Joels 30th birthday be like?
Ruthanns use of a hammer was one of the few acting failures I've seen
from (forget the actress' name). Anybody who's done serious worth with
one of those knows that you hammer *through*, not slap and withdraw.
That recorder should have practically exploded.
On Maurice saying "jap": Yes, it's racist. Yes, it's offensive. Yes,
with a Korean son he should be more thoughtful. Nonetheless it's
consistant with his character. Maurice has occasionally made
exceptions to his bigoted views on Koreans, gays, women, etc. He has
not changed them. An entertaining, somewhat likeable jerk is still a
jerk. Sorry, Kimiye.
--
scs: Tied for last on the Zwicky list with `zwicky'.
June Cummins Lewis
>with a Korean son he should be more thoughtful. Nonetheless it's
>consistant with his character. Maurice has occasionally made
>exceptions to his bigoted views on Koreans, gays, women, etc. He has
>not changed them. An entertaining, somewhat likeable jerk is still a
>jerk. Sorry, Kimiye.
>--
>scs: Tied for last on the Zwicky list with `zwicky'.
Sorry to keep this flame burning, folks, but I feel someone should
step in and defend Kimiye, and I nominate myself. I think it's a
copout to say "that's just the way Maurice is." In my opinion, the
word "jap" is as offensive (and yes, politically incorrect) as
"nigger," "kike" and "fag." You would not hear any of these words
uttered on Northern Exposure. There are ways to convey racial
prejudice other than by resorting to the use of the most facile, cheap
slurs. I would think the writers of NEXP would be intelligent enough
to come up with them.
June (who intensely dislikes the word "jap" for denotations in
addition to the Asian ones)
--
"Saying that men talk about baseball in order to avoid talking about their
feelings is the same as saying that women talk about their feelings in order
to avoid talking about baseball."
--Deborah Tannen, author of _You Just Don't Understand_
k.a.perkins
>
> The episode pointed out that the problems of aging are real, and it
> wasn't just Maggie's insecurities and worries that were the problem,
> but all of society's attitudes about youth and missed opportunities.
> Ruth Ann's speech about how it was fine never to have children was
> great-- Maggie really wants kids and is fooling herself that she's
> got all the time in the world to do it. But that's a valid worry
> of aging, which she is trying to throw out along with the worry about
> yogurt bum.
I found this speech on Ruth Ann's part to be incredibly annoying
and condescending.
It reminded me of similar speeches that my sister and I endured
throughout our 20's from our shirt tail relatives in small town
Wisconsin that thought the epitome of life for a woman was marriage
and children with any slimeball with a good income that oozed into
her life. I thought it was out of character for Ruth Ann. I expect
more from her.
By the way, I do have a child and have one more on the way and
while she (they) are a true joy in my life, I don't think that
being a parent is for everyone. People can be "real women" or
"real men" without reproducing.
Kate Perkins
Ken Bowers
>>On Maurice saying "jap": Yes, it's racist. Yes, it's offensive. Yes,
>>with a Korean son he should be more thoughtful. Nonetheless it's
>>consistant with his character. Maurice has occasionally made
>>exceptions to his bigoted views on Koreans, gays, women, etc. He has
>>not changed them. An entertaining, somewhat likeable jerk is still a
>>jerk. Sorry, Kimiye.
>>--
>>scs: Tied for last on the Zwicky list with `zwicky'.
>
>
>Sorry to keep this flame burning, folks, but I feel someone should
>step in and defend Kimiye, and I nominate myself. I think it's a
>copout to say "that's just the way Maurice is." In my opinion, the
>word "jap" is as offensive (and yes, politically incorrect) as
>"nigger," "kike" and "fag." You would not hear any of these words
>uttered on Northern Exposure. There are ways to convey racial
>prejudice other than by resorting to the use of the most facile, cheap
>slurs. I would think the writers of NEXP would be intelligent enough
>to come up with them.
>
>June (who intensely dislikes the word "jap" for denotations in
>addition to the Asian ones)
>
Is it that he says these things, or that they seem not to bother
anyone? An important question about stereotyping is whether it is
an issue in the show (Maurice's views on homosexuality certainly
are) or it seems to be so embedded and unquestion that the show is
reenforcing stereotypes (the treatment of Native Americans as
mystical and cryptic seems to me to fall in this category, at least
some of the time).
Ken B.
Eugene N. Miya
>>>with a Korean son he should be more thoughtful. Nonetheless it's
>>>consistant with his character.
>In article <7TRM7#4#9...@linac.fnal.gov> le...@linac.fnal.gov
(June Cummins Lewis) writes:
>>Sorry to keep this flame burning, folks, but I feel someone should
>>step in and defend Kimiye, and I nominate myself. I think it's a
>>copout to say "that's just the way Maurice is." In my opinion, the
>>word "jap" is as offensive (and yes, politically incorrect) as
>>"nigger," "kike" and "fag." You would not hear any of these words
>>uttered on Northern Exposure. There are ways to convey racial
>>prejudice other than by resorting to the use of the most facile, cheap
>>slurs. I would think the writers of NEXP would be intelligent enough
>>to come up with them.
