The Worst Episodes of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman

#1 Worst Episode
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6.9/10(145 votes)
#1 - Baby Outlaws
S3:E212/25/1995
When teen-outlaw Belle Starr robs the saloon, Mike takes her in, intending to reform her; Colleen overcomes her fear of riding. Belle Starr: Melissa Clayton.
Director:Jerry London
Writers:Tim Shell, Jennifer Tait
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Director:Jerry London
Writers:Tim Shell, Jennifer Tait
7.0/10(152 votes)
#2 - Bone of Contention
S3:E223/11/1995
A paleontologist arrives in town, igniting ""bone fever"" among the townsfolk when he announces that dinosaur bones are worth money. Meanwhile, Matthew and Colleen try to prevent Brian from discovering that the ""dinosaur"" bone given him by his pa is fake.
Director:Victor Lobl
Writers:Danna Doyle, Debbie Smith
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Director:Victor Lobl
Writers:Danna Doyle, Debbie Smith
7.1/10(130 votes)
#3 - Birdman
S6:E184/18/1998
Michaela worries about Brian's friendship with an eccentric man (Martin Von Hoffman) who thinks he is a bird.
Director:Bethany Rooney
Writer:Joel Ziskin
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Director:Bethany Rooney
Writer:Joel Ziskin
7.2/10(167 votes)
#4 - Another Woman
S2:E151/22/1994
Catherine, a beautiful blond woman captured by and raised with renegade Indians, is brought to Colorado Springs by soldiers when her tribe, which includes her husband, is wiped out, leaving her the sole survivor. She initially earns the townsfolks' sympathy, then their contempt when she rejects their gestures of kindness, doesn't know the language, and falls down into an epileptic fit. Indeed, her Indian name was ""Shivering Deer"" thanks to her grand mal epileptic seizures. Mike takes her in, but the only members of the family she trusts and feels comfortable with, especially with her faltering English, are Sully, then Brian. Brian, however, becomes decidedly less enamored of her when he accidentally glimpses Catherine kissing Sully. Later, when Brian confronts Sully, he doesn't understand Sully's distinction between ""being kissed"" and ""kissing someone,"" and troubled, tells Mike about it. Meanwhile, Jake, in a conversation with Loren and Dorothy about what marauding Indians do to white
Director:Chuck Bowman
Writer:Toni Graphia
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Director:Chuck Bowman
Writer:Toni Graphia
7.2/10(159 votes)
#5 - The Orphan Train
S2:E161/29/1994
Eight orphans arrive on the train. The Reverend takes them in at the church and Mike nurses their ailments. When no one in the town wants to adopt the orphans, the Reverend extends a proposal of marriage to Mike so that they can raise the orphans together. Mike briefly considers the offer, and Sully confronts her about it, asking her if she loves him. She accuses him of not making any kind of committment to her, whereas the Reverend has, to which he replies, ""If marriage is all you want...."" leaving his meaning clear without being spoken that he's possibly willing to offer more. Considering this, Mike turns the Reverend down, much to the relief of Sully and the Cooper kids. Eventually, the orphans board the train and leave town, but each orphan boards the train a more complete person as a result of their interaction with the townsfolk. Dr. Mike confronts the fact that she can't save the world and she and the Cooper kids emerge as a more united family.
Director:Jerry London
Writer:Toni Graphia
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Director:Jerry London
Writer:Toni Graphia
7.2/10(144 votes)
#6 - Permanence of Change
S3:E234/8/1995
With no child-protection laws, and influenced by Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, Mike has a girl removed from her ""guardian"" by taking the man to court and trying him for animal abuse. Mary Ann: Doren Fein.
Director:Jerry Jameson
Writer:Carl Binder
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Director:Jerry Jameson
Writer:Carl Binder

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7.2/10(139 votes)
#7 - Ready or Not
S3:E275/13/1995
Mike and Sully go to the Reverend for a dose of preventative pre-marital counseling, and recall the path of their romance.
Director:Jerry London
Writer:Sara Davidson
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Director:Jerry London
Writer:Sara Davidson
7.2/10(130 votes)
#8 - Colleen's Paper
S5:E172/8/1997
When Colleen, who is working on a college paper, asks Dr. Mike to recall her most memorable case, Dr. Mike looks back on the five turbulent years she's lived and loved in Colorado Springs. As they sit with Andrew, who is mysteriously ill at the clinic, Dr. Mike reminisces about her tumultuous career -- its successes and its failures -- and realizes how many divergent cases she has seen and treated. When Andrew's condition takes a turn for the worse, Dr. Mike warns Colleen about the fine line between emotional involvement and professional detachment, an issue with which she has long struggled in the frontier town that's now her home.
