Season 4: 1995-1996
| # | Title | Original Airdate | Disc | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4x01 | A New Life | September 23, 1995 | Disc 1 | ||
| Dr. Mike and Sully return to Colorado Springs from their honeymoon, ready to embark on a new life together, but they find the town disturbingly changed. Arriving on the same train as the newlyweds is Preston A. Lodge III, an ambitious Bostonian determined to establish Colorado Springs’ first bank and anxious to begin collecting interest from unsuspecting townsfolk. Meanwhile, Sully struggles to persuade his Cheyenne friend, Cloud Dancing, to begin a new life of his own on a government reservation, however he later regrets his decision. Meanwhile, Ingrid goes behind Matthew's back and gets a loan, causing them to fight. Preston acquires land from the government at which the Kissing Tree stands and the townspeople are outraged when they find out he wants to cut it down to build his home. When all of the town learns he is about to cut it anyway, they go to him and try to make him change his mind. As he sees it's no use and Preston is determined to chop down the tree, Matthew jumps to take the axe from him, they fight, and Matthew is seriously injured. | |||||
| 4x02 | Traveling All-Stars | September 30, 1995 | Disc 1 | ||
| In an attempt to raise money for civic improvements, the Colorado Springs Council challenges Otis James and his American All-Stars to a baseball game. Dr. Mike and the other townsfolk take a crash course in baseball to prepare for the match. However, a dispute over the division of profits leads to intense competition. | |||||
| 4x03 | Mothers and Daughters | October 7, 1995 | Disc 1 | ||
| As Dr. Mike becomes increasingly absorbed in her romance with Sully, Colleen rebels by joining her classmates in some dangerous escapades. Mike is dismayed to learn of Colleen’s involvement in such daredevil hijinks as moonlight hay-rides and cliff-top horse races. When Brian also begins feeling ignored, Mike and Sully discover the importance of balancing their romantic life with their parental responsibilities. | |||||
| 4x04 | Brother's Keeper | October 14, 1995 | Disc 1 | ||
| Tragedy strikes Dr. Mike’s family when Matthew’s fiancée, Ingrid, falls deathly ill after she is bitten by Brian’s dog, who has contracted rabies from a raccoon. While Matthew and the family struggle with their grief, Brian is overcome by guilt. | |||||
| 4x05 | Halloween III | October 28, 1995 | Disc 2 | ||
| As the town’s big Halloween celebration approaches, Brian’s classmate convinces him that the vengeful ghost of a miner will murder him if he attends. A man with an acute case of Rheumatism visits Colorado Springs hoping the town’s hot springs will cure him, but another unlikely cure manifests itself. Meanwhile, Dr. Mike begins to fear that Sully is unhappy and may be having an affair, unaware of the true nature of Sully’s surprising secret. | |||||
| 4x06 | Dorothy's Book | November 4, 1995 | Disc 2 | ||
| Dr. Mike and the townsfolk are scandalized when Dorothy publishes her first book: an account of her experiences in Colorado Springs. Although the book quickly becomes a bestseller, Dorothy is dismayed by the angry reaction of her friends and neighbors, who feel betrayed by the secrets she has revealed. | |||||
| 4x07 | Promises, Promises | November 11, 1995 | Disc 2 | ||
| Loren proposes marriage to Dorothy, but suffers a crippling stroke before she can give him her answer. Meanwhile, tensions grow between Dr. Mike and Sully when an old friend writes Sully a letter asking him for help in the Nevada gold fields. | |||||
| 4x08-4x09 | Expedition (Parts 1 & 2) | November 18, 1995 | Disc 3 | ||
| For her birthday, Dr. Mike decides to climb to the top of Pike's Peak with Dorothy, Grace and Myra. The journey leads to disagreement among the women and even takes a perilous turn. Back in town, Preston takes advantage of Michaela's absence to pass legislation allowing the construction of a hotel and casino in Colorado Springs. When a bounty hunter comes to town looking for a black fugitive, Robert E. is forced to make a startling confession to Sully. The women's journey leads to revelations that will have lasting impacts on each of their lives. | |||||
| 4x10 | One Touch of Nature | November 25, 1995 | Disc 3 | ||
