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 two years after the final episode of Dr. Quinn in the year 1875. 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 and 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 1876. 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 Medican 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.