Director:Chuck Bowman
Writer:Carl Binder
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Director:Chuck Bowman
Writer:Carl Binder
7.2/10(126 votes)
#9 - To Have and to Hold
S6:E205/2/1998
While away with Sully, Michaela falls and hits her head. She suffers a concussion. The pain of losing her baby is finally discussed and resolved with Sully's.
Director:Gwen Arner
Writer:Chris Abbott
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Director:Gwen Arner
Writer:Chris Abbott
7.2/10(125 votes)
#10 - The Fight
S6:E215/9/1998
Robert E releases anger over his separation from Grace through his furious fists in the boxing ring, where he takes on an ailing champ (Richard Roundtree) who's on tour.
Director:Steve Dubin
Writer:Eric Tuchman
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Director:Steve Dubin
Writer:Eric Tuchman
7.3/10(183 votes)
#11 - Rite of Passage
S1:E134/10/1993
Matthew's sudden announcement that he wants to marry Ingrid causes upheaval in his relationship with Dr. Mike, who feels he's too young. In an effort to prove he's man enough to make his own decisions, he convinces Sully and Cloud Dancing to allow him to partake in a four-day Cheyenne ritual. This is the final straw for Dr. Mike, and she confronts Sully before she storms off looking for Matthew. Meanwhile, Ingrid suffers asthma attacks, and her treatment is undermined by Dr. Mike's disapproval of their marriage plans. Dr. Mike comes upon Matthew going through the rite of passage and seeming at peace with himself, so she lets him finish uninterrupted. Later, Dr. Mike and Matthew resolve their differences, with him deciding to delay the wedding and her giving Matthew her engagement ring for Ingrid.
Director:Chuck Bowman
Writer:Sara Davidson
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Director:Chuck Bowman
Writer:Sara Davidson
7.3/10(135 votes)
#12 - Dorothy's Book
S4:E611/4/1995
Dorothy Jennings' book about her experiences in Colorado Springs becomes a best seller, but it angers townsfolk.
Director:Chuck Bowman
Writer:Philip Gerson
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Director:Chuck Bowman
Writer:Philip Gerson
7.3/10(130 votes)
#13 - Wave Goodbye
S6:E510/25/1997
Russian Princess Nizamoff (Natasha Andreichenko) who claims to see the future, tells everyone what they want to hear. Even Michaela is taken in by her.
Director:Roy Campanella II
Writers:Beth Sullivan, Robert Hamilton
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Director:Roy Campanella II
Writers:Beth Sullivan, Robert Hamilton
7.4/10(186 votes)
#14 - The Circus
S2:E141/15/1994
A ragtag circus, consisting only of Heart and Atlantis, a mother-and-daughter team, arrives in Colorado Springs. Heart, the mother, enlists the townsfolk to participate as performers. Everyone accepts but Mike, whom Heart tries to engage as a trapeze performer. Later, in the homestead, Colleen reveals her fear of being in the limelight, and Brian asks Sully if he'll perform on the trapeze, per Heart's request. Sully says to Mike, ""I will, if you will,"" upon which Mike says she'll perform if Colleen will. Colleen reluctantly accepts the challenge. Heart engages the Reverend to be a magician, with Miss Dorothy as his lovely magician's assistant. Brian and Loren are the designated clowns. Colleen, Atlantis and Matthew do a tightrope act together, and Jake is pressed into service as the ring announcer. The town happily embraces their various roles in the circus, but friction occurs between Mike and Heart when Mike discovers that Atlantis, Heart's daughter, has webbed fingers. Mike wants to
Director:Lorraine Senna
Writer:Jeanne C. Davis
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Director:Lorraine Senna
Writer:Jeanne C. Davis
7.4/10(140 votes)
#15 - Halloween III
S4:E510/28/1995
An elderly man comes to town with hopes that the natural spring will help his rheumatism. Dr. Mike can't convince Sully to plan for the Halloween festivities.
Director:Jerry London
Writer:Philip Gerson
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Director:Jerry London
Writer:Philip Gerson
7.4/10(138 votes)
#16 - Fifi's First Christmas
S4:E1212/16/1995
As Colorado Springs prepares for Christmas, the family receives a rambunctious toy poodle from Mike's mother in Boston, and Brian has a case of puppy love for a new girl in town. The Rev. Johnson recruits folk for a Nativity pageant. Sara Sheehan: Jann Michaels. Mrs. Sheehan: Susanna Thompson.
