Remote Rewind: Great Expectations

After a long and winding journey, we finally got to Michaela and Sully's wedding last week. This week, we're going to skip ahead to the birth of their child a year later. After believing that she couldn't get pregnant, Michaela learned that she and Sully were expecting. She struggled with balancing her work as a doctor and her body's need to slow down throughout her pregnancy (even suffering a scare that brought good old Dr. Cassidy into town to make sure she and the baby were OK). Needless to say, after nine grueling months, Michaela was ready to have that baby. But, she wasn't exactly ready to have the baby when and where she did.

After the mean Sgt. O'Connor left Sully for dead in the woods, Cloud Dancing risked his own life to get Michaela. She rode off with him to find Sully. After he led her to the injured Sully, Cloud Dancing was dicovered and captured by the Army. Michaela got Sully's wounds patched up and the two prepared to ride back to town. Unfortunately, the baby had different plans. Michaela got her first contraction out there in the middle of nowhere. It passed and she began to think that it was a false alarm... that was until her water broke. Suddenly, Sully was thrust into the role of doctor without the formal training.

Michaela, through painful contractions and focusing on delivering the baby, walked Sully through the process and all seemed to go as planned -- at first. Then, a complication arose: the umbilical cord blocked the baby from coming out. Under Michaela's guidance, Sully cut the cord and the baby finally came. Michaela and Sully are the proud parents of a baby girl they name Katie Sully. I've seen a lot of TV/movie birth scenes, but this one instilled a fear of childbirth in me that still hasn't dissipated. I was exhausted just watching her deliver that baby! The acting, the emotions, the writing -- everything made this scene real, gritty, and unforgettable. It was so sweet to see Sully overcome his fear after losing his first wife and child in childbirth. Here he was delivering his own child and he was successful. It was a happy ending for all. And an emotional one for all of us who had followed their journey from the beginning.

Feeling nostalgic for Dr. Mike, Sully and the rest of the residents of Colorado Springs? Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Complete Series is now available on DVD

Remote Rewind: For Better or For Worse

After three seasons, a couple of break-ups, several almost break-ups, and more ups and downs than a rollercoaster, Sully and Michaela finally tied the knot in this 2-hour episode. They had suffered so much loss leading up to the big day that it was nice to see a happy occasion. But things weren't all honkey-dory on the path down the aisle. Michaela's mom and two of her sisters came into town for the wedding, but this led to a few rough patches -- not only between Michaela and her family, but also between Michaela and Sully. It's fair to say that the Boston crew wasn't exactly overly-impressed with the house that Sully had poured his heart and hard-earned money into over the last year. They said that it was "nice for Colorado Springs." In other words, not too impressive for their Boston standards. When Michaela started to see the house through their eyes, Sully took offense and asked her when she was going "to start seeing things through our eyes?"

Mrs. Quinn brought with her a fancy wedding dress from Paris. It was beautiful, but not exactly Michaela's style. Plus, she was supposed to wear a dress that Dorothy and the other women in the town were making for her. She didn't want to hurt either side's feelings, but Dorothy quickly conceded that the Paris dress was simply divine and she should wear it. Later, Marjorie began taking out her hurt over her own failed marriage and her shattered relationship with her mother on Michaela. Hank being quite the expert on recognizing certain ailments, realized that Marjorie's ex had left her with more than a broken heart and he alerted Michaela. She gave Marjorie some medicine to cure her STD.

Eventually, things were smoothed over between the Quinns and the wedding was on track to proceed. There was only one problem: Cloud Dancing. He was wanted by the U.S. Army and Gen. Custer was in town for the festivities (Mrs. Quinn had inadvertently invited him) making it impossible for him to attend his "brother's" wedding. Thanks to Jake, it was nothing a swift smack to the head with a bench couldn't cure. Problem solved. Everything was set except for that dress. Michaela decided to combine the elements from both dresses and create one that better reflected her. The result was simply stunning (if not a bit inappropriate for the time period and location). The moment had finally come and Michaela walked down the aisle with her mother at her side to give her away (something Mrs. Quinn first balked at because it wasn't traditional). After the "I do's," food, fun and dancing took over and Cloud Dancing took off before Custer came to and placed him into custody.

