Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: Information from Answers.com Mobile

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman

Plot

Enjoying astonishing (and well-deserved) popularity at a time in TV history when dramatic programs trafficking in "family values" were few and far between, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was also one of the last of that hardy breed known as the "TV Western." Set in Colorado Springs, CO, in the years just following the Civil War, the weekly, 60-minute series starred Jane Seymour as Michaela "Mike" Quinn, one of a handful of women doctors west of the Mississippi (or anywhere else!) during the second half of the 19th century. After the death of her father and medical partner, Dr. Mike left her hometown of Boston to set up practice in the hardscrabble village of Colorado Springs. Not surprisingly, she encountered much hostility and mistrust from the townsfolk, but gradually won them over not only because of her medical brilliance, but because she was almost unerringly "in the right" at all times. When one of her first patients, Charlotte Cooper (Diane Ladd), died of a snakebite, Dr. Mike inherited the woman's three children, who at the outset of the series ranged in age from 10 to 17. Oldest son Matthew Cooper (Chad Allen) grew up to become the town's sheriff, and later went off to study law; daughter Colleen (played by Erika Flores from 1993 to 1995, thereafter by Jessica Bowman) eventually followed Dr. Mike's footsteps by pursuing a medical career, and ultimately married her foster mother's young assistant, Dr. Andrew Cook (Brandon Douglas); and youngest Chandler boy, Brian (Shawn Toovey), got into many a scrape -- some of them near-fatal -- in the course of the series.

Also in the cast was Joe Lando as taciturn mountain man Byron Sully, who spent most of his time communing with nature (including his pet wolf) and commiserating with the local Cheyenne Indian tribe. In the early episodes, Sully was merely the man who owned the house rented by Dr. Mike and her "instant" family; later on, he and Mike fell in love, got married, and had a daughter named Katie. The huge, rotating cast of recurring characters included curmudgeonly (and, initially, downright nasty) storekeeper Loren Bray (Guy Boyd in the pilot episode, Orson Bean thereafter); Bray's sister-in-law, Dorothy Jennings (Barbara Babcock), editor of the town newspaper; Grace (Jonelle Allen), a black woman who owned the town diner; telegraph operator Horace Bing (Frank Collison) and his bride, Myra (Helene Udy), a former saloon girl; Myra's ex-boss Hank (William Shockley), owner of the local "sporting house"; Rev. Timothy Johnson (Geoffrey Lower), who functioned as the town schoolteacher until Teresa Morales (played first by Michelle Bonilla, then by Alex Meneses) took over; Loren Bray's conniving buddy, barber Jake Slicker (Jim Knobeloch); Sully's old pal, wealthy ex-prospector Daniel Simon (John Schneider); and the much-maligned Cheyenne medicine man Cloud Dancing (Larry Sellers), whose persecution at the hands of the U.S. military aroused the fire-breathing activism of pioneering feminist and humanitarian Dr. Mike.

Our heroine also fought tirelessly for the rights of blacks, Hispanics, battered wives and practically everyone else who suffered under the weight of bigotry and misunderstanding in the Old West. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was far and away CBS' most successful and beloved Saturday-night series throughout its five seasons on the air, and has remained an audience favorite on cable and in syndication. ~ Rovi

Cast

Jason Adams - Preston A. Lodge III; Chad Allen - Matthew Cooper; Jonelle Allen - Grace; Barbara Babcock - Dorothy Jennings; Orson Bean - Loren Bray; David Beecroft - Sgt. McKay; Jessica Bowman - Colleen Cooper [1995-1998]; Frank Collison - Horace Bing; Brandon Douglas - Dr. Andrew Cook; Ashley Jones - Ingrid [1993]; Heidi Kozak - Emily; Joe Lando - Byron Sully; John Schneider - Daniel Simon; Larry Sellers - Cloud Dancing; William Shockley - Hank Claggerty; Gail Strickland - Olive Davis; Shawn Toovey - Brian Cooper; Helene Udy - Myra Bing; Jennifer Youngs - Ingrid [1993-1995]; Jane Seymour - Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn; Erika Flores - Colleen Cooper [1993-1995]; Geoffrey Lower - Rev. Johnson; Alex Meneses - Theresa Morales [1997-1998]; Michelle Bonilla - Theresa Morales [1996-1997]; Henry G. Sanders - Robert E.; Melissa Flores - Missy; Jim Knobeloch - Jake Slicker

