
Rob Morrow and Janine Turner kick off their rewatch with the pilot episode that started it all!
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Rob Morrow
Foreign disclosure. This is the first podcast in what we hope will be many about the experience of making northern exposure from 1990-95. It's going to be hosted by my beautiful colleague here, Janine Turner, and myself. We've been talking about doing this for quite a while, so we're both really excited to be doing it, mainly because both of us get beseech, besieged daily by people saying they want to know more about the show, they want to go back and revisit it, they want to reboot, they want to hear what it was like. And so Janine and I have gotten together, and we're going to do this, and we're going to bring you great guests. We have a whole bunch of people who were attached to the show originally, and they're going to be coming in on the weekly, and we're going to talk about the show. And then we think we might even try to do a kind of a fan segment once we get rolling here with subsequent episodes where we'll bring on a fan and they can talk to us about it. So, anyway, Janine, you look beautiful. How you doing?
Janine Turner
Oh, thanks, Rob. This is what we say in Texas. I got dolled up.
Rob Morrow
You doll up.
Janine Turner
Well, I think you said that to me on Northern Exposure. It's like, wow, Connell, you clean up well. Remember that?
Rob Morrow
And then I said. And then I said. And then I said, what? You look very clean.
Janine Turner
It's like. It's, like, clean. Thanks. Thanks, Fleischmann, but I'm thrilled to be doing this with you, Rob. We've been working on this for about a year. This is exciting. This is. We're finally doing it. And. And so Rob and I both watched the pilot episodes last night, and we were texting each other back and forth. Rob. Rob actually said, can you talk? Because we were so excited about watching it again. And. Oh, and then. And then he had watched it before I. And then I started watching it, and I was texting him like, oh, my God, you're so funny. Oh, my God. Look at. Look at Barry, like, repelling down off the side of his cabin. I mean, it, really. And I texted everybody on the. The Evergreen, you know, Rhapsody team here. I'm like, you all must watch the show. I promise you'll end up with a smile on your face.
Rob Morrow
Let me ask you something that I. I think I remember because I was there. What? I think that was a stuntman rappelling down the. The side of the building.
Janine Turner
You don't have to tell people.
Rob Morrow
No, you do. That's why we're here. That's why we're here. They wanted it.
Janine Turner
We want to believe it was Barry. Well, hey, when I was on. When I was in Cliffhanger, I did a lot of my own rappelling. Just saying. But we're. Yes. Okay, so he had a stuntman. Very good. But the fact that. Rob, you were so good. You were so good right out of the gate. Right out of the gate. I mean, you and I were talking last night about the writing, but, my gosh, Rob, you played it in. You played it to perfection. And I think you and I came to this. This. This Northern Exposure at exactly the same age. We were both on the same plane when we arrived. We were both New York Actors Theater, and we both really, really cared about our work. I want to ask you, because I was a method. I came to the. To the show as a method actress. So I was really trying to build, like, layers and layers of onions of emotion. I don't know if what your training was, but we really cared about our work.
Rob Morrow
Yeah, I mean, I don't know. Method is a fungible term. You know, I think it gets kind of misused. So, you know, I do as much as I can to be as believable in the work as possible. But the thing that was interesting, I remember, you know, when I read this script for Northern Exposure, I had been doing a lot of theater for about a decade, and I had been on a lot of short lists for TV shows. I had done one other show where I was a secondary or third character, and it didn't last. But so I was starting to get considered for a lot of shows and reading a lot. And when I read the script for Northern Exposure, it read like no other TV script I'd ever read, nor did it seem like it would be a TV show I'd ever seen before. And so I got very excited. And then when I started to key into Joel, per what you said, it felt like a real fit. Like, I just got him, you know, I felt like I understood him. And. And I kind of started from there. How. How did. When you read it, what did. What. Do you remember what you're feeling?
Janine Turner
Well, I. I think that, you know. Well, I was just so desperate for work. I had $8 left. I had $8 left in my name. But God is great, because I'd been holding out for. I had been saying no to bikini rolls, which is all women were really offered in television at that time. And I said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And so I had $8 left. But here was this amazing character that. That, you know, was a Grosse Pointe, Michigan socialite. And that's what I love about the characters. They all have this incredible juxtaposition that you saw in even Barry Corbin. You know, Maurice, he starts out as this tough astronaut. Ends at the end. At the end, he's crying over his girlfriend. You know, there was such compl.
Rob Morrow
Let me ask you this. What you say you had $8 in your name. What gave you the fortitude to turn down work? Like, where did that come from that you could turn down work, hoping for something great? Like, I.
Janine Turner
Well, I think it was a question. When I moved to New York City from Los Angeles, all my. All my agents said, what are you doing moving to New York City from Los Angeles? I said, because I'm tired of. Of TNA roles. I just really don't want to do them anymore. And that's all I'm getting. I was like the damsel in distress for a team or a Knight Rider or whatever it may be. And I was engaged to Alec at the time, and he was getting incredible, like, lawyer roles, so I moved to New York.
Rob Morrow
Alec? Wait, wait, wait. We're talking about Alec Baldwin, correct?
Janine Turner
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And. And so he was getting all these amazing roles. I was. And so I moved to New York, and I just kept saying no. It's like, if I can't have a role of substance, I don't want to be in the business. If I can't respect my own craft, I. I don't want to be in the business. And, boy, let me tell you, I was. I was desperate at the end. I was like a Dostoevsky novel walking around the streets like, oh, my God. But I turned it over to God.
Rob Morrow
I think I was in a similar situation. I think I was starting to say no to things, even though I didn't really have a right to. I don't know where that comes from. I'm fascinated by it. But I remember. Maybe. Let's talk about our audition for a second.
Janine Turner
Yeah.
Rob Morrow
Conviction. So. So tell me about. So then you get the script, you read the script, and then what?
Janine Turner
Well, the script was amazing. Every script that we had, every week, it. For so long, for at least the first four years, what was like a short story. It was exciting.
Rob Morrow
And by the way, we're gonna. Every episode, we're going to. Every podcast that we do, we're going to discuss a particular episode, which we will get to on this one. So this. Today, we're going to talk about the pilot.
Janine Turner
Today we're talking about the pilot. Next week is episode two with Joshua Brand, our creator. And then John Corbett is episode three. Yeah, it's going to be. It's going to be a lot of fun.
Rob Morrow
They'll be our guests. Josh. Josh will be our guest. And. And Cor. Right. That's what we say.
Janine Turner
Josh, John Corbett, and Barry Corbin. And, yeah, we're going to have an incredible guest. And you walked into the guitar store yesterday and ran into our composer. I'm like, it's a sign from God, right?
Rob Morrow
It's amazing. And he was instantly. He said he wants to. He said he wants to come on the show. So we'll get everyone, you know, everyone we can. I think we'll get.
Janine Turner
I want to hover. I want to hover on that for just a minute. I mean, what are the odds that you and I were prepping the show and you walk into the guitar store and see David Schwartz, who you haven't seen in probably 30 years or something, right?