Director:Jerry Jameson
Writer:Carl Binder
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Director:Jerry Jameson
Writer:Carl Binder
7.4/10(136 votes)
#17 - Sully's Recovery
S3:E265/6/1995
After discovering a badly injured Loren, Sully must battle his own demons in order to save him.
Director:Jerry Jameson
Writer:Sara Davidson
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Director:Jerry Jameson
Writer:Sara Davidson
7.4/10(135 votes)
#18 - Mothers and Daughters
S4:E310/7/1995
Mike is overwhelmed with her new found passion for Sully, and feeling slighted, Colleen joins her schoolmates for dangerous and questionable escapades.
Director:Bobby Roth
Writer:Sara Davidson
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Director:Bobby Roth
Writer:Sara Davidson
7.4/10(135 votes)
#19 - The Expedition (2)
S4:E911/18/1995
Dorothy, Myra and Grace realize they are quitting and they're letting Mike down, so they decide to go back. They find her injured with a broken arm. Mike can't go to the top of the mountain anymore, but she encourages the others to make it to the top for her. Meanwhile back in town, Preston plots to guild a hotel-casino with help from his ""partner"" Jake; and Robert E is bothered by an encounter with a bounty hunter.
Director:Chuck Bowman
Writers:Andrew Lipsitz, Sara Davidson
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Director:Chuck Bowman
Writers:Andrew Lipsitz, Sara Davidson
7.4/10(135 votes)
#20 - All That Glitters
S5:E410/12/1996
The appearance of renowned singer Gilda St. Clair (Barbara Mandrell) tempts Colleen to leave college and travel the world instead.
Director:Terrence O'Hara
Writer:Jennifer Tait
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Director:Terrence O'Hara
Writer:Jennifer Tait
7.4/10(129 votes)
#21 - If You Love Someone
S4:E151/20/1996
Matthew falls for an independent young woman, but the fact that she's a prostitute complicates their blooming romance. Meanwhile, Preston offers Myra a job at the bank, but Horace opposes her taking it. Emma: Charlotte Chatton.
Director:James Keach
Writer:Melissa Rosenberg
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Director:James Keach
Writer:Melissa Rosenberg
7.4/10(128 votes)
#22 - The Expedition (1)
S4:E811/18/1995
Dr. Mike celebrates her birthday by climbing Pikes Peak with Dorothy, Grace and Myra, but ends up injured and alone when her companions turn back.
Director:Chuck Bowman
Writers:Andrew Lipsitz, Sara Davidson
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Director:Chuck Bowman
Writers:Andrew Lipsitz, Sara Davidson
7.4/10(128 votes)
#23 - Los Americanos
S5:E510/19/1996
A Latin American woman rebuffs Dr. Mike's attempts at friendship; the Rev. Johnson searches for a teacher to take his place. Teresa: Michelle Bonilla.
Director:Jerry London
Writer:Kathryn Ford
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Director:Jerry London
Writer:Kathryn Ford
7.5/10(196 votes)
#24 - The Cowboy's Lullaby
S1:E92/20/1993
Dr. Mike takes in Red McCall, a down-and-out cowboy, and his ailing half-breed infant child. McCall reaches the end of his rope trying to care for his baby, so after robbing Loren's store, he leaves the baby in Michaela's care, sensing she could find a suitable home for his child. Dr. Mike's attempts to find a home for the baby prove futile. When she travels to a remote cabin to check on the health of it's owner, she finds him badly mangled from a bear attack. Her horse is frightened off by the bear, and she's marooned in the cabin until Sully shows up looking for her. They narrowly escape being the rabid bear's next victims. After returning to town, Dr. Mike decides she'd rather raise the child herself than turn him over to an orphanage. However, Sully locates Red and convinces him to keep the child.
Director:Chuck Bowman
Writer:Josef Anderson
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Director:Chuck Bowman
Writer:Josef Anderson
7.5/10(190 votes)
#25 - Bad Water
S1:E72/6/1993
When several townspeople come down with mercury poisoning, Dr. Mike forces a reluctant Sully to guide her to the high mountain stream which may be the source of the problem. The trek is difficult for her, but she ultimately earns Sully's respect and gratitude after saving his life twice despite a broken wrist. Just as they confirm that the water is being polluted by a local mine owner whose mining process is dumping mercury into the stream, they are captured by his men. In the interim, worried townsfolk send out an inept posse to try to locate Sully and Dr. Mike. Olive backs Grace's new venture -- Grace's Cafe. In the end, Dr. Mike saves the day by curing the mine owner's son, who has fallen victim to the poisoned water, and convincing the owner to close the mine.
Director:Chuck Bowman
Writer:Sara Davidson
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Director:Chuck Bowman
Writer:Sara Davidson