Customer Reviews

Northern Exposure: The Complete Third Season

5 star:		(93)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

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.

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!!!

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.

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.

I love reading the reviews for these DVD's - people are passionate about this show!

But I would like to correct what I see as a 'misperception' in a few of the reviews I've read (I'm not sure if 'misperception' is the best word to use here - but it's the word that comes up for me as I write this). . . I worked in the theatre as a sound tech and designer. Each moment in any show - TV, film or stage - is a very precious moment (there just isn't a lot of time in a show especially a single TV program!). I put as much thought and creativity into making each moment on stage the best it can be - I hopefully have the training (and perhaps a little talent) to support a creative vision and add to the texture of the whole production. Have someone else come in after the fact and change anything - lights, sound, music, costumes, etc - and you change the hard work and creativity, the message and original intent of the artists who created the show.

(Now to address the 'misperception':) I have yet to hear what this Third Season of NX on DVD will bring but to say it's "only" the background music that's been changed on the Second Season - "just" the background stuff - isn't honoring the whole of what made NX great and it belittles the work of the people 'behind' the camera - they put as much effort and energy into the show as those to the 'front' of the camera.

I for one really miss hearing "Le Mer" (from Season 2/Ep 2 - The Big Kiss) playing "in the background" as Chris tries to woo Maggie! Was that "just" background music? I don't think so. I could go on but my point is - trained and skilled people put time and energy into creating something we all loved - their work too made this show great - and I for one am sad to see their efforts and creativity removed for whatever reason.

I've bought all the Northern Exposure seasons now (up to the fourth season)and I am still absolutely horrified that the original songs from the episodes is replaced by different music (and I imagine cheaper musoic too)which pales far far from the original music. It's like watching 2001: A Space Oddysey without Thus Spake Zarathustra or The Wizard of OZ without The Wizard of Oz theme. My God it's all insane! It is tantamount to artistic sabatoge as far as I am concerned and in fact is immoral (in the aesthetic sense for tampering with the artist's work). My opinion of Universal has obviously got A LOT lower. I gave the series only 4 stars because of the treatment Universal had given his great series on dvd. Otherwise it would have been 5.

Dear Sirs, customers of Amazon, and internet surfers alike:

As far as I am concerned, Northern Exposure is my favourite TV series ever. I watched most of the episodes in my home country, Spain, and I am now buying the different seasons that get published overseas.

I bought the first season, since the parka was cool, and the sound and image quality were really better than the edition of the first season we got in Spain.

-you can check this out comparing editions of the UK (which is the same edition as in Spain) and USA or Canada-

So I was really happy to buy the second season, with another great parka, and with a very high image quality. The sound was good too, but there is a big flaw to be considered.

Some of the music that was originally used in certain scenes was removed, and subsituted with some meaningless elevator music. This is a true fact. And it is a relevant issue to be taken into account, given that Universal stated that the higher price of the previous season was due to paying the music rights and so forth. We paid more for a complete edition of this wonderful TV series.

However, season two came out with the same price, but without some songs. I noticed these changes while watching the show, and it is a pity for we the fans of this series. We deserved more transparency from Universal, more information.

What is more, the original music IS actually in the DVD of the second season! In the Spanish language track, you CAN listen to those wonderfully chosen songs!

So please, Universal, we need an explanation for this. You made a big mistake, either changing only one track (I suppose that the rights for the songs do not depend on which language you include them in) or changing the music, simply.

Now the third season is about to come out. Great news, but: will we have a bittersweet aftertaste? The answer can only be posted by Universal.

Is the original music included this time?

We already know there is no parka this time (pity!). Let's cross our fingers and hope that the music is included in its full version. We already have George Lucas changing original movies, we do not need more people doing this kind of things.

This great TV series deserves it.

And yes, I will buy it anyhow.

I am surprised and angered by Universal's decision to release seasons 2 and 3 of "Northern Exposure" on dvd with original music deleted. When this series was originally airing on network television, more than one reviewer astutely observed the vital and critical role that the carefully selected music played in this finely crafted series. In fact, I believe I remember reading that this was the first TV series for which viewer interest in the music was so high that a web-page was specially created listing titles and info on the songs featured in each episode. It was very evident that the featured and background music in each show was meticulously chosen and to blend with and accentuate the narrative and themes. Frequently the emotional impact of a particular scene was solidified -- and in some cases actually established -- by the accompanying music. The musical selections, like the show itself, were frequently offbeat and out of the mainstream, but they were well thought-out, well integrated and represented some of the most talented and critically acclaimed artists of the show's period and before. The generic elevator-style music that Universal has chosen to substitute for those original songs is an insult to the show, its fans and their customers. I realize that licensing of music is no simple matter, but I also know that it is possible and that it has been done for other series. I would hope that, particularly with the all of the negative attention that has resulted from this decision, that Universal will make this situation right for future dvd releases, and will re-release seasons 2 and 3 in their intact (as originally aired) form -- with all of the original music. I believe that the typical fan of this show would tend to be the type of individual for which this kind of thing matters. And I believe most would be willing to pay a little more, or wait a little longer, as long as it meant seeing this series in its unaltered form. Smart marketing might actually highlight and take advantage of the musical excellence of this series via bonus features-- e.g., providing lists and information pertaining to the songs and artists featured in each episode. My low rating pertains almost entirely to the very poor judgment in this decision to modify the show before releasing on DVD. (To a lesser extent, it also pertains to other problems inherent in these discs, which other reviewers have also pointed out, but which I believe are minor compared to the issue of removing the original music.) Were it not for those factors, and if I were judging only the quality of the original series, I would give this release the highest possible rating. I believe it remains, to this day, one of the finest shows that has ever been produced for network television, and this is the season where it really began to hit its stride.

I discovered this series (thanks to Amazon reviewers) only in 2006, while looking for some DVDs to carry with me when going home to be with my mother just after she was diagnosed with a severe illness. I usually read rather than watch DVDs but I felt that, on this occasion, I would lack the necessary concentration to deal with books.

I bought the 3rd season instead of an earlier one purely for its better value for the money (over 20 episodes instead of 8 or 9), but easily got into knowing the characters within the first couple of episodes.

I watched this series before going to sleep or during several sleepless nights, and found it extremely quirky, funny, and able to distract me, while at the same time dealing with serious issues, such as death, in a manner that I found hopeful as well as touching. I laughed and cried (and I rarely do the latter) and appreciated the intelligent dialogue and depth of content, both rare commodities in many shows nowadays (I realize that I sound really old with this statement, but I am only very moderately so).

Not having seen the original series I cannot really comment on the soundtrack, but I did notice some really interesting music in some scenes, and failed to notice it at all in many other moments. If the pieces I noticed are the survivors from the original series, then I can see why so many are upset about it being missing in the DVDs, but they are still well worth watching. My DVDs got momentarily stuck occasionally, so maybe they are too packed with data, but overall the quality was OK.

I definitely recommend this series. I am sure I would have liked it anyway, but it has been a really good distraction for me at a very difficult time.

Maybe the amazon bigwigs can get in touch with the makers of these releases and urge them to put back all of the original music.

I was about to place an order for seasons 1-4, but after reading the reviews about the missing original soundtracks, then I will not order until I see them advertise "Now with original music soundtrack!"

Sorry amazon.
Sorry that the releasers did such a lousy job.
Too bad.
Really loved the original series on TV.