Chris (John Corbett) is having problems when an ex-lover reveals that she couldn’t find any differences between he and his brother, Bernard (Richard Cummings Jr.) in bed!

Marilyn (Elaine Miles) has decided to go hunting for the perfect man, in Joel’s (Rob Morrow) medical files. And meanwhile, the transplanted doctor is beginning to worry about losing his ‘New York Edge.’

Written by Jeff Melvoin, Altered Egos was first broadcast on 11 October, 1993.

When Ann (Lisa Darr) shows up in Cicely with Bernard, Chris is dumbstruck by the revelation that she and he lived together for six months when he was 22 (something he has no memory of). The comparison to his brother shakes both of them to their core, and causes some friction between them, which is sad to see.

Chris tries to find a way to express himself properly on air, as Ann and Bernard try to sort themselves out. It may come down to the two brothers needing to spend some time apart. Can they find a way to smooth over the relationship and will Bernard and Ann be ok?

Joel has lost his wallet for the first time ever! They find it under a pool table, but he begins to worry that he’s lost his protective edge, something that never happened on the streets of New York. On top of that he seems to be settling in a little too comfortably in Cicely, discussing weather, winter outfits and palling around with the locals. But perhaps there’s a way back when he confronts a shopkeeper over the repair job on his VCR.

Marilyn’s story is charming and a a little sad, and it’s fun to see her looking for love in a completely unique, and very Northern Exposure way. She’ll have to deal with Joel (who continues to deal with his loss of New York-ness) when he discovers what she is doing.

A River Doesn’t Run Through It was also written by Melvoin and first aired on 25 October, 1993.

Maggie (Janine Turner) is surprised to be asked by the senior class of the local high school to be their homecoming queen. The rep who asks her is Kevin Wilkins (holy crap it’s Jack Black!). She’s tentative, and is just worried that perhaps Kevin and some of the boys have a crush on her, but she agrees.

Over the course of the dance, she learns that they guy don’t have a crush on her, they just worried that she was lonely and wanted her to have a good night. As everyone realizes, especially Maggie, that she’s not lonely, she’s perfectly fine to be in her own company, we and they realize just because you are alone doesn’t make you lonely.

Ruth-Anne (Peg Phillips) finds herself under IRS review over the way she’s reporting on her business (there’s a lot of barter). As the review progresses the pair get to know each other, and Rut-Anne needs to decide whether or not to be honest when she finds an error in her favor.

Ed (Darren E. Burrows) reflects on what it is to be a success, something that is brought to mind because of his interactions with Maurice (Barry Corbin) and his ranking in Forbes.

And how, just how? DId Maurice get beaten in a deal? Especially after some self-congratulations about his business performance. And is he as business-minded as he thinks he is especially when he’s beaten fair and square.

A delightfully fun episode, and I couldn’t believe Jack Black did an episode of Northern Exposure!