← Northern Disclosure
Northern Disclosure
S3E17: "My Sister / My Mother" with Mimi Melgaard
01:00:45
Mimi Melgaard joins Rob Morrow and Janine Turner to discuss costuming in Northern Exposure!
Loading summary
Transcript259 lines
- [00:00]
Mimi Melgard
Foreign.
- [00:10]
Jeanine Turner
Hello, everybody. I'm Jeanine Turner. Welcome to Northern Disclosure with my co host and co star, Rob Morrow. We're back in the saddle again, as we say here in Texas. So welcome back Rob Morrow.
- [00:24]
Rob Morrow
Yeah, Jeanine, it's been a minute. It was nice having a little break and you know, the holidays were. I had really, really nice holidays. I love the holidays. I wish we could have more long holidays. You know, I just shut down and relax and get out of routine and, and you know, it's, it's my favorite, favorite time of year. How, how was your holidays?
- [00:47]
Jeanine Turner
Well, I don't get to shut down and relax.
- [00:50]
Rob Morrow
Well, you got your mom. How's your mom? We should ask.
- [00:53]
Jeanine Turner
Somehow I worked right up into the time and I'm putting trees up and taking care of the ranch and taking care of my mom and trying to work three jobs. My mother is better, my mother's better. We had a little bit more of a saga with what was going on with her lungs and I had to, I made the conservative decision, but it seems to have worked. So we changed her antibiotic and put her on a cortisone pack and she seems to be much, much better. So thank you for asking. And the holidays for me were, they weren't relaxing, but they were, they were very nice. You know, I always look and say, you know, is the glass half full or is the glass half empty? And I'm going to make gratitude my attitude. So they might not have been exactly how I would have had them, but they were better than last year. So I'm going with that.
- [01:37]
Rob Morrow
Well, that's good, man. I like that approach. You're. That's the way to do it, right? That's what we have to do, you know, try to find the positive. Try to find, I mean, there is so much to be grateful for. Always. There really is the fact that we're alive, you know, I mean, that's a miracle, right?
- [01:54]
Mimi Melgard
So true.
- [01:54]
Jeanine Turner
So true. So it's finding the positives and it's good. And I just finished a big production directing, and I was thinking about you, Rob, because, you know, we've had our directors on the show and, and I wrote it, co wrote it and directed it, executive produced it, all that kind of stuff. And there I am set, standing by the camera, working with the actors. I couldn't not sit in the video room because you just don't, it was amazing because you just don't see the intricacies, the delicacies, the flashes of light and things that go on in their eyes. Unless you're standing right there looking at them. And then I could walk right up to them and talk to them about how to, you know, nuance their performance. So. I have to tell you, I love directing.
- [02:37]
Rob Morrow
Yeah, well, you know, I agree. I. I do the same thing. I don't. I don't. I never really. I'm in Video Village. I have a little monitor with me, but I like to be there because then I understand. I can sense what's going on in relationship. The actor moving in relationship to the camera, to the. To the set. You know, I can understand what the issues are, you know, that I. That you can't quite see when you're just watching the monitor. And. And I do appreciate, you know, I remember. You remember how you upset. I mean, I was an idiot when I, you know, a lot. But, like, I used to get upset when directors would yell across the room a soundstage, you know, you know, make, you know, touch her face, like you really love her. And you're like, what? You know, like, I can't. You know, it's like it just. That's when they scream. I don't understand. Directors think that that's okay, you know, that we're trying to be intimate and hear someone yelling, you know, 50 yards away, you know, some kind of direction. And so at least when you're next to the camera, you can kind of just be quiet and stay in the mood.
- [03:42]
Jeanine Turner
And you can walk right up to the actors and say, hey. You know, And I just really love. I mean, I'm a frustrated cinematographer, so the cinematography is really something I love as well. But I. When I was finished, the actors were all asking me to coach them.
- [03:58]
Mimi Melgard
You know what I mean?
- [03:59]
Jeanine Turner
I was going up to them saying, now think about this and think about that and just the nuances. And it was the greatest joy in the world to be able to see them click and then do it right.
- [04:09]
Rob Morrow
You're like, oh, very cool.
- [04:11]
Jeanine Turner
You know, look at that. So, anywho, I just finished that and going through our ice storm, our Dalaska or, you know, ice Armageddon we had down here in Texas, I heard.
- [04:25]
Rob Morrow
But it's calmed down a little bit now.
- [04:27]
Jeanine Turner
Yeah, finally melted. It took like eight or nine days. So I won't go into all those sagas. Cause we have quite a wonderful show and quite a wonderful guest.
- [04:34]
Rob Morrow
Should we talk about it? So we have. This is an episode called My Mother, My sister. It's season three, episode three, 17 or 18, depending on whether you're on Amazon or IMDb. And it was directed by Rob Thompson, written by Katy Boutillier and Mitchell Burgess. I don't remember the name. Kate. I don't know. I don't remember her on other episodes. But Mitchell was a regular writer. And then we have to say that Janine is not in this episode.
- [05:05]
Jeanine Turner
I know.
- [05:07]
Rob Morrow
We don't know why. Or Maggie is not in this episode. We're not sure why. Whether Janine might have been working or doing some PR or something, I have.
- [05:15]
Jeanine Turner
No recollection at all. But I did find myself thinking, I want to see Maggie hold the baby. Wouldn't that have been fun? Everyone got to hold the baby but Maggie and I think that would have been so interesting.
- [05:28]
Rob Morrow
You probably said the same thing then. I'll bet you. Why did I get to hold the baby? That was a cute baby, by the way. So our guest, who I will introduce, is incredibly great, beautiful, lovely woman named Mimi Melgard. And Mimi was on the show, was a costume supervisor initially, but as the show progressed, she was given more and more responsibility. And Catherine Bentley, who was the original designer, who has since passed away, RIP Catherine, we love her, you know, allowed Mimi to do more and more. And Mimi left northeast after 100 episodes and went on to become the costume designer for Grey's Anatomy, where she did 290 episodes. Station 19, Private Practice, the Inside Commander in Chief, American dreams. Ally McBeal, Roswell. I mean, she really has had an amazing career. And full disclosure, Mimi and I were a couple back in the day, and I still love her madly, and I wish I got to see her more.
- [06:35]
Jeanine Turner
Now, I notice you can say that about Mimi, but you can't ever, like, ever have any of those kind of discussions about me. Mimi, whenever Rob and I'm like, oh, you know, Rob and I kind of had a thing going, and Rob's like, well, I married you. I can't possibly talk about that.
- [06:49]
Rob Morrow
But wait. We never had a thing. You and I never had a thing, Jeanine.
- [06:55]
Jeanine Turner
No, we never had a thing. But if ever. I'm talking about, you know, the integrity of, like, a kissing scene and how you might feel attracted. There have just been times where you kind of shy away from all that. But.
- [07:06]
Rob Morrow
But what I'll tell you is this. What I'll tell you is this. What I'll say is this. You are a great kisser. I do remember that. But Mimi and I were a couple for years.
- [07:18]
Jeanine Turner
You two. Right back at you.