After, Michaela and Sully boarded a specially decorated train car (complete with the new headboard Sully had made for them) courtesy of Brian and Matthew. They waved to their loved ones and rode off into the sunset as a married couple. This being the 1860s and Michaela being a woman of proper breeding, their wedding night was a big night and marked a huge milestone in their chaste relationship. This being a family show, we were privy to the couple closing the shades ("It's getting darker"), sharing a passionate kiss and the episode fading to black. It was the perfect ending to a beautiful wedding episode.

Feeling nostalgic for Dr. Mike, Sully and the rest of the residents of Colorado Springs? Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Complete Series is now available on DVD

Remote Rewind: Murder on the River

As difficult as it was, both physically and emotionally, for Michaela to climb Pike's Peak and say goodbye to her friend, nothing could have prepared her for the emotional ride she was about to take. Any history student can tell you about Gen. Custer and his intolerance toward Native Americans and how it ultimately led to his demise at Little Big Horn. But before he held his "Last Stand," he carried out his massacre tradition in the Battle of Washita. The latter is where this outstanding 2-hour episode of Dr. Quinn focused its story.

After sending the Cheyenne women, children and elders away to what they thought was safety, Michaela, Sully and Cloud Dancing find out that Custer is planning on intercepting them on their journey. They set out to warn Black Kettle and his fellow Cheyenne, but come upon a horrific sight as they reach the Washita River: bodies everywhere. The women, children and elderly are all brutally murdered on the banks of the river. Bodies are shrewn about and children lie as lifeless as dolls. Cloud Dancing's own wife is among the dead and he tragically mourns her lifeless body. Flanked with a sense of hopelessness and despair, Michaela frantically searches for survivors, but finds none save for a tiny infant shielded under the body of a young Cheyenne, No Harm. As a baby, No Harm's mother shielded him and he survived and now he did the same to save one of the youngest members of his tribe. It was devastating and moving and made even more so by the show's decision to withhold a musical score and allow the scene to unfold in silence.

After they return to Colorado Springs with the young orphaned baby, Michaela goes back to work as if nothing happened. She tends to patients at her clinic and rebuffs anyone who wants to be a shoulder for her to cry on, but the weight of what she witnessed and the toll of the lives lost catches up with her eventually. First, she has a difficult time sleeping. She finds herself scrubbing the floors and medical supplies at the clinic during the wee hours of the night. Then, she begins to shut people out and snap on a dime. It finally comes to a head one morning at the homestead. Brian gives her a hard time and she flies off the handle. After, she runs out to the barn and begins frantically sweeping. Sully runs out to see if she's OK and hears her devistating sobs. He decides to give her some space and time to come to terms with the tragedy.

Eventually, Michaela spends some time with Cloud Dancing. He helps her mourn and move on from that horrific day along the Washita River. By the end of the outing, she seems better, but forever changed. But then again, so are most of us who witness along with her, the total devastation that was done to the Cheyenne. A difficult episode to watch and shoot (according to both Jane Seymour and Joe Lando, the hardest of all the episodes), but an important one. And, an important furthering of Michaela's emotional journey before she walks down the aisle and never looks back.

Feeling nostalgic for Dr. Mike, Sully and the rest of the residents of Colorado Springs? Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Complete Series is now available on DVD

Remote Rewind: Peace on the Mountain

We're going to take a little break from Sully and Michaela this week to focus on a stand out episode from the third season that pushed Michaela both physically and emotionally. At this point in the Sully/Michaela arc, they were reunited after being faced with the possibility of losing each other at the hands of Cheyenne dog soldiers and now, engaged (after Sully dreamt about losing Michaela, he asked her to marry him right after he woke up in a sweat lodge where he was trying to recover from a nasty migraine). But before these two could walk down the aisle, Michaela needed to complete a challenging journey: climbing Pike's Peak.

It all started when an eccentric, but aspiring former teacher found her way to Colorado Springs. Never one to shy away from a challenge (or an opportunity to raise a few eye brows), Sam came to Colorado Springs to climb Pike's Peak. She had lived a life of excitement and scandal (having an affair with a married man back east), but she hadn't climbed the tall peak. Michaela wants to climb it with her, but Sam tells her that she needs to do it alone. Michaela protests, but Sam assures her that she has hired a guide and will be fine. Michaela finally drops it and decides to spend the time she has with Sam before she starts her climb to get to know her better. Sam shares her love of Emerson with Micheala and the two become fast friends.

