Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman : Season 4 opener

Season 4 opener

Last night I watched the first episode of season 4.

Random thoughts...

The town seems to have doubled in population/tourists with the coming of the rail road

Not sure about Preston the banker - he seems like a bad guy but it's only one episode

Like the new house - much better than the old one

It was good to see Cloud Dancing has found some inner peace and seems happy. The scene with him and Brian playing the flute was a nice way to end the episode.

Re: Season 4 opener

Oh, you'll find lots more reasons to hate Preston as time goes on. 😟 I hear the actor is a really nice guy though. LOL If you'll recall, Jason Leland Adams also played Custer in the wedding episode. He seems to gravitate to bad-guy roles although he can be quite funny, as you'll see eventually. He hasn't done any film work since 1999 although he has come to at least one DQ reunion and participated in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_CXKceIE7M, Dr. Quinn, Morphine Woman, which spoofs the idea of their remaking the show in more modern terms. LOL Of course, we know that'll never happen...

BTW, the first episode of Season Four was one of my favorites. I just loved the beginning, didn't you?

If you go visit Paramount Ranch where they filmed, neither of those houses are there anymore (neither is the church or the school). They were sets that had to be torn down when the show ended. It seems a shame, doesn't it? Of course, nothing else is there anymore except the main buildings. They built that train station, and it's still there and has been used in other films.

---
"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

Re: Season 4 opener

I definitely would love to see paramount ranch. I assume it's in or near LA?

I loved the whole episode - some great funny moments like Loren breaking Dr. Mike's vase or whatever it was and Jake's remark about being very careful with the bed :) Great episode

And I didn't know that was the same actor - looks so different without the long blond hair. Preston is a saint compared to Custer!

Re: Season 4 opener

Yeah, I thought that episode was just magic. Paramount Ranch is close to LA in Agoura Hills, which is in the Santa Monica Mountains. https://www.nps.gov/samo/planyourvisit/paramountranch.htm It's only ten minutes away from Malibu where Jane Seymour lives, so that was quite handy. When they needed water, like a river, they'd go to Malibu State Park, which was right next to it. My husband and I visited both about ten years ago. I tried to find the place where they lept off the cliff together, but I couldn't. It had been 20 years since the show, and things change after a while. But it was really hot, and we probably just didn't stay long enough to thoroughly explore it. BTW, it was a family-friendly situation with everyone able to bring their kids with them on set and even their dogs. Both Jane and Beth Sullivan had twins during the run.

I hope you're finding the episode guide helpful. I think it makes a big difference. You're bringing back fond memories. Maybe I'll have to start the series again!

---
"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

Re: Season 4 opener

The episode guide is very handy,thanks

I wonder if the new house from S4 is still there?

Watched the baseball episode last night - loved it. When Dr. Mike was given the rule book I just knew she'd memorize every rule,and I was right! Lol at Cloud Dancing stealing bases - if that's what it's called. And never knew baseball was so popular at that time.

Re: Season 4 opener

You're welcome! And no, neither house is still there. As I said, they had to be torn down after filming stopped since no one was around to guard them or anything, and they could have been a liability.

I actually had no idea baseball was popular back then either, but apparently, it was, even a century earlier!

The history of baseball in the United States can be traced to the 18th century, when amateurs played a baseball-like game by their own informal rules using improvised equipment. The popularity of the sport inspired the semipro national baseball clubs in the 1860s. During the Civil War a rumor began that Abner Doubleday started baseball, but in reality baseball as we know it probably was first documented by Alexander Cartwright. The answer to the question of who started baseball is still unanswered and will likely remain that way. (Wikipedia)
This was one of my favorite episodes, too. And from what I heard, everyone in the cast went baseball crazy during the filming and were playing all the time, even during their breaks. Which may be how so many of them looked like they were pretty good. I thought Joe Lando looked like a pro. Of course, in anything athletic he usually does. 😜

BTW, I don't know if you noticed, but all the names for teams they rejected were names of current professional American baseball teams. ::snicker::

---
"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

Re: Season 4 opener

Interesting ,didn't notice that. I have heard of the Braves

I don't know much about Joe but it wouldn't surprise me if he played some kind of sport at a high level - looks like a natural athlete. Wasn't sure about Brian batting until I realized why - very clever!

