Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman - About The Show

About The Show

Dr. Quinn was best known for its large, supporting cast, and its high-concept storytelling. The series often used its semi-historical setting as a vehicle to address issues of gender and race within the community. For example, one 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.

Veteran actress Jane Seymour, labeled a mini-series "queen", was a last-minute casting choice for Michaela Quinn after reading the script only a day before production was set to begin on the pilot. She was instructed beforehand to review the script and make a decision of whether or not she felt the role was right for her, and, if so, that she truly wanted to commit to the strict contract Sullivan had demanded for the title character. Seymour is quoted as saying she was moved to tears by the script and that she was literally born to portray Michaela Quinn, the second most perfect character role she'd ever portray in her career. The next day she began the wardrobe fittings for the series.

The pilot episode was shot in early 1992 and aired in a 2-hour television special on New Year's Day 1993. CBS aired a second, hour-long episode the next night in order to attract and maintain the audience's attention. Expectations for the show were low due to its airtime alongside the Orange Bowl that year. Initially, critics panned the series and predicted that it would be quickly cancelled. Therefore, the pilot served more as a made-for-television movie - or mini-series suggestion – which could either be developed later into a full series or remain as a stand alone 2-hour movie.

To the network's surprise however, the ratings for the pilot and the first episode were remarkably high. CBS ordered the show picked up immediately for the full season. The show made some imperative casting changes, however. Several pilot leads and a few of the supporting cast were replaced. Henry Sanders was recast as Robert E.; Orson Bean replaced Guy Boyd as a more fatherly, cynically-comical Loren Bray; and Colm Meaney was replaced by Jim Knobeloch, a much younger, attractive Jake Slicker.

The series' central, inevitably-blossoming romance between Michaela and Sully grew popular with audiences. The popularity was related to the obvious on-screen chemistry between Seymour and Joe Lando. In the season 3 finale, titled, "For Better or Worse", they were married during a special two-hour episode, which gained huge notoriety alongside its ratings, and very highly dramatized publicity in popular magazines and on television commercial break specials. During season 4, Seymour's real-life pregnancy was written into the show. Soon, another very highly-rated episode centered on the long-awaited birth of Michaela and Sully's daughter, Katie.

Members of the large supporting cast were each given the opportunity, over time, to fully develop their own characters. The producers soon began leaving the doors open for the supporting cast to make suggestions and contribute ideas to the writers.

Dr. Quinn was one of the few dramatic shows that allowed fans full access to their filming sets at the Paramount Ranch in Agoura Hills, California. Fans were permitted, often invited, to watch episodes being shot each week. Cast members were known to speak with their fans and sign autographs during shooting breaks. During the shows final season run, an official web site was established, which remains active. 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.

Seymour and Barbara Babcock were the only cast members to receive Emmy nominations for their work on 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. Seymour also won a Golden Globe in 1996 for her portrayal of Michaela Quinn.