Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman
Format Western / Family drama
Created by Beth Sullivan
Starring Jane Seymour
Joe Lando
Chad Allen
Erika Flores (1993-95)
Jessica Bowman (1995-98)
Shawn Toovey
Country of origin USA
No. of seasons 6
No. of episodes 150
Plus 2 TV movies
(List of episodes)
Production
Running time 47 mins.
Broadcast
Original channel CBS
Original run January 1, 1993 – May 16, 1998

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman is an American post-Civil War western/drama series created by Beth Sullivan. Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn, played by Jane Seymour, left Boston in search of adventure. She goes to Colorado Springs, Colorado where she establishes herself as doctor/adviser.

The show ran on CBS for six seasons, from January 1, 1993, to May 16, 1998. In total, 150 episodes were produced, plus two television movies which were made after the series' cancellation. It aired in over 100 countries. Since 1997, reruns have been shown in syndication and on ABC Family, ION Television, the Hallmark Channel, gmc, and INSP.

Contents

Plot

The series begins in the year 1867 and centers on a proper and wealthy female physician from Boston, Massachusetts ; Michaela Quinn (Jane Seymour) ; familiarly known as Dr. Mike. After the death of her father, Dr. Mike sets out west to the small wild west town of Colorado Springs, to set up her own practice. She makes the difficult adjustment to life in Colorado with the aid of rugged outdoorsman and friend to the Cheyenne, Byron Sully (Joe Lando) and a midwife named Charlotte Cooper (played by Diane Ladd). After Charlotte is bitten by a rattlesnake, she asks Michaela on her deathbed to look after her three children, Matthew (Chad Allen), Colleen (played by Erika Flores and later Jessica Bowman) and Brian (Shawn Toovey). Dr. Mike settles in Colorado Springs and adapts to her new life as a mother with the children while finding love with Sully. Furthermore, she acts as a one-woman mission to convince the townspeople that a female doctor can successfully practice medicine.

Broadcast History

During its entire original run on CBS, the show aired from 8-9PM Eastern time on Saturday nights. It was the last successful TV Western drama to date, and also one of the last original series to find long term success in a Saturday timeslot.

About the show

Dr. Quinn was best known for its large supporting cast and high-concept storytelling. The series often used its semi-historical setting as a vehicle to address issues of gender and race within the community. Countless issues were addressed that were relevant to modern times, some of which were quite controversial. One controversial episode took on homophobia when the famous poet Walt Whitman came to town. Religion played a somewhat minor role in the series, but was also used to address certain issues and new ideas.

Jane Seymour was cast as Michaela Quinn at the last minute, after she was given the script to read the day before production was to begin on the pilot. She was instructed to read the script and make a decision whether or not to commit to the contract. Seymour is quoted as saying she was moved to tears by the script; the next day began fittings for costumes.

The pilot episode was shot in early 1992 and finally aired in a 2-hour special on New Year's Day 1993. CBS aired a second hour-long episode of Dr. Quinn the next night to grab the audience's attention. Expectations for the show were low due to its being aired alongside the Orange Bowl that year. Initially critics panned the series and predicted that it would be quickly cancelled. Therefore, the pilot served as a made for television movie that could either be developed into a series or stand alone as a single 2-hour movie. Ratings for the pilot and first episode were high and the show was immediately picked up for an entire season. Certain members of the pilot supporting cast were replaced.

The romance between Michaela and Sully was widely popular with audiences. The popularity was related to Jane Seymour and Joe Lando's chemistry on screen. In the season 3 finale entitled "For Better or Worse", they were married in a special two-hour episode, which gained huge ratings and was highly publicized in magazines and on television. In season 4, Jane Seymour's pregnancy with husband James Keach was written into the show. Another highly rated episode was that of the birth of Michaela and Sully's daughter, Katie.

The large supporting cast were all given the opportunity to develop their own characters. They were often permitted to make suggestions and contribute ideas to the writers.

Dr. Quinn was one of the few dramatic shows to allow fans access to their filming sites at the Paramount Ranch in Agoura Hills, California. Fans were permitted to come and watch the filming of episodes each week. Members of the cast would often talk to their fans and sign autographs during breaks in filming. During the final season of the show's run, an official web site was established. It is still active today. Two fans went on to create the Dr. Quinn Times, a newsletter in which interviews with the cast, producers, directors, and technical specialists were conducted and distributed to fans twice each year.

