Northern Exposure Season 4 Episode 18

(on the winter solstice, during 24 hours of total darkness)
Chris: Goethe's final words: more light. Ever since we crawled out of that primordial slime, that's been our unifying cry: more light. Sunlight, torchlight, candlelight, neon, incandescent, light to banish the darkness from our caves, to illuminate our roads, the insides of our refrigerators. Big floods for the night games at Soldier's Field, little tiny flashlight for those books we read under the covers when we're supposed to be asleep. Light is more than watts and footcandles, light is metaphor. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet. Rage, rage against the dying of the light! Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom, lead thou me on. The night is dark and I am far from home, lead thou me on. Arise, shine, for thy light has come. Light is knowledge, light is life, light is light.

Ed: I know it won't be the same as a Caribbean vacation, but if you want we can go ice-fishing this Sunday.
Joel: Thanks, Ed, that would be nice.

(on discovering Lance was a Marine)
Maurice: (pulls out a few bills) Here, buy yourself a hot meal. Semper fi.
Lance: Hoorah.

(Chris grabs a neon sign off the wall)
Chris: Dave, I need this.
Dave: Okay by me.

Ed: Your possessions have been seized.
Joel: Seized? Seized?!
Ed: Maurice said it's pretty standard in cases like this.
Joel: (getting more and more upset) Seized?!! Seized!!!
Ed: Don't tell anyone, but I packed you a change of underwear and a toothbrush.

Bernard: I could be Lance, Lance could be me. My reaction should be empathy, caring, compassion. I'm working on it.

Chris: Well it's a different kettle of fish, your situation with Mike. I break in here in the middle of the night, I risk my life. You hit the rack with Mike, you risk his. But I say, what the hell, go for it, nail him to the sheets.

Maurice: There are things in this world we don't understand. It could be the big guy, it could be little green men, it could just be whatnot reminding us we don't know it all.