Shawn Toovey Movies

The long-running CBS drama series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was briefly resurrected in this made-for-TV feature film. Jane Seymour again stars as feisty 19th century doctor Michaela "Mike" Quinn, with Joe Lando as her sweetheart Sully. After a few minor crises in their frontier home town, Mike and Byron head to Boston, there to care for Mike's ailing mother Elizabeth (Georgann Johnson) and to attend the graduation of Mike's Harvard-educated daughter Colleen (Jessica Bowman). Spicing up the plot is a tense sequence in which Colleen performs an emergency tracheotomy and Sully settles a political argument by wielding a hatchet. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Heart Within was originally broadcast on May 12, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Additions to the cast of characters on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman during the series' fifth year on the air include Katie Sully (played by various female members of the Calabreese family), newborn daughter of Colorado Springs' lady doctor, Michaela "Mike" Quinn (Jane Seymour), and her mountaineer husband, Byron Sully (Joe Lando), and Teresa Morales (Michelle Bonilla), who after arriving in town upon the death of her husband becomes the new schoolteacher in place of the Reverend Timothy Johnson (Geoffrey Lower) -- and briefly arouses the bigotry of certain townsfolk in the process. Recovering from her pregnancy, Dr. Mike tries to go back to work, only to find that her patients have become rather accustomed to her temporary replacement, Dr. Andrew Cook (Brandon Douglas). Elsewhere, Sully's friendship with Indian shaman Cloud Dancing (Larry Sellers) causes him to lose his job as local Indian agent; strapped for cash, Sully and Mike are rescued from penury by Sully's old pal Daniel Simon (John Schneider), a prospector who's struck it rich. Meanwhile, Mike's foster daughter Colleen (Jessica Bowman) begins attending college -- and dating the handsome Dr. Cook. Season five ends on a cliffhanger, as Dr. Mike is left alone when Sully helps Cloud Dancing jump his reservation -- and disappears in the massacre that follows. ~ Rovi

There is reason aplenty to celebrate in the course of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman's third season. For one, Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn (Jane Seymour) and mountain man Sully (Joe Lando) have become engaged; for another, Colorado Springs finally becomes linked to the transcontinental railroad; and finally, telegraph operator Horace (Frank Collison) and his ex-saloon gal bride, Myra (Helene Udy), become parents. But the news is not so good for the local Cheyenne tribe and its spiritual leader, medicine man Cloud Dancing (Larry Sellers). Despite a trip to Washington, D.C., by Mike, Sully, and Cloud Dancing to plead for better treatment of the Cheyenne, and the appointment of Sully as local Indian agent, the entire tribe is massacred by the xenophobic General Custer (Jason Leland Adams) -- all except Cloud Dancing, who becomes a fugitive with a price on his head. In other traumatic developments, Dorothy Jennings (Barbara Babcock), owner of the town's newspaper, must undergo a mastectomy; teenage outlaw Belle Starr (Melissa Clayton) robs the local saloon; the townsfolk (except, of course, for Dr. Mike and her friends) react with hostility at the arrival of a Jewish family; and everyone is thrown into a panic when a comet streaks across the sky. Less serious but no less troublesome is the cattle drive embarked upon by Dr. Mike, her foster son Matthew (Chad Allen), and Sully when Matthew unexpectedly inherits 200 head of prime stock. Despite innumerable setbacks and tragedies, season three of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman ends on a high note, as Mike and Sully proudly march down the aisle. ~ Rovi

