Michaela "Mike" Quinn, of Boston, followed in her father's footsteps by becoming a doctor. Dr. Mike worked side by side her father. But his sudden death caused her the loss of, not only her best friend, but the loss of their medical practice. The lack of job opportunities for women doctors lead Michaela to answer an ad for a doctor in Colorado territory. Michaela left her fancy home in the city of Boston for the western town, Colorado Springs. When she arrives in town she is met with mockery, for they expected a man doctor. She is befriended by Charlotte Cooper (Diane Ladd) and becomes good friends with her. Charlotte and Dr. Quinn become close friends and when Charlotte is bitten by a rattle snake, she leaves her three children Matthew (Chad Allen), Colleen (Erika Flores, later Jessica Bowman) and Brian (Shawn Toovey) for Dr. Mike to look after. As the town continues to mock Michaela for expecting to be the town doctor, she meets Sully, a white man ""turned"" Native American who lets he

Horror mounts when a flu epidemic attacks Colorado Springs. Dr. Mike must attend the sick townspeople and protect others from getting the deadly disease. But being a lady doctor has people questioning whether she can handle the fatal epidemic.

Mike's estranged mother (Jane Wyman) visits, but she and Mike are still miles apart. Meanwhile, Robert E is injured in a fire.

A gunslinger (Johnny Cash) arrives looking for a quiet town in which to hang 'em up, but Colorado Springs is itching to lynch an immigrant (Christopher Keene Kelly) for cattle rustling to feed his starving family.

A bitter Loren, who blames Sully for his daughter's death, tries to repossess Dr. Mike's cabin when he learns he still owns the deed.

As Dr. Quinn is trying to persuade the townspeople that smallpox vaccinations are necessary, the father of Brain, Colleen, and Matthew arrives.

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.

Dr. Mike tries to heal the soul of Doc Eli, a Civil War surgeon turned patent medicine show huckster, who's come to like the taste of his own medicine, an all-curing elixir used by the fabled Kickapoo Indians. She doesn't trust the sales pitch of this exploitave medicine show man, especially when she's facing a real medical crisis involving Myra. She must help Doc Eli face his past demons, before he can help her remove an ovarian cyst from Myra, in a technique he pioneered.

Meanwhile Sully's on a similar mission in trying to convince Franklin, a disillusioned Cheyenne, survivor of a massacre, to join his own people in their continuing fight for survival. Myra and Horace get engaged.

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.

Sully ends up badly beaten and partially paralyzed following a run in with buffalo hunters who were hired by the railroad to clear the buffalo and Indians out of the planned train path. As Dr. Mike, Cloud Dancing and the kids fight to help Sully regain the use of his legs, a con man who's passed himself off as an advance man for the railroad is in the process of swindling the townsfolk out of the deed to their property. Sully recovers and Dr. Mike unmasks the con man's plan thereby saving the townsfolk's property.

After ambushing Black Kettle's camp, General Custer enters the town carrying wounded soldiers and Indian prisoners, including Cloud Dancing, whom Custer threatens to kill if Dr. Mike does not treat his men before the injured braves.

Later, Dr. Mike treats Cloud Dancing's broken arm while he remains shackled in the livery after Custer's interrogation. When Custer jokingly hauls Cloud Dancing before a firing squad that fires blanks, Dr. Mike and Sully engineer Cloud Dancing's escape.

Meanwhile, Olive opens a Hurdy Gurdy, recruiting girls from the immigrant camp and a reluctant Loren, Horace and Jake for the band. Matthew buys all of Ingrid's dance tickets then shyly confesses that he doesn't know how to dance. Robert E. and Grace exchange looks. Robert E. is still burned from The Visitor (#3).

After a patient of Dr. Mike's dies of blood poisoning, she accuses Jake, the barber, of infecting the man with his dirty razor. Her accusation throws Jake into an alcoholic binge. Dr. Mike tries in vain to pull him out of it, but finally realizes he must be the one to want to stop drinking. She gives him something to live for by pointing out his many friends in town, including her.

Meanwhile, Mike's children try to help her deal with her loneliness on her 35th birthday by conspiring to find her a proper suitor before her surprise party

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.

Colleen develops a teenage crush on Sully after he pulls her out of the path of a runaway wagon. Imagining herself as a damsel in distress and Sully as her knight in shining armor, she purposely sets out to get lost in the woods hoping Sully will rescue her. A freak cold snap blows up and she almost freezes to death before Sully and Dr. Mike find her. Dr. Mike works hard to save Colleen's badly frostbitten hands, and Sully ultimately has a heart-to- heart talk with Colleen.

Meanwhile, racial tensions in town reach a boiling point when Hank accuses Grace of food poisoning which is later proved false when Dr. Mike discovers Hank has been eating meat infected with trichinosis.