Credit

Chris Abbott - Executive Producer, Beth Sullivan - Executive Producer, Sara Davidson - Executive Producer, Carl Binder - Executive Producer, Philip Gerson - Executive Producer, Timothy Johnson - Executive Producer

Episodes

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: Season 01 (1993)
The two-hour debut episode of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman stars Jane Seymour as Michaela "Mike" Quinn, one of the few women doctors practicing in the year 1868. Following the death of her father and medical partner, Dr. Mike leaves her hometown of Boston to set up a practice in the wild-and-wooly town of Colorado Springs, CO. Though most of the townsfolk resist the notion of a "medicine woman," Mike finds a close friend in boarding-house owner Charlotte Cooper (Diane Ladd) -- and, after Charlotte's death from a snake bite, our heroine "inherits" the woman's three children: Matthew (Chad Allen), Colleen (Erika Flores), and Brian (Shawn Toovey). Other characters introduced during the remaining season-one episodes include taciturn mountain man Byron Sully (Joe Lando), who feels more at home with the local Cheyenne Indians than with his fellow whites, and who somewhat grudgingly allows Dr. Mike to live in his house (when he's not around, of course); curmudgeonly general-store owner Loren Bray (Guy Boyd in the pilot, Alan Young in the series), whose hatred for Sully temporarily carries over to an intense dislike for Mike; Cloud Dancing (Larry Sellers), a mystical Cheyenne medicine man whom Dr. Mike tries to protect from the vicious attacks of local Cavalry leader General Custer (the same!); Grace (Jonelle Allen), who in the course of the season opens her own café; Ingrid (first played by Ashley Jones, then from episode three on by Jennifer Youngs), an immigrant girl with whom Matthew falls in love; Horace Bing (Frank Collison), the town's telegraph operator; and Myra (Helene Udy), the reformed saloon gal to whom Horace proposes by season's end. Several critical events occur during the series' inaugural season, including a flu epidemic which convinces the townsfolk that Dr. Mike knows what she's doing; a case of mercury poisoning, which in a roundabout fashion draws Mike closer to the secretive Sully; and an uncomfortable "reunion" between Mike's foster children and their ne'er-do-well father. The principal characters undergo a variety of additional crises, among them Sully's recuperation after suffering a beating at the hands of goons hired by the local railroad, Brian's delicate brain operation, and Colleen's bout with frostbite. On a more positive note, the influence of Dr. Mike and her friends occasionally spurs the townsfolk to perform acts of unprecedented goodwill, notably the construction of Colorado Springs' first schoolhouse. ~ Rovi

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: Season 02 (1993)
Season two of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman introduces a new arrival in the town of Colorado Springs: Dorothy Jennings (Barbara Babcock), sister-in-law of crotchety storekeeper Loren Bray (Orson Bean). Given shelter by Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn (Jane Seymour) while escaping the wrath of her abusive husband, Dorothy must subsequently stand trial for her spouse's murder. In other dramatic developments, the growing affection between Dr. Mike and mystical mountain man Sully (Joe Lando) is threatened by, of all things, the ghost of Sully's late wife; Loren Bray's duplicitous buddy, town barber Jake Slicker (Jim Knobeloch), nearly incites a bloody war when he accidentally kills one of the local Cheyenne Indians; a typhus epidemic reveals a hitherto hidden government plan to commit full-scale genocide; the townsfolk react prejudicially to the arrival of a troop of black "Buffalo Soldiers"; a bitter strike at the local mine pits friend against friend; the Ku Klux Klan tries to persuade Dr. Mike's foster son Matthew (Chad Allen) to join their ranks; and Dorothy's disturbed war-veteran son puts the town on edge. On a happier note, in the two-part episode "Where the Heart Is," Dr. Mike returns to her native Boston to be with her ailing mother, a brief sojourn that culminates in a declaration of love -- and a marriage proposal -- from the heartsick Sully. This season concludes with another two-parter, wherein Dr. Mike is forced to choose between Sully and her former fiancé, David Lewis (Maxwell Caulfield) -- whom she assumed had been killed in the Civil War. ~ Rovi

