August 14, 1990
"Soapy Sanderson"
#78701
Maggie sees joel in a new light when he wants to donate some recently inhreited land to the Indians, but when his hidden plans is revealed, the sparks fly on MCA TV International's "NORTHERN EXPOSURE" episode entitled "Soapy Sanderson." The teleplay was written by Karen Hall from a story by Karen Hall and Jerry Stahl. It was directed by Stephen Cragg.
Soapy Sanderson, an 82-year-old hermit, has a special fondness for Maggie, and he urges her to find a man with safe hobbies so she can settle down with him. When Soapy has an appointment with Joel, Maggie takes him to the doctor's office. Joel examines Soapy and chides him for not doing the prescribed exercizes to help heal his broken hip. After receiving a note that Soapy wants to see him at his cabin the following morning, Maggie flies Joel to the secluded area, and they find that Soapy has shot himself. Soapy left a will, an urn, instruction regarding his cremation, and a bottle of wine for Joel and Maggie's trouble. The next morning, Holling reads the will, and Joel and Maggie are schocked that Soapy left them a hundred acres of land and a team of champion huskies jointly. When Joel gets an offer of $50,000 for the land, he dreams of being able to go back to New York. but Meggie thinks the land should be given back to the Indians.
In the meanwhile, Ed has become a tour guide to two college students who want to make a documentary on Soapy. It turns out that Soapy the hermit was a professor with two doctorates, Theology and Mythology, at Kenton College for twnty years. That evening, Maggie surprises Joel with a festive dinner, and they open the bottle of 1975 Lafite Rothchild wine. Both have too much to drink, and when Maggie catches herself getting romantic feelings toward Joel, she leaves quickly. The following day, Maggie is walking with Holling on Soapy's land, and he shows her a photo of Soapy's wife. She looks so much like his deceased wife, and Maggie understands why he cared for her.
In the end, Maggie ends up with Soapy's team of huskies, the land is not being sold, and Maggie reminds Joel that they have one more task to complete -- spreading Soapy's ashes from the plane, over his beloved peaks. Joel approaches her plane hesitantly while the two college students get the footage for the documentary. Once in the air, Maggie does everything in her power to make it a rought ride. They say a final farewell to Dr. Soapy Sanderson.
Cast & Credits:
Dr. Joel Fleishman......Rob Morrow
Maggie O'Connel.........Janine Turner
Maurice Minnifield......Barry Corbin
Chris Stevens...........John Corbett
Ed......................Darren E. Burrows
Holling Vincoeur........John Cullum
Shelly..................Cinthia Geary
Ruth-Anne...............Peg Phillips
Marilyn.................Elaine Miles
Rick Pederson...........Grant Goodeve
Soapy Sanderson.........John McLiam
Laurie..................Christa Miller
Kim.....................Darryl Fong
Accountant..............Phil Lucas
Executive producers.....Joshua Brand, John Falsey
Produced by.............Robert T. Skodis
Directed by.............Stephen Cragg
Written by..............Karen Hall, Jerry Stahl
Teleplay by.............Karen Hall
