Northern Exposure: Season 6

With some of the original air dates in debate:1.) Dinner at Seven-ThirtyOriginal Air Date: September 19, 1994Joel drinks orange juice from Ed's refrigerator, but it is actually a healing potion for body aches.2.) Eye of the BeholderOriginal Air Date: September 26, 1994Ed busts an insurance scam; Maggie donates a family heirloom for a charity auction; Maurice donates a case of "turned" red wine.3.) Shofar, So GoodOriginal Air Date: October 3, 1994Rabbi Schulman plays the ghostlike character in "A Christmas Carol"; Maurice holds the annual fox hunt.4.) The LetterOriginal Air Date: October 10, 1994Maggie discovers a letter she wrote to herself when she was a teen; Shelly learns the fallacy of chain letters; and Chris meets the new town barber.5.) The RobeOriginal Air Date: October 17, 1994Shelly meets the devil; Ed works with Joel to prove himself to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; and Chris becomes a ventriloquist.6.) ZaryaOriginal Air Date: October 31, 1994Marilyn tells a story about Russian treaty negotiations.7.) Full Upright PositionOriginal Air Date: November 1, 1994Joel and Maggie board a plane bound to Russia; Maurice brings his young cousin into his business; Chris gets inside electricity.8.) Up RiverOriginal Air Date: November 14, 1994Joel goes to Manonash; Chris remodels his trailer; Ruth-Anne surrenders to love.9.) Sons of the TundraOriginal Air Date: November 28, 1994New doctor, Phillip Capra and his wife, Michelle, come to Cicely. Holling wants to join Sons of the Tundra; Ed sees the future.10.) RealpolitikOriginal Air Date: December 12, 1994Maggie is elected Mayor; Dr. Capra plays a round of golf with Joel; Marilyn buys a dog.11. The Great MushroomOriginal Air Date: January 4, 1995Maggie goes to Manonash; the Capras entertain house guests; and Ed discovers a cure for shingles.12.) Mi Casa, Su CasaOriginal Air Date: January 11, 1995While house-sitting, Ed throws an outlandish bash on Maurice's dime; Marilyn goes to Manonash. Shelly and Holling look for their first house.13.) HornsOriginal Air Date: January 18, 1995Joel is free from his "imprisonment"; Maurice produces Cicely Water, which affects the town's people in strange ways.14. The Mommy's CurseOriginal Air Date: February 1, 1995Maggie's mother brings her boyfriend to town; Walt works for Ruth-Anne at the store; Holling and Dr. Capra hang out together.15.) The QuestOriginal Air Date: February 8, 1995Joel and Maggie search for the Jeweled City of the North; Chris sues Dr. Capra; and Michelle Capra writes a review of the Brick.16.) Lucky PeopleOriginal Air Date: February 15, 1995Dr. Capra has a shocking realization; Cicely celebrates Founders Day; and Maurice buys gifts for Holling's daughter.17.) The GraduateOriginal Air Date: March 8, 1995Chris earns his Master's degree; Maggie purchases the local movie house; a young man claims to be Holling's son.18.) Little ItalyOriginal Air Date: March 15, 1995Dr. Capra discovers "Little Italy"; Ruth-Anne is on NPR's "All Things Considered."19.) BallsOriginal Air Date: March 22 1995Cicely has a bowling team; Ed quits working for Maurice. Lester Haines makes Ed an offer.20.) Buss StopOriginal Air Date: April 12, 1995Michelle Capra directs the play "Bus Stop."21.) Ursa MinorOriginal Air Date: May 3, 1995Ed adopts a bear cub; Maggie walks in on Chris using lucid dreaming; Maurice is upset about Cicely's population decline.22.) Let's DanceOriginal Air Date: May 10, 1995Officer Semanski has feelings for Cal Ingraham; Dr. Capra insults Mrs. Whirlwind.23.) Tranquility BaseOriginal Air Date: May 17, 1995Finale: The cast of characters go to Maurice's Tranquility Base. Michelle gets lost in the woods; Maurice asks Barbara to marry him; Iris Dement's song, "Our Town" is the vocal backdrop for a wonderful montage.

