“Northern Exposure” (1990-1995)
Who John plays: Every quirky small town needs a resident DJ, and Cicely, Alaska, got Corbett’s Chris: a philosophical hunk who played an eclectic mix of music and once got punched and fired after reading Walt Whitman aloud on air.
Why it’s one of his Cor-best: This is the role that put John Corbett on the map — and, not coincidentally, led to TV Guide calling him an “Alaskan Adonis.” Set in a fictional town and eventually becoming an ensemble dramedy, “Northern Exposure” was a big deal for the five years it was on CBS. And Corbett’s Chris was a quirky, sexy breakout: Is it any wonder that both “Sex and the City” and Nia Vardalos turned to him to play a good-natured hunk? But Corbett’s charms are at their peak in this unjustly forgotten hit (it won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Drama). The big-hearted guy who offers advice to everyone and muses on the meaning of life, Corbett’s Chris was just what we wanted in the early ’90s: a tender-hearted good guy with a weird streak. And no one plays that better than Corbett, then or now. —MP