- [07:22]
Rob Morrow
Now she's all embarrassed.
- [07:24]
Jeanine Turner
Oh, that's.
- [07:24]
Rob Morrow
Wait. Mimi, how you doing?
- [07:27]
Mimi Melgard
Fantastic.
- [07:28]
Rob Morrow
Yeah. Where are you?
- [07:29]
Mimi Melgard
Thank you for that very Interesting intro. Brought tears to my eyes. I'm in the Pacific Northwest. I'm back in the Pacific Northwest and loving it after 25 years in LA. So it's.
- [07:44]
Jeanine Turner
Are you from the Pacific Northwest originally?
- [07:47]
Mimi Melgard
Yeah. That's why I was living in Seattle when the show started. They were doing lots of commercials up there, and I wanted to do commercials. I wanted to be a stylist for commercials. And that's how I met Catherine, because she was my stylist buddy, because she had all these big clients, and so she'd, like, throw me a few or teach me how to do. I mean, she knew how to do everything. So, like, food styling. And she's like, this is how you make the meat look like it's been on the grill. And so we take, like, these barbecue starter things and, like, draw them on the meat. And she was. And so when she got the pilot through this little agency in Seattle, she didn't know anything about continuity because she'd always just, you know, done all these different things. And I. I knew about that because I was in theater and all that stuff. And so she's like, help me do this pilot. Help me do this pilot. And I was like, I don't want to, man. I've got these great clients. I've just started my, like, clients. I don't want to. And, you know, five years later, it was just a little pilot, and then, you know, we're there.
- [08:52]
Rob Morrow
What do you remember from the beginning? You know, because the costumes on Northern Exposure are somewhat iconic. You know, they talk about the Northern expos. That was a thing that was in a lot of fashion magazines, and Catherine got a lot of attention for it. And what do you remember about the initial concepts and ideas? Do you remember how those discussions went?
- [09:16]
Mimi Melgard
Well, I mean, Catherine really fought to have closets. She didn't want them to have new clothes every week. She wanted a closet so people would feel like they know these people, or like, Ruth Ann is my neighbor, my grandma's friend, or, you know, so she wanted the consistency of having a small closet.
- [09:37]
Rob Morrow
Oh, that's so smart. I get that. You know, I never thought of that, Jeanine. Right? Like, that we did. We wore, you know, and when you do. When I notice someone showing up in the same thing, you know, Corbett in those vests that he had, or Jeanine in some of your sweaters, you know, or me in the ties, you know, it does. It creates a kind of familiarity, for sure.
- [09:58]
Jeanine Turner
It brings a wholesomeness to the show and a reality to the show, because characters that we portrayed wouldn't have a grand closet, as you say. We wouldn't, we wouldn't be like, you know, a Hollywood starlet that has a new outfit every day. So I think that that was a, that was a good choice.
- [10:16]
Mimi Melgard
Yeah. And everything was lived in too. She wanted everything to feel lived in. She didn't like anything new. I mean, Joel was the only one with sort of, and Maurice were the only sort of newish clothes. But it wasn't until like season three that we even got new things for you guys. You know, like a summer coat.
- [10:33]
Rob Morrow
Right.
- [10:34]
Mimi Melgard
Plus we were filming in, you know, the weather changed so much too. The more we did the show, the more we were up there. And it was like we'd shoot something on the soundstage and you guys had your coats on. And then we go to location and it was like, oh, wow, the sun's out, it's 60. No one wants to wear heavy coats and you know, gloves and vice versa. You know, we'd shoot something on the stage where you guys didn't have coats. And then we'd go out there and it'd be freezing when you don't really.
- [10:59]
Jeanine Turner
Care anymore how you look like the fourth and fifth season, you know, the sixth season I would have because it was so cold. You remember, Mimi, it was a, a zip up fur vest that I put underneath the big coat to keep me warm. And I, I, I. One of the things people always said to me is, gee, you're so much thinner in person. I'm like, well, you know, hello. I had all those parkas and, and big, thick, heavy vest underneath. But I was just so happy. I remember working with you and Catherine about the, those crazy jeans, you know, that were high waisted and colored.
- [11:35]
Mimi Melgard
Yeah.
- [11:35]
Jeanine Turner
And then finally I got the side zip because I like, if you put me in the side zip, I'll look about 10 pounds lighter. And I finally got the side zip and I started to look more, more slimmed down. I was really excited about that. But I was very, very much into the organic, you know, sort of method acting. You know, I would wear the tool belt. Remember that, Rob?
- [11:53]
Rob Morrow
Yeah. You used to practice wearing it. Like you'd wear it between like lunch and stuff, I think. But you know, what I remember is like, I remember having a lot of kind of conflict with, I think Catherine was on my side. Mimi, maybe you remember. But the producers didn't want Joel to adapt, you know, to the environment. And after like a year, I was like, God, you know, he can't wear loafers. He's got to have some, you know, hiking boots. And, you know, he doesn't need to be in the tie every day. It just seems like, why? Like, in that environment. And it took a long time, but eventually we started to find a, you know, find a nice groove and let him kind of look like he reflected the world he lived in, you know? Do you remember that stuff?
- [12:40]
Mimi Melgard
Yeah, yeah, of course. Which made perfect sense with the character, you know, because it's not like, you know, you didn't start taking your tie off until, what, season three, I think. I mean, you know, really, you'd kind of have your sweatshirt at home, and then you'd have your tie on at the office. And, you know, the first couple seasons were pretty consistent with that, I think. And then maybe the third season, you took it off more.
- [13:05]
Rob Morrow
I think you're right.
- [13:06]
Mimi Melgard
Yeah, it took a little bit.
- [13:07]
Rob Morrow
But the being that the third season was basically the 17th show, you remember, it was first season one and two were eight episodes each, so. But I do remember when they finally got out of those loafers, I was like, oh, thank God. You know, because it just seems bizarre, you know, I don't know who. Who would do that?
- [13:24]
Mimi Melgard
The whole fish out of water thing, the loafers, like, you felt it like you were like, why am I wearing these loafers?
- [13:29]
Rob Morrow
Like, yeah, I mean, I got it originally, until he kind of accepted that he was gonna, like, there's a kind of rebellion in that. Cause he's not gonna give over to it. But at a certain point, he knew he wasn't going home anytime soon.
- [13:40]
Jeanine Turner
One of the things that stuck was you always had on a huge jacket, you know, with a big, you know, hood, whereas the rest of us kind of had. I remember the very first episode, back in our second season, which was really our ninth episode, I was, you know, I was telling you you had to get acclimated. Well, you just have to get acclimated. And the rest of us were in a more slimmed down version of coats. And you always had your big coat. And I do think that was pretty cool.
- [14:05]
Rob Morrow
And I was happy. Man, that coat literally is good to 70 below. That's what it says on the label.
- [14:11]
Mimi Melgard
That coat was like a cast member. It was just like, do you still have that coat?
