Let´s discuss the characters - 2 - BYRON SULLY

[Kahle]

Originally Posted by Sylvie

these so deep blue eyes, those so good and soft-looking wavy brown hair, this so handsome smile or so mischievous smirk, that so sexy pair of buckskins

How very well described
Sully doesn't have to be perfect for Micheala isn't perfect either... he just has to look perfect (which he does for me )

[cooperkids]

Originally Posted by Kahle

How very well described
Sully doesn't have to be perfect for Micheala isn't perfect either... he just has to look perfect (which he does for me )

I shall not comment, lest I be forced to take a cold shower.

[Evy]

Nobody is perfect. And so was Sully. I guess it would have been bored if he was without defects.

I think he was sometimes torn between his Cheyenne family and his new family with Michaela and the kids. And therefore he had made desicions we couldn't agree with.

But I still love Sully in his sexy pair of buckskins!

[Little Wolf]

Ok, so Kruemi and I have batted this discussion around a number of times ...

But anyway, Sully is one of the characters that i can actually get into the head of, i.e. be able to understand how he is thinking. I see a lot of similarities between myself and him, which is probably why he is one of my favorite characters from the show.

Ok, I'm going to discuss things here, and yes I know that he is not a real person, but characters can be written well enough that you feel that they have their own minds and motivations for what they do, and that is how I am going to go with my discussion.

Yes, I was upset with him at the end of season 5 and the beginning of season 6, but just like I was upset with Daniel until he came back and said to Michaela that he was only there as a friend (my whole views on Daniel will come up whenever we have one of these for him), but I think he learned a valuable lesson in those parts of the series.

Let me explain. Keep in mind I am not justifying what he did, just explaining why I think he did it. I believe that Sully's helping the Indians to escape the reservation comes from the fact that he believed that he always failed his families, and that he wanted some way to do something for his Indian family, because he had already lost so many of them and because of how much they had helped him. If you look at his track record, he lost almost every family that he had, and then by his own actions, almost lost the family he still had. I think he believed that in some small way, it was his fault that he lost so many in his life, starting with his parents and brother, and then Abigail and Hanna an then finally with the Cheyenne. He desperately wanted to do something right, and there was only one way he could see to do that. Also, keep in mind that he was pretty much on his own since he was 10, and a lot of the ways that we learn how to cope with situations from our parents and being scolded and such were not there for him, so maybe he learned different ways in which to handle things that were not the right way. I think though, that having what happened to him at towards the end ofthe show opened his eyes to the fact that you can't always jump in feet first without thinking about what your actions would cause. It is evident that by the end of hte series, he was less than willing to leave his family for any reason. I feel that if we had a seventh season, that Sully would have come to a new place in his life, and that we would have seen his growth even more.

Wow....I just said a whooooole lot...hope I didn't bore anyone...

[Kruemi]

Here I am again :

Originally Posted by Little Wolf

It is evident that by the end of hte series, he was less than willing to leave his family for any reason.

I have to contradict (a bit ): I almost fell from my chair when Sully tells Cloud Dancing (after Hank had dragged him back to town and he sat in jail in Happiliy Ever After) he would help him escape from the jail . Fortunately, Cloud Dancing refused this time to take the offer. But I thought that Sully hadn't really learned from his former actions . To be honest, I can only live with what he did in MOT because I know the movies, especially The Heart Within .
Anyway, I think it's interesting to consider that he practically raised himself. In a way he only found with the Cheyenne a family that cared for him (like parents care for their child; that doesn't mean that Abigail didn't care for him but I believe he rather felt responsible for her ). That is why his connection to the Cheyenne is so strong that he sees them as his family. And at this point my theory that he never should have gotten married (sounds strange, I bet the grammar is incorrect ) is kicking in again ...

Edit: OMG, I just noticed that I am a 'VIP-Townie' now!!! !!!

[Kahle]

Originally Posted by Kruemi

Edit: OMG, I just noticed that I am a 'VIP-Townie' now!!! !!!

