marbl-1 I was 20 when I watched it for the first time. It struck me with it's depth, sense of humor, mysticism. After 20 years I got DVD edition, and could not stop watching. After 110 episodes I put the first DVD to the player again. After the second turn I did it again. And again. It is unbelievable how Cicely became my hometown, how it's inhabitants became my friends. Never before and never later have I felt such a bond with fictional characters.Of course, I can see very poorly built Maggie/Joel interactions, I can see occasional pretension, some clichés (or rather some things which NOW seem to be cliché, but were original back in 1990), I can see sometimes desperate attempts to tie some loose ends of the screenplay.But all that doesn't matter because of overwhelming climate of peace, friendship, love, pensiveness, with ingenious, extremely surprising ideas from the edge of poetry, humanity, philosophy and simple life. It is the ONLY show ever that really makes you THINK and feel. The only which gives you as deep experiences. The only which makes me laugh and cry (almost).The bad thing is, however, that present viewers can not appreciate it. Why? No firearms. No lasers. No rapes. No murderers. No fights. No blood on the walls. No naked chicks. No intestinal gases. No swearing. No sport cars. Ergo, it is boring.By the way (spoilers): The series were aired 1990-95. In 1994 the "Friends" show launched. If you know both of them well enough you will see that "Friends" are almost "Northern Exposure" remake, but as just simple comedy (with intestinal gases included), of much lower intellectual level. There are hundreds of similarities, not obvious but visible (e.g. one of the friends is ordained and performs marriages (Chris/Joey), Rick/Phoebe's mom after death comes back as a dog/cat, Ruth-Anne cannot learn Italian - Joey cannot learn French, Rick/Ross die by a blimp/satellite, and so on - almost every little detail in Friends is copied from the Northern Exposure if you pay attention).Anyway, if you are able to think and to feel, if you want to experience something really peaceful and deep - it is a "must see".

tapio_hietamaki There are TV shows like 'Lost' or 'Breaking Bad' that have a relentlessly advancing plot that forces you to keep watching. Every episode something important happens, some crucial piece of information is revealed, some shocking twist pulls the rug from under your feet, and each episode you're glued to your seat.Then there's shows like 'Northern Exposure' where nothing ever really happens and you still love it with all your heart.It's difficult to explain exactly why, but I think the feeling is familiar to everybody. It's how you grow to like the characters - even if you don't actually like them you feel like you know them and you just want to see them again and again. It's not even that you want to know what happens to them - of course you do want to know, but you also know that life in a small town in Canada never really changes. It's more that you simply want to spend time with these characters. They become your friends.'Northern Exposure' is a world of its own, a setting and a cast of characters that draws you in and before you know what happened you're part of the town and never want to leave.There's the Jewish bigshot doctor who got cheated and has to stay even though he doesn't really want to. There's the headstrong amateur pilot. There's the old and dumb innkeeper who somehow managed to marry the hottest girl in town. There's the tortured teenager filmmaker. There's the laid-back philosopher radio DJ. There's even the shunned legendary Creature of the Woods who may or may not be Bigfoot.

jongab33 This series began in a time of transition for television and the movie industry. It's writing and flavor reflected a nation of viewer's that we're changing and whose expectations we're changing. It often used current events to prompt an exaggerated storyline that not only gave the show its flavor, but also some it's characters.The folksy, small-town delivery of the often dry humor by the actors, gave the show one of its most unique traits. One that would be copied and used by other series in the 1990's.It should have been written as a 5 year series. As a nation began to crawl out of it's urban shell and expand its viewing and entertainment pleasure, this series reflected it to the proverbial 'T'. Always going to the extreme with it's delivery to make a point. As the series progressed, it would add cast and lose cast in transition with its needs. Although it ended in a bit of a rush, it left us with a warm, gentle good-bye and memories of bizarre events and how to keep our humor.

dwissba I wish Rob Morrow would have stayed on this show as Dr. Joel Fleischman cause it could have gone another 3 maybe 4 seasons. Maybe he got a little greedy and wanted more money. In any case this was the best TV show in years with some of the most memorable characters and moments. The writing was top notch and smart. Alaska was the best location they could have used for a man so used to the big city of New York and stocking it with quirky personalities like an astronaut, an old store clerk, a want-a-be film maker, an old bar owner and his young wife, a married gay couple and lets not forget Chris the DJ. They all just meshed together so well with Joel being the outsider in a sense trying to adjust to a small Alaska town where nothing happens.I can't understand why we don't see more of these types of shows on TV anymore. It seems like every Fall TV season the new programs are either about cops or lawyers. There is no original programs anymore and I am getting sick of cop shows. Northern Exposure was a true original and classic and we need more like it...