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Sometimes it really helps to know the rules! LOL

Oh, and one more thing. Sometime soon, some of the shows will start to have interesting little bits of historical fact on black screen at the very end. Many of them made a big impression on me. I'm sure you'll enjoy what you learn!

---
"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

Re: Season 4 opener

That's cool - have learnt quite a few interesting things so far.

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Okay, I have to say that the baseball episode is one of my least favorites. I usually find sports episodes on any show boring, since I hardly am a big sports fan in general. And I'm afraid that this was no exception to this rule. Both me and my mother found it unrealistic that Michaela and Colleen, who still were women in the 19th century and never had played baseball before, could go from knowing nothing about the game to be professionals within one episode. Yeah, freaking right... So I guess that this was a good episode to people, who like sports in general and baseball in particular. And if the cast really enjoyed themselves doing it, good for them. But if you ask me, that was a complete dud of an episode. Yawn...

Intelligence and purity.

Re: Season 4 opener

Um, neither Michaela nor Colleen became professionals. Michaela learned the rules and figured out some strategy, but that's about it. Not sure what you were watching. Perhaps you might check it out again and see what really happened. But then if not even the humor made it worthwhile, maybe it'd be best to just move on.

---
"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

Re: Season 4 opener

We have a contender for saddest episode of the series - Ingrid dying from Rabies. Painful to watch. And before I watched the episode I had known of Rabies but not that much- now I know what a diabolical disease it was and still is.

Does anyone know why she left the show? I liked her character a lot and the actress and Chad had good chemistry.

Re: Season 4 opener

Oh, Gary, I know exactly what you mean when you say painful. What I heard was that they had just had the wedding of Sully and Michaela and they couldn't have another wedding so soon in the series. So this was how they decided to break them up. I heard when they had the read-through of the script, everyone was crying. It was almost unbearable to watch and yet actually informative at the same time. And we have to remember that besides being a Western, this was a medical show and many of the episodes brought out issues that were not only a problem back then but still are, like drug addiction—that was another really sad episode featuring Dorothy's son. Fortunately, we have a rabies vaccine now so people don't have to die from it, and frankly, those who think vaccines aren't useful ought to watch this show and then tell us how bad you think it would be to give your loved one that vaccine if they had been bitten by a rabid dog. Rabies is still a problem, btw. Veterinarians still want pets vaccinated against it even when they're housebound. So it was a good idea to be reminded how incredibly awful and dangerous the disease is. The cast did a fantastic job portraying all the emotional upheavals as well, and Jennifer Youngs was amazing. She didn't do much after Dr. Quinn. I don't know why. Hopefully, she's done stage work.

A lot of DRMW episodes brought me to tears, and this was one of them. But they actually soft-peddled the medical problems that were prominent back then or people would not have been able to stand it. There were no antibiotics so wounds that got infected, a not infrequent occurrence, often resulted in amputations and/or death. Women died in childbirth all the time. There was no such thing as CPR while there were lots of bullets and arrows flying around. If we had seen how things actually were back then, it would have been pretty darned horrendous. But they did give us tastes of it sometimes, starting with Sully's wife and child dying before the show even began. It was a hard time to live in. We should all be grateful we only have to watch reenactments like this while getting to live in a time of great medical advances.

---
"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

Re: Season 4 opener

Yeah they do seem to sugar coat the way medicine was at the time. But I do recall a recent episode where Dr. Mike used antiseptic - had no idea that was around then,did some googling and it was. No antibiotics though,that was a few decades away. I always hear people talking about how they'd love to live back whenever - all I think about is the primitive medical techniques (not to mention dental!) Would love to go back and visit previous eras but not to live. No TV,internet or air con,who can live like that!

I checked out Jennifer and she's into music,had a band etc,so that's probably why she didn't pursue acting

Re: Season 4 opener


What I heard was that they had just had the wedding of Sully and Michaela and they couldn't have another wedding so soon in the series. So this was how they decided to break them up.


I guess just because it was Sully and Michaela, because in the 6th season they married off Jake and Teresa only 5 or so episodes prior to Andrew and Colleen. Mind you Jake and Teresa's wedding was pretty low key so not a lot of costuming etc involved, and three of those four were not main characters really (as in opening credits before the "also starring".)