While Brian and Sully are out hiking, Brian climbs a tree and jumps out before Sully can stop him. Brian lands hard, hitting his head. Mike, angry with Sully for not watching Brian more carefully, is relieved to find no signs of injury.

Later, the townsfolk argue over who will build the new schoolhouse, Matthew wants Robert E included, but, in the end Jake and Loren are tapped for the job. Brian begins to exhibit symptoms of compression, which escalate to blindness and later, coma. A specialist can't be found and Mike must perform a dangerous brain operation while Jake and Grace assist.

Meanwhile, the town, including Robert E, pulls together to build the schoolhouse. Brian awakens and wanders out to the new school where Mike and the family find him, overjoyed that he can see again.

When Mike and Sully stop to check on old Mrs. Johnson, they discover her dead and a young boy, Zack, hidden in the closet. Mike takes the child in and confronts the townsfolk, who reluctantly admit to knowing the boy's mother was one of Hank's whores. When she died they sent Zack to Mrs. Johnson because he was ""simple."" Mike is frustrated in her attempts to find a medical diagnosis and cure for Zack's condition. Mike's further detective work reveals that Hank is Zack's father, and she helps Hank own up to his responsibility.

Meanwhile, Brian seems to be the only one to get the boy to exhibit his artistic abilities, and he is mistakenly given credit for a drawing that Zack has done. Later, when Zack's artistic talent is discovered, Hank agrees to send him to an art school in Denver. The show has a cute opening scene of Mike and Sully with him criticizing her driving.

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.

After Snowbird gives Mike an Indian pony, Flash, in thanks for her work at the reservation Mike tries to enter the Territory Stakes Race, but race officials, Loren and Jake, won't allow a woman to ride. Dr. Cassidy arrives from Denver with his champion horse and spurns Mike attempts to speak to him colleague to colleague. Dr. Cassidy's rider, Drew, is injured and Mike diagnoses cranial compression, yet Dr. Cassidy refuses Mike's assistance. Drew dies and an angry Mike is determined to enter the race, disguised as a man. Meanwhile, with encouragement from Grace, Brian enters a pie-baking contest and is met with skepticism from Colleen and Loren. To everyone's surprise, Brian is declared the winner. Mike rides the race of her life and wins, but is disqualified when her disguise is revealed and Hank, riding Dr. Cassidy's horse, is declared the winner.

Dorothy, Loren's sister-in-law and old flame, is introduced as an abused wife who defends herself against her husband's assault, then seeks shelter with Loren. Marcus Jennings, Dorothy's husband, persuades Dorothy to return home with him, which she does. Later, they have another fight and Dorothy returns. Unfortunately, after the couple's last fight, Marcus is found dead, and Dorothy is the prime suspect. Mike defends her at the trial, but in the end Dorothy is found guilty. At the eleventh hour, Mike performs an autopsy on Dorothy's husband and proves Dorothy's innocence; Marcus was suffering from acute cirrhosis of the liver. Dorothy remains in town and Loren gives her a room at the General Store and helps her get started on her own newspaper, ""The Gazette."" Meanwhile, Snowbird, Cloud Dancing's wife, leaves Cloud Dancing's teepee when tradition dictates he take in a widow as his second wife.

Halloween is trick-or-treat for the residents of Colorado Springs when Sully's dead wife, Abigail, haunts Dr. Mike, after Sully suggests fixing up the homestead for her. Eventually, Mike is able to lay Abigail's ghost to rest. Meanwhile, Brian becomes terrified after his investigations lead him to believe Dorothy is a witch. But, later she helps him deal with his sadness about the fading memory of his mother. Jake and Loren's prank on the town backfires when Jake pronounces a man dead and his ""corpse"" walks away -- Mike later diagnoses the man as a catalepsy sufferer.

Jake, Loren and Horace are out hunting when Jake, mistaking an Indian for a deer, accidentally shoots and kills him. During the melee, Horace is wounded by an arrow, which Mike treats. Loren and Jake, frightened and guilty, try to cover up Jake's blunder by declaring that the Indians attacked. They persuade Horace to participate in this lie. Sully and Mike are caught in the subsequent hostilities between the Indians and townsfolk. The incident threatens to provoke an all-out Indian war, as well as a rift between Sully and Mike and between Sully and Cloud Dancing, until Mike elicits a confession from Horace and Sully intervenes to bring peace. Eventually, the Indian tribal council declares that Jake must make financial reparations to the dead Indian's family, including his horse, watch and ring.

