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Rabbi Schulman: “There's an old Yiddish proverb--When you don't know where you're going,
every road will take you there.”
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Picture
originally captured by Joseph in the My-Cicely list. |
Log
line (1): |
Cicely's
couples converge on Maurice's summer lodge - Tranquility
Base |
Synopsis
(1): |
The whole gang's on their way to Maurice's Tranquility Base, Cicely's Disneyland
without the monorail. Okay, so it's not a theme park, but it does have a theme
-- it's a sprawling summer lodge dedicated to America's astronauts, complete
with rooms named after noteworthy spacemen (no, there's no "E.T." room) such
as Chuck Yeager, Alan Shepard and Buzz Aldrin. Barbara
Semanski's there, too -- and Maurice intends for this to be a very special
weekend for them -- he's going to propose to her.
The only principal Cicelian
not in attendance is Maggie, who is off to Greenland
to see Bubbleman Mike Monroe. Chris is disappointed,
naturally, but, trooper that he is, he perserveres. Holling's not quite himself, either -- he's in rut, as Walt explains to Phil, having picked up the sexual biorhythms
of the caribou bull, so Holling and Shelly spend most
of their vacation in their room. The others, however, are enjoying nature walks,
fishing, and just plain relaxing.
Michelle has gone off on a little walk of
her own, and decides to rest against a tree. Lo and behold, she wakes up, and
who should appear before her but -- Rabbi Schulman! He thinks he's been sent
there for another episode with Joel, but when Michelle informs him that Rob
Morrow has left the series, he questions what his mission is. But, in the end,
the Rabbi helps Michelle understand herself better, offers her some sage advice,
and even teaches her a little Yiddish.
Meanwhile, Maurice and Semanski have
gotten into several little tiffs, so his plan to pop the question has been put
on indefinite hold. Finally, though, he asks for her hand, and she says...Yes!!
Barbara Semanski-Minnifield. Oh, well. She probably won't hyphenate, anyway.
(Does this mean she now goes in the opening credits?)
At the end of the show,
after everyone returns to Cicely after their lovely vacation, we see a montage
of our regulars over Iris Dement's song, "Our Town." (See words below.) Yes,
you will shed tears as you see Maurice and Semanski in Maurice's house, Ruth-Anne and Walt closing up Ruth-Anne's shop, Michelle and Phil hugging in their house
and doing the polka (no, just kidding), Maggie and Chris dancing together in
her living room (not doing the polka), Marilyn pulling
down the shade in her house, and a long, establishing shot of Cicely, Alaska
-- possibly the final shot of one of the most brilliant hour-shows ever on television. |
Details
(Production
Bible): |
Maurice's summer lodge consists of the Chuck Yeager, Buzz Aldrin, Wally Schirra,
Alan Shepard and Jim Lovell suite, and is nestled on 1500 plus acres of old
growth forest complete with fresh mountain streams and a glacial melt lake.
Champagne of choice: Krug
Clos de Mesnil '83
Holling spent so much time
in the bush that he picked up the sexual biorhythms of the caribou bull and
experiences annual rut.
Most Memorable Quote: "I
owe you an apology, Barbara. I tried to change you into something you're not.
You're no gentle lady. You're a warrior, a dogface, 100 percent U.S. prime."
Most Memorable Moment:
Series regulars coming home to Iris Dement's "Our Town"
And ya know the
sun's settin' fast
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts
Go on now and kiss it goodbye
But hold on to your lover 'cause your heart's bound to die
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on our town
Goodnight.
Up the street
beside the red neon light
That's where I met my baby one hot summer night
He was the tender and I ordered a beer
It's been twenty years and I'm still sittin' here.
And ya know the
sun's settin' fast
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts
Go on now and kiss it goodbye
But hold on to your lover 'cause your heart's bound to die.
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on our town
Goodnight. |
It's here I had
my babies and I had my first kiss
I've walked down Main street in the cold morning mist
Over there is where I bought my first car
It turned over once but then it never went far.
And ya know the
sun's settin' fast
And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts
Go on now and kiss it goodbye
But hold on to your lover 'cause your heart's bound to die
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on our town
Goodnight.
-Iris DeMent |
|
Guest
stars (9): |
Rabbi Schulman - Jerry Adler (Also appeared in 5.18 and 6.3)
Owen - George Barril (Also
appeared in 5.6, 5.10, 5.17, 5.18, 5.19, 6.2, 6.12, 6.15, and 6.17)
Walt - Moultrie
Patten
Officer Barbara Semanski - Diane
Delano
Hayden Keyes - James
L. Dunn
Elaine - Kia Sian
Stunt Double - Michelle Sebek (Also appeared in 6.20) |
Music:
(Note music listed is from the original TV airings. The DVD may differ. * Indicates correct song on the DVD.) |
Instrumental when the Rabbi drops in on Michelle.