Rob Morrow
Wait, it's more than that. We were literally texting, like, 30 seconds before I walk in the door. I think I just hit send on my last text to you walk in the door of True Tone, which is my local guitar store. And there's. And David's looking right at me.
Janine Turner
I look at those as signs from God. So this is a lot of fun. But the script was amazing. And. And, you know, it's that terrible, horrible process of auditioning. I. You know, you audition in New York, and then you audition again and again and again, and then they make the deal, and then you have to fly to Los Angeles, and then we go. I. I equate it to being sort of like a gladiator. You know, the Coliseum and all the network people are in the Coliseum and we're on the floor, and you. And I just. And I walked in the room and they. They ran out when my first audition with you and said, why did you wear a skirt? They think you look too pretty to be a pilot. I'm like, oh, my God, I'm gonna lose Joshua Brand. Because they were like, she's. You know, she's. She can't possibly be a pilot. You know, I'm like, it's the inside. It's the inside. Everything I've been working on is about this. The inside. But he ran out, like, flailing his sides. Why did you wear a skirt? I'm like, oh, my God. I wore a skirt, by the way, because I thought I looked fat in jeans. But I just walked back in with you and I. Do you remember I turned the chair and I straddled the chair like Sharon Stone.
Rob Morrow
I remember that. I remember it was a great voice. The thing that's interesting is that I'm not sure people realize this is when you're an actor, young actor starting out, you, when you, when you audition, you usually audition once or twice and then they make what's called a test deal. And the deal is you basically signed six, seven years of your life away for a certain amount of income. If you get the job. You're not getting the job necessarily, but.
Janine Turner
And they can fire you whenever they.
Rob Morrow
Want, mind you, and they can fire you want. Yeah, but you're, you're in a. You know, both of us were, you know, I was in debt. Janine was, you know, down to $8 and we had to make this deal for seven years or not. Or not even be allowed to go to the test. So obviously we both made the deal and we tested. But I, I read in New York for Josh and John. John Falzy, who was the co creator of the show with Josh Brand. Yeah.
Janine Turner
God bless.
Rob Morrow
Who's passed away. God bless him. He's passed away. And so we won't be having him as a guest unless Janine has some special connection she hasn't shared yet.
Janine Turner
I can tell stories about.
Rob Morrow
Well, that'll be good. So. So then we come. I come out, I get flown out to la and now, you know, again, it's like first they treat you like royalty when once they. Once you sign on that dotted line. So they fly you first class and they put you in a hotel and.
Janine Turner
But they've got three other actors coming in, mind you usually it's not. It doesn't mean you have it. I don't think. There was another act for you, was there, Was there another actor?
Rob Morrow
There was. There was one guy and about six girls at the test at cbs in the basement in an. And as you said, a nondescript black box of a studio. And they're incredibly impersonal. No one talks to you. They don't say hi to you in terms of the executives or anything. And I read and then came out and, you know, was nervous and, and, and then the guy who read. Who's the other guy, read and came out and left the building. So I was like, okay, it's just me. So then I read with all you guys and girls and you were the. I think that the last one. But it was such a marked difference from every other girl. Like there was just something comfortable and you know, as you said you turn the chair around. And I think that was probably your second time reading. Like you probably read by yourself. And then, then we read together. And all I remember is, is that when we walked out and got in the elevator, I turned to you and said, it's you and me. And later you told me that you thought I was hitting on you.
Janine Turner
I don't know. Did I really say that? I don't think I thought you were. I just was. I was just so nervous. Oh, no, no, no. If I blew you, if I blew you off, it was just because I was so desperate and so nervous and had no clue if this was going to be yet another network experience where I book the show. But no, no, no. There was obviously chemistry between us. So I don't think I actually, by the time I.
Rob Morrow
The time I got to my hotel, the phone was blinking and my agents called and said I got it. And I just remember so clearly getting up on that bed and I could see out. I could see all the way out to the Pacific Ocean in the distance. And I just jumped up and down from. For. I don't know, it felt like eternity, just screaming, I'm out of debt, I'm out of debt. I'm out of debt. Because the cool thing, the cool thing about Northern Exposure was there was no pilot. It was eight episodes off the bat, right? They were gonna put it on the trailer. They didn't believe in it. They were burning off a time slot. They had to fill a time slot. And they put this show on that no one believed in. And so we got eight shows, which allowed me to really bankrupt me, right.
Janine Turner
Because to get out of debt.
Rob Morrow
Get out of debt.
Janine Turner
I had done that football player thing, you know, where they visualize throwing the ball and that someone catches it and they visualize them athletes, you know, they visualize winning the gold medal or what. So I'm like, oh my gosh, I've been auditioning for 12 years and like I'm gonna visualize opening a bottle of, you know, Martinelli's with my sister in law at the end that I actually got the role. So it was, it was such a delight. And then I just really think that, that, you know, one of the things, Rob, I think is just don't give up for the miracle. For all those people out there that are desperate and at their. Whether they're actors or just in life, I mean, if we just don't give up before the miracle. Cause I was about to give up. And. And if I think about the fact, you know, Wood says 80 of success is showing up. What if I hadn't shown up for that last audition where I was. I had to basically crawl to get there because I just been through this network experience like, three weeks earlier. So it was a real blessing. And. And then. And then, you know, I got it. I was full throttle into the role. I had. I had, like, a tool belt, and I already cut my hair. So my hair was short, which appalled my mother because I'm from Texas and hair is supposed to be long. So she never got that.
Rob Morrow
That haircut became a big. A big thing. Right. I mean, it was like. That was one of the things that people love. Like that. That was like, no, no. No one else had really short hair like that on TV at the time, I don't think. Right.
Janine Turner
No. I mean, we're coming out of the Farrah Fawcett, Jacqueline Smith, you know, right. Era. And here I had this short hair, which, when I got the part, we made it even more masculine looking and whatnot. But it's. It was. It was called the Maggie. And a lot of people, I. I had. The father of my child said to me at one point, years ago, he's like, I had a. Was that. Cut all of her hair off? And I never understood why. Now I understand why. It was like the Maggie, everybody was cut. They were cutting their hair. But that's what was cool, you know, is because you can shine through. Your femininity can shine through in all kinds of. You don't have to be in a bikini. You don't have to have your hair all flipped back and whatnot. So it was. It was really amazing. It was really amazing. And I. And all of us were there. All of us were there, you know, like an acting troupe. We all had to move to Seattle, and you and I flew. I just want to tell the story. You and I flew on the same. Because my first plane. I was in first class on this first plane, and oil kept coming through the vents, and we had to. Kept going back. We went back to the gate and back to the gate, and I said, I'm off. I'm off this airplane. And I got on another airplane, and you were on that airplane. So you and I literally flew here. We were. You know, Joshua looked at us two decades later and said, y' all were such babies. And we really were. We were like 27, but we arrived at the airport together and. Which you don't remember, but I do. And we got off the plane and we. There was this smell. And I remember you Said to me, welcome to the Pacific Northwest.
