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.