- [14:18]
Rob Morrow
I still have that coat. I still have. And then I was just at Sundance last. Last week, I guess, and I have a green version of it that they made me. So I have that one that I actually took up to Sundance, and I was wearing that. And the one I keep waiting. I Kept thinking, like, when. When the Hard Rock Cafe or Planet Hollywood was. Was happening, I thought they would want it in one of their store, you know, one of their restaurants, because they have a lot of iconic costumes from movies and TVs and stuff, but. But they never asked me. But someday. Someday, some. It'll end up somewhere. It's just sitting in storage.
- [14:54]
Jeanine Turner
Yeah, I have the red one. I think I have the red checkered coat.
- [14:58]
Mimi Melgard
Oh, nice. The Eddie Bauer. Yeah.
- [15:00]
Jeanine Turner
They're all in some storage bag in my storage house.
- [15:03]
Rob Morrow
We had to have Eddie Bauer make a special one for me because the sound department. Right, Mimi. It was a kind of a loud sound. The normal coat, which. The green one I have is the same thing. Anytime I'd move the microphone, it would make so much disproportionate sound on the microphone that Eddie Bauer made us like a soft cotton one, which I think I have both of those jackets. Let's talk a little bit about this episode. Did you watch it?
- [15:34]
Mimi Melgard
Oh, yeah, of course I watched it. Yep.
- [15:36]
Rob Morrow
What? What jumped out at you?
- [15:39]
Mimi Melgard
Oh, my gosh. Adam Arkin. I mean, he was hilarious. I burst out laughing in the first. Whatever. Minute. Two minutes, you know, with the bacon, hucking the bacon in the wall. I mean, it's just like. It was just like seeing old friends. I mean, they are old friends, so I love the bacon. And he's like, what am I, tense? You know, he's hilarious.
- [15:58]
Jeanine Turner
He had an arc.
- [15:59]
Rob Morrow
Absolutely.
- [16:01]
Jeanine Turner
That he got friendly because, you know, all that screaming gets a little kind of. Okay. Heard it, done it. And I thought, this is pretty cool that he has a chance to soften. I thought that was that scene with hauling at the foot of the stairs. Like, what's wrong? You're being mean to everybody. Goes, I am. I am. And he actually cared, so. And you're seen on the road in the street with him. Wait, you're saying thank you, right?
- [16:21]
Rob Morrow
And that's the thing that jumps out. That's why Joel knows something's going on because he says thank you. And that scene out back of the. You know, we didn't. We didn't go out there that much. The behind the brick.
- [16:32]
Mimi Melgard
No. Was that real?
- [16:34]
Rob Morrow
I think it was. I believe it was. Yeah. When Shopify asked us to do a spot for them, I have to admit, I didn't really know much about them. I definitely heard the name. And. And honestly, the word alone has instant appeal to me. I like to shop. And words that end in fi are always cool. Beautify, simplify, amplify, clarify, fi. Means to cause, to be, to become. So I did a little digging and it turns out Shopify really lives up to the name. It's smart, it's intuitive, and yeah, it's way cool. I'm genuinely impressed. So picture this. It's late at night. You're scrolling through your feeds. When you see it, the one product you've been looking for, you tap the link and add it to your cart. But when you start filling out your address at checkout, you realize you don't have your card near you. But that's when you see it. The purple pay button that has all your information saved, making checkout as easy as a single tap. That iconic purple shop pay button used by millions of businesses around the world is why Shopify has the best converting checkout on the planet. It helps boost conversions, meaning less carts abandoned and more sales for you. Shopify is your commerce expert with world class expertise in everything from managing inventory to international shipping, to processing returns and beyond. And if you get stuck, Shopify is always there to share advice with their award winning 24. 7 customer support. Start your business today with the industry's best business partner, Shopify, and start hearing. Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at shopify.com northern. Go to shopify.com northern that's shopify.com northern but. So there's basically three storylines. The main storyline, the episode called My Mother, My Sister, is where, where Shelley, Cynthia Geary, her mother, Tammy Tambo, comes back to town. And we learn that she tells people and has been telling people since they were, you know, since Shelly was in high school. That, that, that she, they were sisters. Just so interesting because of her vanity and her ego. She didn't want to be seen as someone who had a kid, I guess.
- [19:10]
Jeanine Turner
When she had her so young.
- [19:12]
Rob Morrow
Had her so young too. Right. All right. So, but, but, so. Oh, I see what you're saying. So, so that was kind of. She didn't want to. She was kind of embarrassed by that aspect of it. Right. But it's. What's sweet is that ultimately, you know, and Shelly's the character is so interesting, the way she deals with her. She's so accepting and she is kind of the more mature one. But what I found really fascinating was that the mother said that, that the mother was the younger sister. Right. It'd be one thing to say I'm the older sister.
- [19:43]
Jeanine Turner
Did she?
- [19:44]
Rob Morrow
Yeah, yeah.
- [19:45]
Mimi Melgard
She says her younger sister.
- [19:47]
Jeanine Turner
Oh, that's pretty funny.
- [19:49]
Rob Morrow
Yeah. Which is so bizarre. I mean it's, it's already Bizarre to be her, say that she's her sister, but then to say she's the not even, like, older sister.
- [19:58]
Mimi Melgard
I was just gonna say they really looked similar. Like, when she walked in, you knew. You know, you knew. Before you knew who she was, you were like, she's her sister, her mother, you know, because they looked. The casting was great on that.
- [20:09]
Rob Morrow
Totally. And when Wendy Shaw, we should say, is the actress. And she was great.
- [20:14]
Jeanine Turner
She had a Marilyn Monroe quality about her. A little bit of a Marilyn Monroe quality, I thought.
- [20:19]
Rob Morrow
Yeah, she seemed familiar or something. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but maybe that's it.
- [20:24]
Jeanine Turner
The young army, you know, her fiance, the young army boy, Kenny, he was great, too. I thought, what perfect casting.
- [20:32]
Rob Morrow
Sean o' Brien played Kenny. He was great. Perfectly cast. And again, you know, coming back to the costumes, the, you know, finding the right, you know, look for. For Tammy that complimented Shelly must have been fun.
- [20:48]
Jeanine Turner
Well, Shelly became almost more conservative, didn't she, Mimi? It was interesting. It's like. Because then you got to understand. You understood where Shelly. Why Shelly is Shelly. I think once you meet parents, you really go, oh, okay. You know, if you see the real parent. But it was interesting because Shelly seemed a little more toned down. Except for the earrings. I was gonna ask you about the. She had those earrings that look like kind of a Hawaiian.
- [21:11]
Mimi Melgard
Yeah, like hula girls.
- [21:12]
Jeanine Turner
Yeah, yeah. And she said it always fit kind of the episode. But talk about that, because I thought that Shelly was toned down as she became. She became the mother.
- [21:21]
Mimi Melgard
Yeah, she was the parent. Like, when she came into the room, it was totally like a teenager with her stuff over and painting her nails. And Shelly came in with her robe all tied up. And it was definitely parent role reversal, which Cynthia did. Amazing job. She did such a good job on that episode. But the earrings. Yeah, Catherine was. We had fun. I mean, there's just endless amounts of earrings and supplies to make earrings. So we were always, you know, the 11th hour, sort of like whipping up another earring. But the hula girls, I think we picked that because of the dancing and the flirtiness with the mom.
