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Michaela Anne " Dr. Mike" Quinn, M.D. is a fictional character from the United States television show Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. CBS introduced the series in 1993, and Dr. Quinn was played by Jane Seymour. The series ran for six seasons, ending in 1998. Seymour reprised the role in two made for TV movies, Dr. Quinn: Revolutions (1999) and Dr. Quinn: The Heart Within (2001), following the series cancellation. Dr. Quinn, again played by Seymour, also made an appearance in California (1997), an unaired TV pilot for a spinoff of Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman made by CBS.
Jane Seymour's portrayal of Dr. Michaela Quinn has been widely viewed as an iconic western character, earning Seymour a Golden Globe award.
There she starts her own medical clinic in the town, in lieu of being employed by the town directly, giving her autonomy in her medical practice. She also begins actively trying to change the townfolks attitudes toward modern medicine, the Cheyenne and other Native American peoples, and a host of other, more progressive attitudes not entirely shared by the frontier-minded residents. She adopts three children after her friend and their mother, Charlotte Cooper, was bitten by a rattlesnake and succumbs to the venom.
Quinn is a very independent woman who often clashes with the townsfolk, but more often than not she is successful in changing or at the least softening their attitudes. Soon after her arrival she falls in love with a man named Byron Sully, played by Joe Lando, who is very interested in Native culture and spends most of his time with the Native.
Her mother is devastated that her daughter has decided to leave and live in Colorado Springs, but after a visit she changes her mind and to a certain extent accepts Michaela's decision. Later, her mother again travels to Colorado to attend her wedding, giving her blessing for Michaela to marry Sully. The elder Mrs. Quinn warms to the family, even sending young Brian a poodle after his pet wolf, Pup, is killed by rabies. Her mother, Elizabeth, travels to Colorado Springs a third time, with Michaela's sisters in tow, to witness the birth of her daughter, Katherine Elizabeth Sully, who they nickname Katie.
Michaela Quinn and her family also warmly befriend the local Cheyenne people, including Chief Black Kettle (played by Nick Ramus), and his right-hand man, Cloud Dancing (Larry Sellers). Dr. Quinn and her adopted family, followed shortly after by Sully, travel to Washington D.C. (Season 3, Episodes 7 and 8, "The Washington Affair", Part 1 and 2) to lobby the government on behalf of the Cheyenne. They meet with Congressional leaders, testify before hearings and even meet with President Ulysses S. Grant (Dennis Lipscomb). They are given mostly platitudes and empty promises, although Grant seems the most accommodating. After a fictional portrayal of the real-life Battle of Washita River (Season 3, Episodes 24 and 25, "Washita"), in which Black Kettle and most of his clan are killed, Quinn has an emotional break down. Cloud Dancing is not at Washita, and therefore survives, although his wife is killed. Cloud Dancing remains a close friend of the Sully/Quinn family throughout the series.
Dr. Quinn also fights for the rights of Chinese immigrants, a Judaism salesman who visits the town, and other racial and religious minorities.
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