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The Worst Episodes of Northern Exposure

Every episode of Northern Exposure ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Northern Exposure!

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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 Worst Episode
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    Northern Exposure Season 1 Episode 2 - Brains, Know How and Native Intelligence
    5.2/10(9 votes)

    #1 - Brains, Know How and Native Intelligence

    S1:E2

    Ed asks Dr. Fleischman to help him convince his uncle, a traditional tribal medicine man, to seek medical treatment for a health problem. A self-reliant Maggie chides Joel about being helpless around the house. Chris angers Maurice when he reads some poetry by Walt Whitman and uncovers some facts about the poet's life that Maurice would prefer not knowing.

    Director:Peter O'Fallon
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Northern Exposure Season 2 Episode 6 - War and Peace
    5.7/10(6 votes)

    #2 - War and Peace

    S2:E6

    A Soviet celebrity returns to Cicely for some relaxation, some borscht and a deadly serious chess match with rival Maurice. Holling suffers a bout of torturous dreams and Chris helps Ed win the heart of a farm girl with his erotic imagery of a motorcycle.

    Director:Bill D'Elia
    Writers:Robin Green, Henry Bromell

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  3. Northern Exposure Season 2 Episode 7 - Slow Dance
    5.7/10(6 votes)

    #3 - Slow Dance

    S2:E7

    The infamous O'Connell curse seems to have claimed another victim when a falling satellite hits Rick. Maurice has mixed feelings about selling some property for an outrageously high price to a couple he disapproves of, and Shelly becomes confused when Holling is really enjoying his reunion with an old lady friend from his distant past.

    Director:David Carson
    Writers:Andrew Schneider, Diane Frolov

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  4. Northern Exposure Season 2 Episode 5 - Spring Break
    6.1/10(7 votes)

    #4 - Spring Break

    S2:E5

    Things get a little crazy as the town waits for the annual ice breakup and the annual ""running of the bulls"" down the streets of Cicely. Joel and Maggie find themselves irresistibly drawn together, Maurice is attracted to a dominating state trooper sent to uncover the villain behind the annual rash of petty thefts and Holling challenges all the customers to a fight.

    Director:Rob Thompson
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Northern Exposure Season 2 Episode 4 - What I Did For Love
    6.3/10(8 votes)

    #5 - What I Did For Love

    S2:E4

    Joel's plans for a vacation to New York are sidetracked by Maggie's dreams about his death in an airplane crash and his suspicions about the enthusiastic doctor sent to temporarily replace him. Maurice's annual visit from an astronaut "groupie" is interrupted by his sleeping problems.

    Director:Steven Robman
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Northern Exposure Season 4 Episode 5 - Blowing Bubbles
    6.5/10(4 votes)

    #6 - Blowing Bubbles

    S4:E5

    Cicely's newest resident, Mike Monroe, is confined to live in a plastic bubble because of M.C.S. (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity), which makes him allergic to nearly everything manufactured in the twentieth century. After Maggie meets Mike she becomes interested in him. Ruth-Anne's son Matthew, the investment banker, comes to Cicely to try to get away from it all when he is fired from his job. Maurice's prospectus on making Cicely a place for sick people to move to and recover from their illnesses draws Matthew back into thinking about money.

    Director:Rob Thompson
    Writer:Mark B. Perry

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    The 20 BEST Episodes of Northern Exposure

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  7. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 22 - Grand Prix
    6.5/10(2 votes)

    #7 - 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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  8. Northern Exposure Season 1 Episode 6 - Sex, Lies and Ed's Tapes
    6.8/10(6 votes)

    #8 - Sex, Lies and Ed's Tapes

    S1:E6

    A young man from Saskatchewan further rocks the already delicate relationship between Shelly and Holling. Ed suffers from writer's block and a lack of focus as he tries to begin work on his blockbuster movie. Maggie and Rick tiptoe around ""Maggie's curse"" when he shows symptoms of a serious medical problem.

