The Big Picture
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was shot at the Paramount Movie Ranch in Agoura Hills, California, where the entire fictional town of Colorado Springs was built. The set of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman remained a popular tourist attraction until it was destroyed in the Woolsey Fires in 2018. While the show was fictional, it drew inspiration from real-life events and locations. The show portrayed the attitudes of the time and depicted the challenges faced by women in the medical field.
‘Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman’ starring Jane Seymour, was shot primarily at the world-famous Paramount Movie Ranch in Agoura Hills, California. The entire fictional town of Colorado Springs was built there, and fans of the show could tour the set, talk to the actors, and even watch episodes of the show as they were being filmed. After the conclusion of the series in 1998, the studio removed many of the popular fixtures of Colorado Springs. However, the entire town remained, more or less, and was still very recognizable.
The set remained a popular tourist attraction until the Paramount Ranch burned down during the Woolsey Fires in 2018. Paramount Ranch had initially been purchased by the studio in 1927 and crossed approximately 2700 acres. It would become a Hollywood legend, boasting numerous familiar sets originally purchased from RKO Pictures. Paramount Ranch would be the home to dozens of classic westerns and modern dramas, such as ‘Gunsmoke,’ ‘The Cisco Kid,’ ‘Carnivàle,’ and ‘Westworld.’
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
The trials and adventures of a female doctor in a small Wild West town.
Release Date January 1, 1993
Cast Jane Seymour , Joe Lando , Chad Allen , Orson Bean , Frank Collison , Geoffrey Lower , Henry G. Sanders , Barbara Babcock
Genres Drama , Western , Family
Main Genre Drama
Who Was ‘Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman’ and What Was It About?
Jane Seymour played the eponymous Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, in all 150 episodes (and two TV movies) between January 1, 1993, and May 16, 1998. It aired in over 100 countries and has been in syndication since 1996 on various networks such as The Hallmark Channel and CBS Drama. The series was produced by The Sullivan Company and CBS Productions, now part of Paramount Global. ‘Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman’ chronicled the tale of Michaela Quinn, a proper and wealthy female physician from Boston, Massachusetts, and a graduate of Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. After her father’s death, with whom she worked closely as a physician, she moved to the small, wild-west town of Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she plied her trade on the difficult American Frontier.
Michaela Quinn adjusts to life in the West with the rugged outdoorsman Byron Sully (Joe Lando) and birthing specialist Charlotte Cooper (Dianne Ladd). After Charlotte dies from a rattlesnake bite, Michaela assumes the role of mother over Charlotte’s three children: Matthew (Chad Allen), Colleen (Erika Flores/Jessica Bowman), and Brain (Shawn Toovey). She finds love with Byron, traverses the problematic path of motherhood, and convinces the townsfolk of Colorado Springs that a woman can indeed effectively practice the discipline of medicine.
Is ‘Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman’ Historically Accurate?
While the series was much beloved by fans who enjoyed watching the feminist narrative of a show about a woman pushing the frontiers of medicine and its sexual politics, Dr. Quinn was not a real person. The Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania was a real place where many female physicians would train and would also become a type of nerve center for the mid-19th century feminist movement. While the show’s events are entirely fictional, they draw some of their inspiration from real-life events. The show itself is a more or less accurate representation of the attitudes of the time, with the shaky faith of townsfolk representing the uneasy acceptance of women in the medical field. The locations were real places and remained more or less faithful to the migratory patterns of people to the area during the expanse of the American West. So, while the entire show is a dramatization, there is some truth to it.
Related ‘Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman’ Stars Jane Seymour and Joe Lando Reunite in Lifetime’s ‘A Christmas Spark’ Toni Braxton executive produces
Fans of the show will recall Colorado Springs, the primary setting for the entire series. It is a beautiful and rustic place, albeit a rugged and challenging place to live for the period. The city is found at the eastern foot of the Rockey Mountains, and its remote location and unrelenting weather patterns make it the perfect location as a set rife with conflict for a Western medical drama. Colorado Springs was also the traditional territory of the Ute, Arapaho, and Cheyenne peoples, who feature prominently throughout the series and with whom Byron has a close relationship. The territory would fall under the auspices of the United States government after the famous Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and settlers would establish the first local settlement in 1859, so it stands to reason that Dr. Quinn would show up sometime in 1867 when the series starts. However, despite this attention to detail, the show was not shot in the authentic Colorado Springs!
Paramount Movie Ranch Was Popular With Fans of ‘Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.’
Fans are familiar with the town of Colorado Springs, which is a set built at the legendary Paramount Movie Ranch in Agoura Hills in the Santa Monica Mountains. While some of the show was shot in minor locations like Universal Studios Hollywood, various streets in New England and New York, and even a stint in Montreal, Canada, most of the show was shot on the 2700-acre ranch that was purchased in 1927 by Paramount Studios. It would become home to dozens of massive film and television show sets as the scenic and mountain park-like lands could easily double as Western towns. Think of places like Tombstone, Dodge City, and, of course, Colorado Springs. The set of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was a popular tourist attraction and doubled as a theme park for Paramount Studios. Fans from all over could tour the studio and would watch the show being filmed live. Patrons could explore Byron’s homestead, the schoolhouse, or the town resort and enjoy a unique and immersive experience, indulging in a little Hollywood magic for good measure.
The set would remain even after the show’s six-year run, and the tours continued. Many parts of the set would be taken down to allow for the filming of other projects, but despite this fact, fans could still easily recognize the set as Colorado Springs, the home of ‘Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. As one fan said on their early internet fan site, regarding their experience at the ranch, ” I visited the Ranch just after the show was canceled. This was my first visit. People who had been there during firming may say, “This place is like a ghost town without firming,” but NOT for me. I finally could stand the same places as all the townies. I was so excited!” Tragically, this will end in late 2018 during what would become known as the Woolsey Fires.
The Woolsey Fires Destroyed the Entire Set of ‘Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.’
Photographed by Kyle Grillot via The Newyorker
On November 8, 2018, a fire broke out at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory and swept through the Santa Monica Mountains. The dry Santa Anna winds were blowing in and breathed life into raw destruction, now moving south further and faster minute by minute. The flames ate the countryside and pushed on toward Los Angeles, crossing the Ventura freeway and moving into the mountains, edging closer and closer to the iconic Paramount Movie Ranch. Evacuations ensued, and thousands of people were kept from their homes, losing their entire lives in almost an instant. The human cost of it all is overwhelming, and the magnitude of loss is nearly incomprehensible. Nearly 6 billion dollars of real estate was lost, including The Paramount Studios Movie Ranch.
The fires consumed the Paramount Studios Movie Ranch, and the entire set of Dr. Quinn, a Medicine Woman, was destroyed. The original set exists in the memories and pictures of the fans who got to experience it. The Paramount Movie Ranch has been under the control of the National Parks Service since 1980, and on November 16, 2018, a campaign to rebuild the ranch was launched. Construction efforts still need to be seen, but hopefully, they will be successful so that movie and TV fans can see their favorite shows come to life again.
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman is streaming now on Paramount+ in the U.S.
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