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The Worst Episodes of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman

Every episode of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman!

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Dr. Michaela Quinn journeys to Colorado Springs to be the town's physician after her father's death in 1868.

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  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 1 Episode 17 - Portraits
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #1 - Portraits

    S1:E17

    David Watkins, a civil war photographer arrives in Colorado Springs. Dr. Mike diagnoses David's diabetes and is frustrated that he refuses treatment and will ultimately go blind. David suggests taking a portrait of the town and an argument ensues over who will be in it. When the camera equipment is destroyed, the whole town must pull together to create a camera and take the photo before David's eyesight fails. At the same time, Mrs. Bing, Horace's mother, is brought to town, seriously ill. Mrs. Bing disapproves of Myra until she learns how much they love each other, and on her deathbed bestows her blessing on their marriage.

    Director:Chuck Bowman
    Writer:Josef Anderson

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  2. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 3 Episode 21 - Baby Outlaws
    6.9/10(142 votes)

    #2 - Baby Outlaws

    S3:E21

    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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  3. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 3 Episode 22 - Bone of Contention
    7.0/10(149 votes)

    #3 - Bone of Contention

    S3:E22

    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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  4. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 3 Episode 27 - Ready or Not
    7.1/10(135 votes)

    #4 - Ready or Not

    S3:E27

    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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  5. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 6 Episode 18 - Birdman
    7.1/10(128 votes)

    #5 - Birdman

    S6:E18

    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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  6. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 6 Episode 20 - To Have and to Hold
    7.1/10(124 votes)

    #6 - To Have and to Hold

    S6:E20

    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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  7. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 2 Episode 15 - Another Woman
    7.2/10(164 votes)

    #7 - Another Woman

    S2:E15

    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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  8. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 2 Episode 16 - The Orphan Train
    7.2/10(157 votes)

    #8 - The Orphan Train

    S2:E16

    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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  9. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 3 Episode 23 - Permanence of Change
    7.2/10(141 votes)

    #9 - Permanence of Change

    S3:E23

    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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  10. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 4 Episode 6 - Dorothy's Book
    7.2/10(131 votes)

    #10 - Dorothy's Book

    S4:E6

    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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  11. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 5 Episode 17 - Colleen's Paper
    7.2/10(128 votes)

    #11 - Colleen's Paper

    S5:E17

    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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  12. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 6 Episode 5 - Wave Goodbye
    7.2/10(128 votes)

    #12 - Wave Goodbye

    S6:E5

    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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  13. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 1 Episode 13 - Rite of Passage
    7.3/10(179 votes)

    #13 - Rite of Passage

    S1:E13

    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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  14. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 2 Episode 14 - The Circus
    7.3/10(182 votes)

    #14 - The Circus

    S2:E14

    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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  15. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 3 Episode 26 - Sully's Recovery
    7.3/10(133 votes)

    #15 - Sully's Recovery

    S3:E26

    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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  16. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 4 Episode 5 - Halloween III
    7.3/10(137 votes)

    #16 - Halloween III

    S4:E5

    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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  17. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 4 Episode 12 - Fifi's First Christmas
    7.3/10(135 votes)

    #17 - Fifi's First Christmas

    S4:E12

    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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  18. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 5 Episode 4 - All That Glitters
    7.3/10(133 votes)

    #18 - All That Glitters

    S5:E4

    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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  19. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 5 Episode 5 - Los Americanos
    7.3/10(126 votes)

    #19 - Los Americanos

    S5:E5

    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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  20. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 2 Episode 17 - Buffalo Soldiers
    7.4/10(149 votes)

    #20 - Buffalo Soldiers

    S2:E17

    A troop of black cavalry soldiers ride into town intending to cover themselves in glory by eradicating hostile Dog Soldiers who've been attacking the railroad. Mike commits an act of civil disobedience by tipping off the Indians, which results in carnage on both sides and the defeat of the Buffalo soldiers. She's accused of treason, and jailed, but the arrogant black cavalry leader, Sergeant Zachary Carver, manages to exonerate her when he's made to realize, through the combined efforts of Sully and Mike, that his beloved troops are nothing more than pawns in the U.S. Army's policy of genocide against the Indians. Returning the favor, Mike manages to medically fake the Sargeant's death, and he escapes court martial. Meanwhile, Colleen cheats on a test and by doing so manages to win a school trip to Washington. Mike must then explain the concept of ""good lying;"" that is, civil disobedience for a principle, and ""bad lying,"" that is, Colleen's self-serving actions regarding the test. In t

    Director:James Keach
    Writer:Kevin Arkadie

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  21. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 4 Episode 3 - Mothers and Daughters
    7.4/10(132 votes)

    #21 - Mothers and Daughters

    S4:E3

    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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  22. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 4 Episode 9 - The Expedition (2)
    7.4/10(132 votes)

    #22 - The Expedition (2)

    S4:E9

    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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  23. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 4 Episode 14 - Tin Star
    7.4/10(130 votes)

    #23 - Tin Star

    S4:E14

    Increasing lawlessness in Colorado Springs sparks a demand for a new sheriff, and Matthew feels he's just the man for the job. Meanwhile, Brian succumbs to peer pressure shoplifting a toy train from Loren's store. Zachary Brett: Travis Tritt. Charles: John Christian Graas.

    Director:Jerry Jameson
    Writer:Andrew Lipsitz

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  24. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 4 Episode 15 - If You Love Someone
    7.4/10(126 votes)

    #24 - If You Love Someone

    S4:E15

    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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  25. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Season 1 Episode 7 - Bad Water
    7.5/10(185 votes)

    #25 - Bad Water

    S1:E7

    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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Worst Episodes Summary

"Portraits" is the worst rated episode of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman". It scored /10 based on 0 votes. Directed by Chuck Bowman and written by Josef Anderson, it aired on 5/22/1993. This episode scored 6.9 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Baby Outlaws".