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Northern Exposure Season 6 Episodes
Season 6 Episode Guide
23 Episodes 1994 - 1995
Episode 1
Dinner at Seven Thirty
Mon, Sep 19, 199446 mins
Joel has brought his tape deck to Ed after it ate a tape. While Ed works at extracting the tape from the capstan, Joel helps himself to some orange juice in the refrigerator. A surprised expression crosses his face when the extra tastes mingle on his tongue with the juice. He asks Ed what he just drank. Ed tells him it is one of his healing mixtures with various plant extracts and animal musk added. Joel heads out the door and finds himself in an alternate reality set in Manhattan. In this new reality, Joel is still a doctor, but is married to Shelly, a corporate lawyer who makes a fabulous salary compared to his young doctor's wages. He and Shelly have two children watched over by Nanny Maggie. They live in a posh apartment with a doorman controlling access through the front entrance - it's Maurice. Shelly is hosting a dinner party whose guests include Ed (a wealthy investor), Ruth-Anne (a renowned doctor whose practice Joel is hoping to be named a partner), Chris (a tongue-tied photographic assistant to Bernard), and Holling (a famous keyboard/singer entertainer). Maurice is anxious because he has invested his entire personal wealth in a scheme that Ed pitched. Now it looks as if that deal may bottom out leaving him with nothing. Maggie announces that she is resigning from her nanny position to pursue other interests. Shelly is tired of Joel's anxiety issues and invites Holling to take a walk with her. But he suffers from agoraphobia. He seems unwilling to step away from the building. The caterer keeps telling Joel they are running out of various items, complaining that they had been told to not make any more in each instance. Ruth-Anne breaks loose from a conversation to tell Joel that he has made partner. He is so stressed by all the frenetic activity that he declines the offer, saying he just want to practice in a quiet, rural Alaskan town. With that, he exits the hallucinations and is back in Cicely. For the first time, he is really thankful to be practicing there.
Episode 2
Eye of the Beholder
Mon, Sep 26, 199447 mins
Maggie regrets her auction donation and attempts to buy the item back from Chris, Shelly wakes up in Miranda's doll house to find Ruth Ann portraying the original owner, and Ed, turned P.I., films Hayden committing insurance fraud.
Episode 3
Shofar, So Good
Mon, Oct 3, 199446 mins
Marilyn walks out on her job; Maurice tries to impress an aristocratic English dame but Ruth Ann rescues the fox he intends to hunt; Holling's daughter has stood him up and Dr. Fleishman meets the ghosts of Yom Kippur past, present and future.
Episode 4
The Letter
Mon, Oct 10, 199446 mins
A 15-year-old Maggie writes a letter to herself to be opened at age 30. In it she presumes she has become an accomplished lawyer with a husband and several children by this time in her adult life. Her father has found the letter in old National Geographics at home and sent it to her in Cicely. In the same post, Shelly gets a chain letter with a link to "the spirit world of ancient Mesopotamia." If she makes copies and sends it to five friends, she will be showered with good fortune. "Ignore this letter at your own peril." She chucks it in the waste basket. After two years without a barber, Angelo Maxwell arrives in town. Holling is upset when the reservation he made for the tavern owner's convention in Fairbanks is lost. No rooms are available at this late date. Joel goes in for a haircut and Angelo finds what he thinks is a meningeal cyst on the back of his head. Shelly worries that her young self would be disappointed by her current status. When Holling burns himself cooking, Shelly starts believing her bad luck is from ignoring the chain letter. Maggie sees her young self in the house and visits with her. Young Maggie thinks Joel is a dork and Chris is hot. Barber Angelo is disgusted with Chris who makes him remember the counterculture movement of the 60s that was a death knell for haircuts for that generation. Shelly retrieves the chain letter from the dump. Joel figures he has to go to Anchorage to have the lump biopsied. Shelly's luck turns - The Brick will be featured in a new tourist guide. A Harvard-trained, young intern feels that Joel's growth is malignant. He borrows Chris's bike and recklessly speeds down the road feeling that his life is nearly over anyway. He is stopped for speeding at 90 mph. Shelly learns the good luck came despite her litters not being sent out for insufficient postage. Chris bakes crowberry tarts for Angelo and gets ambushed in the shop when he enters. Joel learns from Dr. Rojas that the growth is benign. Shelly talks Holling into heading for Fairbanks despite having no reservation. Chris lets Angelo give him a shave and cut. Maggie, after her self-examination, decides to run for mayor. She writes a letter to herself at age 45.