Jane Seymour and Barbara Babcock were the only cast members to receive Emmy nominations for their roles during the series. Seymour was nominated several times during the series' run, while Babcock received a single nomination in 1995 for the episode entitled "Ladies' Night." Her character Dorothy Jennings underwent a mastectomy. The show did win many technical awards, as well as hair and make-up honors. Jane Seymour also won a Golden Globe in 1996 for her portrayal of Michaela Quinn.

Replacement of Erika Flores with Jessica Bowman

There were various cast changes of minor characters during the series. However, the most profiled change took place during the show's third season when the character of Colleen Cooper was recast halfway through the year. Unlike the other actors, who signed 5-year contracts with the show, Erika Flores was hesitant. She held out for an increase in her salary and refused to sign a contract unless offered a contract of less than 5 years, or an increase in salary. Rumors circulated that Flores' father gave her an ultimatum to end the contract unless they offered her more money, or he would cut her off financially. Flores has denied such rumors claiming that she left the series for personal reasons as well as to pursue other opportunities. Whatever the reasons, the actress was abruptly dismissed with little warning by CBS after the show declined to meet her requests.

Beth Sullivan decided that she wanted the character to continue instead of being killed off or sent away. As a result, Jessica Bowman was cast as the new Colleen in Flores' place. Some of Erika Flores' fans were vocal in their anger over the change and wrote CBS demanding to know why the actress had been replaced. CBS issued the following statement to the press:

Official "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Web Site" – February 7, 1996

"Dear Viewers: Over the past several months we have received numerous letters regarding the re-casting of "Colleen" on our show. When this change occurred, we released a statement to the effect of, "Unwilling to commit to 5 years, Erika Flores is leaving the series to pursue other interests." Well, it's now over one year and, the fact remains that Erika Flores left the show to pursue other interests. Now, what are those other interests? I can tell you its primarily school. She's auditioned for movies, but her primary focus, to our knowledge, is school. After all, she's only 16 years old. The events leading up to her decision to leave the show did include CBS's request that she sign a 5-year contract. Erika did not want to commit to that extended period of time, and CBS would not allow it (all the series regulars, including Jane Seymour, are required to sign a 5-year contract.) We, as producers of the show, were able to convince CBS to double Erika's salary in an attempt to keep her on the show, but she still was unwilling to commit to 5 years. This being the case, we had no other choice but to replace her. I hope that this will help clarify your questions about Erika Flores. She remains a very close friend of the show, often visiting the set for lunch and we wish her all the best in her future pursuits. Tim Johnson
Producer, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman"
(c) 1996 CBS"

The producers of the show felt that Jessica Bowman had the ability to successfully recreate the character on her own.

Other cast changes

Numerous cast changes occurred throughout the series, although none was as significant. Most notable was the replacement of Jane Wyman as Michaela's mother, Elizabeth Quinn. Wyman signed on to play the role for the third episode of Dr. Quinn in season one. Sources claim that Seymour and Wyman did not get along during the shooting of the episode. Later Wyman refused to return for another guest appearance in season 2. Georgann Johnson was hired to replace Wyman in the role and continued throughout the remainder of the series, making one guest appearance each season and appearing in the final Dr. Quinn television movie.

Michelle Bonilla originated the role of Theresa Morales in season five and was replaced by Alex Meneses in season six. She was abruptly let go for reasons that were never publically stated. Meneses' portrayal was well received and she was featured throughout the sixth season, when her character fell in love with Jake Slicker.

The role of Anthony (Grace and Robert E.'s adopted son) was played by Brenden Jefferson for four episodes in season four. He was replaced by Brandon Hammond who continued in the role throughout season five and six.

In the pilot episode, Loren Bray was portrayed by Guy Boyd, Jake Slicker was portrayed by Colm Meany, and Robert E. was played by Ivory Ocean. All three roles were recast for the remainder of the series by Orson Bean, Jim Knobeloch, and Henry G. Sanders, respectively. Similarly, Jennifer Youngs did not begin playing Ingrid until the character's second appearance; the first time the character appeared, she was played by Ashley Jones.

Tensions

The cast was reported to get along well despite some tensions, which led to minor recastings and some disagreements between the show's writers and cast.