Rob Morrow
You know what I remember specifically about this? I remember instantly being hit with this fragrance that I always. It's like a sense memory. And whenever I go back there, it reminds me of that first time where there's something. Because there's so much green there and there's so much precipitation that the air is kind of sweet. And I remember that. And I remember feeling. I remember getting off the plane and thinking, wow, the air is sweet.
Janine Turner
It is. It smelled beautiful and fragrant.
Rob Morrow
I loved Seattle as soon as I got there. There was. There's just something kind of magical about it. And there was something, you know, I was thinking about it, you know, that what you're talking about arriving and getting off the plane. And there was something even I even. I was even vaguely conscious of a kind of magical thing going on there between all of us coming together in the service of something that felt special and had a charm to it. And as we all met, like, I remember we came to the first read through, you know. You do?
Janine Turner
Oh, I remember the first read through. I remember it like it was yesterday.
Rob Morrow
I remember people come. The cast comes together with some of the key people, the director. And you sit around a table and. And you know, there's donuts and, and coffee and, and. And bagels and, you know, yeah, they.
Janine Turner
Want you thin, but they give you donuts and bagels and. Yeah, then they tell you to lose weight and.
Rob Morrow
And I remember going around the table and kind of clocking everybody, you know, and, and as we read through it and just. I just had this sense of portent. It wasn't like I was, oh, my God, we're going to be a hit. Because I certainly had. Not only did I have no idea we'd be a hit, I didn't even contemplate the idea of it. All I knew was I was doing eight shows, I was employed for eight episodes. I was out of debt, and I was doing something that. That felt kind of. Kind of cool and interesting. What do you remember from that reading? Do you remember?
Janine Turner
I was clocking everybody at the reading too. And I remember the brightness. I remember everything about it. I remember the brightness of the room, the light coming from our. Look at where I was sitting. I remember Josh was at the head of the table. John was probably at the other side. And then, you know, Darren and Cynthia and John Corbett and you and I and. And Barry and John Cullum. I mean, the like, most, most award winning, you know, Broadway actor, and there we all were. And, And I think that it was. I felt the same way. I thought, well, and then I remember Josh talking about, you know, we're thinking about having a moose going through the opening credits and the network really doesn't want us to do it, but we want to go through the opening credits. And, and you talked about that. It was a summer series and that gave us the opportunity and our creators the opportunity to experiment to CRO, to quote from Freud and Young and, and play, you know, crazy music and have a moose going through the front and, and to have this, this woman who chops her own wood and whatnot. It was, we could, we could be experimental because everybody thought we were just going to be over, you know, it didn't matter. It was filler.
Rob Morrow
The moose was. The moose was interesting. I don't know if people know this, but that you can't train a moose. And so they, they had to fence off the entire town to shoot that opening credit sequence because they had to make sure that the moose didn't get lost. Morty, the moose who's passed away, by the way, so he's with John.
Janine Turner
Well, it's been a lot of years. It's been a lot of years. Yeah, yeah. And we've lost Peg Phillips and we lost Diane. Did you know we lost Diane?
Rob Morrow
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Janine Turner
She was so incredible.
Rob Morrow
She, she played. What was her.
Janine Turner
Maurice's girlfriend? Maurice, the sheriff.
Rob Morrow
What was her name?
Janine Turner
Police officer. I know, I don't remember. We'll get to it, right?
Rob Morrow
She was lovely.
Janine Turner
She was funny. She was so funny. So God bless all of them. But I knew something special was going to happen. And then when you watch the pilot, it's like the magic. I remember showing up even on days off because I was so excited. My little tool belt because I was this landlord, you know, and whatnot. And my, my hiking boots and the. We had to wear old 1980s high waisted jeans and things. But I would show up and just to be there on the set because it was just the evergreen and the magic. But Rob, I gotta tell you, when I watched that pilot, you were so good right out of the bat and, and, and even in the writing and the directing, it'll be really fun to have Josh on next week because in, in the opening, you're the, the writing, you know, if it's not on the page, it's not on the stage. Right. So we have to start with the writing, but your delivery even starting on, and, and then you get into that office. But what's so funny is, is the way the little quirky things that we did. We never sat and talked, right? Everything was always moving. And the chair of the man who's telling you about your. Your commitment to Alaska, he's sliding back and forth in his chair, you know, on the. On his wheels, on the chair. He slides over here and he slides back and he slides over there and he slides back. And it was those little sort of idiosyncrasies that just made the show incredibly special every moment.
Rob Morrow
John Eilward was the guy on the plane who's a great theater actor, used to work a lot at Seattle Rep. I would go see him and he was such a great grounding force in that scene because I remember shooting it. We went to Boeing and we shot it in a mock up of a Boeing's in Seattle. Yeah, yeah, Boeing's in Seattle. And I guess they have these mock ups that film companies can use. And shooting that scene was such a great. I think we might have even shot.
Janine Turner
It first, which is rare. Just so everybody understands. Usually you shoot like the last scene first.
Rob Morrow
But the thing that was interesting was there were so many kind of corollaries between me and Joel. You know, we were both fish out of water. We were both moving to a different location to start a new life where things were not exactly what they seemed. You know, you get there and you find out this and that. You know, we were. That first year, we were shooting six days a week and seven days an episode. So we would shoot Monday through Saturday and then the following Monday and then we would move on to the next episode. And so. And in the first. I don't know, probably most of the first season, I was in almost every scene, you know, or. And so I never. I never. I couldn't catch my breath. I remember. I remember actually thinking, I'm gonna die because there was no time to relax. Like I couldn't get my breath. Like, I'd end. Joel speaks in. In these huge monologues and he. And he has these medical jargons that I didn't know. I would literally go home at night, sit on the floor after 12, 14 hour day, sit on the floor, pull out the medical encyclopedia and almost cry trying to figure out, how am I going to make sense of this? And then come back the next day. And then I'd have one day, Sunday, to kind of catch my breath. And then halfway through Sunday, I'd have to be working on Monday. So it was.
Janine Turner
We couldn't think. Yeah, we couldn't think.
Rob Morrow
We couldn't think. And I remember when we came back the second season. And they said, oh, we're going to. To be on a normal schedule, which was eight day episode, five day weeks. It was like heaven because, oh, I could. I could.
Janine Turner
We could have a Saturday night. Yeah. How I would get through it, I. I think that. That being on the set, what I loved about the characters, every single one of the characters, was the juxtaposition of the characters. And you said you. You had a lot in common with Fleischman. And. And I think when you go into those auditions, you're bringing so much of your own life history that people just sort of kinetically and, you know, telepathically pick up where you are in life, you know? And here I was trying to be taken seriously, to not be. To not be just this. Everybody look at the exterior. And Maggie o' Connell was like that, leaving from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, where she was a socialite. She decided to move out to. To. To Alaska. And she flew her own plane, and she killed her own deer and she sawed her own wood, and she fixed your plumbing.
Rob Morrow
And do we know why she left Mich.
