Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Northern Exposure: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 15, 2024

Universal has released the complete series of the hit 1990s CBS show 'Northern Exposure' to the Blu-ray format. The show is presented in 1080p video with 4x3 aspect ratio video and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless audio. Extras, primarily in the form of deleted scenes, appear on most of the 24 discs that comprise all six seasons.

Official synopsis: The Northern Lights shine brighter than ever in 'Northern Exposure: The Complete Series'! This Emmy Award-winning series is a remrkable blend of quirky humor and heartwarming storytelling. Join Dr. Joel Fleischman (Rob Morrow), Maggie (Janine Turner), Chris (John Corbett) and the rest of the beloved residents of Cicely, Alaska, as they show how life in a small, arctic town can bring big laughs and heartwarming adventures.

Northern Exposure may not be the absolute top response when asking someone to name a "fish out of water" TV show, but in many ways it is the most quintessential: big city and young at heart doctor, fresh out of medical school, is assigned not just to Alaska, but the Alaskan frontier for his first assignment. He doesn't just miss his amenities, he goes into a full-blown panic when he can't find even a semblance of the creature comforts he has grown so accustomed to having at his fingertips. The show essentially follows his integration, or lack thereof, into a radically new culture where even everyday facets of life are alien to him. It gets its laughs from the contrasts but also from the cooky collection of characters that surround him.

Indeed, the world of Northern Exposure is filled with a cornucopia of characters who are just the opposite: the world of Cicely is everything they know, and they thrive on the small-town atmosphere, the simple pleasures in life, and the realities of the great outdoors. Yet some of them come from all walks of life, but none of them are so aghast as Fleischman at the world around him. Yet as time goes on, Fleischman comes to realize that even if the setting is different, the expectations are different, and the world itself is different, there's still a commonality of humanity and the human condition at work that ultimately supersedes the desire for "things" and "stuff" in terms of what really defines a life worth living. Gradually, the show becomes less about Fleischman's integration and more about the socialization around the town and the various peculiarities, misadventures, and very real life qualities and characteristics that define life in a small town, which despite the lack of the superficial found elsewhere, is very much the same as it is in the big city at the very heart of the human condition.

Northern Exposure: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

"Effective." "Passable." "Looks good." "Could use some work." These are amongst some of the words taken in notes to define Universal's Blu-ray release of Northern Exposure: The Complete Series. The 1080p image is presented in the original broadcast 4x3 aspect ratio, preserving its intended integrity and placing vertical "black bars" on either side of the 1.78 modern HD display.

Maybe the best word to describe the show on Blu-ray, then, is "adequate." It looks pretty good all things considered, and usually favors the more positive side of the critical ledger, but certainly shows some room for improvement. For the most part, from the first episode of season one all the way to the final episode of season six, the image captures the fundamentals of a filmic appearance and holds to a semblance of its roots, offering a decent looking grain structure that sometimes wavers and wanes and leaves the image looking a little smoother than it should. Still, it has the semblance of being more filmic than not, and even when the grain isn't quite as stout, the image never falls into that waxy and artificial look. Overall, the grain helps to bolster a series of good, though never great, textural characteristics. The image certainly shows capable clarity and definition to the somewhat roughhewn look of the buildings around town, interior and especially exterior alike, while also capturing pleasant definition to the wooded areas around and, of course, favorably capturing essential detail in faces and clothes. However, there is some macroblocking in the background, at times, but never to the point that it becomes a distraction. In fact, it rarely ever rises beyond the level of minor nuisance.

Color expressions are fair. The show is very colorful what with the various signage and facade colors around town, the colorful clothes that are so often a staple in the show, and of course the wonderous natural greens and blue skies that often provide the idyllic backdrop beyond the town proper. Color saturation is fair, at best, and sometimes pale, at worst. There's not a lot of serious depth and punch to colors, but all of the oranges and yellows and blues and other colorful clothing elements do offer enough vitality to look vivid, just not as well saturated as the might could have been. Still, it's a largely satisfying visual experience. Black level depth is solid enough though there is some wavering between blacks appearing pale at times and crushed at others. White balance is fair and skin tones are likewise fair. The image probably tops out at a 4.0/5.0 and bottoms out at a 3.0/5.0, so splitting the difference yields the best overall score.