Episode 5
The Robe
Mon, Oct 17, 199447 mins
Roger Brewster comes to Cicely selling the Insta-Spa Model 2000, an insert that transforms a standard bathtub into a whirlpool bath. He stops alongside the highway to let his pet goat take a break. When a bicyclist almost hits him, he sends evil energy his way causing him to lose control of the bike and skid out on the gravel. He arrives in town where Maggie has invited him to her book club to show it off. After the demonstration, he hands out personal care products gift bags. He is one short. He tells Shelly he will find something special for her. Joel is reading capsules that will be used in a double-blind clinical study from Johns Hopkins for a cold preventive medicine. He asks Ed to put caps on the vials he has already loaded. Bartholomew the Cat gets in the room. As Ed chases him down, he upsets the card table holding the medications. The real medication and the placebo are identical, so they are irreversibly mixed. He repacks them without telling Joel. Roger stops by Shelly's apartment to offer her a Black Sabbath pirated tape instead of her gift bag. This is followed by an unwanted advance to kiss her. He apologizes and tells her he can give her anything she wants. He asks her about her wildest fantasy. She says she'd like The Brick to be a Heavy Duty Casino. He tells her it can be. When she hears that some gambling will be allowed in Alaska, she asks if he is the Devil. He says to burn Holling's old bathrobe, and all her wishes will come true. Chris has brought a ventriloquist dummy back from Fairbanks, naming him Esau. Everyone in town finds Esau more interesting to talk to than Chris. Chris finally discards him in disgust. All those participating in Joel's study are sure that the cold remedy story was a cover-up of its real purpose. Maurice thinks it may be an appetite suppressor. He bribes Hayden to break into Joel's clinic to find the truth. He's mad when he finds he was given a placebo version. Shelly manages to resist burning Holling's robe at the last minute. Roger leaves town a bit dejected since his prime candidate did not succumb to his temptations.
Episode 6
Zarya
Mon, Oct 31, 199446 mins
Through the magic of Ed's film reels, thanks to Marilyn's storytelling, the main characters go back in time to star as Cicely's residents back when Anastasia Romanov, Duchess of Russia, came to town, in the early 1900s.
Episode 7
Full Upright Position
Mon, Nov 7, 199447 mins
Maurice mentors his young visiting cousin also named Maurice; Dr Fleischman & Maggie get stuck on a grounded, smoking plane to Russia and Chris becomes absorbed in electricity science projects.
Episode 8
Up River
Mon, Nov 14, 199446 mins
Ed tracks Dr. Fleischman up river living a primitive life after Maggie asked him to move out; Chris' inept contractor botches up his trailer renovations & love-struck Ruth-Anne pines over Walt who is out checking traps.
Episode 9
Sons of the Tundra
Mon, Nov 28, 199447 mins
Maurice has hired a new doctor for the clinic in Cicely, Phil Capra. He and his journalist wife Michelle encounter a moose in the middle of the highway. The Alaska setting is very different than their previous Southern California one. Phil is very excited about the new location; Michelle is less sold. Maurice presents them with an expensive bottle of wine as a housewarming gift. At the clinic, Phil is less impressed with Marilyn and the lack of modern trappings, especially no computer billing. When he asks Marilyn what new equipment they need, she asks for a toaster oven. Michelle is invited to start a column for Maurice's paper when she finishes the current article she is writing. They rent Joel's former place until they can build their own home. Holling learns about the upcoming Sons of the Tundra banquet and mentions to Maurice that he would now be interested in joining. He had decline years earlier when asked. Maurice is decidedly cool but tells him to come to the banquet and meet with the board of directors. Maurice also brings Paul as a guest. Shelly turns decidedly cold about the exclusive club when she learns it is strictly a men-only group. At the banquet, Holling is floored to meet Alaska's Senator Monkton who exchanges small talk with him. Paul is button-holed by Walt who regales him with one hunting tale after another. (One requirement for membership is having successfully taken a trophy animal.) Holling is grilled by the board, volunteering that the $2000 initiation fee is not a problem. A few days after the banquet, Holling learns his application was not successful. A single vote by Lester Haines was sufficient to kill his candidacy. Haines protested because he had a Huguenot heritage. Ed catches and eats a trout that he begins to think is the trickster, Raven. For a short time, he has the ability to foretell upcoming events - a call to Ruth-Anne, a foot injury to himself, a dent in Phil's car. He also helps Michelle track down the key to her computer after a raccoon swipes it and drops it in the river. Joel makes a brief appearance to trade some skins for Holling's hunting knife.
