Jane Seymour Reflects on How ‘Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman’ Changed Her Life
Jane Seymour had a decision to make. It was early 1992, and the actress, going through a divorce, was having financial troubles. Then came an offer for a 19th-century Western about a progressive Boston doctor, Michaela “Mike” Quinn, who finds a community in Colorado. A sitcom role was a possibility, but this job needed her answer now.
“I was at the bottom of the barrel, and this [script] was just a piece of magic,” she recalls. “I thought, ‘If it has that effect on me, maybe it will on an audience.’” It did. Though many doubted Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman would succeed, it ran for six seasons.
As the beloved drama joins the FETV schedule September 26 with four episodes daily — two at 1/noon c, two at 6/5c — the star shares her memories.
The Real Deal
The daughter of a surgeon, Seymour notes that when the series began, “My father had recently passed, and I said to the producers, ‘I want to make sure it’s accurate, in his honor.’ I was adamant that it be authentic.” The show was also socially relevant, covering hot-button topics like immigration, pollution, homosexuality, and the treatment of Native Americans. “We dealt with everything, and in such a way that you could have a conversation with kids or adults.”
Fan Devotion
Dr. Quinn was a surprise hit in the ratings quicksand of Saturday nights and became a Top 20 show in its first season. As it gained popularity, viewers showed up to watch the filming at California’s Paramount Ranch and in Malibu Creek State Park.
“Anyone who wanted to could come out — and did,” Seymour says. “All night sometimes! It was like doing live theater.” To this day, internet fansites devoted to the show keep the flame alive.
“If I pose in a photograph with Joe Lando [who played rugged Byron Sully, Dr. Quinn’s love interest and eventual husband], it burns the ether!” she jokes.
Charles Rush/CBS/Courtesy of Everett Collection
Co-Star Chemistry
As production started, Seymour and her onscreen beau clicked in real life: “Joe and I fell madly in love!” Their relationship fizzled, but the characters’ bond grew, and the two tied the knot in Season 3’s special two-hour finale, which Seymour remembers “really felt like a wedding.”
In a shopping coup, the actress found the fabric for Mike’s gown at Liberty department store in London, and Dr. Quinn’s costume designer fashioned a showstopper. David Emanuel, who created Princess Diana’s iconic wedding gown with then-wife Elizabeth, added finishing touches. As Seymour says: “He did a bada-bing, bada-boom at the end!”
New Adventures?
“The beauty of a period piece is it never ages,” Seymour notes. And while Season 2 of her Acorn TV series Harry Wild is in production, Seymour is also eager for a Dr. Quinn revival.
“Who knows? One day we may be able to [make] what would be Dr. Quinn, the Next Generation, set 30 years later, a very interesting point in American history.” Count us in!
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Daily, 1/noon c and 6/5c, FETV