The Race
Mike's Dream...A Christmas Tale
Sanctuary
Halloween
The Incident
Saving Souls
Where the Heart Is
Giving Thanks
Best Friends
Sully's Choice
Crossing the Line
The Offering
The Circus
Another Woman
Orphan Train
Buffalo Soliders
Luck of the Draw
Life and Death
The First Circle
Just One Lullaby
The Abduction
The Campaign
The Man in the Moon
Return Engagement

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: Season 03 (1994)
There is reason aplenty to celebrate in the course of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman's third season. For one, Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn (Jane Seymour) and mountain man Sully (Joe Lando) have become engaged; for another, Colorado Springs finally becomes linked to the transcontinental railroad; and finally, telegraph operator Horace (Frank Collison) and his ex-saloon gal bride, Myra (Helene Udy), become parents. But the news is not so good for the local Cheyenne tribe and its spiritual leader, medicine man Cloud Dancing (Larry Sellers). Despite a trip to Washington, D.C., by Mike, Sully, and Cloud Dancing to plead for better treatment of the Cheyenne, and the appointment of Sully as local Indian agent, the entire tribe is massacred by the xenophobic General Custer (Jason Leland Adams) -- all except Cloud Dancing, who becomes a fugitive with a price on his head. In other traumatic developments, Dorothy Jennings (Barbara Babcock), owner of the town's newspaper, must undergo a mastectomy; teenage outlaw Belle Starr (Melissa Clayton) robs the local saloon; the townsfolk (except, of course, for Dr. Mike and her friends) react with hostility at the arrival of a Jewish family; and everyone is thrown into a panic when a comet streaks across the sky. Less serious but no less troublesome is the cattle drive embarked upon by Dr. Mike, her foster son Matthew (Chad Allen), and Sully when Matthew unexpectedly inherits 200 head of prime stock. Despite innumerable setbacks and tragedies, season three of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman ends on a high note, as Mike and Sully proudly march down the aisle. ~ Rovi

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: Season 04 (1995)
Season four of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman welcomes three new cast members to the fold. Jessica Bowman takes over from Erika Flores in the role of Colleen Cooper, foster daughter of Colorado Springs' lady doctor Michaela "Mike" Quinn (Jane Seymour); Jason Leland Adams (who had portrayed General Custer in the previous season) appears as Bostonian Preston A. Lodge III, who establishes the town's first bank and has plans to erect a casino; and Brandon Douglas shows up as Dr. Andrew Cook, who briefly takes over Dr. Mike's practice while she gives birth to her first child, Katie (Mike, of course, had married longtime beau Bryan Sully [Joe Lando] at the end of season three). A whole new set of crises and challenges befall the regulars as well during the fourth season. After his fiancée, Ingrid (Ashley Jones), is bitten by a rabid dog and dies, Dr. Mike's grieving foster son Matthew (Chad Allen) briefly finds comfort in the arms of kindhearted bordello worker Emma (Charlotte Chatton); Matthew is also elected sheriff of Colorado Springs. Fugitive Cheyenne medicine man Cloud Dancing (Larry Sellers) is captured and forcibly confined to a government reservation; and local newspaper editor Dorothy Jennings (Barbara Babcock) sets the town on its ear when she writes a lurid bestseller. Having been blessed with motherhood, Dr. Mike is twice blessed in the course of this season when she becomes the first woman doctor ever to be accepted into the American Medical Association. ~ Rovi

