Search - Northern Exposure - The Complete Third Season on DVD

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Universal!!!

Anthony Billington | Hamilton, New Zealand | 04/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It is so unfair of Universal to put fans of NE in this position. I was gutted when watching the second season of this series on DVD only to realise that it was full of pappy generic music where REAL music should have been. It didn't destroy the episodes in question, it just took some of the soul away from them. While it is great that this stunning series is finally being released on DVD, I can't help but feel that, without all the fabulous music, it is somewhat the poorer. So many memorable and moving scenes are made all the more so by the perfectly-chosen music that accompanies them, so it is sad to think that we are being made to choose between a compromised DVD version of NE on one hand, or no NE at all apart from the old videotapes and reruns on the other. So my plea goes out to whoever is responsible for these things - I will pay whatever it costs, an unreasonable amount if necessary, to have these episodes with all the original music, and I am sure that many other fans of Northern Exposure feel the same."

Some of the Best Episodes of the Series

D. Gorton | 04/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For those wondering the third season contains the following episodes:

The Bumpy Road To Love
Maggie discovers the late Rick was unfaithful and proceeds to distrust all men; Maurice's tax indiscretion could destroy his relationship with Officer Semanski; while Joel is toted off to the woods to play marriage counselor to wildman-chef extraordinaire Adam and his hypochrondiacal wife, Eve.

Only You
Chris emits a scent which attracts all women to him. Maurice once again accuses Holling of stealing Shelly from him, leaving only Shelly to set the record straight.

Oy, Wilderness
Joel and Maggie become stranded in the wilderness. Shelly's best friend Cyndy comes to Cicely asking Shelly to divorce Wayne.

Animals R Us
Maggie is confronted with the possibility that Rick has been reincarnated as a dog; Maurice sees big profits learns that Marilyn owns an ostrich herd; and Ed seriously considers getting out of show business.

3.5 Jules et Joel
Joel's twin brother, Jules, a charming but conniving rogue, creates a stir when he arrives in quiet Cicely to visit his sibling.

The Body In Question
A frozen body discovered in the local river could cause a world-wide historical revolution: was Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo or was he ice fishing near Cicely and fathering a tribe of French-speaking Native Americans?

Roots
Joel grapples with the possibility of a new start when his ex-fiancee Elaine visits Cicely; Bernard brings Chris his inheritance from their father, giving Chris the opportunity to go to Africa, as his dreams have told him to; and Adam becomes the chef at the Brick.

A-Hunting We Will Go
After grousing about the hunting frenzy sweeping Cicely, Joel sees firsthand what it's all about by joining Chris and Holling in the wilds. Holling, however, prefers the home fires to the campfire, while, back in town, Ed fears that Ruth-Anne is being stalked by the Grim Reaper.

Get Real
Marilyn becomes romantically involved with The Flying Man when the circus comes to Cicely, while Holling fears his passion for Shelly may be waning when he realizes her feet are big.

Seoul Mates
Maurice, dreading being along for the holidays, gets a big surprise when his gift is an instant family of his own. Meanwhile, Maggie, dreading being with her family, gets a big surprise when her parents opt for a Cariibean Christmas without her.

Dateline: Cicely
Maurice goes atempts to spice up his newspaper's coverage by hiring an unnamed reporter given to clandestine meetings. Maggie talks to trees, but Joel won't listen, and to ease Holling's tax debts, Chris become a partner at the Brick.

Our Tribe
Joel reluctantly undergoes a cultural conversion after receiving a goat as a gift from a grateful village elder, who insists on "adopting" him into her tribe, and a mysterious Holling shuts down the Brick, ostensibly to wax the floors.

Things Become Extinct
A study in self-examination brings on a mid-life crisis for Holling, opens up another door for Ed, and leaves Joel feeling culturally isolated.

Burning Down The House
Maggie visting mother accidentally burns down her house after announcing she is divorcing Maggie's father. Meanwhile, Chris searches for the "right" cow as part of his new piece of performance art.

Democracy In America
Mayoral incumbent Holling is challenged by Edna Hancock, who's upset over a promise he never kept. The election also finds Shelly testing the aphrodisiac of power, Chris waxing patriotic, Ed anticipating his first time voting, and Joel and Maggie arguing party politics.

