Ed (Darren E. Burrows) struggles with his cinematic dreams, questioning whether he can actually make a film or not in Animals R Us. Written by Robin Green this episode first debuted on 14 October, 1991.

There are a couple of narrative threads woven into this story, but the main one centers on Maggie (Janine Turner) who is visited by a malamute and quickly becomes convinced, along with the rest of the town, that the dog may in fact be her dead boyfriend, Rick.

Joel (Rob Morrow) refuses to believe this, of course, but everyone else seems to be ready to take this on faith.

Maurice (Barry Corbin) toys with a new business idea after he sees one of Marilyn’s (Elaine Miles) ostrich eggs. He schemes and pressures and works to create, but Marilyn will only put up with so much.

Ed and Joel have a nice chat, and as the episode comes to a close, Ed unveils his short film to the town, and it, along with the dog visit helps Maggie finally process and let Rick go once and for all. It also unites and describes the town nicely.

I rather like this episode it embodies everything up nicely, the eccentric characters, the wonderful locations, and the honesty of who these characters are. I love that Ed pursues his dreams of filmmaking, I love that the town supports one another in their dreams, and beliefs.

Acceptance is key to Cicely, and the diversity of those dreams and beliefs mesh in this little town, perfectly.

Jules et Joel, written by Stuart Stevens, first debuted on 28 October, 1991. It’s kind of a Halloween episode, that both treats and tricks.

When Joel hits his head, and is knocked unconscious after an encounter with a grown-up trick-or-treater. His twin brother, Jules, a walking New York gangster stereotype, shows up in town on vacation.

There’s some talk about how they used to swap places when they were kids, so you can see where this is going. Jules/Joel swap places, repeatedly, which a little but of romance to blossom between Maggie and Jules? Joel?

Meanwhile, Chris (John Corbett) is getting phonecalls at the K-BEAR station from Frank Watson (Raymond O’Connor), a bomber who wants to turn himself in, but only to Chris. And the bomber is the same person who caused Joel’s accident that left him out of it.

As the episode progresses, it’s very easy to see that this one is unique, and that there are flaws in continuity. But that’s going to be revealed to be intentional, and wraps everything up with a very nice homage to The Wizard of Oz (watching that framing and character positions).

It’s cute and fun, it’s delightful to see Morrow play both characters, and a nice exploration of his thoughts and feelings towards Maggie.

As Ed says, “Halloween jitters.”