Love finds visiting faith healer Sister Ruth, in the form of Kid Cole, who's revisiting the town in order to jail a desperado he's apprehended. The desperado's two brothers have followed him to town and stalk him. Kid Cole, strangely fatalistic, seems to have lost the will to live. Things come to a head when Mike and Sister Ruth must unite their mutual strengths; medicine and faith, to save Kid Cole's life. Mike performs an emergency procedure to evacuate the tubercular Kid Cole's lungs; Sister Ruth helps him find the will to live. Sully forces Kid Cole to reveal that Kid Cole feels terribly guilty for having gunned down the desperado's brother, who was unarmed. Sully helps the Kid resolve this crisis of conscience and in a climactic showdown, the town helps the Kid avert a gun battle with the desperados. Meanwhile, the Reverend refuses to allow Robert E and Grace to marry in the town church, but eventually capitulates to their demands, with some help from Mike and Sister Ruth.

Mike receives an emergency telegram from her sister Rebecca -- her mother is gravely ill. Mike rushes to Boston to her mother's side, the Cooper kids in tow, where Dr. Mike and her ""roughhewn"" children are met with raised eyebrows by Dr. Quinn's own family. While consulting with Elizabeth Quinn's attending physician, Dr. Mike meets a handsome and progressive Doctor, Dr. William Burke. Dr. Mike's prognosis of her mother (hepatitis) differs with Mrs. Quinn's doctor, Dr. Hanson, who diagnoses cancer. Dr. Burke, however, believes Dr. Mike may be onto something. They have a lot in common and develop a strong mutual admiration for each other. They work together to cure Mrs. Quinn and some of Dr. Burke's other patients. Meanwhile, Matthew chafes at being stuck in Boston away from Ingrid, while Colleen appreciates the learned and cultured atmosphere and Brian adores the candy stores. Just when everyone has settled comfortably into the Boston routine, Sully shows up, unannounced and in buckskin

Sully arrives in Boston and discovers that he's facing worthy competition for Mike's affection in the form of Dr. William Burke. Sully at first settles uncomfortably into Mike's Boston surroundings, but later, with prodding from the kids, submits to a grand makeover. Later, Sully romances Mike with dining and dancing, even attending an opera together. At an all-male medical society, Dr. Burke steps aside so that Mike can present a paper on Indian medicine, while Sully looks on. Afterward, Sully overhears Dr. Burke proposing marriage to Mike and heads back to Colorado, but not before confessing his love to Mike. In the end, Mike declines Dr. Burke's marriage proposal and Mike and the kids return to Colorado, where Dr. Mike returns Sully's declaration of love with a vow in kind.

Mike and Sully have trouble adjusting to the new status of their relationship, ""courtin'"". Sully introduces Mike to his world, taking her into the woods, showing her how to track and hunt. Mike pressures Sully into coming to a town meeting, where tempers flare over the scarcity of water. Later, Sully takes Mike to his home, a simple lean-to, and she wonders how they can make a life together when they're so different. Horace's attempts to divine for water fail, and Hank decides its time to pull up stakes and take Myra with him. Robert E and Grace also consider leaving. Mike and Sully persuade Cloud Dancing to share his methods for water conservation and farming with the town, only to be rebuffed by Loren and Jake. Loren and Jake take water from an Indian pond which Cloud Dancing warns is poisonous, but they sell the water to the townsfolk anyway. Everyone gets sick from the contaminated water and Dr. Mike must treat them. Afterward, the town pulls together to create a Thanksgiving feast

Colleen and Becky become best friends when, at Bray's store, Alice, another friend, insists on taking Colleen's favorite fabric to make a dress for the Sweethearts' dance. Dorothy fears she may be pregnant when she faints in the general store. Mike assures her she is not, but she is beginning the ""change of life"". Later, Mike is frustrated when she tries to teach Sully to dance the Sweethearts' reel. Mike confides to Dorothy her fears about a physical relationship and Dorothy guesses Mike is a virgin. Meanwhile, Becky asks her new best friend, Colleen to ask Richard, a boy she likes, if he likes Becky. He asks Colleen if ""the girl,"" (he thinks it's Colleen) will meet him at the kissing tree. Colleen misunderstands, thinks he knows it's Becky. She tells Becky where to meet him, but Becky chickens out and Colleen goes in her place, to explain. Richard, assuming Colleen is there to meet him, kisses her. Becky finds out and is heartbroken. Becky and Alice team up against Colleen and spread

Mike is called away to Soda Springs to help with an outbreak of influenza and Sully promises to stay with the children. Sully plays ""Mr. Mom"" but the kids grow restless. While out exploring caves with Brian, Sully is shot trying to intervene between the Indians and the cavalry. When the smoke clears, Brian can't locate Sully and goes to town for help. The Reverend helps the kids hide Sully, who now has a bounty on his head. They take Sully to the cave for safety. Colleen enlists the Reverend's help to bring supplies from the clinic, but he is spotted by Hank and Jake, who are out for the bounty. They knock Hank out and tie him up, but when Colleen is forced to remove the bullet, she must employ Jake's assistance to save Sully's life. When finally they ride back into town, the Cavalry tries to arrest Sully for blowing up the railroad, but the townsfolk provide Sully with an alibi preventing his arrest.