- [22:03]
Rob Morrow
How fun.
- [22:04]
Mimi Melgard
And then the second ones were the world. Like, where in the world is her mother? Searching the world for her mother.
- [22:08]
Jeanine Turner
Oh, interesting.
- [22:10]
Mimi Melgard
Sometimes we'd have to kind of stretch our own, like, imagination. And we'd sit there and look. Like, I'd look at the earrings thing, you know? Cause it's a big jewelry case of, like, a zillion earrings. And so I'd just sit there and look and Think of the episode. Look, look and look and look. And then finally, like, oh, this is in there. You know, sometimes it's just the tiniest little Easter egg.
- [22:28]
Rob Morrow
But didn't y'.
- [22:29]
Mimi Melgard
All.
- [22:29]
Rob Morrow
Didn't you. Didn't y' all or she try to market them at some point?
- [22:33]
Mimi Melgard
Catherine?
- [22:34]
Rob Morrow
No. Well, I guess. Cath. Cynthia. Didn't she or. I don't know why I remember her trying to, like, market earrings. It would have been a great. Nowadays it would happen as a second.
- [22:45]
Mimi Melgard
Yeah. Totally different story. All the clothes, everything. But, you know, then you wouldn't want it to affect the story because, you know, it's so. You know, people have talked about how, like, the different parts, like, the music is another kind of character for the show. And, you know, it adds so much to the show and the sets, you know, the peeling wallpaper. I mean, Woody was another genius.
- [23:08]
Rob Morrow
Woody was a genius. Yeah. We sing his praises all the time.
- [23:12]
Mimi Melgard
Yeah. And, you know, who's it? Martin. With the music. Martin.
- [23:15]
Rob Morrow
Bruce Lee. Yeah.
- [23:16]
Mimi Melgard
Yeah, with the music. And, you know, the casting, the extras are just sort of phenomenal.
- [23:22]
Jeanine Turner
I didn't notice the music that much in this episode. Isn't that interesting? I think the only time I really noticed the music was when they were dancing and maybe they put. But the music didn't seem as prevalent in my mind in this show. But I have to say, that scene with mother and daughter in the movie theater, I thought was really, really beautiful. And it was beautifully portrayed by mother and daughter by, you know, Cynthia and the actress. What's her name again, Rob?
- [23:50]
Rob Morrow
That would be Wendy Shaw.
- [23:52]
Mimi Melgard
Wendy.
- [23:53]
Jeanine Turner
Wendy and Cynthia were really, really good in that movie theater scene. And I. I was holding my breath, too, thinking, is she gonna squeal? Is she gonna say, you know, I'm really her daughter? And I didn't actually remember how it ended, but the scene was so beautiful, and they played it to perfection. But also I thought, what beautiful writing. I mean, I think that the. Right. That was very poignant and that, you know, she didn't want her to change. It's okay, Mom. You know, I don't mind. She goes. Really, you know, letting her off the hook. But I was. I teared up seeing that scene. I thought it was just beautifully executed.
- [24:27]
Rob Morrow
I agree. There's something interesting about the way, you know, she didn't seem to resent it until right toward the end, when she gets upset with her mom at the end, because what, she's. She's. She's leaving or she finds out that.
- [24:49]
Mimi Melgard
She hasn't told him that there, she's the daughter.
- [24:53]
Rob Morrow
Right. She wants her to take responsibility, but. But she's up to. Then she seems okay with. It's a fascinating relationship, you know, that she's not full of ease, you know, seething with resentment when we first connect them.
- [25:06]
Jeanine Turner
Well, and you see that behind the scenes, she expresses it with. With Holly, you know, I. I think with Holling, she's able to show her disappointment. And Cynthia played that really well, you know, the. The. The disappointment of what she was doing. But even at the very end, when she says, buckle up your seat belt, you know, it was just so obvious that Cynthia was the mother of the.
- [25:25]
Mimi Melgard
Two and gave her cookies.
- [25:27]
Jeanine Turner
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Oh, double whatever it was. Toll House, my favorite.
- [25:31]
Rob Morrow
And by the way, Wendy. Wendy is only ten and a half years older than Cynthia in real life.
- [25:37]
Jeanine Turner
Oh, yeah.
- [25:38]
Mimi Melgard
Wow.
- [25:39]
Rob Morrow
Yeah. Be pretty young.
- [25:41]
Jeanine Turner
It worked, though. It worked. I bought it that she could have been her mother.
- [25:46]
Rob Morrow
It does work because Shelly. Shelly is younger than Cynthia. She always seemed younger than Cynthia. You know what I mean? Probably age wise as well as emotionally.
- [25:57]
Mimi Melgard
Gosh, didn't everyone look good in that episode? Like, Cynthia just looked like a baby. And Corbett's skin.
- [26:03]
Jeanine Turner
And I noticed Corbett's skin. I noticed the same thing, that close up of. It's funny. You would. You would, too. I was looking at Corbett skin going, wow, is that AI? And I'm like, oh, wait, it didn't exist back then.
- [26:14]
Rob Morrow
And his haircut, he had the grooviest. He had such a groovy haircut.
- [26:18]
Jeanine Turner
That was his Democracy in America haircut.
- [26:20]
Rob Morrow
It grew in a little, so it just was kind of very, you know, fashiony for Corbett. Like, his hair was always nutty.
- [26:28]
Jeanine Turner
I remember being in fittings, and I think about this a lot. I don't know why. You know, little things people say and do that stay in your. In your mind. But one of the. The conversations I remember having with Catherine so often was, look at the purple. You know, the purple. Do we want the blue? Do we want the purple? And it's like, well, the blue pops your eyes and the purple pops your veins. You know what I mean? We might not want to go purple. We actually want to go blue. There's. There's a real art to it. And I just finished a period piece that I directed, and it was with the, you know, 1776 founding fathers. And you hear the saying a lot. I believe it's, God is in the details. A lot of times you hear the devil's in the details. I think God is in the Details and costumes. I had him, like, make an entire costume out of scratch for Lafayette, you know, because I'm like, no, he's gotta have gold. He's gotta have buttons. So there. And the bow has to be straight. There's just such an art. Why don't you talk about the matching? You know, what you were talking about matching. But you're also talking about continuity and what that means because someone might not actually understand that.
- [27:29]
Mimi Melgard
Well, the continuity was interesting because, you know, we had our. You know, after that first season, we had our little soundstage and then we would shoot lots of things there and then. And next week we'd travel. What was it, three and a half hours up there?
- [27:44]
Rob Morrow
No, no, it wasn't even. It was like. One and a half.