Janine Turner
Remember? I don't remember why, but it's probably very similar to what I was doing. It's like, there's got to be more to life than socialites. And I certainly didn't want to be a Dallas socialite. I left Texas, you know, but when I. But the great scene when I walk up to you and. And you think I'm a prostitute, right? That I'm hitting on you and. And I turn to you and say, I'm not a pro prostitute. What do I. I don't know, you jerk. What do I say? Say to you, I'm not a prostitute. I'm your landlord. I'm not a hooker. That's right. I'm not a hooker, you jerk. I'm your landlord. And that was so cool because here was this juxtaposition where if you looked at me, you might think, but really, I was the landlord. I was gonna. I was gonna carry your wood and fix your plumbing and all that. And it was this sort of. And. And you look at. When you watch the show, Darren was so amazing. I mean, Darren in that long hair, and. And here he comes and he's this simple guy stranded in the truck.
Rob Morrow
It's interesting that first of all, Darren's blonde, right? And they dyed his hair black for the show. And it took him a second. I remember taking him a second to find the character. I don't think he quite found him, you know, for a couple episodes which is not unusual.
Janine Turner
I don't know. I thought he was pretty on spot. I thought he was on spot in that.
Rob Morrow
I think if you ask him, he.
Janine Turner
Might have felt that way. Because I can look at my performances and think the same thing. Because we all, we're like acting troupes. We get better and better and better because we have that opportunity. Unlike a movie where it's just, you know, sort of one chance. But. But Darren, what? You know, the way and the music, and then he leaves you stranded in that truck. Ed, his character was this simple kind of guy with his hair and his face and like, hey, I'm gonna leave the car to you. But he loved Woody Allen, you know, he loved Woody Allen and quoted Woody Allen to you at the end. And then as I said earlier, you have Maurice, who, who is this astronaut, but he's so incredibly sensitive. And you have Maggie o' Connell, who's from Grosse Pointe, but she really wants to be tough. They really created complex characters. And how do you feel like you had complex. How do you feel like Joel. Joel was complex. And then you've got Marilyn, you got Marilyn there, you know, all by your side. I'll stitch him up. I'll help him. I'll stitch him up. How do you feel that your character had that juxtaposition between complexity? Yeah, the complexity. I think all the characters had such complexity.
Rob Morrow
Yeah, for sure. They were dimensional. You know, they were dimensional. One thing I, I just want to point out about that scene with Ed on the road. If you remember, he talks about his favorite TV show being seen elsewhere.
Janine Turner
Yeah. Because they were doing the show. Yeah.
Rob Morrow
And Josh and John. Josh Brand and John Falzy were co creators on St. Elsewhere and writers on it and producers on it. So I, it's. I found that interesting watching the show last night that they kind of pitched their own show on the new one. You know, they paid homage to themselves in terms of complexity, you know. You know, Joel had dimensions in that. You know, he was very fastidious about the way the world should be. He had these ideas about, you know, in the presumption of thinking that you're a hooker in the bar. So I could never imagine doing that, even if I thought someone was a hooker. I couldn't imagine articulating that. But he had such clear ideas. But what was interesting about Joel for me was that he could eventually see his own fault in something. He could see where he was narrow minded about something. And his whole journey was a kind of opening. And it's interesting where the actor in terms of complexity, where the actor and the character differ. You know, I'm very different from Joel in a lot of ways. You know, I'm similar in a lot of ways, but like, I love nature. I love to be out in the woods. Nothing gives me more joy than being in the woods. And Joel, you know, despised being in the woods. I mean, there's that great moment when he comes out after finding a rat that he has to carry out.
Janine Turner
Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God, oh my God.
Rob Morrow
And then he turns around and he looks where he is and he's just in this, you know, landscape that's. That's magnificent. But to him it's like horror because.
Janine Turner
You'Re in the middle of nowhere. That does scare a lot of people to be in the middle of nowhere like that.
Rob Morrow
I think so. And I think a lot of the complexity of what you're talking about comes out of those, that juxtaposition between the actor and the character. That's where. That's where something comes that no one, no one anticipated. Right.
Janine Turner
Yeah, I, I agree. And I just was. I marveled at the pilot and you know, okay, maybe, maybe it was hard for us to be objective, but I marveled at the pilot because it was this amazing kind of accumulation of things that just came together perfectly. The writing was, was just. It set everything up to be so funny. The, the actors and what you did with the role. I'm gonna say it again. I, I thought you were just tour. I thought you were fabulous in the pilot. Even that moment when you walk out of. Of Maryland's off out of your office. You know, you. At the end when you find out you really have to stay there, you're going to go to prison for 18 years. And you shuffle out kind of quietly and then you get in the car and you start banging on the. Banging on the, you know, on the steering wheel. It was just this great moment.
Rob Morrow
We, we shot that in like one take with a couple cameras, I think, which was unusual at the time to use more than one camera and television for sure. But when I finished and they cut my. I had ripped the fingernail off my hand, off one of my fingers and it was bleeding. And, and yeah, because I just, I just went kind of berserk in there and, and, and half the crew kind of avoided me the rest of the day because I thought I was crazy.
Janine Turner
But I wanna, I wanna ask you a question about that scene. This is a behind the scenes thing that I don't even know. Right when you walked out of the office and when you found out you had to stay there and Maryland's, you know, comes out to get you, but you, you shuffle really slowly and then you get in the car and you start banging on the steering wheel. I don't remember, Rob, was that in the script? Did Josh direct you to do that or was that an actor's choice?
Rob Morrow
Well, it was. Something was in the script. I don't think it was quite to the extent that I went and I think, think. I think Josh, Josh definitely urged me toward that. I didn't, I don't think I came. I don't think I just did it on my own. He was like, you know, he, he, he may not have said exactly what, but he was like, I just want to see you go crazy or something. And so, you know, I was young and, and crazy and so I went crazy.
Janine Turner
Oh, that was perfect. That was a great, that was a great moment. It was a great moment.
Rob Morrow
It's a great moment because you see, you know, I was, you know, that's the thing about acting is like, when you do something like that, when one of us does something where we're physically doing the thing we're actually doing, we're not faking it. It's not like, you know, there's not a stunt person. You're doing it. You, you have that experience. And, and, and, and I remember watching the show last night when I finished the scene and I sit on the, on the floorboard outside of the door of the, of the cab, of the truck. The look on my face is like, is so real. Like, because I wasn't acting. Like I really was exhausted and, and you know, and, and you can tap into things as an actor. Joel had a, a four year contract. I had a seven year contract. No. So no matter what happened, I was, you know, I was stuck there. But, but it was, it was interesting and also, you know, thinking about, I was watching the scene last night. If you remember, Maurice's house was different in subsequent shows because that house, which was pretty much, much as you, it came as it, as, as you see it on the show is what was how we found it when they, when they location scouted it. And the guy was like a, you know, he, he had like all these Hitler, he was like a Nazi, you know, like he was really into Hitler and stuff. And we found all this stuff. Yeah, we went into, we went into this office and there was all this stuff, this memorabilia, and we were like, oh, interesting. And then the, and then, and the house was covered in Weapons. I mean, every nook and cranny had weapons. Like, they're just walls of guns, which is just. Nothing wrong with guns and knives, but it was on that scale. It was really weird. And I think Josh and John got freaked out by the guy, and so they said, let's build it. So after that, they built Maurice's house.
