DVD/TV Series Review: Northern Exposure: Season 6

 

Season six of Northern Exposure is a mixed bag for me. It has some very good episodes, including the wonderful season premiere in which Joel, after ingesting some concoction of Ed's when he is sick, dreams of an alternate reality in which he is a practicing doctor in NY, married to Shelly (who is a corporate lawyer) and everyone in the show has a role that is pretty much the opposite of their regular character. But, it is also the season in which Rob Morrow's contract battle comes to a head and he ends up leaving the show midway through the season (in another great episode). The showrunners, hoping to save the show, introduce a new doctor into the series, Phillip Capra (played by Paul Provenza), and his journalist wife, Michelle (played by Teri Polo) who move the Cicely from Los Angeles. At first, they are excited to be there, and then the writers start bouncing their story around so they love Alaska in one episode, hate it in the next, and the whole thing does not work. Rob Morrow did stick around for 15 episodes, with a much-reduced role in which his character moved to the wilderness to live with one of the tribes on a remote island. His last episode, entitled "The Quest" sees him and Maggie on a trek through the wilderness looking for a magical city of the north. That episode would also mark the final appearance of Adam (Adam Arkin) the wacky acerbic chef who has been a recurring character throughout the season.

In the final few episodes, it seemed like the writers were just throwing things against the wall to see what would stick, including trying a totally out-of-the-blue romance between Maggie and Chris. Ultimately, the ratings got so bad that the show ended up being canceled. It did have a series finale that for the most part felt like just another episode until the final scenes over which the song "Our Town" (which thankfully Universal paid for the rights to) put a bow on the series.

If you get the US DVD set, the only extras are deleted scenes for most of the episodes. Of course, the issue with the music in the US releases remains with some, but not all, of the original songs from the show being replaced with canned instrumental music. As I said above, thankfully, the final song to appear in the show, Our Town, was used because the ending montage would not have worked nearly as well without it.

Overall, the final season was uneven, to say the least. The show definitely lost a lot with Rob Morrow's departure and without him, the show could not recapture that fish-out-of-water aspect that made the show so good in the beginning. Unlike the show ER, which survived multiple cast members leaving and was able to plug new characters in for those who left, I equate Morrow's leaving akin to what would have happened if Alan Alda would have left MASH. He was clearly the main character, and the show could not survive without him despite the fact that the other actors did a great job in their roles. Unfortunately, the show just petered out at the end, and it never did get a great send-off.

DVD/TV Series Review: Northern Exposure: Season 5

 

+++Warning, this will contain a minor spoiler from season four, but no major season five giveaways+++

Season five of Northern Exposure is kind of a double-edged sword for me. There are some very good episodes in it, but you can also tell that this was the point at which Rob Morrow's contract situation came to a head without either side willing to budge, and, as a result, his role was much reduced. There are some episodes in which Joel is basically an ancillary character or barely appears at all. That is fine for an episode or two, but it happened a lot during this season. That said, there are some very good episodes in the season, including the episode in which Shelly hallucinates her daughter at various stages of her life (which includes a very young Kaley Cuoco), an episode in which Maggie agrees to be homecoming queen for the local high school (which includes a young Jack Black), and an episode in which the residents of the town have dreams about one another.

In the DVD set, the only bonus content is just under 40-minutes of deleted scenes. There are no gag reels, commentary tracks, behind-the-scenes material, or the like. And, of course, there is the issue with the music. As is the case with the DVD releases from season two or three, Universal did not pay for the rights to some of the songs that played when the show originally aired, opting instead to replace the songs with canned instrumental music. In some cases, it did not really matter (aside from being kind of annoying), but in the cases in which the songs directly tied into the storyline of the episodes, it definitely takes something away. As far as I know, the only way to get the episodes with the original music is to pay for the imports (such as the Region 2 Blu-Ray complete series) because the show was released with the original music in Europe. This means you need a DVD or Blu-Ray player that can play Region 2 discs and will pay higher prices for the discs themselves.

Overall, the season is good, but not as good as it was in the first few seasons. For me, this in large part because Rob Morrow, who was clearly the series lead, had a much-reduced role as the season went on. It did not seem like he was phoning his performances in or not doing a good job with the character, because when he was on screen his performance was as good as in the prior seasons, but the show without him was just not the same. That said, the season is still worth watching.