Sam says her goodbyes and takes off for her journey up Pike's Peak. Michaela worries, but lets her go. Things change when she spots the guide Sam hired back in town without Sam. When she asks him what happened, he tells her that he took Sam to the trailhead and she told him to leave. Michaela packs her things and gets the guide to take her to the spot where he left Sam. He, of course, thinks that she and Sam are crazy, but does it anyway. Michaela begins her hike and eventually catches up with a very weak Sam. It turns out, Sam is dying and has very little time left. Michaela being a doctor, wants to get her back down the mountain and into treatment, but Sam refuses. She has been through the treatments and she simply wants to enjoy her time left, accomplish something grand and die in peace.

Michaela once again protests Sam's decision, so when she wakes up the next morning, she's alone on the mountain side. She grabs her things and goes looking for Sam. She finds her, but she is even weaker and having trouble breathing. Michaela tries to help her, but Sam refuses. She wants to be left alone and she gives Michaela a choice: either leave her to die in peace or stay with her as her friend (NOT her doctor). Michaela feels torn between her duty as a doctor and her obligation as a friend. She settles on the latter. She looks up at the night sky with Sam as Sam quietly passes away. Michaela is devastated when she loses her friend, but finds one last message from Sam telling her to live life to its fullest. The words comfort her as she makes her way to the top of Pike's Peak and then back down and into town. She leaves that mountain a new person thanks to Sam, a little Emerson and her own physical and emotional strength. Little did she know that that emotional strength would be tested even further in the coming weeks, but we'll delve into the show's most tragic episode next week.

Feeling nostalgic for Dr. Mike, Sully and the rest of the residents of Colorado Springs? Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Complete Series is now available on DVD.

Remote Rewind: Sully's Heart Song

When we last left off, Sully and Michaela had finally thrown caution to the wind, run into each other's arms and professed their love for each other after a fateful trip to Boston. It was TV romance at its best, but things did not stay quite so rosy once they settled back into normal life in Colorado Springs. First, they struggled with their different lifestyles and expectations, but soon discovered that all they needed was each other -- everything else would fall into place. Later in the season, Sully developed a close (but innocent) relationship with a white woman raised by Native Americans. She kissed him, Michaela found out, and she and Sully broke up shortly after. Next, Michaela briefly "courted" the reverend when they bonded over a group of orphaned children (he asked her to marry him, but she declined). All the while, she and Sully remained separate. They slowly began to build their friendship again, but nothing materialized on the relationship front. It seemed, once again, that their intense, overwhelming feelings for each other had created a fear so strong that it kept them apart. All of that changed in this episode when renegade Cheyenne kidnapped Michaela, and Sully found himself risking his own life to spare hers.

After Sully and Michaela witness an incident between a group of renegade Cheyenne (dog soldiers) and the army, they're thrust into the middle of the conflict. Michaela tells Sully that if the army asks, she will not be able to lie about what she saw. The army asks, she tells the truth and the dog soldiers go on the attack. They set fire to houses on the outskirts of town and when their path crosses with Michaela's, they take her while Sully watches helplessly. The dog soldiers, led by One Eye, go on the run and keep Michaela as a prisoner. Cloud Dancing's son takes pity on Michaela and decides to risk his own life to save his father's friend. He frees Michaela and when One Eye finds out, he kills him. She doesn't get very far and One Eye takes her shoes so she cannot run again. Sully finally catches up to them and sends a voice signal to her. She pretends to have to go to the bathroom, so One Eye takes her to the woods where he tries to rape her. She fights back and Sully seizes the moment to jump in, grab Michaela and get out of there. The two escape after crossing a river in the dark. When Michaela wakes up the next morning, they are safely atop a ledge and Sully brings her some honey and berries. Faced with almost losing her, he decides to go for it one more time. Michaela realizes how devoted Sully is to her and how much she truly cares for him.

By the end of the episode, the pair make it back to town just in time to stop General Custer from executing innocent women, children and elders of the Cheyenne nation. Custer being Custer, wants to continue with the execution anyway, but Sully is able to stop it. Cloud Dancing is safe, but Michaela and Sully's future is still a bit up in the air. At least they're back on the right track.

Feeling nostalgic for Dr. Mike, Sully and the rest of the residents of Colorado Springs? Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Complete Series is now available on DVD.

