Cicely has a new mayor, and a woman in authority is a huge turn on for Chris (John Corbett), and he finds himself very attracted to… Maggie (Janine Turner). How is he going to handle it? In that usual Chris way, he shows up at her door, with hopes to romance her. And that’s not going to go well at all.

What’s he going to do about it?

And more importantly, how is Maggie going to settle into her new role? Will she be able to get the town on board with some of her ideas?

Realpolitik was written by Sam Egan, and it debuted on 15 December, 1994.

Marilyn (Elaine Miles) has invested in a husky, a five-thousand-dollar husky. And she brings it to the office with her, despite Dr. Capra’s (Paul Provenza) initial chagrin. But Chuck the husky is adorable, but she may have been conned. Maurice (Barry Corbin) wanted to have Chuck sire puppies on one of his huskies, but the dog can’t be bothered. And she can’t get her money back. But in the end, she makes a new friend in Chuck.

And speaking of Capra, he gets invited by Joel (Rob Morrow) to travel upriver to join him in a round of golf. Capra expects an actual established golf course, but nope. They’re playing in the wild, one that Joel has helped create. In fact the whole thing is a strange experience as Joel evaluates Capra as his replacement.

It’s a charming episode, and I love seeing Maggie in a new environment, and it brings a new dynamic into her friendship with Chris. And Teri Polo’s Michelle Capra, working as a reporter for Maurice’s paper, is also wonderfully engaging.

I don’t like the idea that Joel is more or less removed from the series, and separated from the rest of the characters, but I do love Cicely.

And speaking of Joel, The Great Mushroom, has a pretty dark opening. He’s out hunting, before becoming mired in quicksand. He slowly sinks under as his dog watches, and when a few final bubbles burst up, Maggie wakes up.

So she’s worried about him, so she decides to head upriver to check in on him, using his upcoming birthday as cover, in this episode written by Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider. It was first broadcast on 4 January, 1995.

And why is she so worried about him? Well because of the fate of all of her other boyfriends have died. But he seems to have settled in to his life in the tiny village, despite what Maggie may think.

Joel, meanwhile, is fascinated by a mushroom fungus. But when the pair are together, there’s some really nice chemistry.

And the Capras are preparing a dinner party as they continue to settle in Cicely. They get more people than they planned for. It runs later than they thought, and two of Marilyn’s friends need to stay over with the Capras, because their route home is snowed in and they aren’t staying with Marilyn. And they barely say anything.

Michelle gets wrapped up nicely in the couple’s puzzling, forgetting her own work, and Ed (Darren E. Burrow) gets some unwanted help from Dr. Capra in setting up his computer. Computers scare him.

The Capras want their home back, but once the couple leave, they realize they miss them. And they were left a thank you gift. It’s a charming narrative arc, and lets the couple find the romance in their own relationship.

The Capras are interesting, I’ve always adored Teri Polo, but they lack the chemistry and appeal pf Joel coming to Cicely. It’s fun, still a little eccentric, but just doesn’t have the same hook it used to. It’s very clear that this is the final season of the show, it feels like its puttering out.