In the annals of the romantic saga involving Joel and Maggie, "Soapy Sanderson" (John McLiam) will forever be the matchmaker who sparked their long, strange relationship, although in typical "Northern Exposure" fashion Soapy kicked them down the road to romance by kicking the bucket with a self-inflicted gunshot, then left them as co-executors of his land along with an excellent bottle of Lafite Rothschild. That's the path the story by Karen Hall and Jerry Stahl (Hall wrote the teleplay) chooses to follow, and it leads to the almost absurd borderline between mirth and poignancy that distinguishes the series.
While in Cicely for his doctor's visit, old hermit Soapy takes Joel's admonition to think about his future a little too much to heart, as Joel and Maggie discover when they find his body---and learn that they are left as partners in his estate. Soon, Joel is approached by Native American businessmen offering to buy Soapy's land for a handsome sum---the land is worthless, but they need a tax shelter, a canny example of how the series neither lionized nor patronized the indigenous locals. Also appearing in Cicely are a documentary-film crew (Christa Miller, Darryl Fong) from Soapy's old university---he was a prominent professor with two doctorates, hardly the rustic sourdough Joel imagined him to be---and Soapy's country-music collection that he leaves to Chris to play on the radio.
That last, along with a distinctive piano theme for Maggie by series composer David Schwartz, inaugurates the impact music would have on "Northern Exposure," in essence becoming another colorful, eclectic, often compelling character. Meanwhile, director Stephen Cragg mixes the documentary crew's footage with the standard shots, inspiring Ed in the process. Rob Morrow and Janine Turner hold the center of "Soapy Sanderson" as Joel and Maggie schmooze before Maggie discovers the land offer and confronts Joel, with Maggie also discovering something about herself that Soapy had recognized. The rough edges still need sanding, but "Soapy Sanderson" launched "Northern Exposure" for good.
REVIEWER'S NOTE: What makes a review "helpful"? Every reader of course decides that for themselves. For me, a review is helpful if it explains why the reviewer liked or disliked the work or why they thought it was good or not good. Whether I agree with the reviewer's conclusion is irrelevant. "Helpful" reviews tell me how and why the reviewer came to their conclusion, not what that conclusion may be. Differences of opinion are inevitable. I don't need "confirmation bias" for my own conclusions. Do you?