Northern Exposure: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Universal presents Northern Exposure: The Complete Series on Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. Listeners will discover pretty nice body to the opening title music; it is certainly the loudest and most booming element within the whole of the program. The two-channel presentation finds good stage engagement and pretty fair width out to the edges, certainly not proving to be the most dynamic and lifelike track in the world, but offering, much like the video, a satisfying, though far from perfect, presentation. Good environmental fill is common in places like bars and restaurants, busy exterior streets, and woodland ambience is also a nice opportunity for good, positive sonic engagement. The track is, of course, limited by channel usage, source components, and the sound design proper. It's a very dialogue driven show but produces effective music and support elements. Dialogue is adequately clear and well prioritized with solid enough front-center imaging.

Northern Exposure: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Northern Exposure: The Complete Series contains extras on nearly every disc. Most of the extras are merely deleted scenes, but scattered throughout are some gag reels, lengthier scenes, and the like. There are no production featurettes, interviews, or other behind the scenes content. Each season does ship in its own Amaray case, with the exception of the first two seasons; they are two discs each and share a case. They do not ship with individual slipcovers. All seasons ship inside an average quality slip box. No DVD or digital copies are included.

Season One, Disc One:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "Northern Exposure (Pilot)" (7:12), "Brains, Know How and Native Intelligence" (6:39), and "Dreams, Schemes, and Putting Greens" (2:20).
• Unexposed Footage (720p, 4x3): Various takes of single shots and raw on-set footage. Included are moments from "Soapy Sanderson" (10:18).

Season One, Disc Two:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "Sex, Lies and Ed's Tapes" (2:41) and "A Kodiak Moment" (12:39).
• Unexposed Footage (720p, 4x3): Various takes of single shots and raw on-set footage. Included are moments from "Sex, Lies and Ed's Tapes" (3:49) and "A Kodiak Moment" (3:10).

Season Two, Disc One:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "Goodbye to All That" (9:09), "The Big Kiss" (2:39), "All Is Vanity (5:55), and "What I Did for Love" (2:41).
• Unexposed Footage (720p, 4x3): Various takes of single shots and raw on-set footage. Included are moments from "Goodbye to All That" (2:04), "The Big Kiss" (3:04), "All Is Vanity (7:21), and "What I Did for Love" (2:18).

Season Two, Disc Two:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "Spring Break" (4:57) and "War & Peace" (9:31).
• Unexposed Footage (720p, 4x3): Various takes of single shots and raw on-set footage. Included are moments from "Spring Break" (11:06) and "War & Peace" (4:19).

Season Three, Disc One:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "The Bumpy Road to Love" (6:06), "Only You" (1:18), "Oy, Wilderness" (2:00), "Animals 'R' Us" (1:37), and "Jules Et Joel" (4:53).
• Lost Storylines (720p, 4x3): Lengthier sequences and storylines cut from episodes. Included is "Jules Et Joel" (12:47).

Season Three, Disc One:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "The Bumpy Road to Love" (6:06), "Only You" (1:18), "Oy, Wilderness" (2:00), "Animals 'R' Us" (1:37), and "Jules Et Joel" (4:53).
• Lost Storylines (720p, 4x3): Lengthier sequences and storylines cut from episodes. Included is "Jules Et Joel" (12:47).

Season Three, Disc Two:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "The Body in Question" (3:00), "Roots" (0:36), "A-Hunting We Will Go" (1:20), "Get Real" (1:59), and "Seoul Mates" (3:25).
• Lost Storylines (720p, 4x3): Lengthier sequences and storylines cut from episodes. Included is "Seoul Mates" (2:25).

Season Three, Disc Three:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "Dateline: Cicely" (5:12), "Our Tribe" (1:01), "Things Become Extinct" (4:24), "Burning Down the House" (4:06), and "Democracy in America" (1:40).
• Lost Storylines (720p, 4x3): Lengthier sequences and storylines cut from episodes. Included is "Things Become Extinct" (6:11).