On another note though related to Ingrid's death episode, if I'm not mistaken, the dog they had playing Pup, wasn't he "recast" as Wolf? Seems to me there were two dogs to play Wolf - Cody and Chaz, and Chaz was Pup first and then later he was Wolf? In a sense, Shawn Toovey was not the only cast member to grow up on the show. ;)

Re: Season 4 opener

Sorry, I didn't keep track of the dogs they used. What I do know is they were dogs, not wolves as a wolf is a wild animal and couldn't be tamed for the show.

---
"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

Re: Season 4 opener

They were huskies I believe. Gorgeous whatever they were but must have been viciously hot for them on the set. :-(

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The first season, yes. After that they stopped filming in the summertime after they noticed various people fainting from the heat.

---
"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

Re: Season 4 opener

Still pretty warm for a dog that's designed for snow and winter weather ;)

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Sometimes, but it isn't always warm there. I've heard many stories about how in winter people wore long johns under their dresses and other clothes. Every time you see Sully with a beard, it's because it's freezing, and he's trying to keep warm. Of course it never snowed, which is why they only showed a few flakes at night only a couple of times that I can remember. No way to cover that entire area with fake snow and make it look real.

---
"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

Re: Season 4 opener

They were Alaskan Malamute. My Vicky 🐺 was one

English is not my language, so be gentle

Re: Season 4 opener


Um, neither Michaela nor Colleen became professionals. Michaela learned the rules and figured out some strategy, but that's about it. Not sure what you were watching. Perhaps you might check it out again and see what really happened. But then if not even the humor made it worthwhile, maybe it'd be best to just move on.

Okay, they did not really become professionals. What I meant was that they turned out to be so good that they played as if they were professionals, with no training in the sport before this episode came. And that is what I call bull*** on. You can of course argue that they just so happened to be "naturals" at baseball, so they would not need so much practice. But that is still hard to believe...

Oh well, I guess that we have to agree to disagree on this episode. You love it, and I don't. I have only seen it once though, so maybe I will judge it less harshly the second time around.

Intelligence and purity.

Re: Season 4 opener

Well, it had a rather cute scene that involved newlywed Sully worrying about striking out, which was probably my favorite part, other than Cloud Dancing's fabulous face as he stole the bases. LOL

---
"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

Re: Season 4 opener

Cloud Dancing was hilarious after Sully told him to 'rattle his cage'. I'm just happy to see his character at peace & back to his normal self

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Cloud Dancing certainly had his ups and downs during this series. Really, it was mostly downs. That's probably what makes his up times so sweet. I used to just ache for what he was going through and how it symbolized everything Native Americans had gone through ever since Europeans arrived. ::sigh::

---
"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

Re: Season 4 opener


Well, it had a rather cute scene that involved newlywed Sully worrying about striking out, which was probably my favorite part, other than Cloud Dancing's fabulous face as he stole the bases. LOL


I just watched that episode a few minutes ago and I have to agree. Cloud Dancing's face was so serene yet so... "you are SO screwed", it really made me smile. I admit seeing him show up and having an idea beforehand thanks to this thread, I was going, oh dude you are SO about to get drafted!

Having not caught up with Preston's first episodes yet (I'm still waiting on the arrival of season 2 so I can watch then continue with season 3), being familiar with what an @$$h0le he was for most of his 3 season run, it was neat to see him as less of a villain, and more personable. At least for that episode anyway!

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Actually, Preston doesn't show up until season four. He arrives on the train along with Michaela and Sully returning from their honeymoon. Good description of Cloud Dancing in "Traveling All-Stars." ::snicker::


"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

Re: Season 4 opener

I know Preston doesn't show up until season 4, the baseball episode was only his second episode. I haven't watched the entirety of season 4 yet as I'm waiting to catch up with seasons 2 and 3.

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How are you watching them? Online somewhere?


"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

Re: Season 4 opener

The DVD sets. I own the last three seasons and I've got seasons 1 and 3 from the library and ripped into my laptop (well actually the files are on a flash drive to save on hard drive space). I'm waiting on season 2 to arrive from the library but there's a bit of a queue for that one for some reason.

