What's Your Favorite DQ "Era"?

[falconwolf]

I was thinking the other day, as I was trying to explain the DQ seasons to my mom, that there are two distinct "eras" of DQ: pre-wedding and post-wedding. So what's your favorite?

Also related, what's your favorite season?
As I told my mom, the seasons basically break down like this: (do you agree?)
Season 1: "I'm a doctor." "No, you're a woman." [Dr Mike trying to prove she's a doctor to everyone]
Season 2: The Family [most episodes revolve around Mike, Mathew, Colleen and Brian]
Season 3: Dr Quinn and Sully's emotional relationship
Season 4: Dr Quinn and Sully's physical relationship [newlyweds!]
Season 5: Life with a baby
Season 6: Townspeople's moment in the sun

I've got to go with pre-wedding, and Season 6, ironically - just because of Andrew and Colleen.

[Gemma]

Good description, very clever!

My favourites would be 4 and 3 of course Sully and Michaela's emotional and physical relationship. If I have to choose a stage in their lives.

[Ella]

I absolutely prefer the pre-wedding-era.
And my favourit seasons are one and two. (I would add for season two: Family and Sully and Michaela's feelings for each other.)

If we look at your season-summaries I think one thing is obvious: You can see a clear continuity for every season , but season six is an exception in this respect. Maybe that's what I missed there.

[Sophy]

Is that how life is when two people meet? A big thing in the beginning making big marks in their history, things are new, lots to tell and remember. Then as time goes by, they move into a phase which is not new and they learn to live a life together that both know, and they become comfortable. They find their place in time... sort of, and then there's not so much more to tell, unless they don't break the pattern in some way.

Deep...

[falconwolf]

Originally Posted by Sophy

...and then there's not so much more to tell, unless they don't break the pattern in some way.

I don't think this necessarily applies in real life...but in DQ, it did for me. Sully and Mike seemed to have run their course of new adventures in this season. I guess I just remember it as more dealing with the townspeople than Sully and Mike. Robert E and Grace, Jake and Theresa, Andrew and Colleen...I'm not saying its bad, though. I liked that season the best.

Originally Posted by Ella

If we look at your season-summaries I think one thing is obvious: You can see a clear continuity for every season , but season six is an exception in this respect. Maybe that's what I missed there.

How do you mean? Was it a season you didn't connect with?

[Amber]

I definitely prefer the pre-wedding era...Michaela's character seems more multi-faceted somehow, and her adventures with or without Sully seem more intriguing....

[Ella]

I mean: every season (1-5) has a certain theme, a consistent thread (you described each of them in your summaries), but where is this general theme in season six? It's about Sully's case at the beginning, later about different issues of some townspeople (Grace's alcohol problems), dealing with catastrophies (Loren after Marjories death), and so on. There are some very good episodes indeed, but as a season, imo, it isn't as well-rounded as the others before.

[Jen]

Interesting question. I would say seasons 1 and 2 are my favourites. It was very interesting to follow Michaela from the very beginning of her life at the frontier to the moment when she started to be more accepted in the actual society. And I also enjoyed the Cooper kids and seeing them learning to trust her more and them all bonding together. I would agree with Ella that these seasons also had Sully and Michaela's emotional bond as an important theme: it was exciting to be guessing whether it was just friendship or something more, and we were given hints of what could be quite often. I liked the uncertainty of it all and all the characters trying to connect with each other in various ways.

[lrsmith11]

The prewedding era is definately my favorite. For me its the mystery that I think I love so much. Everything is so new and fresh in the beginning. In season one we're beginning to learn everyone. We've just been introduced to Michaela, a doctor in a man's world. We meet Colorado Springs for the very first time, we get to learn about the Cheyenne and the enigmatic Byron Sully. He in particular is fascinating in the mysterious aura that he produces, not only for me as the watcher, but I beleive for Michaela as well. We meet the children and learn, along with them how to redefine a family. In the first seasons the fundamental basis of what the series is about is laid out. The plight of the native Americans, Love, charity, open mindedness, strength, and above all of these there is a unique element to the fact that the show is set in a time and place that we are all unfamiliar with. The isolation of CS in the beginning gives us (or me at least) the feeling that anything is fair game, the town can be shaped in any way we want it to be. I think to me the old homestead symbolizes the feelings when I watch the first 3 seasons. It's rugged, basic, void many luxuries and seperate from what we (and Michaela ) would define as civilization.

MIchaela and Sully's relationship with each other and the children fascinate me. I like to sit and watch it grow and meld into something more. For this reason I love the few eppys at the beginning of season two when Mike and Sully are still friends and yet somehow more than friends. I love the little hints that promise that there is more to come. And then there is the simple fact that we're still learning many things about CS and the people who live there. We meet Dorothy and hear more about her story and her relationship to Loren. We see Abigail, and like Michaela we are suprised to learn that there is yet still more to learn of Sully. "I want to show you everything." During the 2nd season we make a transition from seeing our beloved couple transition from learning about each other into learning about where they're trying to go from here. "There's no map," Sully's says, but their willing to try and the journey isn't perfect. We have them fighting in Giving Thanks and the Another Woman occurs. There is still conflict within the strong personalities of our characters.