| As Thanksgiving approaches, Dr. Mike attempts to convince the townsfolk to share their feast with the impoverished Indians living at the Palmer Creek reservation. Jake slips into a depression and receives help from an unexpected source. Michaela fears she may be infertile. She also has to deliver a baby on what was to be a romantic evening for her and Sully. Sadly, the cord wraps around the baby's neck and it doesn't make it. Seeing the woman's young husband fall to his knees begging God not to take his wife too, reminds Sully of the moment his heart broke when it happened to him with Abigail, striking in him the fear of losing Michaela too. Cloud Dancing brings head injured Jake back to town where he decides to open the store in order for him to have his tobacco for the special ceremony and later gives it to him at the Thanksgiving dinner. Meanwhile, Dr. Mike sees an O.B. Specialist and he gives her the news she thought she would never hear and later tells Sully she is pregnant. | |||||
| 4x11 | Hell on Wheels | December 9, 1995 | Disc 3 | ||
| Rushing to the railroad camp to battle an epidemic, Dr. Mike and Sully are shocked to find Matthew, heartbroken over the recent death of his fiance, running the saloon there. Matthew, who has become self-destructive, volunteers for a highly dangerous blasting job that seriously endangers his own life, as well as the lives of Brian, Colleen and Peter. | |||||
| 4x12 | Fifi's First Christmas | December 16, 1995 | Disc 4 | ||
| As the town prepares for Christmas, Dr. Mike receives an unexpected gift from her mother - a miniature poodle named Fifi that wreaks havoc through Colorado Springs. Brian becomes smitten with an "older woman" of 11 who arrives in town with her recently widowed mother. At the same time, the Reverend Johnson recruits townspeople for the living Nativity he plans to stage. | |||||
| 4x13 | Change of Heart | January 6, 1996 | Disc 4 | ||
| Dr. Mike becomes the first woman admitted into the prestigious American Medical Society, but her new credential doesn't help her diagnose a young boy's deadly illness. Robert E. wants to adopt the young vagrant, but Grace, still aching over the loss of the Cheyenne baby, resists becoming involved with the ill child. Meanwhile, Matthew - who is also still grieving over the death of his fiancée - receives an unusual present from Hank. | |||||
| 4x14 | Tin Star | January 13, 1996 | Disc 4 | ||
| With the railroad comes an increase in crime in Colorado Springs, and the town decides to elect a sheriff. Matthew volunteers for the job, despite Michaela and Sully's objections. Upon taking office, Matthew enacts a controversial law banning the carrying of firearms, and this decision may end up putting his own life on the line. | |||||
| 4x15 | If You Love Someone... | January 20, 1996 | Disc 5 | ||
| Matthew and Emma struggle to define their relationship, especially when Matthew learns that Emma is choosing to be a prostitute absent a binding contract. Meanwhile, Myra is forced to examine her happiness when Preston offers her a job and Horace objects. | |||||
| 4x16 | The Ice Man Cometh | January 27, 1996 | Disc 5 | ||
| A former colleague of Preston's dupes the townsfolk into buying fraudulent stock in a non-existent invention. | |||||
| 4x17-4x18 | Dead or Alive (Parts 1 & 2) | February 3 and 10, 1996 | Disc 5 | ||
| When a Senator comes to Colorado Springs to campaign, his son is kidnapped by a radical vagrant in an attempt to prevent Colorado’s statehood. Despite the Senator’s bigoted nature, Sully, Matthew and Robert E. agree to help him find his son, along with the help of the other men in town. However, disagreements among the men put everyone’s lives in danger. Meanwhile, Michaela must hand over her practice to a bigoted doctor from Denver when her pregnancy is put at risk by her hectic work schedule. | |||||
| 4x19 | Deal with the Devil | February 17, 1996 | Disc 6 | ||
| To impress his former mentor, the Reverend makes a deal that could end up costing the town its church. Guest star: Fred Rogers as Reverend Thomas. | |||||
| 4x20 | An Eye for an Eye | February 24, 1996 | Disc 6 | ||
| When a drifter is convicted of raping a young girl and murdering an old man, he is sentenced to death, and the townspeople of Colorado Springs are divided over whether or not to take "an eye for an eye." Dr. Mike finds her own family being torn apart, as her feelings about the murderer's fate differ strongly from those of Sully and Colleen. As the execution approaches, emotions run high, and Matthew must take a strong stand to maintain law and order. | |||||
| 4x21 | Hearts and Minds | March 9, 1996 | Disc 6 | ||