Mike's Christmas Eve gets off to a bad start, triggering a personal crisis for Mike. Through no fault of her own, a patient dies of a heart-attack on the operating table as Mike performs a routine operation on Christmas Eve. The deceased man's family blames Mike. Later, at home, the Cooper kids bicker. Next, as Mike, Sully and the kids are on their way to the town's Christmas Eve party, Robert E comes to ask Mike to deliver a baby for a couple who's just come into town. The couple, married against their parents' wishes, are on the run. Robert E offers them the use of his stable for the birthing, as the couple's fathers, who're in close pursuit, will certainly find them at the clinic. Mike goes to attend the delivery, which causes her to miss the event.

Miners gather in front of Loren Bray's store to protest Loren's not extending credit to striking miners, and for doing business with the mine owners. A budding union leader, Conrad, is there trying to organize the workers. At the same time, Travis Stone, the mining boss, rides up, hands out flyers advertising for scabs. An angry miner throws a stick of dynamite onto Loren's porch, which Sully, who gets knocked out in the subsequent fray, comes to just soon enough to put out. Matthew takes a flyer -- decides he'll take the job to augment building costs on his homestead. By doing this, he's at cross-purposes with Sully and Mike, who try to talk him out of it.

Grace tells Loren she won't be buying anything from him until the strike's over, due to his unfair trade practices with the striking miners. Matthew finds, to his dismay, that Loren charges 10 cents on every dollar of ""scrip"" (miner's credit) for ""bookkeeping"" costs. Later, as Mike administers some bicarbonate of soda (Brian's got a

Mike and Sully work to treat a typhus epidemic at Black Kettle's camp, which begins after Mike and Sully unwittingly convince Black Kettle to accept government blankets infected with the virus. Mike is heartbroken and guilt-ridden as she battles the tribe's typhus epidemic. When Matthew comes down with typhus, the town panics and locks the children in the clinic alone with Horace. Colleen treats Matthew and Horace contrives to send the kids out to the reservation to be with Mike. Meanwhile, the town prepares for the Fourth of July, ironically missing the point entirely that the first Americans, the Indians, are being systematically wiped out and further, that the newest Americans, the Immigrants, have just had their camp destroyed by the typhus-fearing townsfolk

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

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

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.

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

When Julius Hoffman rides into town and engages Matthew in a poker game, Matthew thinks he's found a great way to earn money to finish he and Ingrid's homestead, although Mike and Sully disapprove. At first, Matthew wins steadily, though he and Ingrid get into a terrible fight when, after missing an elaborate dinner she cooked for him (he was in a game), he confesses he used her hard-earned laundry money, which she gave him for building supplies, as a stake.

Though Ingrid and Mike disapprove heartily, Matthew continues playing the game, even after he gets beaten up and robbed of his earnings. Eventually, townsfolk become so confident in Matthew's abilities that everyone but Mike, Sully and the Reverend back Matthew in the big poker game. The Reverend pulls Mike aside and confesses that he was once a gambler, knew Julius, and suspects that the town's been set up.

As Matthew makes his way to the big game, Ingrid breaks up with him over his poker playing. In the process, she returns the e

Tom Jennings, Dorothy's son, shows up in Loren's store one day when Mike and the kids are there shopping. He's a Civil War Veteran with an old war injury -- his leg was almost blown off. Dorothy asks Mike to treat him when he complains of pain in his seemingly healed leg. She gives him a syringe of morphine for the pain, not noticing his blissful expression. Mike invites he, Dorothy and Loren to dinner. During dinner, Colleen develops a crush on him. Sully's suspicion is piqued when Tom leaves and he forgets to use his cane.

The next day, Tom returns to Mike, telling her his leg hurts. She treats him, but denies him her last vial of morphine, which she's saving for an emergency. Later that day, Loren catches Tom slipping a vial of patent medicine from the store under his coat. When Dorothy confronts Tom, he replies that the pain just got to him, and complains that Mike won't give him any morphine. Later that night, he goes out and tries to mooch free drinks at the saloon. Later still,

Robert E buys a house in town. When the auctioneer, Jedediah Bancroft, sees that he's sold the house to a black man, he tries to renege, but Mike intercedes. Later, Mike is surprised to learn that Jake, Loren, Hank and Dorothy are displeased to have Robert E and Grace living in their midst.

That night, at the homestead, Matthew tells Mike he's been invited to join a new men's club -- the Ku Klux Klan, which he knows nothing about but is heading out the door to investigate. At the meeting, Jedediah, the leader of the group, promises only ""a big surprise"" for the following night, then adjourns the meeting. The next night, townsfolk don white gowns, recite the KKK oath, and ride out to harass and beat Robert E. After treating Robert E, Mike storms into the barbershop, where she confronts Jedediah, Jake, Loren and Hank about the events of the night before. Jedediah tries to make offers to get Robert E and Grace out of town, even threatening Mike with the mortgage on her clinic if Robert E

Rev. Johnson's in love with the town's new schoolteacher (Sherry Hursey), while Mike's concerned about the woman's wanton use of corporal punishment in the classroom.

