- Joel Fleischman
Joel Haim Fleischman,
M.D. , is a fictional central character of the television series "Northern Exposure ", played by actorRob Morrow .Joel is a Russian-Jewish-American native of
New York City , who agreed to practicemedicine inAlaska for four years as a condition of hisscholarship inmedical school . Initially assigned toAnchorage, Alaska , he finds himself tied against his will to the fictional town ofCicely, Alaska , wheremoose wander on the main street andbagel s are unknown.The clash of Joel's big-city background with Cicely's frontier culture and his relations with its colorful people are key elements of the show. Joel's
rationalism is also a contrast to the various magic realist happenings around the town.Originally Joel has a fiancée in New York when he arrives in Cicely; she breaks up with him via a letter, devastating him. Throughout the series, Joel has a
love-hate relationship withMaggie O'Connell (Janine Turner ), at one point being engaged to her.Towards the end of the series run, however, Joel is seemingly won over by the lure of the Alaskan wilderness, and decides to stay on as a "bush doctor" helping those in remote areas. When the state of Alaska releases him, he embarks on a
quest to find the fabled "Jewel City" of the north, only to realize it is his beloved New York. His final appearance on the show is on a ferry approaching Manhattan Island.
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