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The Best Episodes of Northern Exposure Season 5

Every episode of Northern Exposure Season 5 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Northern Exposure Season 5!

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After receiving a scholarship from the state, a recent Columbia University medical school graduate is required to set up his practice in an eccentric Alaskan town.

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  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 1 - Three Doctors
    8.0/10(253 votes)

    #1 - Three Doctors

    S5:E1

    Ed wakes up in strange places with no clues about how he got there. Joel contracts "glacier dropsy" which gives him the feeling of pins pricking his nose, a fear of shrimp, a tender groin and other strange symptoms. Shelly loses her singing voice just when she needs it. Leonard treats Joel's patients and Ed's "sleep flying" which maybe and indication of a greater purpose.

    Director:Unknown
    Writers:Andrew Schneider, Diane Frolov

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  2. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 2 - The Mystery of the Old Curio Shop
    7.6/10(245 votes)

    #2 - The Mystery of the Old Curio Shop

    S5:E2

    Maggie investigates the owners of an antique shop who are exhibiting strange behavior. Maurice begins to see the signs of age when he is called a senior citizen, meets old friends who've seen better days, and has a mild heart attack. Joel discovers that a Yiddish word is in the local Indian language and that a Jewish man may have had an influence in Alaska two hundred years before.

    Director:Michael Fresco
    Writer:Rogers Turrentine

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  3. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 3 - Jaws of Life
    7.5/10(238 votes)

    #3 - Jaws of Life

    S5:E3

    Maurice is chosen to be a wax figure at Madame Tussaud's, in London, for their rugged individualist's exhibit. Chris is faced with having to live longer than he planned on, a consequence he has trouble dealing with. The dentist comes to town, which puts everyone on edge.

    Director:Jim Charleston
    Writers:Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess

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  4. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 4 - Altered Egos
    7.4/10(229 votes)

    #4 - Altered Egos

    S5:E4

    Bernard is surprised when he discovers his new love once lived with Chris for 6 months. Joel starts to fear that he is losing his New York edge. Marilyn screens her potential dates via their medical records.

    Director:John David Coles
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 5 - A River Doesn't Run Through It
    7.2/10(245 votes)

    #5 - A River Doesn't Run Through It

    S5:E5

    Maggie is asked by the three guys in Cicely's high school senior class to be their homecoming queen and she accepts. Ruth-Anne faces an IRS auditor who besides trying to figure out her practice of accepting goods and services for payment is undergoing stress from her own marital problems. Maurice tries to outsmart a wealthy American Indian in a land deal. Joel is stuck out in the wilderness without his tape recorder.

    Director:Nick Marck
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 6 - Birds of a Feather
    7.8/10(249 votes)

    #6 - Birds of a Feather

    S5:E6

    Joel's parents come to Cicely and his father's know-it-all attitude gets on Joel's nerves and his mother gets back to nature. Holling's dislike of sports causes Shelly to ponder their baby's athletic future and his stature among the men of Cicely.

    Director:Unknown
    Writers:Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess

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  7. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 7 - Rosebud
    7.8/10(250 votes)

    #7 - Rosebud

    S5:E7

    Ed hits an impasse in his film career when Maurice has him begin to organize Cicely's first film festival and he can't seem to get things going to Maurice's satisfaction. Joel makes excuses for why he can't join the volunteer fire department and goes on the offensive when his truck bursts into flames and the volunteers are nowhere to be found. Leonard becomes frustrated as he researches the healing properties found in white folklore.

    Director:Michael Fresco
    Writer:Barbara Hall

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  8. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 8 - Heal Thyself
    8.0/10(252 votes)

    #8 - Heal Thyself

    S5:E8

    Ed accompanies Leonard on a house call and has success with his first try at being a shaman. Joel teaches a childbirth class which Holling finds amusing and makes Shelly embarrassed and causes another couple to break up. Maggie buys a new washer/dryer combination but regrets it later when she loses the camaraderie of the Laundromat. Ed is visited by a small green man whose purpose is to make him begin to doubt his healing abilities.

    Director:Michael Katleman
    Writers:Andrew Schneider, Diane Frolov

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  9. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 9 - A Cup of Joe
    7.6/10(223 votes)

    #9 - A Cup of Joe

    S5:E9

    Chris suffers an anxiety attack during the written part of the exam, when he decides to become a pilot. Holling and Ruth-Anne's friendship undergoes a strain when a diary that Ed has found shows that his grandfather ate hers during the blizzard of 1897. Joel is in search the thief of forty dollars in petty cash.

