Ginger vs. Mary Ann has been done to death, with Mary Ann winning in a walk. So has Bailey Quarters vs. Jennifer Marlowe, with Bailey kicking Jennifer’s butt. Now it is time to ponder the very high quality women of “Northern Exposure”: Would you prefer Maggie O’Connell or Shelly Tambo?
Me, although I’m quite fond of Shelly’s sweetness, I’d have to go with O’Connell’s fire, even though it means certain death. What a way to go!
Definitely O’Connell. Prettier, smarter, that Irish spunk . . . oh yeah.
Maggie in a second. Shelly was annoying and just shy of flaky and I didn’t find her attractive at all. Maggie was hot, and had attitude. Gotta love a girl who had that death thing going for a while.
Maggie here as well. The only time I found Shelly attractive was when she was pregnant and was singing. Maggie was the perfect example to me of a woman who was cute and beautiful at the same time. Had she considered getting a girlfriend, perhaps it would have broken her death curse… <sigh>… I can dream can’t I??
I always liked Shelly–she seemed a lot more down to earth and less mind game-y.
But I would chose Ed out of the entire cast.
O’Connell. But then everyone already knew that about me.
Maggie…she seemed to be a little more edgy and a bit more upstairs…now too bad about the death curse thing, although I am pretty sure a satellite wouldn’t hit me. 
Maggie, Maggie, Maggie! Shelly was an airhead, and her looks weren’t to my style either. And wasn’t Maggie’s curse broken by Fleischman? He didn’t die, after all. Neither did Bubble Boy, come to think of it.
Why didn’t the OP include Ruth-Anne or Marilyn as an option?
Shelly. She’s honest and sweet. She may not be smart in the conventional manner, but she has more common sense than Maggie. And she’s hot.
And I for one could not deal with Maggie’s baggage, which includes two steamer trunks, two suitcases, four carry-ons, a make-up case, three carpetbags and six coffins. The lady needs help.
I’ve always been incredibly attracted to Maggie. And I was JUST thinking about this yesterday, when watching the show on A&E. O’Connell just has a natural beauty to her that is an incredible Munch-magnet. She’s perky, sarcastic, intelligent, independent, fiery, and Irish. Gotta love all of those qualities.
Maggie over and over and over and over.
Shelly - annoying and flaky (but physically attractive, in a trailer trash kind of way).
Maggie - annoying and flaky (but kind of attractive in a pseudo-intellectual angst ridden self sufficient outdoorswoman kind of way).
Marilyn - quiet, thoughtful, mysterious and sexy.
RuthAnn - wonderful.
[sub]its been a longtime since I’ve seen this show, so I hope I got the names right[/sub]
Chris in the Morning.
Chris in the Morning.
Chris in the Morning.
I can’t pick between Maggie and Shelly. Maggie is more beautiful, but her obnoxious insecurities would surely drive me bonkers in short order. Shelly is more down-to-earth, but geez . . . her use of slang would undoubtedly torpedo my libido. shrug
Chris. Or if I have to pick a female . . . I’m with ShibbOleth - I’ll take Marilyn. Or Ruth Anne. They both seem to have their acts together wayyyy more than the other two!
Because the Original Poster (myself) never thought of either Ruth-Anne or Marilyn in that way. Is that a character flaw of mine? Undoubtedly, but so what? Ruth-Anne is too old for me, as she would have said herself, if she wasn’t a TV character incapable of actual speech, and Marilyn got on my nerves, the way she just sat there not talking and all. I know she was a more a quirky non-traditional TV character that way but she got under my skin and not in a good way.
Definitely Maggie. For one she’s a pilot, and I’ve always wanted to have a girlfriend who shared my passion. Second, she has dark hair, which I prefer. Third, her breasts aren’t too big. (Hey, I like 'em small.)
Heck with either of them, I’ll take Kellee Bradley. She had a couple walk-on parts, and blew Maggie & Shelly off the screen. Heck of a singer, too.
Shelly’s not that stacked either.
Yeah, but Maggie’s a pilot! And she has dark hair. And I think she has a cute face. And she seems more intelligent (which is important).
But Shelly has that Edith Bunker kind of intelligence, where you think she’s dumb, but she actually has an incredible understanding of what’s going on. Way more than Maggie has.
I think the thing about Shelly is that I couldn’t really talk with her. She’d be talking about clothes and looking good, and I’d want to discuss world events or a new script. With Maggie we could always talk about flying.
But to bring it down to just looks, I’ve always liked girls with dark hair. Not that I have anything against blondes; hey, I like Jodie Foster. But I do like darkish hair.