- [27:47]
Mimi Melgard
Yeah, one and a half. And so then it would be totally different weather and it would be snowing. And so we'd always have to do, you know, make sure the continuity was great with the same accessories. You know, no one left at 3 in the morning. The scarf on the stage, and then we have to see it. And, you know, we had very few of those moments, which is surprising because we were all such a. You know, it was such guerrilla filmmaking, you know, in a sense. You know, we had such a tiny crew. Every department had such a tiny crew. You know, we were all frozen. I mean, you guys were freezing up there too. It wasn't just the crew. Like you. The only place you guys could get warm was in your trailers. But, you know, all those buildings were, like, half made. You know, they was freezing. That's another thing too. It's like if you're a fan and you're watching the show and you see an actor walking down the street in. In Sicily with their gloves on, you know, it was actually freezing. Like, if they have their coat on and no gloves, that means in between takes, they're taking their coat off every single time and putting it back on. Someone standing there, like me is standing there, you know, helping, holding the coat. Because it. I mean, talk about another character. The weather was another character. You know, you can see, like, the mounds. Remember, we did the mounds of snow on the side. And then with the running of the bull, the running one, we had all those fake snow things put in to block all you guys. So we didn't see any business.
- [29:14]
Rob Morrow
Right?
- [29:14]
Mimi Melgard
So, yeah, the weather played a huge part in it.
- [29:17]
Rob Morrow
The weather, we talk about a lot that the whole landscape. You know, one of the things that distinguished Northern Exposure was that it was kind of the first time in television where the landscape is a character, you know, that all of that was part of the. What made the show so special. It was definitely a huge part of it.
- [29:39]
Jeanine Turner
I think, I think you knew we were cold when you could see our breath. When you could see the condensation of our breath. We knew it was cold then for sure.
- [29:49]
Mimi Melgard
I love that picture of you. I think it's in Rob's book. And you're having soup and you have a cup of soup and it has some sort of seaweed or spinach or whatever and you have your gloves on and there's a big piece of spinach and you could just see like I freeze it to death.
- [30:07]
Jeanine Turner
We were, we were cold. And you know, it's funny because I just went through Snowmageddon up here. We had ice and snow for four or five days and. And I'm, I'm. I'm the sole ranch keeper, you know, ranch hand out here. And so I had to walk out on that ice and snow and walk out to the barn to, to feed and check on all my cattle and all that. It was just me, myself and I. Because my 88 year old mother certainly wasn't going to go do it and. But it's like I had muscle memory, do you know what I mean? From being so cold for five years and then cliffhanger. I mean, hello, right? So much of my career was in really cold weather and I had on my hat. I knew how to dress for it, but I just thought I crunched along and when I started to slide on the ice, I grabbed a fence, you know, to not skate into the splits. But I thought, it's weird.
- [30:54]
Mimi Melgard
It's kind of.
- [30:54]
Jeanine Turner
I had a muscle memory to be able to handle it. I think it stays with me.
- [30:58]
Rob Morrow
The thing that's interesting that you know about those scenes shooting in real weather is that you don't have to act. I always remember that the only thing hard about shooting in tough weather, be it hot or cold, is between takes when you're shooting. As long as you don't have. The worst for me is if you have to be. If it's 110 degrees and you have to be calm, cool and collected in a suit and you're dripping wet underneath it, that, that I don't know how to deal with. But if I'm supposed to be hot and I'm hot, or if I'm supposed to be cold, then I'm cold and it's really cold, I don't have to act because that just makes me behave a certain way. And I, you know, or if I have to walk in the snow, you know, it's like you're just in the environment.
- [31:41]
Jeanine Turner
I had to be cold and act like it didn't bother me because Maggie o' Connor is, you know, so if I were cold, I'm like, okay, I get. I can't let anybody see that. It's really bothering me. Psycho.
- [31:51]
Rob Morrow
Down the street, Janine used to have those, like. You have like 30 of those heat warmers up and down your legs.
- [32:00]
Mimi Melgard
Your pockets were always filled with them.
- [32:02]
Jeanine Turner
That's true. Adding more weight to myself. What's wrong with her hips? Oh, it's all those heat warmers in her pockets.
- [32:09]
Mimi Melgard
Yeah. With Darren, you know, he always wanted to wear his very. Most of the time he wanted to wear his coat because it was like kind of Ed's armor. Ed's thing, you know.
- [32:18]
Rob Morrow
That's the leather jacket you're talking about out.
- [32:20]
Mimi Melgard
Yeah, the black leather jacket. And so when it was warm out, you know, he always had to have. He always had to have the long underwear shirt and then a T shirt and then his jacket. And then if it's really cold, he'd have like a hoodie. So we had all these dickies that we made where it was just like the little front of the long underwear shirt. And he would just. It was just like the neck, and we just tuck it into his T shirt. So then the rest of his body didn't have that. So then when he put all his layers back on, he wasn't just sweating. And so he had this in his. His closet. He had this, like, you know, on hangers, these little, like, long underwear dickies that were just like. Some of them had just little sleeves, but most of them were just like the neck to go under his T shirts. It was funny.
- [33:02]
Jeanine Turner
Well, you taught. You bring something up about the silks. We wore all that silk underwear. For those who don't know, you know, it's like a. They're actually silk, right? They're silk.
- [33:11]
Rob Morrow
Yeah. Long underwear, very thin.
- [33:13]
Jeanine Turner
But it was very, very thin, which was nice.
- [33:16]
Rob Morrow
I still probably have some of that. I have so much stuff from that shirt from North Exposure that's just in closets. Patagonia stuff. And. But let's talk about that baby. That. That was one dang cute baby.
- [33:28]
Mimi Melgard
It was.
- [33:29]
Jeanine Turner
Have y' all seen the movie man vs Baby with Mr. Bean?
- [33:33]
Rob Morrow
I'm not sure.
- [33:35]
Jeanine Turner
It's like a four or five part series. It's really good, by the way. It's. It reminded me of this. But the Baby was darling and so good.
- [33:42]
Rob Morrow
There must have been a couple of them, right? Because you never have one baby. They must have been twins.
- [33:46]
Mimi Melgard
I mean, nowadays you want at least three, but I think it was just twins. But it was not a happy little baby. And like Ruthie Ann just puts the baby on the counter and it's just like.
- [33:56]
Rob Morrow
And there's this really sweet moment where I come into my cab and an Adam is. I also, I love how everyone in the town took a turn with the baby. You know, that's an interesting thing. Except Maggie. I don't know why we. We will never know why. I can't even imagine. But. But everyone in the town except Maggie.
- [34:17]
Mimi Melgard
She must have been somewhere fabulous.
- [34:19]
Jeanine Turner
Yeah, right.
- [34:20]
Rob Morrow
I'm sure.
- [34:21]
Jeanine Turner
Yeah, probably. Who knows? But.
- [34:23]
Rob Morrow
But everyone took a turn. But there's this moment where I come in to my cabin and for some reason Adam is there. Who's. That's the other storyline we'll talk about in a second. His storyline in terms of his CO syndrome, which he had, which is kind of a sympathetic pregnancy. But I come in and he's there with the baby for some reason in my cabin. And then he leaves me with the baby and I pick up the baby in a kind of a close up and the kid is. The infant is right here and then just kind of leans and smashes its head into my cheek. And I just kind of have this reaction because it was real. It was just so sweet.
- [35:05]
Jeanine Turner
Those are the best.