DVD/TV Series Review: Northern Exposure: Season 4

 

The fourth season, for me, is when the show started to go a bit downhill. This is due in large part to the fact that Rob Morrow's contract dispute saw his character seeing less and less screen time and thus, removing a large part (Joel's fish-out-of-water and acclamation story) of what made the show great in the first couple of seasons. Season three did continue the Joel and Maggie love-hate relationship, and introduced a new potential love interest for Maggie in the form of Anthony Edwards, who played Mike Monroe, an environmental lawyer who is allergic to everything and lives in a hermetically sealed bubble in the middle of the woods. Edwards would end up leaving toward the end of the season after he landed the series lead on ER so his storyline kind of fizzles out. The season continues to be a story-of-the-week procedural, with each episode focusing on a different character's storyline. Pretty much every character gets a significant story arc for at least one episode, including Ruth Anne, who attempts to learn to drive, an episode in which Chris loses his voice, and an episode in which Maurice is modeled for a wax sculpture. Shelly also gets a considerable storyline this season when she becomes pregnant in a story arc that continues on into season five (if you read through some of the other reviews, it is not that confusing that she does not have the baby during this season).

If you get the DVD set, the extras, much as with the prior seasons, include deleted scenes and gag reels. The one plus is that there are no more double-sided discs, at least on the set I have. The issue of the music is a big sticking point for the US releases. Again, Universal replaced some, but not all, of the original music with canned instrumental tracks so they did not have to pay for the rights to some of the songs that were used in the show. Of course, the show aired in the early to mid-1990s and the DVDs were released in the 2000s, so the rights to use the music likely had to be renegotiated when the DVDs were released. This resulted in some songs being ditched if they were too expensive, which did detract a bit from the storylines as there are times when the specific song choice was made because it tied into the story in the show. That is not to say they are unwatchable with the replacement music (at least not for me), but they are different if you see the show as it originally aired.

Overall, the season is good, but as I said before, not as good as in the earlier seasons. You can definitely tell that Rob Morrow is in fewer scenes, especially as the season goes along, and the show is just not the same with Joel as a more ancillary character. That said, all of the actors really step up and brought great performances this season and their contributions should not be overlooked. The show continued to have very good, although sometimes quirky and silly, and raised topics like homosexuality, and climate change (yes, it was a known thing even back in the 90s), long before any other network television show was. And, it is still one of the only shows I can remember (along with another 90s series Due South) that extensively used Native American actors and incorporated Native American culture. So, even though it was not as good as the first couple of seasons, I do think it is worth watching.

DVD/TV Series Review: Northern Exposure: Season 3

 

Season three is a bit of a mixed bag for Northern Exposure. Both for the show itself and definitely for the US DVD release. This is the first full season of the show. The first two seasons were very short, just 7 and 8 episodes. Basically, it was aired as an off-season summer show in 1990 for its first season and aired a handful of episodes late in the 1992 TV season for its second season. This season gets a full run of 23 episodes, and continued Joel's story arc, but with a bit less of the fish-out-of-water aspect and more of an acclimating to the town and the people storyline. The show also focused on the other residents and the overall quirkiness of pretty much everyone that lived there. It also did the will-they or won't-they story arc with Joel and Maggie to the extreme, having them seem like almost a couple in one episode and back to loathing each other the next. This is also the season where the contractual issues between Rob Morrow and the showrunners/producers started which would lead to his role in the show being reduced and eventually writing him out of the series.

The big issue with this season's DVD release is the music. As most are aware, music was a critical part of the show, and certain songs were selected to either tie into or wrap up the storylines of the episodes. Because Universal, which is the company that owned the rights to the US DVD releases, did not want to pay for the rights to some of the original songs, they just replaced them with horrible canned instrumental music that rivaled elevator Musak in terms of quality. The first season had all of the original music, and it appears that the second season, depending on which release you got, had most or all of the original music. But, season three (and the subsequent season releases) replace a lot of the music, and it is more noticeable with each release. One good thing about this season's DVD release is that they got rid of the awful double-sided DVDs that were used for the first and second season releases.

The DVD extras include deleted and expanded scenes for most (if not every) episode, unexposed scenes (which amounts to basically a gag reel), and lost storylines (which are really more deleted scenes. There are no commentary tracks, behind-the-scenes material, or the like.

This season does have some really good episodes, for example, the season premier in which we meet Adam's (Adam Arkin) wife, appropriately named Eve (played wonderfully by Valerie Mahaffey), an episode in which Joel and Maggie are stranded in the wilderness, an episode in which a small traveling circus troupe is temporarily stranded in Cicely, an episode in which Joel gets adopted into a tribe by a tribal elder, and an episode that flashes back to the founders of Cicely.