The Three Amigos
The death of a rugged hunting companion sends Holling and Maurice into the wilderness to make good on a promise to bury him miles from civilization. Chris reads from Call of the Wild and it reflects Holling and Maurice's adventure.

Lost And Found
Joel discovers his cabin is haunted, Eve is worried that she is suffering from an exotic illness, and Maurice is disappointed when his old friend from Korea turns out to be less than perfect.

My Mother, My Sister
Shelly's mother drops in unexpectedly with her new husband, a baby abandoned in Joel's waiting room is temporarily adopted by the townspeople, and Adam undergoes the same changes as his pregnant wife.

Wake-Up Call
The coming of spring brings love to Maggie, a new skin to Shelly and a reminder to Joel of the importance of blending compassion with his scientific knowledge.

The Final Frontier
Ed discovers that Jesse the bear has died; Japanese tourists infiltrate Cicely; a package that has traveled the world arrives in Cicely addressed to an unknown person.

It Happened In Juneau
Things heat up between Joel and Maggie when they are forced to share a hotel room; Chris and his brother Bernard for the first time are not in perfect synch with each other.

Our Wedding
Adam and Eve decide to wed for the baby's sake; Maggie avoids Joel, still believing that they slept together in Juneau; Officer Semanski serves Maurice with an official complaint.

Cicely
Joel stumbles upon an elderly sage who tells him the story of Cicely's creation."

The Real Deal (with careful examination)

Brad Eastridge | Tennessee | 06/18/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"True, the parka pack is gone, and I do miss it. However the change to slimcases warrants a more manageable packaging. And I am in favor of the slimcases because of the improvement of episode listings and synopses on the sleeves. That is definitely nice. Now, more pressing matters:
MUSIC: I went through after purchase to satisfy my curiosity (I didn't have anything else to do at the moment) and held my breath. ALL THE PLOT-INTRINSIC SONGS ARE INTACT, except for the original Chieftans "Coolin Medley" from "Wake up Call". In terms of incidental music from The Brick and KBHR, "Jolie Louise" by Daniel Lanois is missing from "The Body In Question", and there are a few more that may be changed, but the majority is still there. All of David Schwartz's brilliant music is still intact, the wonderful symphonic stuff and Willie Nelson's "Hand's on the Wheel" are staples of "Three Amigos" (perhaps my favorite episode)-still there. Billie Holiday's "Let's Dream in the Moonlight" from "Only You", Bela Fleck and the Flecktones' "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo" from "Jules et Joel", The Chieftans' do have "Il Est Ne" intact in "Seoul Mates", Bach's "Invention #8" and Fredrica von Staade's beautiful "Bailero" from "Wake up Call", Strauss' "Blue Danube" from "Burning Down The House", "Democracy In America" 's Copland "Simple Gifts" and the stuff from the American Boys Choir, Enya's "Caribbean Blue" from "The Final Frontier", and the one I held my breath on, the quintessential quirky song, without which the sequence could not work, "Toy Cows in Africa" by Chance for "It Happened In Juneau"!
So, yes there are a couple of songs missing, and I miss them-great songs. But EVERY OTHER ONE I CHECKED is intact, the video and audio quality: excellent. Still deleted scenes and unexposed footage, the latter now presented in three season-encompassing 10-minute blooper reels, as well as the assemblage of footage from Ed's film.
All in all, it is not perfect. But mostly.
IT"S WORTH IT!!!"

Music not important? Deal with it? Part of reality in this d

F. Scott | Michigan | 02/27/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"What would "Jaws" be without the score? Would you tell the story of the "Nutcracker Suite" without music? You could do either, but you would lose the magic. The soundtrack from NE was one of the most deliberately chosen, eclectic gatherings of music that has ever been proffered on television. Separating the music from the story is artistic rape. It is a perversion of original intent. It is tearing the sails of the schooner America. It is slashing Mario Andretti's tires. It is spoiliation of achievement.

Universal has taken a 5 star show and given it a 1 star DVD treatment. The show is still there. And it's not a totally empty shell. But nobody buying these DVDs who has seen the show as intended should be deceived: You WILL notice the difference. There is no cherry on top. There is no final perfection.

For those of us who have come to relish this show for that total refinement of vision, this DVD release is a let down. There is a crucial element missing, and there are no excuses relevant or acceptable."