- [35:06]
Rob Morrow
Yeah, those moments that happen, those unexpected moments are so great. So Adam's story is funny. You know, what softens him, right? You know, you were talking Janine before about, you know, how he was different. You know, to see an arc in his character was a change. Another side was fun. And it comes about because of his wife Eve, who's off screen. She's not in the episode either, but she's pregnant somewhere. And it's what he's dealing with, you know, it's how the. The vulnerability of becoming a father is affecting him. And it's a. It's a sweet. It's a sweet storyline. That's the. I guess that's the B storyline, right?
- [35:52]
Jeanine Turner
And the nesting that he was doing and how happy, euphoric he felt. But what I loved is some, sometimes now that I'm, you know, 63, I. I look at young women who are pregnant, right? And you go, oh, those were the days, right? You know, long hair and hor. And you just felt so sensuous all the time and like such a. And you know, then you hit 63. But then. But then when you talk about the third trimester, you know, the nails start to crack. You start to, you know, they feel horrible. And that kind of litany you had about how horrible the third trimester is, I'm like, oh, yeah, right. Okay. But I really didn't have any of that with my pregnancy. I had a pretty good pregnancy. I was just so excited. Yeah. I don't remember any part of it being really rough at all. But anywho, it's. It's when I fantasize watching these young girls, you know, having their babies. And I'm now 63. I'm like, oh, okay. It wasn't all great.
- [36:43]
Rob Morrow
Hey, Mimi, what are. Any other. So have you watched many episodes since. Since we were on or. No. Probably right? Not. Not. The only reason we watch them is because the podcast. But so what. What was that like? Like, you know, kind of just revisiting the show. Like, you know, just kind of going back into this time. I mean, you did a hundred episodes. We all did. I did 100 and Janine did 110, 16. I did 101. I did 102. Something like that. But that's a.
- [37:18]
Mimi Melgard
That's a.
- [37:18]
Rob Morrow
That's so many, you know, parts of. And I always think there's a little bit of us in each episode. We all do. No matter what your job is, there's just a part of you somewhere in that, you know, did you. Were you. What kind of memories came back? Like, I mean, about making the show or.
- [37:36]
Mimi Melgard
Well, it was such a family, you know, I mean, we were together such long hours every day, you know, and so we just. I think we all just bonded in such an intense, fast level, you know, like hair and makeup and Woody. It's like everyone that was there was like. Like there and in it and committed and, you know, it was. It was. It was nice to remember that. All the good stuff, you know, I think sometimes as the years go on, you sort of forget and you get bits of memories of, oh, I remember that. And, ooh, we were so cold. And I leaned up against the heater and burnt the back of my coat off, and, you know, you go to those stories, but then actually watching them again, like, in preparation for this, you know, I downloaded the episodes, and I've watched, I don't know, six of them, and, man, they're good. They're so good. You know, there's definitely the showcase ones, like, you know, the Fling, and there's so many really spectacular ones. But even, like, the Small, quiet ones are beautiful.
- [38:46]
Rob Morrow
Right? With this. This would be one. This would be like a small, quiet one, I think.
- [38:49]
Mimi Melgard
Yeah. You know, but like, like you said, with the baby putting the head and. And Marie sitting there, you know, that scene of Marie.
- [38:56]
Jeanine Turner
Was he reading Robin? Robinson Crusoe? Is that what he was reading to him? I thought that was funny, too.
- [39:01]
Rob Morrow
Yeah.
- [39:01]
Mimi Melgard
The fire and the baby's just, like, mesmerized. And I don't know, it's just like, that's how it was. I mean, we were all there. You know, we were all there for every scene, pretty much. And it was just such a community. I mean, it was a really special bonding. You know, all those directors that passed through, you know, I know that they would say the same thing. You know, as I worked with them later in la, it's like everyone was like, oh, Northern Exposure know you. Yeah.
- [39:37]
Rob Morrow
I. I feel like if we were shooting that in LA or New York, it would have been a. It would have been a different show for sure, but it would have been a different experience. There was something that allowed us to, especially in the beginning, to bond, you know, because we were all in it together. We were all, you know, going through the same things. We were all working crazy hours. There is. It's a unique. And it's a great gift. You know, we talk about gratitude. We were talking earlier, Janine and I, about what we're grateful for. But that is. For me, that was one of the great gifts of that show was that being immersed in that world with everybody.
- [40:15]
Jeanine Turner
It's like filming in a movie. You know, when I filmed Taipan and Communist China in 1982. You know what I mean? And we're in the middle of nowhere and we had 17 different nationalities. I was there for three months. And so you bond. You just have this everlasting bond. And I do. I agree with you. I think that if we'd been in and it was that Bond, I think that showed on screen, too. But if we had been in New York or la, we would have been a completely different experience. We were also kept a little bit humbled, naive. We were away with all that kind of Hollywood stuff, and. And that kept the innocence of the show, I think, a bit too.
- [40:55]
Rob Morrow
And, you know, we talk about Mimi a lot about the timelessness of the show, which I give is really a credit to you and Catherine, you know that because. Because the costumes were not, you know, super fashionable or anything. It. When you watch the show, and I don't think I'm imagining it, it does not feel Like I'm watching a period piece. I don't. It doesn't, it doesn't look that way to me.
- [41:19]
Mimi Melgard
No, she wanted that. She. She wanted it to. Which taught me a lot in other shows I've gone on, like, you know, even in Grey's Anatomy. It's like we want, we don't want it to look specific to a time or something very fashionable. You want it to sort of be like this thing that could go to syndication or could go. That 30 year olds are now watching this show that we did 40 years ago.
- [41:40]
Rob Morrow
Right.
- [41:41]
Mimi Melgard
And you know, another thing that Katherine always. That Katherine did that I always respected is that she, like in the bar, in any, any place that there was a coat rack, like in the bar, say Joel comes in, you see the coat rack kind of behind there in the corner.
- [41:55]
Rob Morrow
Yeah.
- [41:56]
Mimi Melgard
And you know who's there by whose coat's there?
- [41:58]
Rob Morrow
Oh, that's great.
- [42:00]
Mimi Melgard
You know, Maurice's coat or somebody else's coat there, or if Joel's coat's there and Maggie walks in. Oh. So. And then pretty soon she goes down to the bar and there he is, you know, so she wanted that like, little feel of, of. Of a person, and that's why she wanted them to have the same coats.
- [42:17]
Jeanine Turner
But God is in the details. That's God.
- [42:19]
Rob Morrow
God is in the details. It's, it's. She wanted. She, she quickly adapted to. You said earlier that she had struggled with the continuity issues, but she, she quickly adapted because that's so continuity, you know, that's like meta continuity.
- [42:34]
Mimi Melgard
Yeah, but it's the personality. Like she wanted the personalities to be there, you know, and, and, and she, you know, every single character is so different, and she did all that. I mean, she was a very talented, multi talented person.
- [42:51]
Jeanine Turner
What does she do after Northern Exposure? I don't. I mean, I used to sing Christmas cards, but I. I'm not sure I did she continue on.
- [42:58]
Mimi Melgard
She did a couple little things and then she sort of retired and she, you know, married her love of her life. And she was a. She did pottery and she painted and I mean, she's insanely talented.
- [43:12]
Jeanine Turner
Remained creative. Got to keep that.