Overall, the season is very good, but the DVD release leaves a lot to be desired. The acting and writing are great, and the show continued to put things on TV that other shows at the time did not (e.g., lesbian relationships, Native American themes, etc.). It was not always politically correct, and some things would definitely not fly today. If you do not care about the music issue, then the US releases are fine. But, if you really want to see the show as it aired and with the best picture quality, picking up the Region 2 Blu-Ray is the best option (if you can find a copy and are willing to pay the increased price for it).

DVD/TV Series Review: Northern Exposure: Season 2

 

Season two of Northern Exposure is another very short (just 7 episodes) season. It continues the fish-out-of-water storyline of Joel (Rob Morrow) who is slowly adapting to life in the small, quirky town of Cicely Alaska, all while trying to get out of his contract. The season also does a good job developing more of the characters, and the history of the town, which was really a character itself. The show is definitely doing a "will they or won't they" dance between Joel and Maggie (Janine Turner) introducing even more sexual tension between them while finding ways to keep them from getting together.

There are a couple of different versions of season two out there. The original 2004 release, which is the one I have, does have the original music on it (at least most of it). Any subsequent US releases, including in the full-season set, do have some replacement music. As most are aware, music was a huge part of the show, especially the scenes in the radio station, and because the show aired long before DVD was even a thing, getting the rights to use the show in the DVD releases was very expensive and Universal started replacing some of the original music with canned instrumental music. The problem was, the instrumental music was often horrible (think elevator Muzak but without any recognizable songs), and in the instances where specific songs were used as a part of the storyline, not just to have something playing in the background, the replacement music did not have the same effect at all. If the original songs were replaced I do not believe they were replaced with the instrumental tracks on the original DVD release, they just picked different songs. I am not sure about what was done on the re-releases. I can tell you that the Etta James song, At Last, is included in the season finale on at least some of the sets. Of course, for die-hard fans of the show, there is a Blu-Ray set that was released in the UK that does have the original episodes with all the original music, but it is expensive and harder to find.

The originally released set does have the horrible double-sided discs again, and the extras include deleted and extended scenes for every episode and blooper reels for each episode. Not a ton, and no behind-the-scenes or making-of material, but what was included was good. Overall, the season was good, but you are basically paying for a full season set and only getting a handful of episodes. Personally, if you can find it, and afford it, I would get the import Blu-Ray set (but you will have to also get a region 2 player to play it on, which adds to the cost). That will get you the best version of the show in terms of picture quality, get you all the seasons in one set, and have all the original music. The show is well written and very well acted and for those of us who were fans of the show during its original run on TV it is worth coming back to because even though it is a bit dated, it holds up well.

DVD/TV Series Review: Northern Exposure: Season 1

 

The first season of Northern Exposure was a short season (just 8 episodes) that aired in the summer of 1990. The plot involved a young doctor from New York named Joel Fleischman (played by Rob Morrow) whose medical school loans were underwritten by the state of Alaska. As a result, Joel is under contract to work in Alaska for four years. He expected to work in Anchorage, but when he gets to Alaska he finds out that he will be working in the very remote town of Cicely, full of quirky residents.

What follows is a pretty fun fish-out-of-water dramedy. The show co-starred Janine Turner as Maggie O'Connell a bush pilot and Joel's landlord with whom he has a love-hate relationship, Barry Corbin as Maurice Minnifield, a multi-millionaire businessman, former fighter pilot and astronaut who moved to the area after retiring and owns most everything in the area, John Cullum as Holling Vincoeur who owns the local bar and is Maurice's ex-best friend and current rival due to winning the affection of Shelly Tambo (played by Cynthia Geary) a former Miss Northwest Passage brought to Cicely by Maurice, who had hoped to marry her but chose Holling instead, Darren E. Burrows who plays Ed Chigliak a young Native Amerian teenager who is a movie fanatic, Peg Phillips as Ruth-Anne Miller, who owns the local convenience store, John Corbett who plays Chris Stevens, an ex-con with little direction in life who is the morning DJ at the local radio station owned by Maurice, and Elane Miles as Marilyn Whirlwind, Joel's unwanted assistant at his office.

The 2004 DVD release comes in a case that is covered with a parka, and the episodes are on two double-sided discs. The first two sets I purchased had scratched discs, which is what knocks the set down a star for me. The extras include deleted and extended scenes, which include several minutes worth of deleted scenes from each episode, video documentary footage, that is the footage filmed for the documentary that was made during the third episode, mock movie footage that was filmed for Ed's daydreaming fantasies in the sixth episode, and unexposed footage which is a blooper reel with bloopers from each episode (generally 4-6 minutes of bloopers per episode). So, there is a lot if you like extras.

