6.1 Dinner at Seven-Thirty

 

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Original Air Date: September 19, 1994 Production Number: 77805
Written by: Diane Frolov and Andrew SchneiderDirected by: Michael Fresco

Joel: I don't want this life. I'd rather practice medicine in some hick rural outback than stay here another minute!

Log line (1): Joel encounters an alternate reality in Manhattan after accidentally drinking one of Ed 's healing creations.
Synopsis (1):

Joel drinks from a carton of what appears to be orange juice in Ed's refrigerator but is actually a healing potion for body aches. After being sucked into a swirling vortex in Ed's closet, Joel is spit out on a Manhattan street, just outside of his luxury apartment building. Starting with Maurice as Maury the doorman, Joel finds himself in an alternate reality with Cicely residents as key players but in surprising roles.

Recognizing his penthouse apartment as home and Shelly as his wife, Joel remembers the stresses of his life as an internist and Shelly's as a highpowered corporate attorney. As they ready to host a cocktail party, Joel is drawn to Maggie, their au pair. The guests stroll in; Ed, an icy corporate raider sporting double-breasted Armani suit; Chris, a tentative, inarticulate fashion photographer; Ruth-Anne, a powerful internist in a Chanel suit; and Holling, a debonair nightclub singer. In different roles, each of these people that Joel knows to be kind and loving seem unhappy, hurtful, callous and extremely unfulfilled.

The cards come crumbling down when Shelly asks Joel for a divorce, Maurice loses everything on a stock tip from Ed gone horribly awry, Chris tries to kill himself, Maggie quits her job and Ruth-Anne decides to retire. After all of this comes to pass, when Ruth-Anne offers Joel a partnership in her internal medicine group, he turns it down saying, "I'd rather practice medicine in some hick rural outback than stay here another minute!"

With that, he is snapped back to reality in Cicely and flies backwards out of Ed's closet. While Ed has no idea anything has occurred, Joel is moved without understanding why.

Details:
(Production Bible)

Ed's potion includes Elder root, parsnip, crushed beetle and a little fox musk...

Holling's musical selections include "You're the Top" and "Someone To Watch Over Me".

Shelly purchased her mounted moosehead at an antique store in Peekskill.

Joel likes trampolines.

Most memorable quote: "...right arm a little, uh, higher ... yeah... okay... good."

Guest stars (9): Shorty/Hayden - James L. Dunn
Eugene - Earl Quewezance
Walt - Moultrie Patten
Bernard - Richard Cummings, Jr.
Jode - Keala Hopps
Caterer - Bob Morrisey (also appears in 5.2, 5.24, 6.3, 6.9, and 6.10)
Doris - Peggy O'Connell (Also appeared in 5.7, 5.11, 6.10)
Himself - Louis Rukeyser
Cobbe - Omar Sippy
Mrs. Partridge - Maggie Stenson
Evan - Daniel C. Swanson
David Wasman

Music:
(Note music listed is from the original TV airings. The DVD may differ.)

This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) - Talking Heads

Ridin' High - Benny Goodman

Shelly’s Earrings: Very "lawyerly" little gold posts
Additional Notes:

A Moosechick Top 5 favorite!

When Dr. Ruth-Anne Miller leaves her medical office, there is a sign of names behind her. Two of the names are Dusek and Beglund-Davenport. These are the two location managers for NoEx.

Footnotes and additional research

© Copyright, 2013 • Northern Exposure is Copyright © Universal City Studios. All Rights Reserved. • Created 2/12/02 • Updated 2/2/13