Season Three, Disc Four:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "Three Amigos" (0:54), "Lost and Found" (1:51), "My Mother, My Sister" (5:59), and "Wake-Up Call" (2:43).
• Lost Storylines (720p, 4x3): Lengthier sequences and storylines cut from episodes. Included is "Three Amigos" (5:02).

Season Three, Disc Five:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "The Final Frontier" (1:04), "It Happened in Juneau" (4:25), "Our Wedding" (1:50), and "Cicely" (3:45).
• Unexposed Scenes (720p, 4x3): Rather than grouped by episode, here are a few unexposed scenes collected in their own supplemental category separate from the episode list. Included are Ed's Cutting Room Floor: Unexposed Documentary Footage (4:14), Forgot Your Lines? (4:39), Laughing Matter (3:10), and Those Crazy Cicelians (6:11).

Season Four, Disc Two:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "On Your Own" (2:01), "The Bad Seed" (3:23), "Thanksgiving" (1:10), "Do the Right Thing" (1:10), and "Crime and Punishment" (3:46).

Season Four, Disc Three:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "Survival of the Species" (0:58), "Revelations" (5:31), "Duets" (3:32), "Grosse Pointe, 48230" (1:20), and "Learning Curve" (9:39).

Season Four, Disc Four:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "Ill Wind" (2:22), "Love's Labour Mislaid" (1:56), "Northern Lights" (2:33), "Family Feud" (3:05), and "Homesick" (4:20).

Season Four, Disc Five:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "The Big Feast" (5:07), "Kaddish, For Uncle Manny" (3:17), "Mud and Blood" (2:44), "Sleeping with the Enemy" (4:47), and "Old Tree" (0:58).
• Unexposed Footage (720p, 4x3): Here, a pair of gag reels: Gag Reel #1 (6:58) and Gag Reel #2 (7:01).
• Northern Exposure Promos (720p, 4x3): The cast has some fun pitching the show. Included are Rob Morrow (Joel) and Janine Turner (Maggie) (1:05), Janine Turner (Maggie) and Barry Corbin (Maurice) (0:53), and Janine Turner (Maggie) and Rob Morrow (Joel) (0:51).

Season Five, Disc One:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "Jaws of Life" (1:30) and "Altered Egos" (2:22).

Season Five, Disc Two:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "Birds of a Feather" (3:05), "Heal Thyself" (2:34), and "A Cup of Joe" (7:11).

Season Five, Disc Three:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "Mr. Sandman" (1:22), "A Bolt from the Blue" (5:28), and "Hello, I Love You" (1:50).

Season Five, Disc Four:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "Fish Story" (2:47) and "A Wing and Prayer" (3:42).

Season Five, Disc Five:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "Grand Prix" (1:38), "Blood Ties" (2:01), and "Lovers and Madmen" (3:46).

Season Six, Disc One:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "Eye of the Beholder" (1:46), "The Letter" (3:55), and "The Robe" (2:09).

Season Six, Disc Two:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "Up River" (0:22), "Sons of the Tundra" (2:53), and "Realpolitik" (1:33).

Season Six, Disc Three:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "The Great Mushroom" (1:51), "Horns" (4:44), "The Mommy's Curse" (0:32), and "The Quest" (3:26).

Season Six, Disc Four:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "Lucky People" (2:17), "The Graduate" (2:13), and "Balls" (4:25).

Season Six, Disc Five:

• Deleted Scenes (720p, 4x3): Scenes from "Ursa Minor" (3:56) and "Tranquility Base" (2:58).

Northern Exposure: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Northern Exposure holds up as a quaint little slice of life show with good characterization, a pleasing setting, and good pacing. It's not TV royalty, but it's a fun escape that still stands up today as effectively filling that role for light nostalgic pleasure. Universal's Blu-ray boxed set lacks extras beyond a plethora of deleted scenes. Video and audio are adequate. Recommended.