- [43:14]
Mimi Melgard
Yeah. She had a kiln in her house, you know, so she could do her own thing. She had chickens. She called herself a chicken lady. I mean, she was. It was really exciting when I came back to. Came back to the Pacific Northwest. I was really looking forward to kind of reconnecting with her because it had been many years. And then she passed away, unfortunately, so. So that didn't happen. But we spoke a few times before she died. But I will always treasure the gift she gave to me by sharing this experience and meeting all you guys. And it's just one of those groups that you just don't find in every show.
- [43:54]
Rob Morrow
Your kind of evolution is so organic. Right. You didn't really know you were going to be a costume designer ultimately. Right? Like, it wasn't kind of. You were, you were right. I mean, you kind of just, it just led that way for you. Is that true?
- [44:10]
Mimi Melgard
I thought I wanted to be a stylist because I wanted to control my own schedule. You know, it sounded all. I mean, it was fun because you could work three days on a commercial, you know, prep a day, wrap a day, have a couple days off, get another job, you know, do a commercial. So I liked that schedule.
- [44:30]
Jeanine Turner
That's not what you got. And you know, it's, it's, it's interesting because the hours were so long then. I mean, we had 14, 16 hour days and they were just long, long days and in a way. And then they started to get a little bit shorter. I don't know what they are now on, on episodic television if they've kind of shortened the days. But I would much rather have a longer day with nuance, kind of Vermeer or, you know, lighting that looks like a Rembrandt or something. Then just flood all these lights and fix it in post with AI which seems to be kind of the, the new wave. I mean, I, I kind of miss the old timey. Let's light it and make it look gorgeous. I don't know how much that's happening out there today.
- [45:15]
Rob Morrow
Well, like the mall, like last night I was at a DGA event and talking to a bunch of directors and they were telling, my friend Noah is on this show, the Pit. You know, it's a big hit for, for hbo. And, and they shoot, they said they shoot. They start at seven and they end at five, 5:30 every day. So that's like 10, 10 and a half hours, right? Which is an amazing schedule. They shoot nine pages. The whole thing is lit. There's no lighting. Per your, your, your chagrin, Janine. There's no lighting. Literally not a second. They come in at 7, they're shooting at 7:15.
- [45:55]
Jeanine Turner
That's like a soap opera.
- [45:56]
Rob Morrow
Yeah. You're not allowed to have, you're not allowed to have sides, you're not allowed to have a phone, you're not allowed to have a book on set. You shoot until they call for a bathroom break. Right. Everyone gets to. Everyone walks off set, goes to the bathroom. It's 15 minutes, you come back, you shoot until lunch. You come back and you shoot. They're never, there's never downtime. They're never sed anything up. It's handheld. They shoot nine pages a day.
- [46:23]
Jeanine Turner
That's what they did on Friday Night Lights when I was on Friday Night Lights.
- [46:26]
Rob Morrow
But Friday Night Lights, they didn't do any light. Right. They'd be out in the. Right. It was all outside interiors.
- [46:32]
Jeanine Turner
They might have a couple of lights around, but you had to be completely prepared when you got on set and all the cameramen were wearing Steadicams and they just walked around you and you know, you did. You got out a lot sooner. It was very improvisational, you know, that type of thing. So. But that, that's not your typical. I mean that, that's kind of an action show. It'd be interesting to see more like a Diplomat, you know, the Diplomat. I, which, I just watched the third season of that, which was a lot of fun. But I mean, I wonder how long their hours are.
- [47:01]
Rob Morrow
Yeah, no, I think they're back to. They're, they're back to what you're talking about. There's no way that's not run and gun style. But, but the Pit is running gun. The Diplomat is very classic formal. And I'm sure The days are 15 hours. Hours. But the interesting thing is, is that the new model, because the Pit is so successful, that's what all the networks are trying, are trying to push this. How can you do a contained show that's pre lit and get them out of there in, you know, in, in 10 hours? You know, it's, that's what they're trying to do. And John Wells sets the standard, which is very unusual. I mean, I, I have not been on a lot of sets where I don't need, I never need sides. But they, where you don't get sides, you know, you've got to know your lines and they don't take it. They don't, they don't. You don't stick around on those shows if you don't know them. And you can, you can get through those scenes really fast.
- [47:53]
Jeanine Turner
Well, that's like a soap opera. It's very much. I was on a soap, you know, General Hospital with Demi Moore and I. We were sisters. Yeah. Remember that? And so I was. That's a soap, you know, and then, then they would come down and we were, we'd be. It was pre lit, you know, they were up in like a booth, and you just walk on and do it, and they might give you a little direction and that's it. And I remember they would come down and say, here's a brand new paragraph. You have to have it. You have to have it memorized by the time I get up the stairs, right?
- [48:20]
Rob Morrow
Jesus.
- [48:20]
Jeanine Turner
I mean, it was that fast. I'm like, okay. And you look down, you got to have it known. So. Yeah, well, that's a certain art form. I wouldn't say this art form for everything, but that's a bit of a pro and con, don't you think? Because now the networks want to do everything like that. And then so it's like nothing's ever really are. You know, you lose a lot of art in that. It may be an interesting, exciting, fast show, but you do lose art, I.
- [48:44]
Rob Morrow
Think, if it works for the show, right. Aesthetically, the Pit lends itself to it, right. It doesn't lend itself to something like the Diplomat, but those formula shows, those procedural shows, if you will, like Law and Order, they're the, you know, they were the bread and butter. So they just keep trying to figure out, especially again, that's a show that shoots in la. People are happy that, that, you know, so. So they're trying to kind of replicate it. But I get your point. We don't want everything to look like that, for sure.
- [49:13]
Jeanine Turner
Yeah, well. And you know, networks, they'll be like, everything, everything. Save money, 10 hour days.
- [49:22]
Mimi Melgard
But it's also exciting, you know, everyone has that kind of like scroll mentality where it's just like, what's next? What's next? And so all those things are so fast that people like, keeps their, their attention, you know, like just watching boring, you know, camera show. You're like, oh. Because everyone wants fast, fast, fast, fast, fast, fast, fast.
- [49:39]
Rob Morrow
Wait, great. Grey's Anatomy was how. How many years? What's 200? And what is it, 70, 290 episodes?
- [49:47]
Mimi Melgard
I think. I was there 14 years.
- [49:49]
Rob Morrow
Dang. That's amazing.
- [49:50]
Jeanine Turner
That's a long time.
- [49:52]
Mimi Melgard
I know. It was fantastic. It was another fantastic experience.
- [49:56]
Rob Morrow
And those are crazy hours too, though, right back. Those are intense hours.
- [50:01]
Mimi Melgard
Not like Northern Exposure crazy hours because Northeast had no unions. We had nothing. Like, we had no turnaround. It was just sort of like, okay, see, in four hours, you know.
- [50:17]
Jeanine Turner
That'S true. How many times did we go home, like at 2:30 in the morning, right? I just remember going home at all kinds of hours.