Episode 10
Realpolitik
Thu, Dec 15, 199446 mins
Marilyn invests $5000 in a husky which she brings to work; Chris develops a crush on new Cicely mayor, Maggie and the new doctor goes up river to meet Joel for golf.
Episode 11
The Great Mushroom
Wed, Jan 4, 199546 mins
Maggie visits Joel up river for his birthday & fears for his life; too many people show up for the Capra's party & a stranded couple spend the night; Ed overcomes his fear of his computer.
Episode 12
Mi Casa, Su Casa
Wed, Jan 11, 199546 mins
House-sitting for Maurice, Ed assumes his personality & throws lavish parties; Holling throws Maggie non-stop curves to buying Barbara's house and Joel feels the need to defend his lifestyle to a placid Marilyn.
Episode 13
Horns
Wed, Jan 18, 199546 mins
Alaskan health official Pete Gilliam comes to Manonash to tell Joel that the 1-year contract extension was not legal as proved by a test case in North Dakota. He is free to go. He is given a $1200 check to compensate him for his extra service. Joel returns to Cicely to gather his belongings that were placed in storage. He notices he is missing some cassette tapes that he created with great effort for one of Cicely's festivals. He discovers that Shelly has them and does not want to return them. She says, "Finders, keepers. They were abandoned." Holling is disgusted with the squabble between Joel and Shelly, so he tosses the tapes out the window. Joel visits with Maggie and ultimately realizes that he has never been happier than at Manonash. He makes a burn pile of things he no longer needs including his medical diploma and an expensive Armani coat. He gives the tapes back to Shelly. While Maurice is having a well drilled for oil, the rig hits a pocket of ancient pool of water. He decides to make some money out of the well by marketing the well's product as Cicely Water. To generate some interest and gather some testimonials, he provides some free samples to the local residents. Strange things begin to happen. Gender roles seem to be reversed. Women become more sexually aggressive, and men become emotional and weepy. Dr. Capra treats Hayden and Eugene for injuries sustained by over-enthusiastic partners. He tells Maurice that he must stop selling his water. Although it meets all the EPA criteria for pollutants, there must be some unknown component in it that is responsible for the changes. Violin virtuoso Cal has escaped from the mental hospital. He has set up quarters in an abandoned cave outside of town but comes into town to forage for food - in garbage cans and in packages on porches. Ed hears violin music from the rooftop one night, and manages to talk with Cal. He says that playing with no audience to appreciate his music is unsatisfying. Ed helps set up a concert for the Cicely residents to provide that audience. When Officer Barbara comes to nab him, he is gone as are all his audience members. Ed feigns no knowledge of his whereabouts.
Episode 14
The Mommy's Curse
Wed, Feb 1, 199545 mins
Maggie's mother comes to visit ready to start planning the upcoming wedding with Joel. She has also brought along her new boyfriend, Leland Chase, who she met on an ocean cruise. Maggie does he best to change the subject ore create a distraction every time anything related to Joel comes up. This takes some especially fast footwork when Joel enters The Brick when they are eating. Leland is shooting pool waiting for their food. He bends over the table to line up a shot and dies on the spot, probably an aneurysm. Dr. Capra pronounces him dead making Maggie's mom to comment on a second doctor in town. Maggie says he's a veterinarian, not a real doctor. Leland's death starts Maggie to thinking she has inherited a curse from her mother about males they like dying off. Her mother tells her it is nonsense. She also brings documentation that shows Maggie's inheritance. It is substantial. She asks her mom for advice since her mom has done well financially. Her mother suggests real estate as a great growth area. Maurice comes into the Brick looking for Holling. Their periodic sauna is scheduled. Holling isn't there. He is working on his boat with Dr. Capra helping. Everything is being done with hand tools. Maurice is miffed that Holling has deferred the steam bath. He starts to be a pill about it, quickly buying up all the wood coating material for his deck, even though it is winter, to keep Holling from getting some for his boat. Maurice asks Ed to accompany him as a substitute. Ed becomes ill from all the hot crawdads and creamed herring he is fed. Ruth-Anne suggest to Walt that he should work in her store so that they can be together more. Although it sounds like a good idea, Walt quickly has her thinking otherwise. He puts canned stew into an end-cap display for efficiency. She doesn't like the loss of aisle space. At the register, Walt visits too much with the customers and comments on items they are purchasing in such a way that it embarrasses them. Ruth-Anne has to fire him. Seeing him moping on a street bench, she sits down beside him and asks if he'll move in with her. Just because they were at loggerheads in the store doesn't mean they don't love each other.
