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Summer replacements rarely achieve landmark status in TV, as networks typically use the off-season to burn off shows they had second thoughts about after ordering them. When Northern Exposure debuted on CBS in July 1990, it was easy to see why CBS suits had been reluctant to go to air with it: Compared to the conventional fare that defined A. C. Nielsen’s Top 20 prime-time network shows for the 1989-90 season, this offbeat hour-long ensemble program seemed much too weird to succeed. Perhaps audiences were primed for the peculiar -- Twin Peaks began its brief and sensational run three months earlier -- but the show’s instant success more likely reflected the fact that Northern Exposure is just flat-out refreshing and fun. This Season 1 set collects the eight episodes CBS aired that summer, and there’s not a weak outing in the bunch. The story opens with Dr. Joel Fleischman’s arrival in Cicely, a tiny Alaskan town in which the recent Columbia Medical School graduate will have to serve for several years. Alaska picked up his med school bills; and while the Manhattan native thought he’d repay the debt working in Anchorage, his benefactors in the Forget-Me-Not State had other ideas. As the fish-out-of-water at the show’s center, Rob Morrow is the quintessential smart, spoiled, New York brat that America loves to hate; but it’s the supporting ensemble that lifts Northern Exposure to the level of TV classic. The cast includes: Barry Corbin as Maurice J. Minnifield, a retired astronaut with legacy issues who’s bent on turning Cicely into a prime destination for sportsmen; Janine Turner as Maggie O’Connell, an air taxi pilot and Dr. Joel’s landlord; John Collum and Cynthia Geary as watering-hole owner Holling and his teen fiancée, Shelly; and Peg Phillips as general store proprietor Ruth-Anne. Breakout newcomers in the cast include future Sex and the City regular John Corbett as Chris, the laid-back local DJ, and Darren E. Burrows as Ed, a wide-eyed young man who does odd jobs for Maurice and dreams of becoming a filmmaker. Last and certainly not least is first-time actress Elaine Miles as Marilyn Whirlwind, the Eskimo assistant in Dr. Joel’s office, whose deadpan delivery and native wisdom won her many fans. Conceived by St. Elsewhere producers Joshua Brand and John Falsey, Northern Exposure proved that quirky can work on network TV, paving the way for future oddball faves, from Ed to Ally McBeal. It’s truly a pleasure to go back to Cicely, after all these years.

Product Details

• UPC: 025192442629
• Source: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1)
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Français, Español
• Time: 6:24:00

This set contains DVDs which may be available separately:

• Northern Exposure: Pilot
• Northern Exposure: Brains, Know How and Native Intelligence
• Northern Exposure: Soapy Sanderson
• Northern Exposure: Dreams, Schemes and Putting Greens
• Northern Exposure: Russian Flu
• Northern Exposure: Sex, Lies and Ed's Tapes
• Northern Exposure: A Kodiak Moment
• Northern Exposure: Aurora Borealis - A Fairytale for Big People

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