- [50:25]
Mimi Melgard
I remember, I remember this one time we got. I got home really late and then I had to be. We're going up to Roslyn the next day, and so they tell us, and you go, take your car, park here, and then you're going to get in a van, and then we'll drive you the rest of the way. And so they either had minivans, you know, smaller, eight passenger, whatever, and then they had the bigger, whatever, 12 passenger, 16 passenger vans. And so if it's really early, it was the minivans because it was just sort of hair, makeup, wardrobe. You know, this is small. And so you always wanted to get there and, like, get a seat by the window so you could sleep. And so I remember, you know, it must have been 3:34, because we had to get a morning shot up there. And I pull in this parking lot, it's pitch black, get my bags, get my coat, you know, lock my car, walk over to this minivan van, opened the side door, you know, the sliding side door. And there's all these dudes in there sitting there having a party. Wasn't our van.
- [51:25]
Rob Morrow
Oh, no.
- [51:26]
Jeanine Turner
Oh, no.
- [51:27]
Mimi Melgard
And they just all, like. And I was like, slammed the door. And then I saw our minivan, like, across the parking lot, and I was like, oh, my gosh, the guys must have had a heart attack, because, I mean, they were just totally partying, like, just partying in the back of the van. And then suddenly this girl. And the light turns on the door.
- [51:46]
Jeanine Turner
I remember plenty of days getting. Getting up to go to work in the dark and driving through that Snoqualmie pass and swirling snow with I. You know, we had to have chains on our tires and all that.
- [51:58]
Rob Morrow
And Mimi, what. What happened to Sandra Gray? Do you keep in touch with her? She was your. She was like. Was she your assistant or Catherine's second assistant? Oh, right. Okay.
- [52:07]
Mimi Melgard
Yes, Collier. Because she married Greg, the cameraman, the camera op.
- [52:11]
Rob Morrow
And they're still together. She.
- [52:14]
Mimi Melgard
Yep, they're still together. They lived not far from me. They're doing great.
- [52:19]
Rob Morrow
What was her job like? She was an assistant. She was. She was. What was her title?
- [52:24]
Mimi Melgard
Her title was just like wardrobe assistant, I think, because it was just. I think there was just the. There wasn't very many of us. Maggie was a seamstress, Me, Sandra, you know, that was it. Oh, and. Oh, and Catherine. And then Nina.
- [52:44]
Rob Morrow
Oh, right.
- [52:45]
Jeanine Turner
Remember Nina?
- [52:46]
Mimi Melgard
She was there the first. I remember our wardrobe truck was the first. Maybe in the second season. Could have been both. Those was just basically an empty semi with wood. And we had no heat. We had nothing. And so we had this propane heater that was blowing on the clothes and us to sort of keep us warm while we were. We were in there working. And I remember Nina just, just. I mean, she was beyond miserable. But then we. The next year we got a better truck that actually was warm. But it was. It was cold, man. It was. It was cold. But yeah, it was just. It was just us. And so Sandra worked. She worked at my health club. And I went down there and at the time I was dating the guy that owned the health club. And he said, hey, my new girl I just hired for the front desk went to fidm. And I was like, oh, really? That's great. So I met her and loved her instantly. And I was like, come join us. And she was on board and lifelong friendship and amazing.
- [53:52]
Rob Morrow
And she met her husband on the show. That's wild. There's a couple marriages that. Right? Like. Well, Dave Frederick got married, but not someone on the show. But while he was there.
- [54:04]
Mimi Melgard
Mary Loibel and Mary Loibel.
- [54:07]
Rob Morrow
Yeah.
- [54:08]
Mimi Melgard
Donovan was his name.
- [54:10]
Rob Morrow
That sounds right.
- [54:11]
Mimi Melgard
Duh. It's a d. He was a grip.
- [54:14]
Jeanine Turner
I know. And Darren got married up there.
- [54:17]
Mimi Melgard
Oh, Darren.
- [54:18]
Rob Morrow
Darren's still married, right?
- [54:20]
Jeanine Turner
Yeah, yeah.
- [54:20]
Mimi Melgard
And wasn't she working in catering when they met? Or did they meet and then she worked in Caterpillars Catering.
- [54:25]
Jeanine Turner
I don't know.
- [54:26]
Rob Morrow
I think she's working catering. Yeah, she's very old.
- [54:33]
Jeanine Turner
Darren is designing jewelry now and. Beautiful jewelry.
- [54:38]
Mimi Melgard
Beautiful jewelry. I saw that. His stuff's really pretty.
- [54:42]
Rob Morrow
Well, Mimi, this has been so. It's so nice to see you and it's so nice to hear, you know, and reminisce with you. It's been really fun. Thank you for. For coming on and sharing all your memories and stories and good heart.
- [54:58]
Jeanine Turner
Yes. It's great to see you again. And you look great.
- [55:02]
Mimi Melgard
You both look great. I know. It's been fun to walk down memory lane again. Thank you so much.
- [55:07]
Jeanine Turner
Oh, thank you. Thanks for joining us. We've been trying to get you on the show, so I'm glad we finally nabbed you. We were able to get you on.
- [55:14]
Rob Morrow
Maybe if we find another heavy costume, if there's something costume wise, we'll get you back again at some point. We got a thousand more to get through.
- [55:23]
Mimi Melgard
I know. It's so cool you're doing this, though. It's really a great idea.
- [55:27]
Jeanine Turner
And speaking of which, we left the last episode with this sort of horrid news that Northern Exposure was going off Amazon prime in totality. And I think I'll never forget Feeling more disappointed in my life on camera. I was like, wait, what? But it is still on Amazon and you just have to pay for it now. But it's not very expensive. I think I got.
- [55:51]
Mimi Melgard
No, it's on sale. It's six. I think it's 6.99 for season two and three.
- [55:57]
Jeanine Turner
And yeah, it was like 299. It just is not that expensive. So you have to pay a little bit. But it's still there on Amazon. And of course, we are on YouTube and. Or any of the podcast, Apple Spotify, where you might listen. So check us out and hit subscribe. And we're glad that we're back and back at it and that Northern Exposure is still on amaz. Yay. Because I was like, wait, wait, there's a whole legacy there. I want people to be able to see it. So I'm.
- [56:22]
Mimi Melgard
Because I.
- [56:22]
Jeanine Turner
They kept saying 33 days left or something, and I was like, oh, no. But then after that happened, I'm like, wait, it's still on. So yay.
- [56:30]
Mimi Melgard
Yay.
- [56:30]
Jeanine Turner
Another half is not. A glass is not. Well, look at the glasses. Half full, not half empty.
- [56:37]
Rob Morrow
There you go.
- [56:37]
Jeanine Turner
Did I say it right?
- [56:38]
Rob Morrow
You got it.
- [56:40]
Jeanine Turner
The glass is half full, not half empty. So now we're going to sign off. Thanks for joining us from o' Connell and Fleischman.
- [56:50]
Rob Morrow
Actually, I think it should be Fleischman o'. Connell.
- [56:53]
Jeanine Turner
Oh, yeah. In your dreams, Fleischman.
- [57:03]
Mimi Melgard
Northern Disclosure is a production with Evergreen Podcasts and executive produced by Paul Anderson and Scott McCarthy for Workhouse Media.