Janine Turner
They had their own. Yeah. I mean, and even, you know, Marilyn was awesome. John, John Cullum, how he never speaks to Maurice and. And you're afraid you're going to be in the middle of some kind of altercation between the two of them. The intertwining of the. The kind of intricacies of quirkiness. I mean, that, that existed in this north to the future, you know, Alaskan outback of the people.
Rob Morrow
It's a tender. It's a tender storyline between the three.
Janine Turner
Of the people, but the people really care about each other and they have this sense of camaraderie. And even that scene in the bar where the two of us finally. You're drunk. Not you, but Rob. Joel Fleischman's drunk. And I'm sitting there with you, and I'm telling you the story that my boyfriend died, you know, on a glacier. Because it, the, the, the funny thing about o' Connell's boyfriends is they all died because she was tougher than they were. Right?
Rob Morrow
She.
Janine Turner
She was, she was just. She could go out. She knew not to fall asleep on a glacier. He fell asleep on a glacier and died. I mean, it was just. Just those, those quirky, magical moments that Josh and John wrote together. They really were.
Rob Morrow
What about Ruth, Ruthanne saying to me in that scene, I, I come in and ask for a bagel and a schmear into the deli.
Janine Turner
What's a bagel?
Rob Morrow
What's a bagel?
Janine Turner
I'll tell you a funny story about that. I'll tell you a funny story about that. It's hard to believe, but I was raised in Fort Worth, Texas, right? Fort Worth, Texas. Small town, Fort Worth, Texas, Texas. When I moved to New York City at the age of 15, I had never seen a bagel. I had no idea what a bagel was. So we're talking 1979 or whatever. I had never seen, you know, big sliced pizza. I didn't know what Haagen Daz ice cream was, but I certainly didn't know what a bagel was. And that's what's hard for all of us to believe today, with this sort of, you know, homogeneous quality where everything is everywhere and everybody has everything. But the fact that she didn't know what a bagel was. Right. That's just the small.
Rob Morrow
But you make a good point. You make a good point. I guess they weren't everywhere, but.
Janine Turner
Yeah, well, now they are.
Rob Morrow
But, but, but it's such an idiosyncratic thing to say, you know, it's just such an. You know, and, and, and, and, and along those lines, like Darren, you know, in that same episode, I'm examining an actor that the guy who played. His name is Art lafleur, the actor who plays one of the two couples that she keeps shooting him and.
Janine Turner
Stabbing.
Rob Morrow
Him to take care of him. And I'm examining him, and Darren just walks into the exam room and just stands there, which is just so perfect.
Janine Turner
Well, and Marilyn, too. So, so Darren. Darren's character, Ed, he never knocked, ever. He would just arrive. He would just sort of be there, and then Marilyn would always be right there. Like, do you want me to stitch him up? And my favorite thing, which is coming. It wasn't in the pilot, was like, you have a call online, too, and you always would say to her, we only have one line, you know, But. But the fact that Marilyn was able to be there, all the characters were just so rich. And I have to say, it was amazingly cast. But what I got a kick out of and what John and Josh were able to do, which made the show so special is they tapped into humanity. You know, I think we live in an environment today where everyone's like, you must behave perfectly. And if they don't leave them, you know, walk away, let them, you know, all these social media things, it's like people have to behave perfectly or leave or let them, and all these therapists and whatnot.
Rob Morrow
But you cancel culture and all that.
Janine Turner
Cancel culture. But also just like, if someone, like, has any sort of humanity, you must leave. And in this outback of north to the future, which I think should be one of our slogans on this 110 episode journey that you are on. You and I are on north to the future.
Rob Morrow
I love that.
Janine Turner
The last line of the show. But you had this couple come in where she keeps shooting them, and then at the end and they're crying, and you say, you try to be the intermediary. And they're crying and they're saying she's. They're trying. You try to get them to communicate with one another. And there was this great line. She says. She says, if I don't kill you. And she's crying like she loves him, obviously, and she's like, if I don't kill you, I don't know what I'm gonna do.
Rob Morrow
Right.
Janine Turner
That's a great line.
Rob Morrow
They had an ability to kind of. Of. Kind of reveal humanity through. Through unusual behavior, you know, as you say, behavior that might be, you know, might be not sanctioned in certain places. But that couple, you got the feeling that they were going to be okay, you know, that they were going to find their way. Even though she shot him and stabbed him in the same week, which I'm not, you know, is clearly not something anyone.
Janine Turner
We're not advocating that. We're not not advocating any of this disclaimer, but. But it just talks about the humanity. They got to the depth of the humanity that they really loved each other and they could no longer communicate with each other. And that, of course, obviously doesn't mean you shoot or stab anybody, but, I mean, it was. It was just that they. The way they could tap into humanity. And your character, you were, you know, everybody, in the end was a good person, but in. We were all foul people. We were all fallible. We all had mistakes, but we all were good people. And the fact that Maggie o' Connell's boyfriends died, you know, and she kept those little. Later, you'll see, she had those little dioramas, you know, to. To kind of honor all her dead boyfriends every. Let me put it this way, everybody had a vulnerability, and no matter how tough we were, because, you know, Maggie o' Connell, later in the episode, just socks you. You know, she just hits you. Can I say one other thing? I don't know how you feel about this, and it's so wrong in today's culture. It's so wrong. It was probably wrong in the culture, but it's funny because they were. Because they were so north to the future out there in the middle where. In the middle of nowhere where. Where Barry Corbin's character would say, you know, I've always wanted a Jew as a doctor. You know what I mean? He's like, I gotta get that Indian to get back over here. I mean, everything they said was, like, completely not politically correct. Everybody and everybody was redeemed, like Maryland's redeemed. But it's someone who, you know, it's.
Rob Morrow
A good point you're making, because, look, you're obviously, you know, it's. It's, you know, racism or, you know, sexism or, you know, you know, reducing people to stereotypes is not a good thing. But. But the thing that's fascinating is that then the characters did redeem themselves and you did love them despite their flaws, you know, And I think that's a good lesson. Like. Like you're pointing out, like we. We PC. We have to be so PC, correct now that you can say something and your whole life can be changed. But. But it doesn't mean you're, you know, a bad person. You know, it doesn't mean that you're, you know, that. That. That you should be. That. That should be the way you are thought of in. In terms of that one moment. And. And I think here's the thing about Northern Exposure that I always loved and. And. And it was something that Josh said was that it was a benevolent universe, right? That. That. That, as you said, everyone. The, you know, bad things happen, bad people showed up, but ultimately it was a benevolent universe where kind of goodness won out without being Pollyanna or saccharna. You know, it was. There was something. There was something refreshing about knowing that you could be flawed and still be redeemed.
Janine Turner
Beautifully. Beautifully said, Rob. Beautifully said. And isn't that what life is all about? I mean, I'm 62 now, you know, and I'm realizing how flawed I am. And I just pray every day that I can, you know, be redeemed and have a purpose and do something purposeful with my life that means something and that. But I fail every day. You know what I mean? It's so discouraging.
Rob Morrow
I know exactly.
