Northern Exposure: The Complete Third Season
by Bill D'Elia, David Carson, Dean Parisot, Jack Bender, James Hayman
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Barry Corbin, Darren E. Burrows, Janine Turner, John Cullum, Rob MorrowDirector: Bill D'Elia, David Carson, Dean Parisot, Jack Bender, James Hayman
Brand: Universal Studios
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.1
Format: Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 1057 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-06-14
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Universal Studios
Movie Reviews of Northern Exposure: The Complete Third Season
Movie Review: A glorious season that represents television at its very finest
Summary: 5 Stars
Season Three, which began in the fall of 1991, was the first full season of NORTHERN EXPOSURE after two very short seasons that appeared in the summer of 1990 and the spring of 1991. The first two seasons, though brief, were tantalizing for their uniqueness and quality. Season One lacked many of the fantasy and surreal elements that was such an important part of the subsequent seasons, but from Season Two until the final season when the show began to suffer following the loss of Rob Morrow, the show was amazingly consistent. Until THE X-FILES debuted in the fall of 1993, NORTHERN EXPOSURE was far and away the quirkiest, most delightful television show on network television. Even the staid Emmys, which usually reserves its award for less innovative, interesting series, acknowledged the brilliance of the show by recognizing Season Three by awarding it the Emmy for Best Drama.
Though the first two seasons did not lack for great individual episodes, Season Three hit the ground running and turned out one classic episode after another. Beginning with "The Bumpy Road to Love," in which Maggie learns of her dead lover Rick's many infidelities and Joel and kidnapped by Adam's lover Eve until the season finale "Cicely," which tells of the town's founding by two progressive lesbians, viewers were given one imaginative treat after another. Choosing favorites in such a rich season is almost silly, but I do have favorites. I loved "Oy Wilderness," in which Maggie and Joel have engine problems while flying back to Cicely and are forced to spend a couple of days in the wilderness. Even better was "Animals R Us," where Maggie becomes convinced that a stray dog is actually Rick reincarnated. One of Joel's best episodes comes in "A-Hunting We Will Go," where the nonhunting New Yorker gains a sudden passion for hunting that can only be described as bloodlust, only to suffer a change of heart when he can't stand to kill the grouse he has shot, instead binding its wounds and nursing it back to health. A circus comes to Cicely in "Get Real," with the performers portrayed by members of Cirque du Soleil and Marilyn engages in a courtship in which words play only a small role. "Burning Down the House" is memorable for a visit from Maggie's mother, who inadvertently burns down her house, and for Chris's attempt to find just the right cow to throw through the air on his trebuchet, deciding to toss a piano instead once Ed informs him that Monty Python had performed the same stunt in a movie. "Democracy in America" is precious if for no other reason than to see the previously hirsute Chris show up at the polling site resplendent with a fresh shave, haircut, and conservative black suit and tie. The pride with which he, a convicted felon unable to vote, gazes upon all those able to exercise their right to vote is for me one of the highpoints of the season. In a season filled with amazing episodes, my favorite might have been "It Happened in Juneau." Forced to share a room because of a lack of hotel rooms, Joel and Maggie decide to have sex, only to have a sleep-deprived Maggie pass out before they do the deed. Maggie nonetheless thinks they have, with ramifications for future episodes. By the way, fans of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and ANGEL should look out for James Marsters (aka Spike) in this one as the Bellhop Joel talks to in the hotel after his presentation bombs at the medical conference. Also check out the extras for a funny ad lib where Joel embraces the Bellhop.
Season Three doesn't alter the alchemy that had been created in Season Two, though it did polish it. In particular Chris achieved the importance he would possess throughout the show's run as both the town's conscience and soul. Using his radio show "Chris in the Morning" (even if broadcast at night), he hovers over the town like a benevolent spirit, offering his blessing on all the inhabitants. Though not traditionally religious in any way, NORTHERN EXPOSURE was consistently one of the most spiritual shows on TV, and without Chris that would have been impossible. He seems to embody all the wonder about the glory of being alive that the show itself strives to communicate. Elsewhere in Cicely, Joel continues to adjust only gradually to living in Cicely, while he and Maggie continue doing their love/hate mating dance. Surely one reason the show's creators (and those of every other show with a potential romance) were hesitant to allow Joel and Maggie get together was because of what happened on MOONLIGHTING when David and Maddie were allowed to consummate things: the show's ratings plunged. As a result of the David and Maddie fiasco (though I think personally that the ratings dive of MOONLIGHTING was as much the result in a decline in the quality of the writing as having the romance come to fruition), every show since then has created as many impediments to having people attracted to one another get together as possible. So, Joel and Maggie were emulated by Mulder and Scully, Lois and Clark, John Crichton and Aeryn Sun, Buffy and Angel (when Buffy did get a boyfriend in Riley, he significantly was one none of us cared about), and Jack and Kate. The central romance in almost every series is like those figures in Keats's "Ode to a Grecian Urn," where the lovers are always chasing but never embracing each other throughout eternity.
NORTHERN EXPOSURE is fascinating from a narrative standpoint. Beginning with HILL STREET BLUES in the early eighties, most "quality" shows tended to have multiple story arcs running at once, most of which did not get resolved each episode. NORTHERN EXPOSURE actually adopted the stand alone format that dominated most television from its creation until the eighties. Each episode would introduce two or three plot elements, all of which would be resolved by the end of that episode. The show was almost unique in the nineties or the current decade for resolving conflict each week. It differed from pre-HILL STREET BLUES shows, however, by constantly picking back up themes from previous shows. The result was that you got a sense that the show had ongoing arcs, whereas in fact it merely picked back up previously resolved stories. The only episode from Season Three where one episode immediately picks up on the previous episode was "Our Wedding," in which Maggie becomes furious when she learns that she and Joel had not in fact had sex in the previous episode.
Finally, this is the first set in the NORTHERN EXPOSURE series where one doesn't have to complain about the cost. The price is comparable to other single-season sets of TV shows. It is still almost impossible to understand the rationale in releasing Seasons One and Two in separate sets and each priced as if it were a full season. They remain two of the most overpriced sets for any television show. Nonetheless, if there is such a thing as "Must See" TV, this is as close as any series can come to "Must Own" TV.
Note: For those complaining about the substitution of music, this is something we just have to deal with. If you want a culprint, don't blame Universal but the RIAA. The demands for royalties on the original music is simply too high to make inclusion of it possible. This is why ALLY MCBEAL has not been released on DVD and is likely never to be released. The music on that show was too integral to allow of substitution, but the royalties are simply prohibitive to allow of a box set that anyone could afford. As long as publishers insist on exorbitant fees we will see music substitution. It is why they can't include the original music videos in episodes of BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD. It is why many current TV shows employ from the start music from lesser performers. Just don't blame Universal. They really don't have any choice in the matter. It's either substitute or charge $99 for each season.
Summary of Northern Exposure: The Complete Third Season
After failing to read the fine print on his scholarship requirements, a young New Yorker is sent to the remote and eccentric town of Cicely, Alaska after he graduates medical school.Genre: Television
Rating: NR
Release Date: 14-JUN-2005
Media Type: DVD
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