Remote Rewind: Boston Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

This is my absolute, hands-down, no contest favorite episode of Dr. Quinn EVER!! And it might possibly be my favorite episode of any show ever, but nostalgia is coming into play so I'll just say that it's on my all-time faves list. Up until this point, Sully and Michaela has resisted (and even, at times, fought) their feelings for one another. It was painful for us to watch and we were sitting at home hanging on their every word waiting for the inevitable to finally happen. And when it did in this stellar episode, the payoff was well worth the wait. But before we get to the awesomeness that is "that moment," we need to discuss the build-up that comprised 99% of this second season outing. After Dr. Mike gets a troubling telegram from her sister, she and the kids rush back to Boston to be at her ailing mother's side. She recognizes that her mother has been misdiagnosed, but the attending doctor refuses to listen to her opinion or use any of her "Indian medicine" to treat her mother. A kinder, more open Dr. Burke agrees to take Michaela's diagnosis into consideration and agrees to treat Mrs. Quinn with the Cheyenne cure. Of course, he might have agreed simply because he was a bit smitten with her, but that is neither here nor there at this point. The cure works, and Mrs. Quinn is back home and feeling almost 100% in no time. Time to pack it up and head back to Colorado Springs, right? Nope. Michaela decides to stay in Boston for her mother's upcoming birthday bash much to Matthew's dismay (he's feeling a bit like a fish out of water and he's missing Ingrid).

The extended stay also gives Dr. Burke the opportunity to spend more time with Michaela. He brings her down to the poor houses to help those who cannot afford to get the medical care they need. The two quickly bond over their shared desire to use their skills to help the less fortunate. He takes her out to a fancy Boston dinner and he gets her a speaking engagement at a professional medical conference. Things seem to be moving along quickly between the two, but everything changes when Sully arrives in Boston (after seeking guidance from Cloud Dancing). He shows up at the Quinn residence in his buckskins and tomahawk and creates quite a stir on the streets of Boston and within the halls of the Quinn household. Michaela doesn't seem too excited to see Sully and quickly begins to give him the cold shoulder. He confronts her when she tells him that she'll have a housekeeper make him a fire, but he doesn't seem to get through to her. The kids tell Sully that he needs to take Dr. Mike to the opera and Mrs. Quinn suggests that he start looking and acting like he's in Boston ("When in Rome..."). Sully does both and things seem to being moving back into his favor. He even almost scores a goodnight kiss after the opera, but his success is short-lived.

Michaela gives her lecture at the professional medical conference, but the fact that she's a woman and her lecture is on Cheyenne medicine, causes many of the all-male attendees to walk out in the middle of her speech. Sully stays until the end and decides to go back stage to congratulate her. As she steps off the stage, Dr. Burke meets and congratulates her first. He tells her that he loves her and wants to be her partner in both medicine and life and asks her if she wants the same. She hesitates saying that there were moments when she thought it and moments when she was unsure of anything at all. He asks if Sully has asked for her hand and then proclaims that he's asking for it now. Sully witnesses the interaction and confronts Michaela about it outside the lecture hall. She can't give him the answers he desires and he storms off. When she returns to her mother's house, she learns that Sully has left. She rushes to the train station to find him and this angst-ridden scene unfolds:


At this point, I was losing it. We had waited all of this time and she freakin' walked off the train!! Sully put everything on the line and finally told her how he felt and she freakin WALKED OFF THE TRAIN!!! Luckily, Mrs. Quinn, the kids and her own soul-searching made her realize what she truly wanted. After letting Dr. Burke down easy, she and the kids bid adieu and boarded the train and then the stagecoach to Colorado Springs. When the stage finally pulled into town, my absolute favorite TV moment happened. I can in no way do the moment justice, so I will just post the scene in all of its awesomeness for you to enjoy:


Sigh. I'm pretty sure I can trace my hopeless romantic side back to this very scene. But if you thought that it was all smooth sailing from here for these two, you would be mistaken. Several obstacles abound in their path to happiness, but we'll cover some of that next week. For now, let's just enjoy the moment that was.

Feeling nostalgic for Dr. Mike, Sully and the rest of the residents of Colorado Springs? Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Complete Series is now available on DVD.

Remote Rewind: Picture Perfect?