This ecological drama, set in 2017, presents a world where pollution has generated ever more unpredictable weather and rendered large chunks of the planet into disaster zones. After a hurricane destroys everything they've built for themselves, Louisiana shrimp fisherman Drew Morgan (Craig T. Nelson) and his family, including wife Suzanne (Bonnie Bedelia), flee through a series of refugee camps to upstate New York, where Drew's estranged former business partner Larry Richter (Jurgen Prochnow) -- who has designs on Suzanne -- lives in comfort and affluence. Along the way, Drew loses his daughter, Linnie (Ashley Jones), to an agrarian doomsday cult; watches his elderly father (Richard Farnsworth) suffer a stroke; and almost drives away his confused oldest son, Paul (Justin Whalin). When Larry offers to shelter Drew's family if Drew himself will leave, Suzanne and the kids rally behind him. Things go awry, however, when an attempt to smuggle themselves across the border ends with Craig washed up on Canadian shores and the rest of the family stranded and penniless back in America. Originally presented as a two-part miniseries, The Fire Next Time premiered on CBS on April 18 and 20, 1993. The movie has no connection to the James Baldwin book of the same name. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Dr. Mike (Jane Seymour) and Sully (Joe Lando) come to the rescue of Zack (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a mentally challenged youth who has suffered ill treatment at the hands of his guardian. The rest of the community shuns Zack, not only because he is "simple-minded," but because he is apparently the son of a prostitute. Only Brian (Shawn Toovey) is willing to befriend Zack -- thereby tapping the boy's hitherto unrecognized artistic abilities. This poignant episode ends with a startling revelation regarding Zack's parentage. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

While hiking with Sully (Joe Lando), Brian (Shawn Toovey) impulsively jumps out of a tree and sustains what at first seems to be a minor head injury. Already angry at Sully for allowing this to happen, Dr. Mike (Jane Seymour) is beside herself with rage and grief when Brian lapses into a coma. With only minimal aid, Mike must perform delicate brain surgery on her adoptive son -- a tense situation that exacerbates the already-raging argument amongst the townsfolk over who will build the community's new schoolhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Matthew (Chad Allen) wants to marry Swedish immigrant girl Ingrid (Jennifer Youngs), but Dr. Mike (Jane Seymour) thinks that he is much too young. To prove his adoptive mother wrong, Matthew talks Sully (Joe Lando) into letting him participate in a grueling four-day Cheyenne ritual. Sully agrees, causing a rift between himself and Dr. Mike. But all this intrigue may mean nothing: It is highly possible that asthmatic Ingrid is not healthy enough to get married. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After a raid on Black Kettle's Cheyenne settlement, the imperious and sadistic General Custer (Darren Dalton) insists that Dr. Mike (Jane Seymour) treat all of his injured soldiers before even looking at the more seriously wounded Indian prisoners. To make sure that Dr. Mike follows his orders, Custer threatens to execute captured Cheyenne medicine man Cloud Dancing (Larry Sellers). Elsewhere, Loren (Alan Young), Horace (Frank Collinson), and Jake (Jim Knobeloch) display their hitherto untapped musical talents at Miss Olive's (Gail Strickland) new Hurdy Gurdy, and the relationship between Matthew (Chad Allen) and Ingrid (Jennifer Youngs) blossoms into romance. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

