TV Quote of the Day (‘Northern Exposure,’ on Human Wants, Needs and Desires)

Ruth-Anne Miller (played by Peg Phillips) to Maurice J. Minnifield (played by Barry Corbin): “You know what Oscar Wilde said? He said, 'nothing human is alien to me'. It's just human. We all have the jungle inside of us. We all have wants and needs and desires, strange as they may seem. If you stop to think about it, we're all pretty creative, cooking up all these fantasies. It's like a kind of poetry.”— Northern Exposure, Season 5, Episode 12, “Mister Sandman,” original air date Jan. 10, 1994, teleplay by Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, directed by Michael Fresco

This blog post is dedicated to the memory of my dear friend Ann, who adored this offbeat series—one that, even in the context of current network TV, remains highly unusual in content.

TV Quote of the Day (‘Northern Exposure,’ on the ‘Things That Ignite Passion in the Human Heart’)

“Most of you have been where I am tonight. The crash site of unrequited love. You ask yourself, How did I get here? What was it about? Was it her smile? Was it the way she crossed her legs, the turn of her ankle, the poignant vulnerability of her slender wrists? What are these elusive and ephemeral things that ignite passion in the human heart? That's an age-old question. It's perfect food for thought on a bright midsummer's night.”—Northern Exposure, “Only You,” Season 3, Episode 2, original air date Sept. 30, 1991, teleplay by Ellen Herman, directed by Bill D'Elia 

In a time of year marked by unrelenting heat, I thought it might be nice to focus on something else associated with “a bright midsummer's night.”