    Director:Sandy Smolan
    Writers:Joshua Brand, John Falsey

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  9. Northern Exposure Season 4 Episode 6 - On Your Own
    6.8/10(4 votes)

    #9 - On Your Own

    S4:E6

    The ever-quiet Bob returns to Cicely, with "The New Perception Players" and still hopes to win Marilyn's affection. Maurice receives a package from his son and it reminds him that he needs to adjust his will to cover his Korean offspring. Maggie tries to develop her relationship with Mike, by helping him with the revisions to Maurice's will. Ed is suffering from a creativity block and finds a ring with the initials F.F. engraved on the inside, and then he begins to have Fellini-like visions.

    Director:Joan Tewkesbury
    Writer:Christian Williams

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  10. Northern Exposure Season 1 Episode 3 - Soapy Sanderson
    7.0/10(7 votes)

    #10 - Soapy Sanderson

    S1:E3

    A hermit takes Joel's advice to put his affairs in order and leaves all his considerable land holdings to be jointly administered by Maggie and the good doctor, who has definite ideas about how to dispose of the windfall.

    Director:Stephen Cragg
    Writers:Karen Hall, Jerry Stahl

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  11. Northern Exposure Season 1 Episode 4 - Dreams, Schemes and Putting Greens
    7.0/10(6 votes)

    #11 - Dreams, Schemes and Putting Greens

    S1:E4

    Joel's mind is on helping Maurice sell Alaska as the "new Riviera" to two Japanese businessmen in hopes of becoming the "attending physician"--and playing golf--at their proposed resort. Meanwhile, Holling has proposed to Shelly when he learns that she is carrying his child, when the wedding day arrives, he is somewhat reluctant to go through with ceremony.

    Director:Dan Lerner
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Northern Exposure Season 3 Episode 9 - Get Real
    7.0/10(5 votes)

    #12 - Get Real

    S3:E9

    A stranded bus of carnival performers brings romance to Marilyn, doubts about her future to Maggie, the mysteries of magic to Chris, and a break to the studious Joel; Shelly however, is pained when Holling becomes fixated on her large feet.

    Director:Michael Katleman
    Writers:Andrew Schneider, Diane Frolov

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  13. Northern Exposure Season 4 Episode 7 - The Bad Seed
    7.0/10(4 votes)

    #13 - The Bad Seed

    S4:E7

    Holling's less than honest daughter arrives in Cicely and begins to operate. Holling and Shelly have a disagreement about his "sterility" and starts hanging out with his daughter. Marilyn decides it may be time to move out when she decides her mother has made one too many changes she doesn't like and asks Maggie to find her dream house. Ed goes to meet "Princess," a crane that returns every year, though after taking with Chris he begins to think it isn't such a good idea.

    Director:Randall Miller
    Writer:Mitchell Burgess

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  14. Northern Exposure Season 4 Episode 11 - Survival of the Species
    7.0/10(3 votes)

    #14 - Survival of the Species

    S4:E11

    Ed becomes gloomy about the future and begins to share Mike's visions about the future. Maggie digs up some artifacts from an ancient female in her front yard and Maurice wants to turn it into a major excavation. A young boy who runs away from a survival camp gets a job at "The Brick" to cover his room and board; he also falls madly in love with Shelly. Maggie and the rest of the women band together against the men who have dominated the dig in her front yard.

    Director:Dean Parisot
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Northern Exposure Season 4 Episode 12 - Revelations
    7.0/10(3 votes)

    #15 - Revelations

    S4:E12

    Ruth-Anne pays off her store which gives her great satisfaction and Maurice's great pain; however, Ed feels the most pain when these two old friends begin to fight after she begins to change the store and he finds himself caught in the middle. Chris goes to religious retreat to become a monk for a couple weeks. He thinks he has a problem when really feels an attraction for one of the other monks. Joel is going stir crazy when no one in town has sick for two weeks.