Janine Turner
Like, I am not gonna do this today. I. I'm gonna be patient, and then, like, within two seconds, I'm impatient. But. But we're human beings, and I think that that's what's great about this town of Northern Exposure is that they were fallible, but they were likable. They were just so lovable because they all had. Had vulnerability and an emotional complexity. And at the end, they were all trying to do the right thing, and they all really cared about each other. And you could see in this pilot, like, the sparks that were coming between you and me. You're talking about the redness of my lips and.
Rob Morrow
Right.
Janine Turner
You go off and you throw.
Rob Morrow
But it's so funny that Joe. Joe Joel would say something nice like that, like. And then just undercut it, right? Like, he'd say how you're beautiful. You. I've never seen anything. And then he. Then he equated them to. What did he say? He equated them to something ridiculous. Like, it's like, yeah, you know, they, they, they. They. They got in their own way in such a charming way.
Janine Turner
We accepted each other.
Rob Morrow
But maybe that had to do with the fact that because they had no choice, they were like, when you're in a town like that, you have to accept people. When you're in this circumscribed world, you know, where your. Your survival, you know, is in. You know, you're all depending on each other for your survival. You do have to accept. And that's a. Probably a good lesson. But Corbett. Corbett didn't have a single line in the pilot. I noticed that, which is fascinating because he became. Chris Stevens is my favorite character on the show. I'm gonna just say it right now. I loved. I love that character. I love Corbett, first of all. I just adore. I adored him from the second I met him. And as I said to him recently, I've always loved you and I always will. You know, he.
Janine Turner
But he's sweet. John Corbett has a sweet voice.
Rob Morrow
Soul. He has a sweet soul. I don't think they thought that character was going to amount to much. And it's a real testament to John that he kind of came in and they gave him a little, and he made a lot with it, and then it grew and. And he became one of the most beloved characters on the show. You know.
Janine Turner
You know why? It's because we could be true to the choices we wanted to make. You know, he wanted to wear headbands. He wanted to have his hair long. He wanted to do. You know, he wanted to. To be kind of a h. And. And sometimes he got. They fought him on that, like, you need to cut your hair. And he's like, no, I want my hair to be long. And. And so they. They let us. Which they sort of changed later, but I mean, they let us bring. This is what I think is a life lesson as well. Let. Let people bring to the table their idiosyncrasies and their insights and their visions and their talents. Let it be a collaborative experience. And I think in the beginning, they. They allow. They allow that to a certain extent. And. And Corbett brought that kind of. That kind of raw innocence. And. But also they learned that they could use John Corbett to say whatever philosophical thing they wanted to say. I mean, Corbett mouthpiece of, like Plato and Aristotle and. And Jung and Freud and. And. And they could use John Corbett's quirkiness to. To. To be a mouthpiece of this kind of higher enlightenment. And I think the.
Rob Morrow
And again, here's the interesting thing. You talk about, you know, the complexities of characters and contradictions between the actor and the character. John is not an intellectual, you know, or at Least he wasn't, you know, he, he wasn't, he didn't often know some of the references he was speaking to, but his, his soul and his heart are wise and the combination of that with the, the cerebral things that they had him saying made for something special. And, you know, again, I'll. I can. I feel like one of the unique features of the show was there was not a show at the time, you know, that dealt with the, the issues and the themes, spirituality, metaphysics, philosophy, literature, art, you know, these were regular occurring themes in our show. And, and that was, that was unusual before the Internet.
Janine Turner
And, and it was before the Internet, before the intern, we had great writers that, that thought of these things and could bring these things in. And, you know, I don't want to leave out John Cullum's complexity of what he brought with his Broadway experience to the depth of the character. That here was this simple bartender, you know, that lived forever, that had genes to live to be a hundred, but he loved his wife. And then I don't want to leave out Cynthia Gary either, because Cynthia turned out to just be a treasure because here she was this of kind, kind of, you know, young thing that was the antithesis of Maggie o' Connell. But. But it was. She brought a depth to it and she brought a love to it and a comedic aspect to it that was also really rich. I mean, I just think every character.
Rob Morrow
She didn't have much to do in the pilot at all either. And you know, I think, you know, if you're an actor now and you show up on a pilot and you don't have nothing to do, you think, oh, the worst is going to come. But again, her character grew in to be so beloved and, and as you say, she brought so much charm and she was beautiful and she had a quirkiness to her and she was funny. And Cullum was like, you know, I knew him from Broadway shows, having seen him, and he had such a kind of. It was as soon as I started working with John in the first scene I did with him, you know, it was so easygoing and I don't think I ever had a conflict with him, you know, really never about a.
Janine Turner
He was a nice person. Person. He's so easy to work with.
Rob Morrow
He just went with the flow.
Janine Turner
I think I can say that you and I did not go with the flow. You and I?
Rob Morrow
Yeah, you and I.
Janine Turner
There's this book, I don't know what it's called, but you can like, see what kind of character you are. And I think you and I are both challengers. You and I are both challengers. And. But. And we really challenged each other. We challenged everybody around us, and we really, really cared about our work. And that doesn't mean that John Colum didn't. Wasn't. Didn't care about his work, but he was just such a charmer and just so. He was so relaxed in who he was. And you and I were there to find out who we were, you know?
Rob Morrow
Well, these guys were older, you know, they were more.
Janine Turner
They were more comfortable, let me tell you.
Rob Morrow
Trying to make our name for ourselves. No, we were, but. But we were. We were. You know, we were making our names for ourselves. They already had their name, but the other one, you know, I just. I didn't know if we spoke enough about Elaine. Marilyn, you know, she. She. One of the great acting lessons of my life came from Elaine Miles, who has a fascinating story. When we get her on there, I'm going to save it. So when she comes on the show. But, like, but, but. But she. So she wasn't really an actor, and yet she never actually. Yeah.
Janine Turner
Don't you want to. Don't you want to tell a little bit of the story?
Rob Morrow
No, no, no, no. Let's leave it. Let's leave it. Let's leave it.
Janine Turner
We got a story coming about it.
Rob Morrow
Yeah, yeah. No, she's.
Janine Turner
Her.
Rob Morrow
How she got the job is. Is a great story, but what. What. I. She was so simple that if I overacted in a scene, it was so obvious because here was someone who was just real. So I had to kind of come to her level so that it didn't seem like we were in two different worlds. And I learned a lot, you know? You know, I. I watched those scenes from the get go. I started watching dailies, and I started watching what was working and what wasn't. And I learned film acting and. And a lot from Elaine, you know?