It is worth noting that this release does include the original music that was used when the show aired on TV. As most fans of the show are aware, the show used a lot of copyrighted music. When the first season was initially released on DVD in the US it was very expensive because of how much Universal had to pay for the rights to the music. Some of the second season sets also had the original music, but from the third season forward, the DVDs used replacement music which was basically canned instrumental music. If you get one of the later US releases some of the songs in the first season are replaced. Given how important the music is to the series, most people want the original songs, so keep that in mind.

Overall, the season is very good. The acting and writing are excellent, but the episodes are much more stand-alone in this season than they are in later seasons. Basically, after you watch the pilot the episodes can be watched in almost any order as there is not a ton of flow from one to another. The show does a fun nod to Twin Peaks, the other popular show of 1990, and the season finale introduces the character Adam, played by Adam Arkin, who is basically the Cicely version of Bigfoot (someone everyone has heard of but has never seen), who would be a major recurring character throughout the series. The first season basically sets up the premise and the characters but is not as good as it would become in the subsequent seasons.

Blu Ray/TV Show Review: Northern Exposure Complete Series (Region 2)

 

Northern Exposure was a breakout hit that ran from 1990 to 1995. It starred Rob Morrow as Joel Fleischman, a doctor from New York who was forced to move to a small remote town in Alaska called Cicely to work as repayment of his student loan for the state of Alaska underwriting his medical school education. It is basically a fish-out-of-water story as Dr. Fleischman adjusts to life in a small town full of quirky people. 

The show ran for a total of six seasons (with seasons one and two being extremely short, a total of fifteen episodes between them) and then full seasons from season three onward. Morrow had a widely publicized contract dispute with the powers that be that saw his role reduced over the course of the series until he was written out of the show entirely partway through the final season, after which the show just fizzled out and was canceled. The supporting cast included Janine Turner, as Maggie O'Connel, Fleischman's on and off again love interest, Barry Corbin as Maurice Minnefiled, an ex-astronaut who basically owns the entire town of Cicely, John Cullum as Holling Vincoeur, the owner of the local bar, Cynthia Geary as Holling's much younger wife Shelly, John Corbett as Chris Stevens, the DJ at the local radio station, Darren E. Burrows, as Ed, one of the local teenagers who is an aspiring moviemaker, Peg Phillips as Ruth-Ann, the owner of the local convenience store, and Elane Miles as Marilyn, Dr. Fleischman's office assistant. 

As many are aware, the show was released on DVD in the US back in the mid-2000s. The big controversy about those releases was that, from season three on, Universal did not pay for the rights to some of the original music, and replaced many of the songs, which, a lot of times were tied in to the storylines of the episodes, with canned instrumental music that was akin to Musak played in elevators. Many die-hard fans of the series hated those releases because of that. This set finally delivers the episodes with all of the original music. As someone who owned the DVD releases, I can confirm that songs that were definitely missing from the DVDs were put back in for this set.

For extras, some, but not all, of the material that was included on the US DVD releases are included here. It is missing some of the bonus features, but most of the extras like the deleted scenes and gag reels are included in this set. I believe the DVDs had some commentary tracks that were missing from this. One big drawback is that this set is not closed-captioned at all. Also, there is a weird audio issue in that when you are on the menu screen on each disc the theme song plays extremely loud, then when you go into the episodes the volume is very low. So, you have to turn up the volume to hear the dialog in the episodes, and if you go back to the menu screen before turning the volume down, you are blasted out of the room.

Otherwise, the A/V transfer is pretty good. The video quality of the Blu-Rays is, on the whole, better than the DVDs. However, some of the early episodes did not get as good a video transfer as later episodes. Soi, it is an upgrade, but not what I would call a reference-quality or extremely high-quality video transfer.

Overall, if you can get this set at a reasonable price (about $100 in US dollars) I would say it is well worth it. Because it is an import, the price can fluctuate, and if it goes out of print (or has done so), then it will be very overpriced. Also, note that it is a Region 2 set, meaning it will not play on Blu-Ray players sold in the US. I found it would not even play on my region-free player which plays other Region 2 discs just fine. So, you may have to invest in a Region 2 player (you can get one from Amazon UK for a decent price) and a power adapter to watch this. But, for fans of the series, it is the best way to see the show as it is unlikely there will every be a comparable release in the US.