Fly Me To The Moon - Astrud Gilberto
[Maurice proposes to Barbara.]
banjo tune when
Chris and Ed talk about Chris missing Maggie and no longer being a bachelor.
Our Town - Iris
DeMent*
[Do I have to tell you??] |
Shelly's Earrings: |
Can't see them but they must be swinging ... |
Additional
Notes: |
Original airdate listed as May 17, 1995 in the Production Bible, however the show was put on hiatus and the last three episodes didn't air until July 1995.
Was this episode filmed to be an series finale or not?
Reposted by Danny on the newsgroup:
<<The show had already been filmed, including the Our Town montage, BEFORE
the show was actually cancelled. But they knew the outlook was grim, so I'm
sure that's why they included that ending.
Some context: The show had
been off the air since the beginning of April, rumors were running rampant,
and everyone was tensely awaiting CBS' decision on its Fall(95-96) schedule,
which was expected on 5/25/95. As had been feared, NX was cancelled. The last
episode, scheduled as an afterthought it seemed, aired on 7/26/95. A note by
an anonymous(he thought) poster had been posted to the newsgroup on 5/23/95
giving a detailed plot summary of the final episode. I discovered his identity
and asked what his affiliation was to the show and why we should believe him.(See?
I'm always stirring up trouble. 8-)) In an effort to hide his identity, he canceled
his note as well as my reply. The former is okay...the latter is a usenet no-no.
Fortunately, I'm a packrat and had saved his original note and reposted it the
next day.
Here's my reposted note:
START The following note is from a guy named Dave (evad@oz.net) at SenseMultimedia
online service in Seattle, WA. As with anything posted to the 'net, please take
with a boulder-grain of salt. 8-)
______________________________
well folks, its all over and we're sure some
of you out there would like to know how the whole thing kinda ends and we happen
to have some news on the final script so, if you don't wanna know, don't read
any further... "Tranquility Base" is the title. it refers to a lodge that maurice
has bought as sort of a family compound, a la the Kennedy on Hayannisport.
PROLOGUE... maurice, semanski
and ed are all at tranquility base preparing for a big weekend retreat maurice
has set up for all the residents of cicely (well at least all the lead characters).
it is here we learn that maurice plans on proposing to semanski.
ACT ONE... the gang readies
themselves for the weekend retreat. we learn that holling is in a rut, phil
and michelle are bickering, maggie isn't coming along cause she's gone to visit
the bubble boy, chris wants to persuade hayden to go out and be a wildman with
him searching for woodnymphs, ruth-anne and walt are there and finally, that
maurice wants semanski to ease up and not be a cop all weekend.
ACT TWO... michelle runs
into rabbi schulman in the woods, actually he almost parachutes into her. holling
and shelly keep a 'do not disturb' sign on their door. the whole gang plays
charades. semanski punches maurice in the nose. chris wants to go fishing in
the middle of the night and while looking for bugspray ends up finding maurice's
pricy bottle of champagne he purchased for the big question popping, needless
to say, he polishes it off.
ACT THREE... the next morning.
breakfast is served. everybody prepares for a big mushroom hunt. michelle gets
lost in the woods, runs into the rabbi again. semanski organizes a search party.
holling wallows in mud. chris pines for maggie.
ACT FOUR... the search
party is on. michelle is found, she and phil are a couple again. that night
everyone is having a grand ole time. semanski says yes. maggie shows up outta
nowhere, she and chris embrace. the song "our town" begins to play till the
end. and then we are taken to each character's home for that final glimpse,
ending with the last ever shot of main street in the town of cicely, alaska.
thats it. we don't know of the broadcast date, but we hope this overview will
ease your pain or joy, whatever the case may be. END
______________________________
As you can see, much of
what was said seemed so far-fetched that we newsgroup users were highly suspicious.
But since he'd gone to so much trouble to cover his tracks, I thought he might
be on the level. It's never been determined who Dave Curry is or what his affiliation
with the show was. Anyway, since everything else he said came to pass, I believe
that Maggie going to see the Bubble boy must have been in a script or partially
edited episode that he saw. For whatever reason, the explanatory scene was eventually
deleted or cut, possibly due to Janine's fragile condition. Prior to Dave's
note, it had been rumored in the newsgroup that Janine Turner wouldn't appear
in the final episode due to recent gall bladder surgery. Several years later
Janine revealed that her pregnancy was something of a miracle since she'd also
had an ovary removed during gall bladder surgery. Maggie's wan/brief appearance
in the final episode makes a bit more sense now.
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