>>June (who intensely dislikes the word "jap" for denotations in
In article <1992Oct6.0...@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> kbo...@esrc1.uucp
(Ken Bowers) writes:
>Is it that he says these things, or that they seem not to bother
>anyone? An important question about stereotyping is whether it is
>an issue in the show
>or it seems to be so embedded and unquestion that the show is
>reenforcing stereotypes
Well variations of this question are happening simultaneously in at least
four other groups and only two are soc.culture.japan/asian.american.
Somethine about a trade war....
While it's all very admirable (HIGHLY admirable, you guys all deserve
medals compared to other groups, I'd pin them on you myself),
this is a TV show [remember Murphy Brown and the V-P, better yet
remember All in the Family?]. I side with Mark Twain (Sam Clements)
and Tom Sawyer. Remember that it's one character and not the entire
series. That should give you a clue. If you object, my suggestion is to
write the WRITERS of the show and show them how to write and be as effective
as the stereotypical words. You might show them a thing or two, maybe
get invited to write an episode (get paid!) join the Screen Writer's Guild.
Or they might reject your improvements as not having the impact of the
stereotypical word. But you won't find out until you write them and protest.
Believe me writing the show is fun.
I think re-writing history for the sake of today and tomorrow smacks of
Orwell, and people's old prejudices are history. It's the current and future
prejudices which are OUR problems. It's like placing "1990s women" in
1890 period piece films. And my mom was one of those interned while Dad was
off fighting in Europe.
Ken's question strikes at the heart of Archie Bunker. It's very good.
But above all Maurice is a CHARACTER: a brave (sometimes scared),
at times thoughtful, sometimes bully, redneck, neo-Alaskan: very typical
up there... Follow my advice above, you might make some money.
And if you want to "the cause" (civil rights, what ever) "police" and read
other news.groups and stand up in those groups against REAL bullies.
Highly appreciative.
Who works for the Agency whom Maurice used to work for....
--eugene miya, NASA Ames Research Center, eug...@orville.nas.nasa.gov
"I am the business." -- in Blade Runner
Acting Associate Editor, Software and Publication Reviews
Scientific Programming
{uunet,mailrus,other gateways}!ames!eugene
Seeking Books to buy: Bongard, Pattern Recognition
Imhof, Cartographic Relief Presentation
Books on or by Benjamin Whorf
Wulf et al, The Design of an Optimizing Compiler
Kimiye Tipton;ball of confusion
>>>On Maurice saying "jap": Yes, it's racist. Yes, it's offensive. Yes,
>>>jerk. Sorry, Kimiye.
>>Sorry to keep this flame burning, folks, but I feel someone should
>>step in and defend Kimiye, and I nominate myself. I think it's a
Just for the record, folks, it's okay to stop talking about this one.
I'm sending a letter to CBS to find out what policy, if any, they
have on certain "inflammatory" words, and I've given up trying to
convince anyone who bothered to write me that "Jap" is not just an
abbreviation equivalent to "Aussie" or "Brit". For your amusement,
just head on over to rec.autos, or rec.arts.anime, or soc.culture.
asian.american, or soc.culture.japan, and use the word as innocently
as you can. And be sure to pack your asbestos underwear.
>Is it that he says these things, or that they seem not to bother
>anyone? An important question about stereotyping is whether it is
>an issue in the show (Maurice's views on homosexuality certainly
>are) or it seems to be so embedded and unquestion that the show is
>reenforcing stereotypes (the treatment of Native Americans as
>mystical and cryptic seems to me to fall in this category, at least
>some of the time).
Yes, Ken, that's exactly what I meant. Most folks wrote to tell me
that it was just Maurice, that he didn't mean it maliciously, and
that it wasn't racist, anyway. I agree with all but the last
statement. I also think that it is only the acting skills (or
maybe just human dignity) of Elaine Miles and (ouch, forgot his
name) Dave the Cook that saves some pretty stereotypical writing
for both of their characters.
And one more thing. I took a close look at my mini-cassette recorder,
which looks very much like Maurice's, and it is "Made in Malaysia".
So Maurice was probably even more off-base with his comment than I
originally thought.
I use my recorder to save wear and tear on my VCR when I transcribe
NX quotes. Works great...
Kimiye Tipton ki...@kokomo.att.com or ki...@newsance.att.com Maitland, FL
"Now, I'm going to unzip your pants and pull them down around your
hips--try not to get turned on."
A Usenet Pal
>Yes, Ken, that's exactly what I meant. Most folks wrote to tell me
>that it was just Maurice, that he didn't mean it maliciously, and
>that it wasn't racist, anyway. I agree with all but the last
>statement.
I don't agree with any of it. Maurice is a disgusting character, through
and through. He's pompous, arrogant, racist, homophobic, bullying,
self-centered, and greedy. It's entirely in character for him to use
"Jap", and completely abhorrent at the same time.
__ -paul asente
\/ ase...@adobe.com ...decwrl!adobe!asente moo-...@cs.stanford.edu
Feminism: a socialist, anti-family political movement
that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their
children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and
become lesbians. -Pat Robertson