"You must remember this, a kiss is just a kiss"

Several episodes passed between Michaela and Sully's birthday kiss and it was becoming increasingly clear that this famous song lyric was right. Had Michaela and Sully's first kiss been nothing more than a kiss between friends? It couldn't have been right? The first season finale explored this issue and delved into the meaning of that fateful birthday "gift." Daniel Watkins, a professional photographer, landed in Colorado Springs to take pictures of the beautiful mountains, plants, animals, Native Americans and overall "wild west" lifestyle of the American frontier. But, he was hiding a debilitating health secret. His eyes, the finest tool in his photography arsenal, were failing him. He was suffering from diabetes and back then, there wasn't much anyone could do to help him. He had photographed the Civil War, but was battling his own body to continue doing what he loved with the time he had left. It was tragic and Michaela being Michaela, tried in vain to help him. Everyone quickly decided that there should be a town photograph. This, of course, led to a few (mainly Loren, Jake and Hank) deciding who should, but more importantly, who should not be included in that photo. No "Indians or Blacks" came first, but soon saloon girls and others were added until most folks decided that they wanted nothing to do with the photo anymore. In the end, Daniel Watkins got his photo, with a little help from Sully, of the entire town.

Things weren't so easy on the relationship front. Neither Michaela nor Sully had addressed the night in question since her birthday. They hadn't started a relationship, so what had that kissed meant to each of them? An intimate conversation on the bridge seemed to clarify things, or did it? When Sully finally confronted her about that kiss, she told him that it was, "the nicest gift that I got, but that's all it has to be: a birthday gift." Ouch! Sully seemed to agree (or save face) by pointing out, "If things were different... if we weren't so different..." Michaela quickly agreed and the topic was officially dropped. But, it wasn't resolved. Both showed how vulnerable and scared they were to let the other in or to let the other know their true feelings. Any hope of a future relationship seemed dead in its tracks; the pair had succeeded in derailing that speeding train, but that was before they took a little trip to Boston. There's something about absence and the heart growing fonder and the threat of losing someone to someone else that makes people do things that they would normally be too scared to do. But, I'm jumping ahead, so we'll get to that (incredibly awesome) part of the story next week.

Feeling nostalgic for Dr. Mike, Sully and the rest of the residents of Colorado Springs? Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Complete Series is now available on DVD.

Remote Rewind: Birthday Kiss

Up until this point, we'd been anxiously awaiting the moment when Michaela and Sully crossed the line from friends to something more. And really, is there a better time than on Michaela's birthday? But before we get to that fateful moment, we have to back up to the beginning of the episode and one very down-in-the-dumps Michaela Quinn. Her looming birthday was weighing on her mind especially since she was beginning to feel like a spinster with no romantic prospects on the horizon (I know, but remember, I keep telling you that both she and Sully seemed hell-bent on derailing that train). To add insult to injury, her mother sent her a nice set of china, but it arrived in pieces. The kids decided to cheer her up by trying to set her up with one of the townsfolk. This went over as well as you are probably imagining. They tried, but no one was man enough to take on a strong, independent woman like Michaela. It began to feel like a lost cause with even Sully declining their request (he explained that "courtin'" was complicated).

Even though no one in town was interested in "courtin'" Dr. Mike, they pitched in and got her a nice sign to hang over her medical clinic in town. This was a HUGE gesture considering the fact that no one in town was willing to allow her to practice medicine on them when she first arrived in Colorado Springs only a short while ago. They also helped the kids throw Michaela a surprise party and both the party and the sign seemed to lift her spirits. But it was after she was surprised and after the sign was revealed that things heated up. Sully carefully chose his moment. He waited for the townspeople and the kids to head over to Grace's for the celebration. He waited for Michaela to be alone admiring her new sign and what it meant to her and her place in the hearts of the people of Colorado Springs. As she stood there looking up at her new sign, he appeared in a suit -- gift in hand. He had made her saddle bags to carry all of her medical supplies when she traveled to patients and to treat the Cheyenne. They were beautiful, but it was what he did next that left the lasting impression (on both Michaela and all of us watching at home). When she kissed him on the cheek to thank him, he saw an opportunity and he seized it. They kissed, they finally kissed! It was short, but sweet and it validated all of those pent-up, repressed feelings these two had been saving up since she arrived out west. It was great, but it was only a start. A start that had to wait some time before it turned into a story. There was one more bump in the road before that kiss and the awkwardness hanging between them after it, turned into one of the best romances in TV history.

Feeling nostalgic for Dr. Mike, Sully and the rest of the residents of Colorado Springs? Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Complete Series is now available on DVD.