John Schneider guest stars as Red McCall, an impoverished cowboy who is reduced to robbing Loren's (Alan Young) store in order to provide for his half-breed baby. Realizing he can no longer care for his child, Red leaves the baby with Dr. Mike (Jane Seymour) -- who, in turn, is unable to find a proper new home for her charge. As this drama plays itself out in the background, danger rears its ugly head in the form of a rampaging rabid bear. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Sully (Joe Lando) reluctantly agrees to guide Dr. Mike (Jane Seymour) to the high mountain stream that she believes is the source of mercury poisoning. Despotic mine owner Craig Harding (Michael Cavanaugh) captures Sully and Dr. Mike as trespassers and refuses to allow them to return to Colorado Springs. Things take an ironic turn when Harding's own son (Jared Rushton) is poisoned by the polluted water. Meanwhile, back in town, Grace (Jonelle Allen) takes an important step in affirming her equality with her white neighbors. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Irascible storekeeper Loren Bray (Orson Bean) holds his former son-in-law, Sully (Joe Lando), responsible for the early death of Loren's daughter Abigail. Thus, when he realizes that he still holds the mortgage to Sully's homestead -- now also the home of Dr. Mike (Jane Seymour) -- Loren jumps at the chance to foreclose. The situation takes an unexpected turn when the vengeful Loren develops a potentially fatal hernia. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Jane Wyman guest stars as Elizabeth Quinn, the wealthy Bostonian mother of Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn (Jane Seymour). Summoned to Colorado Springs by Sully (Joe Lando), the snobbish Elizabeth makes no secret of her disapproval of her daughter's profession and surroundings. The gap between mother and daughter is widened when Elizabeth refuses to provide the funds to transform an abandoned boarding house into a permanent medical clinic -- even after young Robert E. (Henry G. Sanders) is severely injured in a fire. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Enjoying astonishing (and well-deserved) popularity at a time in TV history when dramatic programs trafficking in "family values" were few and far between, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was also one of the last of that hardy breed known as the "TV Western." Set in Colorado Springs, CO, in the years just following the Civil War, the weekly, 60-minute series starred Jane Seymour as Michaela "Mike" Quinn, one of a handful of women doctors west of the Mississippi (or anywhere else!) during the second half of the 19th century. After the death of her father and medical partner, Dr. Mike left her hometown of Boston to set up practice in the hardscrabble village of Colorado Springs. Not surprisingly, she encountered much hostility and mistrust from the townsfolk, but gradually won them over not only because of her medical brilliance, but because she was almost unerringly "in the right" at all times. When one of her first patients, Charlotte Cooper (Diane Ladd), died of a snakebite, Dr. Mike inherited the woman's three children, who at the outset of the series ranged in age from 10 to 17. Oldest son Matthew Cooper (Chad Allen) grew up to become the town's sheriff, and later went off to study law; daughter Colleen (played by Erika Flores from 1993 to 1995, thereafter by Jessica Bowman) eventually followed Dr. Mike's footsteps by pursuing a medical career, and ultimately married her foster mother's young assistant, Dr. Andrew Cook (Brandon Douglas); and youngest Chandler boy, Brian (Shawn Toovey), got into many a scrape -- some of them near-fatal -- in the course of the series.

Also in the cast was Joe Lando as taciturn mountain man Byron Sully, who spent most of his time communing with nature (including his pet wolf) and commiserating with the local Cheyenne Indian tribe. In the early episodes, Sully was merely the man who owned the house rented by Dr. Mike and her "instant" family; later on, he and Mike fell in love, got married, and had a daughter named Katie. The huge, rotating cast of recurring characters included curmudgeonly (and, initially, downright nasty) storekeeper Loren Bray (Guy Boyd in the pilot episode, Orson Bean thereafter); Bray's sister-in-law, Dorothy Jennings (Barbara Babcock), editor of the town newspaper; Grace (Jonelle Allen), a black woman who owned the town diner; telegraph operator Horace Bing (Frank Collison) and his bride, Myra (Helene Udy), a former saloon girl; Myra's ex-boss Hank (William Shockley), owner of the local "sporting house"; Rev. Timothy Johnson (Geoffrey Lower), who functioned as the town schoolteacher until Teresa Morales (played first by Michelle Bonilla, then by Alex Meneses) took over; Loren Bray's conniving buddy, barber Jake Slicker (Jim Knobeloch); Sully's old pal, wealthy ex-prospector Daniel Simon (John Schneider); and the much-maligned Cheyenne medicine man Cloud Dancing (Larry Sellers), whose persecution at the hands of the U.S. military aroused the fire-breathing activism of pioneering feminist and humanitarian Dr. Mike.

Our heroine also fought tirelessly for the rights of blacks, Hispanics, battered wives and practically everyone else who suffered under the weight of bigotry and misunderstanding in the Old West. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was far and away CBS' most successful and beloved Saturday-night series throughout its five seasons on the air, and has remained an audience favorite on cable and in syndication. ~ Rovi