For me Northern Exposure is essentially an encapsulation of the most broad-minded world view possible. I'm a sucker for the program because the writers share virtually every belief that I do. (The writers reserve the right to say they don't share my beliefs, as my public persona is very far out, and it wold not be fair to say they agree with me, although I say I agree with them.) In any case, it's hard to watch this, after buying multiple seasons of Northern Exposure, since it is all permeated with the end of this whole mini-world I've lived in in my mind for a decade. However, the endings of things are real, and for us to really know something, we need to know both its beginning and end. I would say that the show handled its own inevitable decline brilliantly. Janine Turner noted that she "knew it was all over when Rob Morrow said he'd be moving on to another series." But really, if one looks at the whole cast of characters, one can see that after five years the whole set of concepts had played themselves out excellently. I would not say the show was "over with," but rather that it was "eventually completed," or "reached completion." Now, the Tao says that the end of a matter is as important as its beginning. It's easy enough to start dating someone, but to end a relationship in a loving, civil way and to remain friends afterwards, not so easy. So, these folks took a season to really wrap things up the right way. And, by the way, the doctor and wife that had to finish out the season after Morrow left did a heroic job of trying to fill such gigantic shoes. And, knowing as they probably did, that the odds for the show continuing were dim, gave everything they had to that show anyway, which was just marvelous. Of course one can see that the writers were from time to time experimenting with new concepts and relationships and characters to see if some fresh way of transforming the whole series might give it a big second wind, and indeed, at times, one almost feels that they've pulled it off. But toward the end, the viewer begins to feel it's also time to end, and that's all good. In any case, the episodes are well written, and the transitional episodes, where Joel moves upstream to the village, are actually amazing. Ironically, were the whole show to change drastically enough to breathe new life into it, it might have very well been started by centering around the amazing second life upstream that Joel had created, but, of course, since he was the very character that was leaving, that wasn't an option. In any case, anyone who loves the series should go ahead and take this last journey with Northern Exposure, even though, emotionally, it's a hard one.

Eigentlich war Doc Fleischmann nicht meine Lieblingsfigur im Gegenstatz zu den anderen Personen in der Serie - aber in dieser Staffel wird so getan - als wäre sein Abgang nichts Besonderes und als würde ihn niemand vermissen- sicher eine Folge behandelt den Verlust - aber generell hat man das Gefühl als wenn es ihn nie gegeben hätte zum Schluss - ich finde das ist nicht so toll - toll finde ich dass Maggi endlich jemanden findet der zu ihr passt.

I really loved this series with its quirky humour and wacky characters and enjoyed watching it all again 25 years later. I did remember that the last couple seasons weren't quite as good as the earlier ones, in particular this last installment in the series, and I must admit that even through the rose tinted glasses of nostalgia season 6 doesn't become any better. Once doctor Joel leaves Cicely and is replaced by the yuppie California medic, the town just isn't quite the same. The writers/producers did their best to let everybody wind up in a good place, but the storyline is rather contrived and not all the relationships ring true.The Season 6 box set is lovely (as a product this is absolutely up to standard), and it was nice to see it all again right to the end, but several episodes dragged on even more than I remembered from when this was first broadcast. Don't expect too much, watch it again as a blast from the past, then return to your favourite episodes from earlier in the series.

Mit den finalen 23 Episoden nimmt NORTHERN EXPOSURE endgültig Abschied.Dr. Joel Fleischman kehrt mit einer Zwischenstation in dem Indianerdorf Manonash in die "juwelenenbesetzte Stadt des Nordens" (New York) zurück.Chris wird von (s)einer Bauchrednerpuppe Isaac manipuliert, Maurice' Mineralwasser sorgt für verwirrende Verhaltensmuster und Maggie stellt sich zur Bürgermeister(innen)wahl. Der niederträchtigeLester Haynes spielt mit Eds Gefühlen und Chris erteilt zwei Literaturprofessoren eine Lektion.Und dann übernimmt ja noch der neue Doktor Phil Capra Joels Praxis und versucht sich mit seiner Frau Michelle in Cicely einzuleben...GENIALE LETZTE STAFFEL DIESER SUPER-SERIE!Die UK-Fassung dieser Box hat den Vorteil (gegenüber der US-Version), dass sie mit europäischer DVD-Codierung und in PAL kommt. Somit dürfte es keine Probleme mit deutschen DVD-Playern oder TV-Geräten geben.Bitter und unendlich traurig ist nur, dass diese HERAUSRAGENDE Serie (nach Staffel #1) noch immer nicht deutschsynchronisiert fortgesetzt wurde!!!Es gibt allerdings eine Online-Petition im Netz, die die Veröffentlichung ALLER sechs Staffel von AUSGERECHNET ALASKA in Deutschland fordert...

Anyone who doesn't love Northern Exposure definitely has defective humour genes.This DVD completed my collection and I finally got to see the end of the series, which I missed first time around. As with the previous series, it is seriously off the wall and you just have to suspend the disbelief and go with the stranger elements of the plot (like the manner of Joel's return to New York). Rob Morrow's departure from the series left an unfillable gap and the episodes after he left are nowhere near as strong but it is still worth seeing.I have now rewatched all the series and coming to the end felt like saying goodbye to old friends.

I suppose everything has to come to an end, but it's truly sad to see the last of what must surely be one of the very best TV series there has ever been. Throughout the six seasons of this series there's not a bad episode, whilst some make you realise how great television can be. It's a few years old now, and most people looking to buy the DVD's are probably those who saw it first time around in the early 90's. That said, for anyone stumbling accidentally upon this review, or upon Northern Exposure generally, do yourself a favour, and get all 6 seasons.