Mike and Sully get caught in the crossfire when, while visiting the Indian reservation, they see renegade Dog Soldiers shoot some Cavalry men. Mike is kidnapped in retaliation when the Indians discover she told Custer what happened; Sully vows to find her. Meanwhile, Brian falls in love with a horse Hank wins in a poker game.

Sully sets out to rescue Mike. Meanwhile, Custer takes the Indian reservation hostage, threatening to hang everyone unless Mike is returned. Brian works off the cost of the little horse; but Hank reneges on the deal, inciting Loren's wrath. Mike and Sully return to town just in time to keep the Indians from getting hanged. Hank, not anxious to pay double for all his goods at the General Store, delivers Taffy to Brian on his birthday, declaring that, ""Sometimes it's just good business for a man to keep his word.""

Mike and Jake go head-to-head when both campaign for the Mayorship of Colorado Springs. At issue: whether drinking and prostitution should be outlawed. Myra finally breaks loose from Hank.

Only the town's love for the infinitely unlovable Hank can pull him from the brink of a deadly coma. Meanwhile, Colleen and Brian tangle when Grandma Quinn sends Brian but not Colleen a present.

When ""Andrew Strauss""—really David Lewis—the fiancé whom Mike had presumed was killed in the Civil War, visits Colorado Springs. Mike is forced to choose between him and Sully. Also, Horace and Myra experience pre-nuptial tension when townsfolk start taking over the planning of their wedding for them. Andrew Strauss/David Lewis: Maxwell Caulfield.

Mike is torn between two lovers when, in a blast from the past, her presumed-dead Civil War fiance, David Lewis, whirls into town to reclaim Mike from the arms of Sully, her current fiance. Also, Horace keeps ""losin' the mood"" when it comes time to consummate his marriage with Myra.

Sully argues with Mike that they should move if the railroad comes. Meanwhile, Matthew feels left-out of Sully's new homestead plans.

Loren plans a trip to Bolivia to prove he is not getting old; Brian seeks to prove his courage by camping out alone. The two become inadvertent allies as they battle the advances of a hungry bear. Also, Jake and Hank's practical jokes get out of hand, culminating in injuries to them both, until they agree to make up

Mike receives a telegram from Miss Olive - she's ill - but when she, family and friends arrive in Mexico, Miss Olive's already passed away and left 200 cattle to Matthew. Now they must get the herd back home. Colleen gets a crush on a handsome ne'er do well cowhand named Jesse, only to be robbed and deserted by him.

Matthew and Sully quarrel over the route of the cattle drive.

Mike tangles with the usually benevolent Reverend when she donates books to the town and he tries to ban them, ultimately burning some of them until Mike brings him to his senses. Also, Brian, influenced by Twain's ""The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calveras County,"" stages a frog-jumping contest with disappointing results.

Mike helps John, a man Brian finds in the woods, deal with outer and inner scars when she operates on his maimed face and helps him deal with his guilt about the train wreck that caused his disfigurement - as conductor of the train, he feels somehow responsible for the accidental crash. Meanwhile, the townsfolk are up in arms when they get wind that Mike's doing ""secret"" operations - and possibly creating Frankenstein's monster. John: Richard Moll

Mike, Sully, and Cloud Dancing head to Washington, D.C., to lobby on behalf of the Indians.

Sully is imprisoned when he accompanies Dr. Mike and Cloud Dancing to Washington to lobby on behalf of the Cheyenne.

Mike and Sully battle money issues when Sully wants to be the primary provider and Mike wants to combine their incomes - in the end, it's Sully who comes around. Also, Myra becomes a sleepwalker, driving Horace crazy, but happily, the sleepwalking turns out merely to be a symptom of Myra's pregnancy.

Mike and Sully run into now-married Kid Cole and Sister Ruth and invite them home for Thanksgiving, but the coach is hijacked, forcing them to journey home, on foot, through Indian country. Also, the Cooper kids scramble to put Thanksgiving supper together. Kid Cole: Johnny Cash. Sister Ruth: June Carter Cash.

Mike discovers a lump in Dorothy's breast and performs a mastectomy on her. Meanwhile, Colleen must deal with the unwanted attention of a new boy at school who fixates on her impressive bust. Finally, Jake, dressed in drag for Ladies Night at Hank's saloon, gets kidnapped and held hostage by an amorous outlaw, but escapes.

Dorothy insists the decision to have surgery is hers, not Mike's; Colleen finds the harassment unbearable.

