Northern Exposure (1995) – Let’s Dance, and Tranquility Base

Let’s Dance is the penultimate episode of Northern Exposure. It’s almost over, so they must be wrapping up character and narrative arcs. After a fashion, anyway. Written by Sam Egan, this episode was first broadcast on 19 July, 1995. It gets underway with Cal (Simon Templeman), you remember the violinist with mental issues?, who has…

Northern Exposure (1995) – Buss Stop, and Ursa Minor

Buss Stop was penned by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess. It debuted on 24 April, 1995. Michelle (Teri Polo) is mounting a production of Bus Stop but runs into problems. Ron (Doug Ballard) wants Erick (Don McManus) to be cast and as a way of making sure it happens, pays Michelle the rest of the…

Northern Exposure (1995) – Little Italy, and Balls

The series has begun stumbling towards its now seemingly inevitable end. The stories have become less and less engaging, though there are some great character bits. The character bits that stand out in this episode are very much Ruth-Anne’s (Peg Phillips). She has become a bit of a radio storyteller, and it’s a great new…

Northern Exposure (1995) – Lucky People, and The Graduate

It’s Founder’s Day in Cicely, so that means there’s going to be lots of celebrations, but there are also going to be a lot of problems for a number of residents this time around. Lucky People was written by Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider and it debuted on 15 February, 1995. Maurice (Barry Corbin) is…

Northern Exposure (1995) – The Mommy’s Curse, and The Quest

Maggie’s (Janine Turner) mother, Jane (Debra Mooney) arrives in town, with her new beau, Leland (Linden Chiles) still believing that Maggie and Joel (Rob Morrow) are still engaged and there’s a wedding in the offing. The Mommy’s Curse was written by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, this episode debuted on 1 February, 1995. While that…

Northern Exposure (1994) – Up River, and Sons of the Tundra

Up River was written by Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, and it first aired on 14 November, 1994. Maurice (Barry Corbin) sends Ed (Darren E. Burrows) up river to find Joel (Rob Morrow) after Maggie (Janine Turner) asked him to move out. And that’s sad, because they seemed on the edge of some serious potential…

Family Ties (1987) – Love Me Do, The Visit, and Matchmaker

While Steven (Michael Gross) is planning a surprise birthday party for Elyse (Meredith Baxter) in Love Me Do, Skippy (Marc Price) falls for one of Mallory’s (Justine Bateman) classmates, Amy (Sonia Curtis). Written by Marc Lawrence this episode was first broadcast on 30 April, 1987. It’s fun to see Skippy happy and that the relationship…

The X-Files (1994) – Tooms, and Born Again

As The X-Files closes in on the end of it’s inaugural season, they did two things with the episode Tooms. They moved a couple more players into permanent position in the series, William B. Davis’ Cigarette Smoking Man (CSM) actually has a line of dialogue as he lurks around the other mainstay that is introduced…

The Croning (2012) – Laird Barron

This week’s book shelf brings a bit of cosmic horror as I delve into Laird Bannon’s novel, The Croning. The story spans the decades of one man, and the horrors that are around him, and the realization that these nightmare terrors are real. It’s unnverving, as we are introduced to geologist Don Miller, and his…