    Director:Unknown
    Writers:Andrew Schneider, Diane Frolov

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  16. Northern Exposure Season 4 Episode 13 - Duets
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #16 - Duets

    S4:E13

    One-Who-Waits returns and has positive information on the location of Ed's father and takes Ed to the construction site where he works. Ed gets a job and tries to come up with a way to tell the foreman that he is his father. Mike asks Maggie to fly to a mountain range where he thinks he will be able to identify the chemicals that were part of a container spill. A blind man comes into "The Brick" and offers to tune and rebuild the piano but begins to get on Holling's nerves. Maggie tries to hold off Mike's advances by telling him about her "curse."

    Director:Win Phelps
    Writer:Geoffrey Neigher

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  17. Northern Exposure Season 4 Episode 15 - Learning Curve
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #17 - Learning Curve

    S4:E15

    Holling decides to go back to school to get his high school equivalency certificate. Marilyn goes on an adventure in Seattle and Joel is worried for her safety so he tries to over plan her trip for her, plans she just ignores. A worried Joel, ventures down to Seattle to locate her. Maggie is at odds with the teacher over her philosophy about female combat pilots and sisterhood.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Jeff Vlaming

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  18. Northern Exposure Season 4 Episode 17 - Love's Labour Mislaid
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #18 - Love's Labour Mislaid

    S4:E17

    Maggie forgets about having sex with Joel. Holling and Ruth-Anne go out to find a Siberian Tit, a bird rarely seen in Alaska. Ed's uncle arranges a marriage for Ed; however the bride already has a boyfriend.

    Director:Joe Napolitano
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Northern Exposure Season 4 Episode 20 - Homesick
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #19 - Homesick

    S4:E20

    Maggie is excited when she thinks she has "cured" her latest beau, as opposed to killing him; however she is crushed when he tells her that he leaving to work for Greenpeace in Murmansk. Holling is disgusted by Shelly's redecorating of their bed & bathroom. Maurice moves his childhood home to Cicely and it stirs up memories of his brother.

    Director:Nick Marck
    Writer:Jeff Vlaming

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  20. Northern Exposure Season 4 Episode 23 - Mud and Blood
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #20 - Mud and Blood

    S4:E23

    Spring comes to Cicely and Holling pays to get a job on a farm pulling a plow, because of his wish to sow seeds. Maggie saves Dave's life, a tape from Mike and other events get the people of Cicely thinking that she has healing powers. Maurice buys a pig for routing out truffles for the annual Mosquito Festival, but the pig may become the main course at a luau. Holling throws his back out and Shelly finds out that she is pregnant.

    Director:Jim Charleston
    Writers:Andrew Schneider, Diane Frolov

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  21. Northern Exposure Season 4 Episode 24 - Sleeping With the Enemy
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #21 - Sleeping With the Enemy

    S4:E24

    Maurice's son comes to ask for his permission on his choice of a bride. There is a little hitch, Ron thinks that the new bride maybe the daughter of North Korean Colonel Pak Soon Ye, the butcher of Yang Dok. To help in the preservation of his native tongue, Ed decides to dub The Prisoner of Zenda. Holling's "needs" (an average of 4 times a day) are being held back and he seeks a way to relieve them. Ed runs into trouble with the star of his movie, a man with experience working in Hollywood and no time for Ed's inexperience. Maurice runs into mixed emotions on his feelings about his own personal feelings and the feelings of his son.

    Director:Frank Prinzi
    Writers:Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess

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  22. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 5 - A River Doesn't Run Through It
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #22 - 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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  23. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 7 - Rosebud
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #23 - 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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  24. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 8 - Heal Thyself
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #24 - 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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  25. Northern Exposure Season 5 Episode 16 - Northern Hospitality
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #25 - 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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Worst Episodes Summary

"Brains, Know How and Native Intelligence" is the worst rated episode of "Northern Exposure". It scored 5.2/10 based on 9 votes. Directed by Peter O'Fallon and written by Unknown, it aired on 7/19/1990. This episode scored 0.5 points lower than the second lowest rated, "War and Peace".