The most documented tension came at the end of the show's fifth season, as Joe Lando was unhappy with both the show's and his character's direction. He seriously considered leaving the show. Lando, who felt the show needed to be shaken up, openly stated after a heated argument that Dr. Quinn could continue just fine with the Sully character killed off. Since it was not known if Joe Lando would return, the fifth season finale showed Sully being thrown over a cliff into a river. Viewers were left to wonder, along with Michaela Quinn, if he was dead or alive.

As winter turned into spring in the early months of 1997, it seemed likely Joe Lando would not return so John Schneider was asked to return to the show playing Sully's best friend Daniel Simon. John Schneider was intended to take Lando's place as the show's leading man and Michaela Quinn's new love interest. But, upon learning this, Dr. Quinn fans created a campaign, known as "Save Our Sully." By the time of filming the season 6 premiere in the spring of 1997, and after being freed up to pursue other projects, Joe Lando agreed to return. He was given part-time status on the show, and did not appear in every episode. Although the episodes were spread out throughout the season, they were filmed over a period of several weeks. Joe Lando then returned only for the finale.

Ratings

Season U.S. ratings Network Rank
1 1993 N/A CBS #19
2 1993-94 13.46 million CBS #25
3 1994-95 10.7 million CBS #49
4 1995-96 9.6 million CBS #55
5 1996-97 8.5 million CBS #58
6 1997-98 11.7 million CBS #51

Demographics change and cancellation

The show was a major hit in the United States for CBS and drew large ratings even though it aired on Saturday nights, when networks rarely air new episodes owing to low viewership. Despite the high ratings, CBS claimed that the demographics changed during the show's run. During its final season, the majority of Dr. Quinn's viewers were women 40 years of age and older, and not the male and female 18-to-40 demographic that networks try to reach. In response, CBS ordered the writers to give the show a slightly darker feel than in previous seasons. As a result, season six was darker than any other season before it, with the death of several characters as well as some highly sensitive subject matter: the painful miscarriage of Michaela's second child, as well as an episode entitled Point Blank where Michaela was shot by a man and then later developed post-traumatic stress disorder. Many fans did not like the changes while others felt that the tensions and high drama benefited the show after the overall pleasant past seasons. Despite these opposing opinions, the ratings still proved to be steady and consistent. The series was suddenly canceled in 1998 after its sixth season.[1]

Dr. Quinn: The Movie

The cancellation of Dr. Quinn caused a massive fan protest, the likes of which had not been seen since the campaign to save Star Trek in the mid-1960s. CBS decided that instead of producing another season, as the cost involved was deemed too high, it would make a TV movie. In May 1999, one year after its cancellation, CBS aired Dr. Quinn: Revolutions, a made for television movie which was set in 1877. However, the actual date should have taken place in 1875, two years after the final episode of Dr. Quinn in the year 1873. In the movie, Katie Sully is kidnapped and Dr. Mike and Sully, along with help from some members of the town, go and search for their missing daughter in Mexico. Fans of the show were delighted that a film was being produced but were not altogether impressed with the concept of the movie. It was very different in tone to the rest of the series, incorporating more guns and violence to try to please the demographic of males in their 20s. Furthermore, both Jessica Bowman and Chad Allen declined to take part in the episode. Also William Olvis' entire score was scrapped in favor of cost effective music that had nothing to do with the actual series. Fans were shocked to find a Dr. Quinn episode that did not include the main title sequence or theme. Moreover, the script, acting and interpretations of the characters came across as unfamiliar and quite unlike those from the actual series. Beth Sullivan was so furious with CBS's control over the project she declined to be involved with it. It was critically panned and failed in the ratings, due to a lack of promotion.

It seemed Dr. Quinn would not return again until CBS decided to give it another go.

