Soapy Sanderson: The Catalyst for How We View Cicely, Alaska || Northern Exposure Video Essay

It’s got parks. It’s got restaurants. It’s got citizens filled with existential fraught. It’s the town of Cicely, Alaska from the television series Northern Exposure. Lee and Charles from the Northern OverExposure Podcast present the first in a series of Video Essays where they break down, compare, and analyze (some might even say OverAnalyze) the multitude of themes, ideas, and characters in the 1990s hit CBS TV series Northern Exposure.
Today we’re examining the multiple Sides of the denizens of Cicely, and how one inhabitant by the name of Soapy Sanderson was the catalyst for re-evaluating the way we view Northern Exposure.
This video was edited by Lee and written by Charles & Lee of the Northern OverExposure Podcast.
Please SUBSCRIBE and LIKE if you enjoyed the video, and listen to us talk about Northern Exposure on the Northern OverExposure Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts.
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[@kristopherdetar4346]

Ironically most of us Northern Exposure watchers never took the time to think this deeply about The Who’s and the What’s of the meanings the director/producer. We were entertained with the characters and their interactions between each other. A fine show that wasn’t hell bent on murder, crime, rape and other unpleasantries of human interaction. Thank you producers, actors and set crew of NE. We will always love you all.

[@CSM100MK2]

i love this thank you. if this show were on streaming anywhere, there would be WAY more discussion and fan base. it's perfect to be set up for a rediscovery but no one has access.

[@lolabush2201]

It’s on Prime

[@ericscottstevens]

The name itself Soapy Sanderson is indicative of a character in transition. Soap, smooth, ambiguous, and gets worn down. Sand, gritty an abrasive harsh reality. That group of student filmmakers may have been the real production crew, as they used non unionized labor for the first season.

[@paulbernstein2022]

This video essay is so well written, and your nuanced analyses always open up more meaning to me, even to a total NX nerd who's a few decades older than you & who's seen these episodes dozens of times, so thanks so much, chupey!

[@happycamper3561]

This was awesome. Would love more episodes like this.

[@sixgunstrawberry]

This was an absolute delight to watch. So well written!! Can't wait for more!

[@kevinmcardle4087]

What a great idea, and very well written and executed. I loved the use of Lumet's quote early on. His book is a must for any film fan. I'm glad that season 5 of the pod dropped today!

[@theartist8906]

I was 30 when this came out and it was my favorite show. I look at them and most are around that age. It reminds me of so much spiritual fire.

[@edster612]

I always thought that NE was a lot deeper than it's surface revealed. Just stumbled onto this account and so far I'm liking it. Thanks !

[@markrenfrow9873]

I just enjoyed the show, cast and locations, situations too. Never thought much about framing and lighting and such.

[@glacierdropsy7625]

This is really great guys, love your analysis! I look forward to your future videos!

[@CB-vl1hn]

this is amazing!

[@starlodear2987]

Most importantly: what's the subtext for the Roslyn Café never being featured in any episode? We only see its mural in the intro.

[@NorthernOverPod]

If I remember correctly, we see the "inside" of the Roslyn Cafe in the episode "Cicely". That's where they do the "salon" and poetry readings/interpretive dance/artistic exhibition. So I think we see it in that episode but... never again?

[@lolabush2201]

Thank you. This confused me because I was 10 and when I watched it on cbs and didn’t watch again until last year. In my mind I thought The Brick was Roslyn’s Cafe because they showed the exterior. Of course I missed a lot watching the first time since I was a kid!

[@starlodear2987]

​​@@NorthernOverPodReally? I missed that because I always skip this episode. I find it boring as it takes place in the past.

[@Izabela-ek5nh]

​@@NorthernOverPodAt the end of this episode Joel comes to the Brick (Dave was just finishing with the cleaning) and just sitting there for a while imagining and hearing voices from the past - inside of the Brick. I always thought it was the same spot, that's why he went there. Or maybe he decided to sit in any public restaurant to feel the vibe of the past Café...?

[@garygaden1130]

thanks, very good.

[@patriciamcpherson4667]

I wish they would bring it back. It was the best series ever on TV.

[@lolabush2201]

It’s on Prime

[@philipsctba]

i've been missing this voices

[@NorthernOverPod]

It's been a rough hurricane season but we're hoping to launch Season 5 soon! Thanks for listening!

[@section7764]

The student film crew were doing their documentary in black and white. They keep cutting to it all episode long so you know the difference between "real life" and the doc. You can't just make up aha moments about Maggie and why she is in b & w, when tons of the episode also are. Also, Ed wants to be a director from the very first episode. The student film crew may have kicked it up a notch, but you can't say the desire started then.

[@NorthernOverPod]

Thanks for pointing this out! It's been over a year since we made this video and we still love it, though when I rewatch it I wish we had spent even a few more seconds to improve the clarity of our ideas. First I'll say that a lot of the ideas we picked out in this video were things we recognized after quickly applying some critical thinking, and as we were writing the script for this video we were quick to notice how our interpretations could be wildly different from someone else's point of view, and perhaps we were trying too hard to find some deeper meaning in what we were watching, which is why we wanted to include a segment (about 2 minutes into our video) to talk about why we think it's OK to try to find different interpretations in Northern Exposure even if we don't always agree. RE: the Maggie in B&W, we wanted to make a point about how the choice to show Maggie in B&W video and the documentary crew in color film, and to cut between the two again and again, has a certain effect and (we believe) a certain intention. The effect of the hand held camera and B&W video on Maggie lends a "cinema verite" quality to her coverage. And while many characters are depicted in B&W in this episode, if you go back and watch, this scene with Maggie is the ONLY scene in which the subject (Maggie) is shown only in B&W, intercut with the documentary crew in color film. All other B&W interviews also feature coverage of the subject (Joel, Holling, Maurice) shot in color film as well. We wanted to point out this distinction in the scene with Maggie: we ONLY see her in B&W, there is no other coverage on her in this scene. There is one exception to this idea! Shelly's interview where she talks about Soapy's love for One Eyed Jacks and artificial sweeteners is one continuous take in B&W video. But we can argue that in this scene with Shelly we never see the documentary crew, which is why we think the way that Maggie's interview scene was shot is very interesting to talk about. RE: Ed wanting to be a director from episode 1. I actually thought this was the case as well, but you have to remember, Soapy Sanderson is only episode 3. In the Pilot episode, Ed mostly talks about rap music, and he references the TV show St. Elsewhere and, later, the movie Manhattan (at the end of the episode; "I think Woody's a genius"). So we get the sense he's a pop culture buff. In episode 2, Ed makes no mention to film. His aunt references the movie "Little Big Man" and Ed compliments Dustin Hoffman's acting. Crazy to think, but it's actually true: the Soapy Sanderson episode is the first episode in which Ed expresses a desire to make movies ("I could be the Bergman of the North") and what a great way to show it: we get to see Ed actually making a movie!

[@birsay123]

Do the Christmas episode from season 3, “Ravens”

[@bobbyddrums1566]

I have never been so disappointed with any show about the writing during the last season and especially the 2 last episodes they sucked