Mike intervenes in their behalf when a Jewish peddler family arrives in town and is met with prejudice and harassment from townsfolk. Also, Matthew masquerades as Santa Claus for Brian. Guest star: Trisha Yearwood

Sully takes a job as an Indian Agent, only to discover corruption's rife within the system. Meanwhile, liquor arrives on the reservation, and Snow Bird miscarries due to malnutrition.

Mike remains the sole voice of reason when townsfolk read a newspaper article predicting that a comet will end the world. Also, Mike addresses the Cooper kids' fears about ""the end."" Hank and Loren cash in on hysteria.

Mike learns some patients are beyond help when she climbs Pike's Peak to follow a woman who's chosen to die in its rarified air rather than continue to battle leukemia; Grace deals with her jealousy of Myra's pregnancy. Colleen delivers Myra's baby in Mike's absence, ushering in a new life for the one lost. Sam Lindsay: Eve Brenner

Mike loses custody of Brian and Colleen when their father, Ethan Cooper, arrives with new bride Lillian and reclaims them in a messy courtroom battle. Also, Myra and Horace are almost driven out of their minds by new baby Samantha's incessant crying.

Brian and Colleen run away from Ethan and Lillian, and Colleen contracts potentially lethal pneumonia, which, upon the kids apprehension, Mike treats. Also, surprisingly, Hank's the only person who can quiet Samantha, Myra and Horace's eternally crying baby.

Brian's homework assignment, an essay entitled, ""What Is Love?"" to be written in honor of Valentine's day, coincides with Dorothy and the town's production of ""Romeo and Juliet."" Also, Becky and Colleen compete to play Juliet, Dorothy and Jake split up, and Sully gives Mike an engagement ring.

Mike volunteers Robert E's services to fix a steam engine for the railroad, but whether Robert E can do it remains in question until the job is completed. Also, Mike solves a medical puzzle when two Chinese railroad workers, the Chang brothers, fall strangely ill. Jackson Tait: Allan Royal. Peter Chow: Eric Michael Zee.

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.

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.

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.

Mike and Sully arrive too late to avert Custer's slaughter of the Indians at the Washita River; Brian befriends an Indian boy destined to die at Washita; Robert E & Grace attempt to adopt an Indian baby whose mother was killed at Washita. No Harm Comes To Him: Sean Price-McConnell.

Sully and the kids must help Mike deal with the emotional aftermath of the Washita massacre; Robert E and Grace must return to Cloud Dancing the Indian baby Mike and Sully brought back from Washita

After discovering a badly injured Loren, Sully must battle his own demons in order to save him.

Mike and Sully go to the Reverend for a dose of preventative pre-marital counseling, and recall the path of their romance.

Mike's mother arrives with elaborate wedding plans; Custer puts a bounty on best man Cloud Dancing.

While Sully is off thinking and doesn't return for several days, Mike gets worried. Although Mike continues to believe in their love. When Sully finally returns, Mike realizes she just wants Sully as her husband. Mike and Sully marry on May 20, 1870. Brian, feeling left out, has a surprise for the newlyweds.

The honeymoon is over for Mike and Sully as the newlyweds must adjust to life in a changing Colorado Springs where a bullish Boston Brahman named Preston A. Lodge III establishes the towns first bank. Preston Lodge III: Jason Leland Adams.

The town invites a traveling all-star baseball team for a fundraising event, but later suspects that they have been swindled. Otis James: Joel Anderson.

Mike is overwhelmed with her new found passion for Sully, and feeling slighted, Colleen joins her schoolmates for dangerous and questionable escapades.

Matthew's fiance Ingrid hovers near death after being bitten by Brian's rabid pet wolf; Brian is overwhelmed with guilt. Ingrid: Jennifer Youngs.

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.

Dorothy Jennings' book about her experiences in Colorado Springs becomes a best seller, but it angers townsfolk.

Loren proposes to Dorothy but suffers a stroke before she can give him an answer. Meanwhile, Sully feels obliged to act upon an old friend's written request to help him set up a mining operation in Nevada.

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.

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.

At Thanksgiving, Mike faces the possibility that she might be infertile, while Jake struggles with the fact that he has no family to share the day with. Brian becomes attached to the Thanksgiving main course.

The family finds Matthew running a saloon at a railroad camp where his grief over Ingrid's death drives him to volunteer for a dangerous blasting job. Loren loses Dorothy's money for a new printing press. Peter Chow: Eric Michael Zee.

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.

Robert E and Grace want to adopt a young boy who is suffering from a disease Mike can't diagnose (sickle cell anemia). Meanwhile the town believes Matthew should start dating again and sets him up on a series of blind dates.

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.

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.

The town is duped by two con men selling shares in a refrigeration box and Mike must turn the tables on the con men, helping the town learn a lesson in trust. Meanwhile, Cloud Dancing barters with Loren to sell corn grown on the reservation at the general store. Randolph Cummings: Brandon Douglas. Curtis Roper: Anthony Lee. Anthony: Brenden Jefferson.