Dr. Quinn: The Heart Within

A second movie entitled Dr Quinn: The Heart Within aired in May 2001. The movie was set a year after Revolutions, making it 9 years since the first episode of Dr. Quinn in the year 1867. This time around, CBS gave Beth Sullivan total creative control; however, there were some strong ground rules. To save money the movie had to be filmed in Canada, and only the principal cast could be involved. Jane Seymour also served as an executive producer. The plot revolved around Michaela and the Sully family returning to Boston to attend Colleen's graduation from Harvard Medical School. Having transferred from The Women's Medical College to the male dominated university since the series finale, Colleen has met harsh criticism from the board and her own father-in-law resents the fact that she continues to pursue medicine despite his misgivings. Unfortunately, Michaela's mother Elizabeth, played by Georgann Johnson, has fallen ill due to a heart condition and eventually dies leaving her estate to Michaela to establish a hospital in Colorado Springs. Colleen finds herself in a similar situation as her mother was in Boston nine years earlier, in that she is not respected or taken seriously as a woman doctor. The movie is a proper finale to the series, depicting the Cooper children finding their futures in Boston while Michaela returns to Colorado Springs to begin a new chapter in her life. While the movie was better received by fans, they did complain that more of the townspeople were not involved, due to CBS's demands, as well as the absence of Chad Allen's character Matthew (Allen declined to appear in the movie after he learned none of the show's supporting cast had been asked to star in it). Despite these criticisms, the movie beat out all its competition in the ratings coming in first place and was much more in nature of the actual series.

Reruns and future

The show has enjoyed strong ratings in reruns. Dr. Quinn was one of the rare instances of a show entering rerun syndication in the middle of a TV season. It debuted reruns in most American markets on Monday, December 30, 1996, just two days shy of the show's 4th anniversary. With 4 seasons being the minimum requirement for syndication pickup, Dr. Quinn reruns could have started at the more traditional launch date of September 1996, but the show's distributor, like many, had an additional minimum episode limit in order for the show to be eligible for syndication. This episode count was not reached until several episodes into Dr Quinn's fifth season (1996–1997), and since stations had already purchased the show at the beginning of that season, the distributor decided not to hold off until the next fall and let the stations start airing reruns right away.

When PAX TV launched in August 1998, it acquired reruns of current family-friendly series from CBS, including Dr. Quinn. Seeing that diehard Dr. Quinn fans were up in arms over the show's cancellation by CBS that year, these national reruns via PAX did help to relieve the blow; especially in markets where local stations might have not been airing reruns in syndication.

Until late 2005, the Hallmark Channel aired it daily, but in late 2005 Hallmark removed Dr. Quinn from its lineup, citing a drop in viewership. It is also believed that the high cost in Dr. Quinn distribution rights also played a role in its removal. Dr. Quinn continues to be seen throughout the world and has been translated to several languages.

Starting in June 2009 the Gospel Music Channel began airing Dr. Quinn weekdays at 5:00 and 6:00. More recently Vision TV Canada began airing Dr Quinn week nights at 6PM AT. It also airs on CHNU10 in the Lower Mainland of BC, Canada at 3 PM PST Weekdays. It has also been showed continuously in Denmark since 2001 with plans on to keep it at its daily broadcast time of 1:00, Monday to Friday, on Danish TV station, tv2.

Since the last movie in 2001, many of the show's cast members have expressed interest in reprising their roles and would like to do another reunion movie, or even a new season. Jane Seymour, Joe Lando, Chad Allen, and other cast members have stated they would all like to work together again and would reprise their Dr. Quinn roles if the opportunity arises.[citation needed] The show's creator, Beth Sullivan, has also stated her interest in writing another Dr. Quinn movie.[citation needed]

In 2003, A&E Network managed to buy the distribution rights for Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman from CBS. All six seasons plus the two made-for-TV movies have been released on DVD. The series appears on the GMC Network. GMC aired all the series episodes, including the season six episodes not shown in a decade, during the summer of 2010. Joe Lando did several teasers and promotions for the weekend marathons, and says he finds GMC's ad campaign "funny," saying: "Truthfully, I haven't had that many opportunities to make fun of Sully. No one's really found me that funny. But it's fun to do it now. GMC came up with a great ad campaign. My kids were entertained by it and my wife got a kick out of it."[2]