Do I have to address you with Ma'am now???

[Jen]

Interesting aspects about Sully. I enjoy following the discussion! Sorry I don't have anything much to say right now. Yes, maybe the 7th season would have brought some new and revelatory facts to our knowledge.

Originally Posted by Kahle

Do I have to address you with Ma'am now???

Although she's not the bloody Queen... (Prime Suspect, anyone?! ) Yay Kruemi! Now I'm not feeling that I have no life at all, because I'm the only one posting so much here. Please post a little more!!

[Lynn]

It is amazing to me to not be the only one who didn't love Sully. I liked Sully because Michaela loved him. He was good for her IMO, he loosened her up, taught her to enjoy sex. However, I watched DQ for Michaela. First I was a big Jane fan before DQ and second I always love stories with female heroines. Maybe because I grew up before women were as equal as they are today. There were things I couldn't do because I was female and I just accepted that. That gradually changed for me as I grew and women gained more rights. I planned to watch DQ because it was about a woman doctor and it stared Jane. I knew Joe because I watch One Life to Live where he had a big romantic part. Personally just like Michaela and Sully were different she being so much more educated I felt the same with Jane and Joe. IMO Jane was a much better and more experienced actor than Joe. I think Joe thought he was her equal and that caused some of ther trouble. I think being a star of a hit show went to Joe's head some so he tired to be somewhat of a prma donna and didn't want to be in season 6 because he thought he could do better on his own and that the show would fall apart without him. But as I said before I loved the relationship between Michaela and Sully on the show. I did like the show better before they were married and had Katie because they were braver, more heroic. I think that Jane becoming pregnant forced the writers to get them together and losing Michaela's fear of sex faster which is a shame, but an actress should be entitled to have a real life. As Jane said once she had the female lead on Broadway when she got pregnant with Katie and as soon as the producers knew they fired her. Her with a woman producer and her being a bigger star the show bent for her. In conclusinon DQ wouldn't be DQ without Sully, but he wasn't the heart of the show. IMO

[Kruemi]

Originally Posted by Kahle

Do I have to address you with Ma'am now???

Well, as a VIP I guess I deserve special treatment , and addressing me correctly is the least I expect . So, how about calling me ...(very long consideration... all the titles are much too long)... so, how about: Kruemi??

Originally Posted by Jen

Yay Kruemi! Now I'm not feeling that I have no life at all, because I'm the only one posting so much here. Please post a little more!!

Hey, we have the perfect life ! Who else can afford to spend a large part of her/his time at a café??? !!!!! You see? We are the true queens: + !!!

Lynn, I started watching the show for the same reason (the only other show I fell in love with before was Scarecrow and Mrs. King which had a similar constellation). And I too loved Sully because he loved Michaela. Later they just belonged together... Maybe it is that why I was so angry with Sully later.

[Little Wolf]

Well, this is why we agree to disagree, lol

But you know, while driving today,I was thinking, and perhaps Sully's emotional development (is that even a term? I know what I mean, but I've never taken a psychology class...) was still somewhere in the teenage range?

Ok...this agrument sounded good in my head, but I can't figure out how to say it here...I'll have to see if I can do it better after some sleep...

[Kruemi]

Originally Posted by Little Wolf

But you know, while driving today,I was thinking, and perhaps Sully's emotional development (is that even a term? I know what I mean, but I've never taken a psychology class...) was still somewhere in the teenage range?

Ok...this agrument sounded good in my head, but I can't figure out how to say it here...I'll have to see if I can do it better after some sleep...

Don't worry, this argument makes perfect sense to me; and I actually love this explanation .

[Little Wolf]

Originally Posted by Kruemi

Don't worry, this argument makes perfect sense to me; and I actually love this explanation .

Cool, ok....so to finish the thought then...maybe by the movies, he finally caught up with himself.

Ok, and I can't edit a past comment, which I just read and realized that I forgot to add something...so I'll add it here..

When I said that I see similarities with myself and the character, I meant personality-wise... the loyalty, stubborn part of him...so yeah...anyway...