| Although Dr. Mike and the Reverend favor the opening of a school on the Indian reservation, Cloud Dancing sees it as the final destruction of Indian culture. Sully, representing the Indians, is caught in the middle as tribal tensions increase. Arguments erupt over whether the white man is imposing his teachings onto the children, making them forsake their own Indian culture. Meanwhile, Dorothy attempts to get a bank loan so she can buy a building to expand her rapidly growing newspaper, yet is stonewalled by bankers who refuse to loan money to a woman. | |||||
| 4x22 | The Reunion | March 23, 1996 | Disc 7 | ||
| When Michaela's best friend and former medical school colleague comes for a visit, the excitement quickly turns to competition and jealousy. Meanwhile, Dorothy struggles to expand the gazette. | |||||
| 4x23 | Woman of the Year | April 6, 1996 | Disc 7 | ||
| After being nominated for Woman of the Year by a suffragette organization, Dr. Mike feels overwhelmed by the pressure to win. Elsewhere, when Hank's grandmother visits, he must maintain a façade to prevent her from discovering the truth about his sordid life. | |||||
| 4x24 | Last Chance | April 13, 1996 | Disc 7 | ||
| As her baby's birth draws near, Dr. Mike tries to reduce her clinic hours, but when Cloud Dancing is stabbed and Emma is found to have a potentially deadly tumor, she is forced to reevaluate. Although Sully struggles to keep the peace, tensions among Indian superintendent Hazen, the Army, and the various Indian tribes on the reservation mount steadily. The conflict takes a dangerous turn when Two Spears, a Pawnee renegade, attempts to kill Cloud Dancing. Meanwhile, Emma is badly beaten by one of her customers, leading Matthew to forbid her return to Hank's saloon. | |||||
| 4x25 | Fear Itself | April 27, 1996 | Disc 7 | ||
| Dr. Mike risks the health of her unborn baby when she helps a mysterious and beautiful stranger who carries a dreaded disease. When artist Isabelle Maynard (guest star Denise Crosby) arrives in Colorado Springs, the entire town embraces her, particularly Preston, whose intentions are amorous. But when the townspeople learn that Isabelle carries a terrifying disease, their friendship turns to fear. Meanwhile, Preston's plans for a resort hotel include a clinic for wealthy patients, run by Dr. Mike. Yet the doctor and Sully aren't sure if helping Preston is the best way to aid the sick and the needy. | |||||
| 4x26 | One Nation | May 4, 1996 | Disc 8 | ||
| Dr. Mike tries to save a young soldier, accidentally shot during a scuffle between the Army and the Indians, while Sully tries to spare Cloud Dancing's life when he confesses to the shooting. Although Cloud Dancing takes the blame to protect a young brave, the medicine man uses his trial to join the once-embattled tribes into a united nation. As tension mounts after the shooting, Preston will try anything to stop Dorothy from printing a fair editorial about the incident in her newspaper. | |||||
| 4x27 | When a Child is Born, Part 1 | May 11, 1996 | Disc 8 | ||
| As the birth of Dr. Mike's baby rapidly approaches, Sully is injured trying to rescue Cloud Dancing and the other Indians who were seized by the Army. After Cloud Dancing escapes, he guides a worried Dr. Mike to her husband's side. Meanwhile, Dr. Mike's family brings Andrew Cook (Brandon Douglas), a new doctor, to town. | |||||
| 4x28 | When a Child is Born, Part 2 | May 18, 1996 | Disc 8 | ||
| After Cloud Dancing leads Dr. Mike through the wilderness to the wounded Sully, she suddenly goes into labor and must coach her injured husband through a difficult delivery. As the townspeople scour the countryside looking for Dr. Mike and Sully, the baby is born. Meanwhile, the Army returns for Cloud Dancing, the bad feelings escalate between Horace and Myra, and young Dr. Cook must perform a major operation. | |||||
Read more about this topic: List Of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Episodes
Famous quotes containing the word season:
“The instincts of merry England lingered on here with exceptional vitality, and the symbolic customs which tradition has attached to each season of the year were yet a reality on Egdon. Indeed, the impulses of all such outlandish hamlets are pagan still: in these spots homage to nature, self-adoration, frantic gaieties, fragments of Teutonic rites to divinities whose names are forgotten, seem in some way or other to have survived mediaeval doctrine.”
—Thomas Hardy (1840–1928)