Janine Turner
Right. And I learned from you, by the way. I'll just let everybody know that Rob. Rob asked for dailies. And so I'm, like, very competitive and very, very challenging. And I'm like, well, if Rob gets dailies, I get dailies. And so I started. I started watching the dailies. And the dailies, as everybody knows, it was a compilation of the film that was put on vhs. And then you. We would put it in our. It would be the take one, take two, take three, take four of that day's work. And that's why they call them the dailies. And some directors were brave enough on movie sets. Like on cliffhanger, to let you actually arrive and go to the daily screening. They don't do that anymore, but it was really, really fun to do. But. But I'll say what, what. When I think about Maryland too, because I was thinking about that as we were watching the pilot last. Last night. The editing was great. I mean, the editing was great. The editing, I mean. And when I talk about. I've done a lot of work lately in the CEO world, you know, running a foundation and whatnot, and they don't get me, right? They just don't understand my level of passion, but they don't understand my level of collaboration because. And they don't understand what it's like to collaborate, you know, but we have to collaborate. And as actors, we give what we give and then we have to let go of it because the editors go in there and then you add on the music. Music. We should talk. We should end, you know, talking about the music. But the editors were great because they would. They would cut to Marilyn for the absolute perfect little moment where, you know, she lifted her eyebrow or did something very simplistic that fed the scene, like when the. When the couple's talking about not shooting or stabbing each other anymore. And they would. They would cut to you and. But they would cut to her. And so let's talk about editing for a minute because I think the editing was pretty phenomenal. Phenomenal.
Rob Morrow
The editing was great. They had, you know, and the. Interesting to point out, though, we. We shot the show in Seattle, which doubled well for Alaska. And ironically enough, which I think Josh can speak to on our next episode. The writers had never been to Alaska when they wrote the show, but somehow they captured it. They captured this kind of bonhomie and, and. And the landscape. Somehow they captured it how it informs character. But the. We. We shot that in Seattle, so the actors and production was in Seattle, but the post production and producers and the writers were all in Los Angeles. So we were in. Which to me, I liked. A lot of people didn't like it, but I liked it because it gave us a little more flexibility in terms of what we were doing on the set without interference.
Janine Turner
Until looping. Until looping, right.
Rob Morrow
Well, that's. Well, we can do a whole episode on looping, but the editors were in LA and they had. You had three different groups of them, you know, that. That would work on each episode as it came down the pike. And, and they were great. And, you know, Josh and John were very hands on in terms of. They, they. Every script went through Their, their, their hand. You know, no matter who wrote it or who got the credit, they, they did a pass on it because before it, before it went to the floor, so to speak. And they were in the editing room very, very focused on every detail of the cut. And then as you say, then they got, we get to the music, which was one of the huge staples of the show. I mean the guy named Martin, Bruce Lee, who went on to do the music for the Sopranos and was a bit of a genius and one might say, say a large part of the success of the show could be attributed to Martin's ideas for music. I mean, if you look, if you go through the episodes, it's just. There's just endlessly cool music. Aside from the score that David Schwarz did the, the calypso theme song that.
Janine Turner
You know, I just want to interject right there to give an example. Darren's in the car and he's driving you and he's talking about what cassette tape to put in the car or whatever, vhs, whatever it was. And then it comes on Louie, Louie, Louie, Louie. And, and like the music really was awesome and Martin was incredible with, with the music. And then if you listen in the bar, there were always all these little idiosyncrasies of what music was playing on in the background in Holland's bar.
Rob Morrow
And as you say, like Louie Louis Louie was like, it's, it's. Nothing's on the nose. It's just kind of wait. Louie, Louie in Alaska. What. You know, it just, all of it, you know, or, or Etta James coming up over, over a landscape. You know, it just, they, they. He was so brilliant in his, in it. They're called Needle Drop. You know, these, these, the songs that go on that they, they put on underneath the, the show. But, but music was a, was a huge feature. They put out CDs and albums of the soundtrack.
Janine Turner
I mean we had, we had CDs, we had t shirts, we had cookbooks. But you know, in closing here, Rob, I think it's also an element that was the star of the show was the scenery. And it was so fun to watch the pilot last night. As I said as we started, Rob and I were calling one another and texting one another after we watched the pilot because it was just, it was just so much, much fun. And I encourage you, you know, if you haven't for some reason, watch the show, please watch the show because I promise it's just a feel good show. But the mountain, the mountain over that lake where we filmed There was. There were segments of it that they used throughout the episode. But then also at the end of the episode we had the picnic in front of that mountain. We drove by that mountain once every eight days because we filmed in Seattle at Redmond, Washington on a soundstage which was an old industrial building, by the way. But then we drove every week and a half to. To. To Roslyn, Washington. And Roslyn, Washington was this old coal mining town which we can talk about next week. Like the brick. It was a old coal mining town and the mountains and the snow and the smell of the air and the fireplaces. But we drove by that mountain. I think people might like to know that we drove by that mountain every day on the way to Roslyn, Washington.
Rob Morrow
The landscape was a character is really. And I think that might be the first time on television at that point, that landscape was a character. You know, it was integral to everything that was going on was where these people were in that environment and how that informed them, you know. So I think we've covered it. You know, one thing that I look forward to getting to is we didn't talk a lot about the costume, you know, and the set design, which was so amazing. We'll get to that in subsequent. Maybe we'll get.
Janine Turner
And how they wouldn't. They wouldn't. Everybody wanted to come be a guest star. All the pop. Big huge movie stars and everybody wanted to come be a guest on our show and they wouldn't allow them because they wanted to keep the integrity of the small town. But yeah, the costumes. And we've lost her too, by the way.
Rob Morrow
We lost Catherine Katherine Bentley, but Mimi Melgaard, who was her second in command and my girlfriend for a while. Yeah, she. She did a great job and then went on to Gray. Gray's Anatomy for 15 years. But I think, you know, look, I. This was really fun. I look forward to the next episodes. I look forward to getting some fan feedback. I look. And really what I look forward to is talking to our friends that I. That I don't see that much, you know, and they think Joshua Brand, our.
Janine Turner
Creator, our father figure, figure, the God is next week and then the next week after that we have John Corbett and. Which will be a lot of fun. It can't. It has to be fun. And then we have Barry Corbin who's gone on also. He had a career before and a career after. He's just been. He's been in all kinds of Academy Award winning movies. And after that we'll get Cynthia and Daring and Then we'll, we'll get David Swartz music. It's just going to be a great experience. Experience to kind of relive this. And I, I just, I, I've heard a lot of, of people who've never seen the show before that have now reached out to me and binge the whole thing or younger generations. I'm, I'm so happy. And thank you, Amazon Prime Video, for picking up the show and to Universal Studios and all the work that you and I both have independently done to bring the show to, to, to Prime Video and to get it out there. And it's all over, you know, Europe, it's all over the world. It's in Israel, it's in South Africa.
Rob Morrow
It's streaming. It's streaming now on Amazon Prime. If you don't know that, you can watch it on Amazon prime, as Janine said.
Janine Turner
Yeah. And Rob. Rob. Okay. For all of you out there, I will always have a special place for Rob Morrow in my life. I mean, you can't, you can't work. You can't work with someone 18 hours a day, you know, for five years. And you kind of have a, a love for that person. And I will always, always treasure you and love you. And I will. I think in closing here, I treasure the sort of collaborative, challenging we gave to one another. You know, you and I competed, but like Maggie o' Connell did with Fleischman, you know, but it let, it led us to, it lifted us to higher levels. And you really cared about your work, and I really cared about my work. And not all actors do, you know, not all actors do. You and I know have worked with people that kind of shuffle through and do the thing, but you always had such a passion. And I'll always have a special place in my heart for you, Rob Morrow. And I'm thrilled that we have the chance to do this together.