Episode 15
The Quest
Wed, Feb 8, 199545 mins
Dr Fleischman enlists Maggie to accompany him in a quest for the Lost Jewelled City where they will encounter classic fairy tale myths; Chris sues Dr Capra for malpractice and Michelle has to review The Brick for a restaurant guide.
Episode 16
Lucky People
Wed, Feb 15, 1995
Dr. Capra buys land, then gets agoraphobia and tries to get his money back from Maurice; Michelle resents an anonymous gift of clothes; Maurice thinks the Vincoeurs' daughter is his uncle reincarnated; the town celebrates Founders' Day.
Episode 17
The Graduate
Wed, Mar 8, 199545 mins
Chris attempts to get his Master's degree in Comparative Literature in spite of two quarreling professors. Maggie buys the town theater and goes into business. Holling has a surprise show up in town and reveals an even bigger secret.
Episode 18
Little Italy
Wed, Mar 15, 199545 mins
Dr. Capra befriends an Italian restaurateur feuding with his neighbor, one of his patients who extends the vendetta onto him; Ruth-Anne becomes a popular radio storyteller; the Vincoeurs enlist mayor Maggie to settle a domestic dispute.
Episode 19
Balls
Sun, Jun 4, 199545 mins
Chris sets up Maggie with a bowling partner, then becomes jealous of him; the Capras separate over a dispute about bowling; after being insulted by Maurice, Ed gives him notice & his girlfriend's father offers to fund his movie, The Shaman.
Episode 20
Buss Stop
Mon, Apr 24, 199546 mins
Michelle decides to put on the play, Bus Stop, but is running into problems with the cast: Ron bribes her with $250 to cast Erick in a role and Erick starts getting carried away; Holling continues to get drunk during rehearsals and cannot remember his lines; Chris cannot kiss Maggie due to his feelings for her and wants to quit the play, but in the end does kiss her; Shelly is jealous of Maggie getting the lead female role. The Capras are still separated and it is affecting Phil's sleeping.
Episode 21
Ursa Minor
Wed, Jul 12, 199546 mins
Ed adopts an orphan bear then can't get rid of him; Chris cheats on Maggie inside his lucid dreams; Michelle takes up waitressing at The Brick and Maurice seeks to increase Cicely's population.
Episode 22
Let's Dance
Wed, Jul 19, 199546 mins
Cal turns himself in, serenades Maurice & Barbara who falls for him; Dr Capra has offended Marilyn's mother; Hayden tells him his apology made things worse & Holling suggests he takes Cotillion; Marilyn teaches Chris how to waltz.
Episode 23
Tranquility Base
Wed, Jul 26, 199546 mins
Maurice has acquired a new summer retreat that he has named "Tranquility Base" after his astronaut roots. He has invited a number of friends to spend the weekend with him to inaugurate more celebrations to come. Officer Barbara Semanski is there ahead of the others and Maurice is set to propose marriage to her. Just as he is about to pop the question, Ed wanders past with some supplies for the party. Maurice reluctantly breaks off from the conversation to go with him. He confides in Ed what he's planning. A few minutes later as he is once again ready to ask Barbara to marry him, a truck driven by Hayden arrives with the rest of the guests. All does not go smoothly. Barbara cannot leave her badge at the door and is constantly seeing violations to correct. For example, she confiscates Walt's whittling knife as an illegal type. When Maurice calls her down for the third time, she punches him in the face. Michelle's inability to make decisions wears on Phil. She eventually decides to go morel hunting in the woods and gets lost. While pondering which way to go, Rabbi Schulman parachutes out of the sky. The conversation between the pair results him telling her that she needs to make decisions and live with the consequences. It sticks. Holling has spent so much time in the woods that he has taken on the characteristics of woodland creatures. He is like a male caribou in rut. As soon as possible, he and Shelly disappear and make the bed springs squeak. Chris regrets that he told Maggie to go see Mike in Greenland. He realizes that his bachelor days are waning, that he wants a real relationship. Michelle has still not come back, so Barbara organizes a search plan. Holling is able to use his "critter nose" to follow her scent. She is grateful and tells Phil she has gotten over her indecisiveness. Maurice finally has a chance to talk with Barbara in private. The two apologize to each other. He asks her to marry him and she says, "yes". Maggie appears at the door. She elected not to fly away to Mike. Instead, she says she would rather spend time with Chris. She steps into his arms for a kiss and a slow dance. A moose walks through the dark out of town.