In the 1990s, if you wanted edgy programming on network television, you’d watch Law & Order, My So-Called Life, or NYPD Blue. In fact, you’d probably watch Animaniacs or The Magic School Bus before ever thinking about the popular Western drama Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.The sitcom, which aired on CBS for six seasons from 1993 to 1998, starred Jane Seymour as the titular Dr. Michaela Quinn, or “Dr. Mike,” a female physician who opens a practice in Colorado Springs.
The sitcom is as squeaky-clean and family-friendly as they come, reminiscent of predecessors such as The Waltons and Little House on the Prairie.
But what if Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was as edgy and dark as, say, Breaking bad. How would that look like? envisage no more, as Funny or Die reunited the original actors to envisage what such a scenario would look like in the 2014 short “Dr. Quinn, Morphine Woman.”
What is “Dr. Quinn, Morphine Woman” about?
The short begins with a very Hallmark-style shot of Seymour’s Quinn and Joe Lando’s Byron Sully in costume, laughing together, behind the title Dr. Quinn’s Return to Television, before shifting focus to Seymour herself, who begins, “When they first came to me with the idea of rebooting Dr. Quinn, I was excited.”
Lando sets up the punchline right away, saying, “We knew we couldn’t just bring back the same beloved ’90s family drama.” “We’d need to reinvent it for the Netflix generation.” Cue the joke, which is based on the reboot’s concept.
In the years following the series conclusion, Dr. Quinn has been administering nothing but morphine to her patients, in addition to cocaine and booze.
As a result, Colorado Springs’ whole population has become addicted. As the premise is established, Dr. Quinn is seen going down the road toward the camera, her face obscured by her hat.
The camera focuses on Quinn as she tilts her head up, displaying the Walter White-style glasses she now wears. It’s fitting that she is now a drug lord known as Dr. Quinn, Morphine Woman.
‘Dr. Quinn, Morphine Woman’ is a hilarious parody of two iconic series.
Dr. Quinn, Morphine Woman is a parody of both Breaking Bad and Dr. Quinn, Morphine Woman, with the townspeople pounding on Dr. Quinn’s practice door, demanding more morphine.
Shots of Dr. Quinn mixing her morphine mirror shots of Bryan Cranston’s Walter White doing the same, and even Skinny Pete (Charles Baker) from Breaking Bad makes an appearance hooked another soul.
Former cast members praise the new series’ direction, while Geoffrey Lower, who plays Rev. Timothy Johnson, says he doesn’t understand it.
Then, with that same wicked smile and a gun in her hand, Quinn walks slowly towards a man begging for his life and demands that he say her name, a nod to the fan-favorite Season 5 episode of Breaking Bad, “Say My Name” (which isn’t “woman doctor, doctor woman, you’re the doctor, the doctor woman” that he stammers).
By the way, if you’re wondering if Quinn and Sully are still together, they are; however, Sully’s hair is much, much longer, having not been clipped since he was last seen in Colorado Springs with her.
Throughout the short, the group laughs about not understanding how the revived series could possibly be compared to Breaking Bad.
The short concludes with Seymour chatting to the camera for one last “This isn’t Breaking Bad” moment: “This is completely original. Nothing like what you’ve seen before.
“It’s magical!” Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman is available for streaming on Prime Video in the United States.
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