A New Life
Hell on Wheels
Fifi's First Christmas
Traveling All-Stars
Mothers and Daughters
Brother's Keeper
Halloween III
Dorothy's Book
Promises, Promises
Expedition
One Touch of Nature
Change of Heart
Tin Star
If You Love Someone
The Iceman Cometh
Dead or Alive, Pt. 1
Dead or Alive, Pt. 2
Deal With the Devil
Eye for an Eye
Hearts and Minds
Reunion
Woman of the Year
Last Chance
Fear Itself
One Nation
When a Child Is Born, Pt. 1
When a Child Is Born, Pt. 2

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: Season 05 (1996)
Additions to the cast of characters on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman during the series' fifth year on the air include Katie Sully (played by various female members of the Calabreese family), newborn daughter of Colorado Springs' lady doctor, Michaela "Mike" Quinn (Jane Seymour), and her mountaineer husband, Byron Sully (Joe Lando), and Teresa Morales (Michelle Bonilla), who after arriving in town upon the death of her husband becomes the new schoolteacher in place of the Reverend Timothy Johnson (Geoffrey Lower) -- and briefly arouses the bigotry of certain townsfolk in the process. Recovering from her pregnancy, Dr. Mike tries to go back to work, only to find that her patients have become rather accustomed to her temporary replacement, Dr. Andrew Cook (Brandon Douglas). Elsewhere, Sully's friendship with Indian shaman Cloud Dancing (Larry Sellers) causes him to lose his job as local Indian agent; strapped for cash, Sully and Mike are rescued from penury by Sully's old pal Daniel Simon (John Schneider), a prospector who's struck it rich. Meanwhile, Mike's foster daughter Colleen (Jessica Bowman) begins attending college -- and dating the handsome Dr. Cook. Season five ends on a cliffhanger, as Dr. Mike is left alone when Sully helps Cloud Dancing jump his reservation -- and disappears in the massacre that follows. ~ Rovi

Runaway Train
The Tempest
Separate but Equal
A Place to Die
Season of Miracles
Having It All
Malpractice
All That Glitters
Los Americanos
Last Dance
Right or Wrong
Remember Me
Legend
The Dam
Farewell Appearance
The Most Fatal Disease
Colleen's Paper
A House Divided
Hostage
The Body Electric
Before the Dawn
Starting Over
His Father's Son
Moment of Truth, Part 1
Moment of Truth, Part 2

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: Season 06 (1997)
The sixth and final season of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman ushers in two new regulars: Alex Menesas, replacing Michelle Bonilla in the role of Colorado Springs' schoolteacher Theresa Morales; and John Schneider, briefly introduced the previous season as wealthy ex-prospector Daniel Simon, a friend of Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn's (Jane Seymour) husband, Sully (Joe Lando) -- who has become a fugitive after helping Cheyenne shaman Cloud Dancing (Larry Sellers) escape his reservation. With Dr. Mike's foster son Matthew (Chad Allen) studying law, Daniel takes over as the town's sheriff, joining Mike in her search for the missing Sully and hoping to catch up with the fugitive before he can be killed by vengeful Cavalry sergeant McKay (David Beecroft), who holds Sully responsible for the massacre that followed Cloud Dancing's escape. This tense situation is resolved peacefully, with both Sully and Cloud Dancing returning to Colorado Springs, and the latter falling in love with newspaper editor Dorothy Jennings (Barbara Babcock). Meanwhile, Dr. Mike's foster daughter Colleen (Jessica Bowman) finishes college and enters the same medical school where Mike received her diploma. Though a run on the Colorado Springs bank causes a mini-depression in the community, the town's spirits are lifted at season's end, as Colleen prepares to marry Dr. Mike's young assistant, Dr. Andrew Cook (Brandon Douglas). ~ Rovi

Reason to Believe
Civil Wars
Safe Passage
The Homecoming
All That Matters
A Matter of Conscience
The Comfort of Friends
Wave Goodbye
A Place Called Home
Lead Me Not
A Time to Heal (Pt. 1)
A Time to Heal (Pt. 2)
Point Blank
Seeds of Doubt
Seven Kinds of Lonely
Life in the Balance
Happily Ever After
Birdman
Vengeance
To Have and to Hold
The Fight
A New Beginning