    Director:Michael Lange
    Writers:Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess

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  10. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 10 - First Snow
    8.4/10(273 votes)

    #10 - First Snow

    S5:E10

    As the town prepares for winter, a healthy elderly patient tells Joel she is dying, much to his disbelief. Maggie decides to redecorate her house before winter sets in and gets a new chair that no one seems to like. Holling must figure out how many plots to dig at the cemetery before the ground freezes. Shelly lies to Maurice about never saying she loved him and she thinks her nose has begun to grow because of it.

    Director:Unknown
    Writers:Andrew Schneider, Diane Frolov

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  11. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 11 - Baby Blues
    7.4/10(247 votes)

    #11 - Baby Blues

    S5:E11

    An agent stops by to see Ed about his idea for "The Shaman" but he wants a few "little" changes made to better sell the script. Chris seeks to discover his feminine side. Joel and Maggie "discuss" motherhood. Shelly flees her baby shower as all the pressures of motherhood begin to show themselves to her, when Eve and others tell their child birthing experiences.

    Director:Jim Charleston
    Writer:Barbara Hall

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  12. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 12 - Mr. Sandman
    8.3/10(263 votes)

    #12 - Mr. Sandman

    S5:E12

    The aurora borealis causes the residents of Cicely to swap their dreams, exposing secrets. Maggie has Holling's dream about being a cab driver in Quebec, driving his overbearing father around. Ron has Maurice's dream about blue pumps. Joel sleepwalks in search of candy, having a child's dream. Holling has Dave's dream about kayaking with a spatula. Walt has someone's dream (Joel's?) about climbing a never ending tower.

    Directors:Michael Fresco, David Chase
    Writers:Andrew Schneider, Diane Frolov

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  13. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 13 - Mite Makes Right
    8.0/10(243 votes)

    #13 - Mite Makes Right

    S5:E13

    A musician tries to stop Maurice from storing, in his safe, a 1.6 million-dollar violin he's just bought as an investment. Maggie becomes obsessed with ridding her house of dust mites after she develops an allergy to them. Chris struggles to find inspiration for his latest sculpture. Joel and Maggie have their first date, which ends early because of talk about things microscopic.

    Director:Unknown
    Writers:Andrew Schneider, Diane Frolov

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  14. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 14 - A Bolt From the Blue
    7.6/10(234 votes)

    #14 - A Bolt From the Blue

    S5:E14

    The ranger from up in the fire tower asks for Joel when he is distraught over losing his current job. Joel talks him down, but after 15 years of being alone he needs time to adjust. Adam ruins Maurice's plans for a President's Day fireworks show because the guys running the display are there to "get him." While out on a fishing trip with Chris, Ed is struck by lightning and becomes depressed while thinking about why.

    Director:Michael Lange
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 15 - Hello, I Love You
    8.1/10(272 votes)

    #15 - Hello, I Love You

    S5:E15

    Ruth-Anne and Walt take the long way back home when they pick up a couple of oak display cases; however they run into vehicle trouble. Before giving birth, Shelly goes on a spiritual journey at the Laundromat and meets up with "The Pooper" at different stages of her life. Joel and Maggie get frustrated as they try too hard at making a go of their relationship.

    Director:Michael Fresco
    Writers:Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess

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  16. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 16 - Northern Hospitality
    7.5/10(237 votes)

    #16 - Northern Hospitality

    S5:E16

    Joel discovers that his friends consider him remiss about entertaining them, so he plans a dinner party; later he worries about potential food poisoning. Holling tells Shelly that he is not a Canadian citizen, which makes her worry about not having national health care for "The Pooper." Chris "comes to realize the power of this thing (microphone)," when a listener kills himself after hearing one of his selections, so he revises the play list. Shelly takes "The Pooper" back to Canada and Holling goes after them.