Sully pursues a renegade mountain man who has kidnapped senator Leonard's son, in protest of the Senator's support of Colorado statehood. Meanwhile, Mike is forced to stop her practice when her schedule threatens her pregnancy. Ezra Leonard: Lawrence Pressman. Noah McBride: Denny Miller. Dr. Cassidy: Jerry Hardin.

The rescuers get ugly after Leonard offers a bounty for the mountain man, so Sully sets off alone.

The Reverend mortgages the church to Hank to get money to make church repairs in order to impress his mentor Rev. Thomas. Rev. Thomas: Fred Rogers. Mr. James: Max Gail.

Feelings run high after a drifter is sentenced to hang for rape and murder

Cloud Dancing sees a reservation school as fatal to Indian culture; bankers stonewall Dorothy's loan request.

Dr. Mike's joyful reunion with a college friend soon turns competitive; Dorothy struggles with a new press.

Tales of her accomplishments embarrass Woman of the Year nominee Mike; Hank's grandmother visits.

A renegade stabs Cloud Dancing, and Emma has a tumor, so Mike cannot slow down before the baby is born.

A popular new arrival carries a dread disease; Preston plans an exclusive clinic.

Cloud Dancing hopes his trial for shooting a soldier will unite the tribes.

Dr. Mike prepares for the birth of her baby. Mike's family arrives for the impending birth of Mike and Sully's baby, bringing along a new young doctor (Brandon Douglas) to help deliver the baby. Meanwhile, Sully is hurt while trying to rescue Cloud Dancing and others from Sgt. O'Connor (Patrick Kilpatrick) and his patrol.

Wounded Sully must deliver Mike's baby. Dr. Cook is forced to perform a major operation. Katie Sully: Alexandria, McKenzie and Megan Calabrese.

Sully goes to Denver to negotiate the release of Cloud Dancing from the army. One of the conditions is that Sully is no longer Indian Agent and may not ever step foot on the reservation again. On the way home the train crashes, injuring most on board. Andrew learns a lesson in humility by watching Michaela in action.

Michaela has returned to work after being home with Katie. Between work, the baby and being so tired,Michaela is spread thin. Sully feels neglected. Sully helps Michaela through this difficult time. Colleen is accepted to college in Denver.

A malpractice suit prevents Dr. Mike from practicing medicine, leaving the reluctant Dr. Cook in charge.

The appearance of renowned singer Gilda St. Clair (Barbara Mandrell) tempts Colleen to leave college and travel the world instead.

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.

Dr. Mike faces the prospect of leaving her practice and friends for Wyoming when Sully is offered a job surveying Yellowstone National Park.

Dr. Mike is arrested and put in jail for treating a fugitive Indian; Jake and Preston run against each other for mayor of Colorado Springs.

A sick and ragged prospector wanders into town and Jake Slicker recognizes the man as his father, who abandoned him years before.

Dr. Mike, Sully and Matthew team up with a legendary marshal in order to nab the thieves who wounded Matthew during a bank robbery.

A severe storm bears down on Colorado Springs, disrupting the arrival of Preston Lodge II and Dr. Mike's attempts to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner.

Grace and Robert E. encounter fierce opposition when they attempt to enroll their son in the town's all-white school.

When three people die after coming in contact with something in the clinic, and one is deathly sick, Dr. Mike, Sully, Colleen, and Andrew but their heads together to find out what it was. They figure out that it was something in the clinic and now it is everywhere. In her case, on the instruments, the sheet. The only solution is to burn everything. When that is done, some are genorous enough to give Dr. Mike some of there things, but they are scared to come in. When Sully must get stitches, and lives after being treated by Dr. Mike, she begins the road to being reaccepted by Colorado Springs.

As Christmas approaches, Brian questions his faith when he learns that Dr. Mike cannot save the sight of the Reverend.

In a case of mistaken motivation, a judge sends Sully to prison after he is spotted with criminals bent on stopping the construction of a dam.

Dr. Mike's Uncle Theodore, a concert pianist, sees in Brian not only a talented musician, but his own dead son.

Kid Cole and Sister Ruth (Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash) visit Dr. Mike at a difficult time in their marriage.

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.

An old friend of Sully's visits, wanting to financially help the family. Although he falls in love with Michaela.

While Sully is away for a few days to procure some money, Preston arrives threatening to repossess the homestead for nonpayment of the load. Daniel rejects Dr. Mike's objections and pays off the entire loan. Upon hearing how Daniel interfered in his business, the proud Sully becomes furious.

Sully, depite being wounded by two bank robbers, works to free his wife, Brian and Katie when they are taken hostage by the desperate men.

Brian takes a liking to visiting writer Walt Whitman, even when the townspeople shun Whitman over rumors of his alternative lifestyle.