Remote Rewind: Testing the Water

When we last left Sully and Michaela, he was lusting over her from afar, but this episode brought them a few steps closer to realizing their feelings. It all started when folks began showing up at Dr. Mike's clinic with a bad case of the stomach aches. At first, Michaela was puzzled as to the source. She tried to find a link between the victims, but kept coming up short. They all seemed to have different lifestyles. She suspected the water, but they had different sources (creek versus wells). She soon discovered that those with wells had partaken in a little moonshine from Happy Walker's still and Happy (who, as it turns out, wasn't very happy or very alive for that matter) uses the water from the creek to make his moonshine. It also just so happened that the local mining company was set up along the creek. Michaela suspected that the mining company was dumping mercury-filled waste into the creek causing those who drank from it to get mercury poisoning. But, she couldn't prove it and the mining company wasn't about to let her on their land to find out for sure. It turns out that mercury, in large amounts, can kill you, so Michaela was bound and determined to ascertain the cause of the poisoning and to stop the people responsible.

Enter Sully, a testing kit and an interesting adventure into the wilderness with the two of them alone. There's a great line before they embark on this little fact-finding mission from Miss Olive. Sully was completely against Michaela going along with him (because he believed she would "slow him down"), but she insisted that she be there to conduct the test at the source in order to get accurate results. When she tells Olive that Sully doesn't want her to go along, Olive suggests that Sully is "afraid to be alone with you." It's a loaded line and you can tell that it doesn't quite sit well with Michaela and this sorta sets the tone for the trip. Once in the wilderness together things got more interesting. Michaela, being a girl from the big city who hasn't fully acclimated yet to her new rugged surroundings, brought all sorts of useless "junk" on the trip (a brush, mirror, etc.) and Sully gave her a hard time. Later, she was able to use the mirror to distract a snake and give Sully the necessary time to kill it before it struck him. She immediately told him, "Handy little piece of junk, huh?"

After the snake incident, they learned to depend on each other a bit more. At one point, the mining company spoted them and started shooting (as per their sign at the entrance to their property: Trespassers will be shot). In an attempt to flee, Michaela fell and broke her arm making her journey even more difficult. They ended up taking to the water to escape the gun shots and this, combined with the broken arm, led to the famous "buttons scene." After making it safely out of the water, the two stripped down (to their undergarments -- this is the 1870s) and dried their wet clothes by the fire. They stayed on opposite sides of a tree for privacy, but Michaela soon found it much too difficult to button her own shirt and had to ask Sully to do it for her. They shared "a moment" (one of many as I've previously mentioned) and the groundwork for their future relationship was officially laid. It was the first point in which they both realized that they might not be able to stop that speeding train after all, but they were both hell bent on delaying it for as long as possible. But, we have a few more milestones to cover before we get to that part of the story.

Feeling nostalgic for Dr. Mike, Sully and the rest of the residents of Colorado Springs? Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Complete Series is now available on DVD.

Remote Rewind: Epidemic Proportions

With all the recent talk of "pandemics" and flu outbreaks and what would we do on a global level to prevent something deadly from spreading around the world at lightning speeds, this week's edition of "Remote Rewind" is going to seem very timely. Actually, one of the things that I always enjoyed about Dr. Quinn was the way it took place more than 100 years ago, but still managed to make stories relevant to today. Back in the 1870s, the concern wasn't over pandemics, it was over epidemics (as most outbreaks were contained to single areas with little threat of them rapidly spreading around the country and then the world as they are today). And the one that struck the most fear into the hearts of townsfolk everywhere was Influenza (and yes, 140 years later, we're still freaking out over the flu -- be it swine, avian or other). Entire towns could be wiped out because this thing would come in and take over. Sterilization wasn't what it is today, but even more so, the research on how disease spreads wasn't there yet. Those infected were quarantined and those lucky enough to stay healthy stayed away from the quarantined buildings full of the sick and dying. Unfortunately for Michaela, she was right in the middle of the quarantine. She was managing fevers, blotting away sweating foreheads, setting up bed after bed after bed, triaging as best she could all while looking after three young children.

The strain took its toll, and it wasn't too long before she came down with the Influenza. She was worn down, under-rested and over-worked while being exposed to a growing number of infected patients. She quickly became bedridden and her medicines were having little to no effect on her worsening condition. Sully stood by helplessly as the flu seemed to grip tighter. DQ was full of "little moments:" brief, fleeting moments that managed to speak volumes. One of those moments happened right there in Michaela's clinic. While the women sponged off her back (in another effort to lower her fever), Sully waited in the hall and he couldn't help but to watch from beyond the door. This wasn't a "creepy Peeping Tom" or "typical guy" kind of watching -- he was drawn to her whether it was his worry that if he looked away she might slip away or just his very strong developing feelings for her -- he was locked on her and knew he had to do something fast.

