Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 23, 1995 TAG: 9501250024
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: R.D. HELDENFELS KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The veteran actor, who has played Maurice Minnifield on the comedy-drama ``Northern Exposure'' since its premiere in 1990, admits the quality of the show has slipped. But just as series like ``Cheers'' and ``M*A*S*H'' had made adjustments and enjoyed long runs, he thinks ``Northern Exposure'' can be fixed.
However, given the series' recent move from a cushy slot on Monday nights to the unfriendly confines of Wednesday, he is not convinced CBS wants to give the show time to make repairs.
``Just last night we just had our 100th episode,'' Corbin said by telephone from his Texas home. ``There was no paid advertising for it. The only press coverage I saw of it was a review in Daily Variety that praised the show but said there was little chance of our survival.
``Last December we were on for one show, then pre-empted for three weeks, then taken over to Wednesdays. I think a lot of people think we're already canceled.''
The ratings for the tales of life in Cicely, Alaska, have indeed tumbled with the Wednesday move. The series, which ranked 24th in the prime-time Nielsens on a Monday in December, was 61st a week ago Wednesday. That same week, the new occupant of the Monday slot, ``Chicago Hope,'' ranked 17th.
Fans worried about the series even before the move. A mailbox on computer service eWorld had one viewer complaining ``the zippy, intelligent dialogue has dropped off and none of the characters seem very quirky anymore.'' More recently another fan wrote: ``I have taped absolutely every single show but I think last week was the last one I will bother with.''
Corbin himself ``had sort of given up. I was thinking about what I was going to do next. Then I read a letter on the Internet that had one sentence: `What have they done to my `Northern Exposure'? And I knew there are people who still love the show, and we owe those people.''
Corbin is accordingly lobbying reporters, the series' production companies and the network to help get the show back on track (and on Mondays). While Corbin does not believe CBS ever felt strongly about ``Northern Exposure,'' he said the problem has become worse amid changes in the network's program division.
``There's a new bunch of people at the top and they're looking for their own hits,'' he said. ``But this is like a guy buying a cornfield and deciding to plant soybeans, and then he lets the cornfield go to weed. I'm not at all surprised they're having difficulties.''
And what happens if the series is saved? ``We need some fresh direction,'' said Corbin. ``I'm not talking about the people who direct the scripts. I'm talking about the overall direction. We've been adrift for the last season or two.''
The departure of Rob Morrow, who plays Dr. Joel Fleischman, has been especially annoying to Corbin since ``it keeps looking as if he's gone when he's still got two or three shows. ... And the writers have been very unhelpful to Paul Provenza and Teri Polo,'' who play the town's new doctor and his wife.
``Maybe the writers have not been as concerned as they should. And the executive producers are cutting their own deals,'' Corbin said. ``We need people who are concerned about `Northern Exposure,' not making new deals.''
The series' producers no longer include its creators, Joshua Brand and John Falsey (although their production company still has a piece of the show). Corbin especially misses Brand. ``I didn't agree with Josh Brand a lot of the time. But I feel he had a unifying vision of the show. He has not been around since last season, about the time things started falling apart.''
Corbin's own vision ``is a show about Shangri-La, a show about Utopia. The executive producers are convinced that people want to see a real small town, with conflict among the people. I think the public is interested in a place where they would like to go, where people help each other, a gentle place. And there's been a coarsening of that.''
Viewers wanting to save ``Northern Exposure'' can write to CBS Audience Services, 51 W. 52nd Street, New York, N.Y. 10019. The series airs at 10 p.m. Wednesdays on WDBJ-Channel 7.
by CNB