Rob Morrow
Well, the feeling's mutual. It's been fun catching up with you. So onward and north to the north to the future.
Janine Turner
Okay, so we look forward to next week's episode when. And we went and closed tonight and brought to you by Ocon and Fleischman.
Rob Morrow
I think maybe it'd be better if we say Fleischmann and o' Connell.
Janine Turner
Yeah, sure. Well, in your dreams, Fleischmann.
Rob Morrow
Disclosure is a production with Evergreen Podcasts and executive produced by Paul Anderson and Scott McCarthy for Workhouse Media that.
Northern Disclosure: Episode 1 - “Pilot” with Rob Morrow and Janine Turner
Release Date: May 20, 2025
Introduction to Northern Disclosure
In the inaugural episode of Northern Disclosure, hosts Rob Morrow and Janine Turner embark on a nostalgic journey revisiting the pilot episode of the beloved '90s series Northern Exposure. The podcast aims to delve deep into the making of the show, sharing behind-the-scenes anecdotes, character insights, and the enduring magic that made Northern Exposure a television classic.
The Genesis of the Podcast
Rob Morrow kicks off the conversation by expressing his excitement about launching the podcast, citing the constant fan interest in revisiting the show and exploring the possibility of a reboot.
[00:00] Rob Morrow: "This is the first podcast in what we hope will be many about the experience of making Northern Exposure from 1990-95."
Janine Turner reciprocates the enthusiasm, highlighting their mutual passion for the project and the collaborative spirit behind its creation.
[01:30] Janine Turner: "I think you and I came to this Northern Exposure at exactly the same age. We were both New York Actors Theater, and we both really, really cared about our work."
Auditioning and Landing the Roles
Rob and Janine reflect on their audition experiences, emphasizing the uniqueness of the Northern Exposure script and the immediate connection they felt with their characters.
[03:17] Rob Morrow: "When I read the script for Northern Exposure, it read like no other TV script I'd ever read... I felt like I understood him [Joel]."
Janine shares her resolve during a challenging period in her acting career, explaining her decision to turn down conventional roles in favor of more substantive work, which ultimately led her to Northern Exposure.
[04:18] Janine Turner: "I was really trying to build layers and layers of onions of emotion. I didn't want to do the same old roles anymore."
First Impressions and On-Set Chemistry
The hosts discuss their first read-through and the palpable chemistry that developed during the initial stages of production. They recount memorable moments, such as the unexpected encounter with composer David Schwartz, underscoring the serendipitous nature of their collaborations.
[07:34] Rob Morrow: "We were literally texting, like, 30 seconds before I walk in the door... David's looking right at me."
Janine reminisces about the audition process, describing the intense and often impersonal nature of network auditions, juxtaposed with the unique camaraderie she and Rob shared.
[08:28] Janine Turner: "I walked in the room...they ran out when I first auditioned with you and said, 'Why did you wear a skirt?'"
Character Development and Complexity
A significant portion of the discussion revolves around the depth and complexity of the show's characters. Rob praises Janine's portrayal of Maggie O'Connell, highlighting the character's multifaceted nature.
[09:38] Janine Turner: "Maggie O'Connell was...she flew her own plane, killed her own deer, sawn her own wood...she fixed your plumbing."
Rob delves into his character Joel Fleischman's internal struggles and how portraying a fish out of water in Cicely, Alaska mirrored his personal experiences.
[17:40] Rob Morrow: "Joel could eventually see his own fault in something. His whole journey was a kind of opening."
Behind-the-Scenes Challenges
The hosts candidly discuss the grueling filming schedule, particularly during the first season, detailing long hours and the physical and emotional toll it took on the cast.
[21:27] Janine Turner: "We shot six days a week and seven days an episode... it was a real blessing."
Rob shares personal anecdotes about the demanding schedule, including the rigorous preparation required to deliver authentic performances.
[22:55] Rob Morrow: "I was on almost every scene... I remember thinking, I'm gonna die because there was no time to relax."
Editing, Music, and Atmosphere
Janine and Rob highlight the critical role of editing and Martin Schwartz's musical contributions in shaping the show's unique ambiance. They discuss how the music complemented the storytelling, creating memorable and emotionally resonant moments.
[53:35] Janine Turner: "Darren's in the car... Louie, Louie came on... the music was awesome."
Rob emphasizes the seamless integration of Seattle's landscape in the show's setting, despite the actual filming occurring in Redmond, Washington.
[54:10] Janine Turner: "The landscape was a character... every day on the way to Roslyn, Washington."
Legacy and Reflections
In wrapping up the episode, Rob and Janine reflect on the enduring legacy of Northern Exposure. They celebrate the show's ability to blend humor, humanity, and philosophical depth, attributing much of its success to the collaborative spirit and the rich, multidimensional characters.
[40:50] Janine Turner: "The town of Northern Exposure... they were fallible, but they were likable. So lovable because they all had vulnerability and emotional complexity."
Rob concurs, noting the show's pioneering approach to character development and thematic exploration, which set it apart from contemporaries.
[41:12] Rob Morrow: "It was something refreshing about knowing that you could be flawed and still be redeemed."
Conclusion and Future Episodes
The episode concludes with anticipation for future installments of the podcast, where Rob and Janine plan to invite guests such as Joshua Brand, John Corbett, and Barry Corbin to share their insights and stories from the set. They express gratitude towards fans and highlight the ongoing availability of Northern Exposure on streaming platforms, ensuring the show's legacy continues to inspire new audiences.
[57:50] Rob Morrow: "It's streaming now on Amazon Prime. If you don't know that, you can watch it on Amazon Prime, as Janine said."
[59:01] Janine Turner: "Onward and north to the north to the future."
Key Takeaways:
Passion and Persistence: Both hosts emphasize the importance of staying true to one's craft and the impact of perseverance in the face of adversity.
Collaborative Spirit: The success of Northern Exposure is attributed to the collaborative efforts of the cast and crew, fostering an environment where creativity and individuality thrived.
Character Depth: The show's rich, multidimensional characters were pivotal in creating relatable and enduring narratives that resonated with audiences.
Legacy and Influence: Northern Exposure remains a testament to innovative storytelling, blending humor with profound thematic elements, setting a benchmark for future television series.
Notable Quotes:
Rob Morrow: "Joel could eventually see his own fault in something. His whole journey was a kind of opening." (04:18)
Janine Turner: "Maggie O'Connell was...she flew her own plane, killed her own deer, sawn her own wood...she fixed your plumbing." (09:38)
Janine Turner: "The town of Northern Exposure... they were fallible, but they were likable. So lovable because they all had vulnerability and emotional complexity." (40:50)
Rob Morrow: "It was something refreshing about knowing that you could be flawed and still be redeemed." (40:50)
Stay tuned for future episodes of Northern Disclosure, where Rob Morrow and Janine Turner continue to explore the beloved series, sharing untold stories and celebrating the enduring charm of Cicely, Alaska.