Historical facts and filming information

  • While much of Dr. Quinn was fictional, some of the events and people were based on historical fact:
    • Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania actually existed and is today part of Drexel University College of Medicine.
    • The Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 was referred to in the pilot episode (though it was historically inaccurate as the pilot took place in 1867).
    • Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and Chief Black Kettle are true historical figures.
    • The Battle of Washita River, seen in the third season episode Washita, was an actual historical event. In the show, the battle took place in 1869 in Colorado, while in fact it took place in the fall of 1868 in Oklahoma.
  • In what most consider the final episode of the series, the town's often-antagonist banker, Preston A. Lodge III, went bankrupt as a result of the great stock market crash caused by the Panic of 1873, a historically-accurate event. Lodge lost much of the townspeople's money along with his own in the Panic.
  • One of the major historical oversights of the show is that Colorado Springs was not technically founded until 1871 by General William Palmer and was mainly a resort town. There were no saloons as Palmer declared Colorado Springs to be alcohol-free. Colorado Springs stayed "dry" until the end of Prohibition in 1933. However, nearby towns including Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs did permit saloons.
  • Dr. Quinn was largely filmed at the western set on Paramount Ranch in Agoura Hills. Fans of the show were able to visit the sets, talk to the actors and watch the filming of the series during its 6-year run. Since Dr. Quinn ended, the ranch has been used numerous times for other filming projects. Numerous buildings including the church, Sully Homestead, school and Chateau Springs Hotel were leveled soon after the series was canceled. However, the entire town still remains. Despite minor changes over the years it is still recognizable as the Dr. Quinn set and is a popular tourist attraction for many fans.
  • Other areas used throughout the series were the backlot at Universal Studios in Hollywood, including The New England Street as the location of Quinn Family Home and the New York Streets doubling as the streets of Boston and Washington. The setting of Boston in the final movie was filmed in Canada using various locations in Old Montreal.
  • William Olvis wrote the underscoring music for the series except for a few episodes in season one (where he either alternated with Star Trek spin-off series composer David Bell, or co-scored with Bell) and the Revolutions movie.
  • Jane Seymour's husband James Keach directed and produced numerous episodes of Dr. Quinn and guest starred in the season 5 episode entitled "The Hostage."
  • Due to child labor laws, the role of Katie, Dr. Mike and Sully's daughter, was portrayed by identical triplets, Alexandria, McKenzie, and Megan Calabrese.
  • Jane Seymour is the only cast member who appeared in every episode of the series. Shawn Toovey missed only one episode as did Chad Allen who also did not appear in episode titled "Reunion" (Season 4) as well as the two made for TV movies. Joe Lando came in third, missing only a few episodes in the sixth and final season.

Cast

Supporting cast

  • Orson Bean — Loren Bray
  • Jim Knobeloch — Jake Slicker
  • Frank Collison — Horace Bing
  • William Shockley — Hank Lawson
  • Geoffrey Lower — Rev. Timothy Johnson
  • Henry G. Sanders — Robert E.
  • Larry Sellers — Cloud Dancing
  • Jonelle Allen — Grace
  • Heidi Kozak — Emily Donovan (season 1)
  • Gail Strickland — Ms. Olive Davis, Loren's sister (season 1)
  • Jennifer Youngs — Ingrid (seasons 1–4)
  • Helene Udy — Myra Bing (seasons 1–4)
  • Haylie Johnson — Becky Bonner (seasons 1–6)
  • Barbara Babcock — Dorothy Jennings (seasons 2–6)
  • Georgann Johnson – Elizabeth Quinn (seasons 2–6)
  • Alley Mills – Marjorie Quinn (seasons 2–6)
  • Elinor Donahue – Rebecka Quinn Dickinson (season 2–6)
  • Charlotte Chatton — Emma (seasons 4 & 5)
  • Michelle Bonilla — Teresa Morales (season 5)
  • Brandon Douglas — Dr. Andrew Cook (seasons 4–6)
  • Jason Leland Adams — Preston A. Lodge III (seasons 4–6)
  • Alex Meneses — Teresa Morales Slicker (season 6)
  • John Schneider — Daniel Simon (season 6)
  • Brenden Jefferson – Anthony (season 4)
  • McKenzie Calabrese, Megan Calabrese - Katie Sully

Notable Guest Stars

alphabetical order

DVD releases

A&E Home Video has released all 6 Seasons of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman on DVD in Region 1. They have also released the two television movies that were made after the series ended.

DVD Name Ep # Release Date
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Complete Season One 17 May 27, 2003
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Complete Season Two 24 September 30, 2003
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Complete Season Three 25 March 30, 2004
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Complete Season Four 27 October 26, 2004
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Complete Season Five 26 January 25, 2005
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Complete Season Six 22 July 26, 2005
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Movies 2 June 27, 2006
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Complete Series 151 October 20, 2009

Dr Quinn Medicine Woman was released on DVD in the UK through Revelation Films who have recently released the first of the two movies with the second to follow in July 2010.

See also

References

External links


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