Season three, for me holds hope for what is to come. Every scene seems to promise for more. The bathing scene in Cattle Drive, The poem in The Library, even the bed carving scene in Washita it puts us on pins and needles ready for the wedding to get here, and yet we still enjoy the journey. Michaela is still finding her way, and using her strength and strong character to mold many of those who are around her. Sully still seems to be in the background supporting her and listening when she needs to talk, but now he has his own storyline and at points the roles are reversed. They're becoming more of a partnership- a single unit.

For me all of that changes after the wedding. The conflict of the Mike/Sully relationship goes away and is replaced with security. Michaela is no longer presented with the situations that try her strength, and when she does Sully never lets her fall. To me she looses some of the wonderful "I can do this" drive that brought her to CS in the first place, although I try and remind myself it isn't lost within the character (it does appear sometimes) but is no longer needed because of the security that she has found. The children are grown for the most part. Matthew is doing his own thing and we rarely get to see Colleen. Even CS itself seems to have grown into what it wants to be. Like the new homestead the air of "frontier newness" is lost. We acquire a bank and chateau, eventually there's the Golden Nugget. We hire a sheriff and a mayor and lets not forget the train- the one item that unites CS to the rest of the world. Somehow the mystery is lost for me in the 2nd half of the story along with Sully's hope for fighting for the Cheyenne. We see our beloved town becoming what we know history will dictate.

[Kruemi]

Originally Posted by falconwolf

Sully and Mike seemed to have run their course of new adventures in this season.

Actually, I thought that for a while as well, and a good reason for the show being canceled. But if you ever read the stories that continue the show, written by Debby K. or Pam Hunter, then you see that there were still enough adventures left for a lot of seasons.

Anyway... lately I found out that my opinion about what my favorite season is, changes. At the moment I can't even name one ...

[Maritza]

Irsmith, I so love your entire post. My sentiments exactly, things did change after the wedding and the mystery that surrounds their growing love for each other, sort of went. It was like, they finally connected and so what's new? So I was really looking forward to Colleen's and Andrew courtship to watch how their love grows but it was cut short. Oh, well. Yes, the pre-wedding is my favorite era. All that uncertainties and how it will all happen. My most favorite eppy is The Pilot because it said it all as to what's to come on DQ as the show progressed. I knew right away, that the town will eventually be influence by Michaela and that most folks would eventually become a better person for knowing her.

[lrsmith11]

I'm glad you agree, Maritza. I think if I had to, I'd accept season one as my favorite. I think first and foremost (other than the time period) the thing I love the most about the series is Michaela and her strength. I love the way she shows up in town and it's not easy goings, in fact, its lonely, but she trudges through. And I have to say that one that invision Sully being just as amazed and inspired by her strength as I am, and that is what I think is adorable. I love the scene in Happy Birthday when Michaela locks Jake in the room and SUlly is in the hallway watching her, there is this beautiful idea that Michaela is someone very special in his life and yet, there she is, doing her own thing. I find that independence fascinating.

[Stina]

Originally Posted by lrsmith11

For me all of that changes after the wedding. The conflict of the Mike/Sully relationship goes away and is replaced with security. Michaela is no longer presented with the situations that try her strength, and when she does Sully never lets her fall. To me she looses some of the wonderful "I can do this" drive that brought her to CS in the first place, although I try and remind myself it isn't lost within the character (it does appear sometimes) but is no longer needed because of the security that she has found. The children are grown for the most part. Matthew is doing his own thing and we rarely get to see Colleen. Even CS itself seems to have grown into what it wants to be. Like the new homestead the air of "frontier newness" is lost. We acquire a bank and chateau, eventually there's the Golden Nugget. We hire a sheriff and a mayor and lets not forget the train- the one item that unites CS to the rest of the world. Somehow the mystery is lost for me in the 2nd half of the story along with Sully's hope for fighting for the Cheyenne. We see our beloved town becoming what we know history will dictate.

I totally agree with you except that I think this change happened mostly after Katie was born. I think Dr. Mike still has her strength in season 4 and the relationship between Sully and her is still developing since marriage life is so new to them.

But for season 5 and 6 this is gone, and as you say, the town changes too.

So I would say I like season 1-4 the best and if I had to choose one season it would be the first one.

[Geertrui]

I prefer the pre-wedding era too. I like to see how Michaela fights for justice, learn stuff like being a mother, her relationship with Sully with his up and downs. It seems to me that after they were married the differences of opinion were gone. Don't get me wrong, there are still very good episodes in the later seasons as well.

[SadieCass]

For me the first two seasons were the best. I always thought that most of the point of the show was to show Mike and her strength. Once the whole courtship started her edge started to fade and once they got married I got pretty disappointed (mostly with Sully...but with how Mike bowed to meet his needs and he couldn't do the same...but again I'm getting into the 'he should have died in season 6' argument again)...

So needless to say when it was Mike and the kids alone, I liked it better. I loved her finding love - but the compromising of the stories after bothered me.