Sgt. O'Connor was found dead in the river. Sully is nowhere to be found. Michaela believes that he survived and goes looking for him. Daniel comes to offer his help. Dorothy and Cloud Dancing share their first kiss.

Cloud Dancing is badly beaten by soldiers for returning late to the reservation. Michaela treats him. When Sully learns of the attack, he is outraged. Tired of being treated cruelly, the tribes plan a rebellion. They enlist Sully's help.

After Marjorie joins the Women's movement she blows into town stirring everyone up and has a fling with Loren.

Sully arranges an escape for Cloud Dancing, leading him and the Indian to become wanted men.

Everyone is doting on Katie and Brian feels slighted. Brian receives a letter and picture from his real father, which leaves him feeling like he doesn't belong anywhere. Brian starts behaving badly. He gets Anthony to skip school with him and they hop a train. Sully punishes Brian. When Brian questions Sully's actions, Sully says that he is doing it because he is his Pa.

Sully lies to everyone about what he is doing, but the truth comes out. Cloud Dancing flees to the Tongue River Valley. Sgt McKay (David Beecroft)sees Sully at the scene. After Sgt O'Connor (Patrick Kilpatrick) finds out what happens, he goes after Sully. They get into a fight and they both go over a cliff

Sully is found alive, but badly hurt. As Michaela nurses him back to health, she keeps him hidden from the army. Sully sneaks into the homestead one night to spend time with his wife.

Sully is wanted for treason and murder. In order to keep him safe, Michaela pretends that Sully is dead and has a memorial service for him. Hank and Jake find out Sully is alive. Cloud Dancing and Sully meet with Black Moon.

Michaela finds out that she is pregnant, but suffers a miscarriage. Without Sully there to comfort her, she has to turn to her friends.

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.

Anthony's (Brandon Hammond) health deteriorates rapidly. Grace does not want to face the inevitable. Michaela struggles to tell Sully about the baby. Anthony loses his battle.

Marjorie brings a group of Temperance Women (opposed to alcohol consumption) to C.S. Jake goes on a dangerous drinking binge, when he thinks Hank and Teresa are seeing each other. Grace begins to drink heavily to numb her grief. Robert E. moves out.

A diptheria epidemic sweeps through C.S. Michaela performs a procedure that is not a proven cure. Becky (Haylie Johnson) dies.

Mrs. Quinn wants to take to the children to Boston with her. She also disapproves of Loren and Marjorie's relationship. Marjorie contracts the illness. The family sneaks Sully home for Thanksgiving.

Dorothy discovers the deed to the property that Grace's cafe is on. Hank accidently breaks Horace's nose and won't pay for the damage. There is a sudden rash of lawsuits and Michaela acts as Judge.

Consumption hits Black Moon and his men. Black Moon agrees to surrender in exchange for safe passage of his men to protected land. Michaela negotiates the deal and asks also that Sully be pardoned.

Sully and Michaela are on their way home for Christmas, when they stop to help a couple inexperienced in the wilderness.

Michaela is shot at the clinic by a man that has a grievance with doctors. The physical wounds heal, but the emotional ones linger.

A male acquaintance of Colleen's from Denver, starts to call on her. When the man pushes himself on Colleen, Andrew protects her honor and admits his love for her.

Loneliness pervades C.S. as the Sweetheart's Dance approaches. Loren sells his store to Preston and plans to move to San Francisco. Jake proposes to Teresa.

Chinese immigrants set up camp. Dr. Quinn discovers a young woman (Yumi Iwami) posing as a man in order to practice medicine, which is forbidden in her culture. Her Grandfather (Robert Ito) is stunned, but supportive.

Hank captures Cloud Dancing and gets the army to send him to a reservation far away. Jake and Teresa marry, despite her aunt's (Carmen Zapata) disapproval.

Michaela worries about Brian's friendship with an eccentric man (Martin Von Hoffman) who thinks he is a bird.

U.S. Marshall Elias Burch (guest star Willie Nelson) asks Matthew, still a student of law, to defend him when he's accused of murder.

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.

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.

Dr. Mike's elation at Colleen's acceptance to medical school quickly turns to disappointment when Colleen chooses to marry Andrew instead. A bitter family argument erupts when Dr. Mike tells Colleen that she is less than overjoyed at her announcement and feels that the couple is rushing into marriage and should wait until Colleen completes medical school. Meanwhile, Robert E and Grace have wonderful news to share; the stock market crash hits Preston and the townsfolk hard; and Dorothy and Cloud Dancing reach a new level in their relationship. As part of the Network's 50th Anniversary celebration, classic footage of James Arness as legendary Marshal Matt Dillon of ""Gunsmoke"" is digitally integrated into this episode. When Jake breaks the news to Hank that he's accepted Preston's offer to buy his share of the Golden Nugget that would make him partners with the despised Preston,