He took her to Cloud Dancing, a local Cheyenne medicine man (and one of my favorite characters!), who was able to use "Indian Medicine" to bring her fever down and eventually rid her body of the flu. This little turn of events was hugely important for two reasons: 1) it most definitely established Sully's feelings for Michaela and his willingness to do whatever it takes to save her life (a theme we see repeated by both Sully and Michaela throughout the entire series), and 2) it introduced Michaela to "Indian Medicine" and all of the untapped potential it held. In fact, it is this moment that leads Michaela to introduce the remedies into her practice, save her mother's life, and shape the rest of her story as the town's first female doctor. So, out of a terrible epidemic, comes some very important themes for the continuing fabric of the show.

Feeling nostalgic for Dr. Mike, Sully and the rest of the residents of Colorado Springs? Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Complete Series is now available on DVD. Screencaps courtesy Official DQMW Web site.

Remote Rewind: Let's Start at the Beginning

This summer, PTR is taking a look back at a show that we adored before this site came into existence. We figured that just because it isn't airing new episodes anymore doesn't mean that we can't talk about it! And after all, PTR wasn't here when it originally aired, therefore, our coverage here will be (to borrow a phrase from NBC) "new to you." The show: Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. The entire Dr. Quinn series is now available as one gigantic DVD box set, so if you're feeling nostalgic after reading PTR's thoughts, you can cuddle up in front of your TV and watch the eps all over again. Today, I'm starting at the beginning -- all the way back to where it started with a talented young doctor from Boston boarding a train bound for Colorado and a whole new, very different life.

I'm be lying if I said that the "Pilot" episode of DQ was what got me hooked. I was hooked from the first promo, but the premiere made me a fan. I was only 12 years old when the show hit the CBS airwaves in January of 1993. I had always loved westerns and strong female characters. I tuned in to the 2-hour pilot, and I knew I wouldn't be tuning out until this show aired its last episode. From the get-go, I was invested in Michaela's journey. She lost her father (the only person who believed in her and encouraged her to become a doctor at a time when women weren't doctors) and she left her comfortable life in Boston and headed almost across the country to the Colorado frontier and the small town of Colorado Springs. It wasn't an easy transition. To say that she was a "fish out of water" would be an understatement. She was overdressed, under-prepared and found it very difficult to make friends. To make matters worse, no one in town (except the very kind Charlotte Cooper) wanted a woman doctor. But Michaela Quinn wasn't one to cut her losses and head back to Boston -- she was a survivor, and a stubborn one at that.

Things quickly went from bad to worse. First she lost a "patient," which furthered the belief for her harshest critics that she was utterly incompetent. While trying to save local general store owner Loren Bray's wife from a pre-existing heart condition, she didn't have the proper medication to save her. Medication, it seemed, wasn't right at her fingertips as it had been in Boston. Next, Charlotte Cooper (the one person who had welcomed her) was bitten by a Rattlesnake. Dr. Mike stood by helpless as Charlotte slipped away in front of her three young children. She upheld Charlotte's deathbed plea and took the children in and began raising them as her own. Like the unpaved dirt roads in Colorado Springs, this too was a bumpy ride. But with a little time, the kids and Dr. Mike learned to rely on each other and by the end of the episode, they were beginning to feel like a family.

The single best moment of the entire 2-hour opener was one of Michaela's most embarrassing. In her fancy Boston attire, she fell and face-planted right into the mud in front of a group soldiers and a mountain man named Byron Sully. It was that fateful moment that gave birth to the heart and soul of DQ and one of TV's best romances. Sully was smitten and before he knew it, he was offering her his homestead and then joining Michaela's new family for dinner and even spending Christmas Eve with them. But, Sully had a tragic past (losing both his wife and child in childbirth) and he wasn't in a hurry to fall in love again. And Michaela was concerned with building a practice, taking care of her new family and learning the ropes of frontier living, so she too wasn't looking to fall in love. But you can't stop a speeding train as they were both about to learn. It took a trip back to Boston, a look at "the road not taken," and a lot of time and effort for the lesson to sink in. But, we'll cover that in future "Remote Rewind" installments.

Screencap courtesy Official DQMW Web site.