    Director:Oz Scott
    Writer:Barbara Hall

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  17. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 17 - Una Volta in L'Inverno
    8.0/10(246 votes)

    #17 - Una Volta in L'Inverno

    S5:E17

    Ruth-Anne tries learning Italian, so she can read Dante, and gets some help from Shelly. Walt needs sunlight to overcome his depression, so he gets his light glasses and becomes addicted, so Chris & Holling perform an intervention. Caribou block Main Street, so the mayor takes action. While waiting out a storm in the airport cabin with Maggie, everything is going Joel's way, until Ed shows up.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 18 - Fish Story
    7.6/10(245 votes)

    #18 - Fish Story

    S5:E18

    While fishing Joel hooks "Goony," Cicely's fabled sea-monster. Ruth-Anne takes Chris's motorcycle ride when customer demands get to be too much for her, then she joins a middle-aged motorcycle gang for a midnight ride. Holling gives up on his paint-by-numbers after Maurice ridicules his work. Joel meets his Rabbi in the middle of the lake after "Goony" takes him for a ride. The town, especially Maurice, demand action when it appears Ruth-Anne may not be coming back.

    Director:Bill D'Elia
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 19 - The Gift of the Maggie
    7.7/10(237 votes)

    #19 - The Gift of the Maggie

    S5:E19

    Maurice's home catches fire and after it's extinguished there is a danger of asbestos, so he takes some space at Holling and Shelly's place. Later when Holling won't accept any remuneration he becomes outraged. Chris chooses not to shoot a buck when he has an easy shot; he later seeks out the deer again when he receives a bottle of Buckhorn whiskey for his trouble. Joel makes a medical discovery but has no other physicians to share his good news with, so Maggie brings another doctor to town that he can talk shop with.

    Director:Unknown
    Writers:Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess

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  20. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 20 - A Wing and a Prayer
    7.6/10(226 votes)

    #20 - A Wing and a Prayer

    S5:E20

    Ed tells one person about the fact that he saw Ruth-Anne and Walt together and later she tells him about the relationship but doesn't want it to get around so he'd better keep quiet, but it slips out. Maggie hires Maurice to help her with the construction of an ultra-light, but fires him when his meticulous details take the project over. Shelly worries about Holling's relationship with the priest that's come to town to baptize Randi.

    Director:Lorraine Senna
    Writers:Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess

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  21. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 21 - I Feel the Earth Move
    7.6/10(227 votes)

    #21 - I Feel the Earth Move

    S5:E21

    Ron and Erick are getting married but the preparations are driving them apart. Holling undercuts another caterer for the wedding reception, but when he realizes the cost of the ingredients, for the dishes they want, he tries a few substitutions. Maggie thinks that Joel's kindness is making her ill. Maurice tries to duck out of the wedding. Marilyn is taking a writing class and keeping a journal, which Joel worries about the content regarding him.

    Director:Michael Fresco
    Writer:Jed Seidel

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  22. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 22 - Grand Prix
    6.5/10(235 votes)

    #22 - Grand Prix

    S5:E22

    Ted tries to impress Marilyn with the rich client he's just landed and learns what makes them different. Maurice organizes Cicely's 1st International wheelchair race and demands too much from the contestant he is sponsoring. Ed prescribes a remedy for a racer with tennis elbow, but the little green man returns to try to undermine his confidence in his healing abilities.

    Director:Michael Lange
    Writer:Barbara Hall

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  23. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 23 - Blood Ties
    7.6/10(214 votes)

    #23 - Blood Ties

    S5:E23

    Though he promotes it on the air, Chris has reservations about making a donation for Maurice's blood drive. Ed discovers his rare blood type is shared by another person in town, so he hires a P.I., Renaldo Pinetree, to dig into her past and find out if she is her mother. Maggie's old "tiller mate" from Grosse Pointe comes to Cicely after her affections and he offers Joel the incentive to leave Cicely for good. Joel loses his touch for drawing blood as Cicely nears the amount Maurice needs to win his bet with a neighboring town.

    Director:Unknown
    Writers:Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess

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  24. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 24 - Lovers and Madmen
    7.8/10(219 votes)

    #24 - Lovers and Madmen

    S5:E24

    Joel is the only one awestruck by his discovery of a frozen woolly mammoth. Chris gets reacquainted with a girl whose beauty he remembers from high school; however, when she arrives, all is not as he recalled and she appears to be getting uglier. Maurice has a birthday dinner surprise for Barbara complete with the violin playing of the man who blew up his truck. The next morning he escapes. Joel concedes that he's become a Cicelian.

    Director:James Hayman
    Writer:Unknown

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Season 5 Ratings Summary

"Three Doctors" is the best rated episode of "Northern Exposure" season 5. It scored 8/10 based on 253 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Andrew Schneider, Diane Frolov, it aired on 9/20/1993. This episode is rated 0.4 points higher than the second-best, "The Mystery of the Old Curio Shop".