[Evy]

Meanwhile, you all know that I like Sully and especially Joe

I too started watching DQ because of Jane Seymour and the history of the Cheyenne. And I love Jane's acting!! And never, never the actor Joe is equal to the actor Jane. She has so much more experience!!!
Yes, this is really my opinion - despite I like Joe.

For me, the person Sully lost his "fire" after the marriage. Nevertheless I can't get enough looking at this sexy long haired man in his tight buckskins!!!

[Gemma]

Oh, Kruemi I'm laughing now that I've read you loved Scarecrow and Mrs. King. Me too. Isn't it a bit rare considering you lived in communist Germany and I am married to a Russian?

What got me hooked to DQMW was seeing the leading couple was so different. Apparently they had nothing in common. I always love weird matches and they never happen, and this one was going to happen. In fact I thought Joe Lando was only going to appear in The Pilot. When Michaela says Sully disappeared into the snow I thought it was serious, so I felt so relieved when I watched the last scene or Epidemic.
I think this pairing was very bold.

I love Sully because he has some traits that we can find in a literary character. In my opinion he is a mix between Darcy from Price and Prejudice + Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights. His appearance can mislead us, there is more than what meets the eye and he is so wild.

About his commitment to the Indian cause, as I am an activist myself, I can understand him. His job is struggling for the Indians as the abolitionist did with the slaves, as many people have fought for human rights, in wars for example or under occupation, think of France and its resistence (of course it is not the same) or in in my country against a dictatorship, or all the nonprofit organizations, most of them have families. But this job must be done by somebody or the world would be worst. In Moment of Truth Sully realises he had gone too far, right when he is helping the Indians to escape he understands it was a mistake when the shooting starts. And he apologizes some times in the beginning of Season 6.
After all Michaela also risked her life to help people many times, she also risked her children's lives and something I have hardly ever heard, Michaela made her children work a lot for her in the clinic. Of course then children's labour wasn't considered the same way it is nowadays because there were the house chores and everything but Colleen worked long hours at the clinic when she was only thirteen.

I am pretty sure the series would have lost a big part of its audience after killing Sully. After all it was the audience who saved him and struggled to keep him in the series. And the audience decreased when he was gone for a while. I think he was essential because Michaela needed a counterpart in her crusades. And sometimes it seems to me Michaela is telling us through Sully all her fears or her goals and we are patiently listening to it as Sully does.

Sully the Silent should be his name. Silences that sometimes can be annoying but on purpose like when in The Healing Michaela asks him what he wants her to do with Abagail's things. We have to wait many seconds until he answers. And how attentive he listens to Michaela's speeches in front of the town while we have some shots of his face, it is such a huge contrast. I love spotting Sully in the church, he is always at the back, trying to be unnoticed but very interested in what Michaela is saying. That's why I enjoyed so much that scene in The Expedition, when he has to leave the back of the church and occupy his wife's seat and speak, that was so cute.

[Kruemi]

Very interesting comment, Gemma . I like your POV, especially he name you gave him . I still can't help myself but be angry at him for certain actions... but Michaela had her share of 'moments' too . Aczually, I would like to comment more to your comment but I'm a bit short of time... but this one I couldn't let pass without grinning, too:

Originally Posted by Gemma

Oh, Kruemi I'm laughing now that I've read you loved Scarecrow and Mrs. King. Me too. Isn't it a bit rare considering you lived in communist Germany and I am married to a Russian?

That's funny, indeed LOL... but fortunately this show wasn't so one-sided. And when the Russians were the enemies in an episode, it was always in a way that it didn't bother me (Do you remember that Christmas episode when they end up singing Christmas chorals together??). Btw, Rob Gilmer who was one of the writers of Dear Prudence, wrote and produced the third and fourth season of Scarecrow ...
Maybe we should go to the TV section and chat a bit about Lee and Amanda .
(I only hope my connection will become quicker soon!!! It drives me crazy to wait a minute (lierally!!!) until a new page is loaded .)