Re: Season 4 opener

Oh cool. Did I ever send you the episode guide? It really helps when the show is in the best order for the storyline. As they come on the DVDs, they are definitely out of order, and season two has a lot of fixes on the list. If you'd like it, just private message me your email address, and I'll send you the Word file. It also has some interesting information on it besides the best viewing order.


"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

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You did yes, thanks! :)

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I kinda thought so. I'm getting old, and I forget these kinds of details. Sorry about that. LOL So, anyway, good! Enjoy!


"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark
)

Re: Season 4 opener

Some really good episodes recently - the episode where Lauren has a stroke is bitter sweet. Especially as Brian basically saved his life when he was considering the worst option. The thanks giving episode was great - the scenes between Cloud Dancing and Jake were interesting and at times touching.

Especially the last scene where he gives CD the tobacco he needed for a ceremony. And Jake begrudgingly taking part in the thanksgiving feast!

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Yes, the fourth season had some great episodes! Do they bring you to tears at all? I found myself pretty much crying all the way through this whole series myself. I've always wondered if others have the same reaction. It was just so touching and sometimes really sad.


"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

Re: Season 4 opener

Some do - the one where Ingrid dies was tough. Certain scenes as well like when a girls (Jenny) baby dies before it was born was rough,especially the reaction of her husband. I think they did a great job of mixing comedy,drama and romance.

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Ain't that the truth!


"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

Re: Season 4 opener

A heads up for any Orson Bean fans - he recently had a guest role in Modern Family and was quite funny!

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Most of his career has been in comedy. It always struck me as a little odd that he played such a grumpy guy on DQMW.


"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

Re: Season 4 opener

Larry Sellars was a guest actor in an episode of Walker Texas Ranger that I watched last night. I thought it might be that WTR was sometimes filmed at Paramount ranch as it was at the same time that he was doing DQ - about 1995.

His characters name was Running Horse.

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I just looked up Larry Sellers on IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0783353/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1), and found his credit for that role. He did it way before DQMW. He hasn't done much in showbiz since then, unfortunately. What a shame.


"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

Re: Season 4 opener

It is,he's a good actor. Perhaps he decided to give acting up.

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Yes, I seem to recall hearing he was very involved in Native American activism, but I don't know the details. I would love to meet him sometime just to thank him for some of the greatest moments on DQMW, but I expect that's not going to happen anytime soon. 😞


"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

Re: Season 4 opener

He participates in Pow-wow fairly regularly. He is now disabled and moves in a small scooter.

Next, in May in Jefferson City
http://www.visitjeffersoncity.com/display-events.php?id=2079

English is not my language, so be gentle

Re: Season 4 opener

He's disabled? Oh no! 😞 How sad for a former stunt man.


"How was the war, sir?"
"As any war, ma'am, a waste of good men." (Poldark)

Re: Season 4 opener

Perhaps hips or knees pain. He has bowed legs, maybe worse than Joe.

English is not my language, so be gentle

Re: Season 4 opener

Another very sad and dramatic episode - where Matthew is working as a bartender trying to get through the pain of losing Ingrid. It does have a nice ending though with Matthew lighting one of the lanterns for her.

And the part with Loren trying to avoid Dorothy because he gambled away her money was somewhat amusing.

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I expected a light hearted episode after the previous one - great Xmas episode. Not sure about Jake , Loren and Hank as the three wise men! The plot with Brian was fun especially the outfit Dr. Mike bought him + the poodle! Though I think turning shy Brian into a tomahawk throwing young Indiana Jones somewhat strained credibility! All in all one of my favorite episodes thus far.

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One more episode I will never again watch - and a contender for my most disliked episode thus far. In fact it probably is. It's the one with the hanging - don't think I need to say anymore. I didn't stick around to see the gruesome ending - I was hoping that somehow it wouldn't happen. His crimes were despicable but I'm not a fan of capital punishment - especially when it's almost seen as family entertainment. Only Scully,Colleen and Dorothy seemed to agree with my POV.

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I agree with you about the content, I'm against the death penalty, but I also like these episodes, like The First Circle, which face serious subjects and still current. I'm on Sully and Colleen's side on this one. Well, I'm always on Sully's side.

English is not my language, so be gentle
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