Sully's Profile
by Karen Holp

Sully is a man whose steadfastness, purity of character, personal wisdom and simplicity of needs are the foundation and contrast for the story line of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Some facts known about Sully's past prior to Michaela's arrival in Colorado Springs; but it is mostly through his actions and reactions that hints are given about the specifics of what he has experienced.

Sully was born on a ship somewhere between England and New York in 1835 (according to Executive Producer Beth Sullivan, who said Sully was 35 in 1870). His birthday is not known. His father was a farmer who died shortly after arriving in New York, while Sully was too young to know him. According to Sully's mother, his father's heart just gave out because he had to take odd jobs away from the land (WTHI).

(Continuity errors: in F&S, Mike asks if Sully's father told him of sexual matters, and Sully simply says no, but he wished his father had. In SR, Sully tells Loren that his father tried living in the city and just gave up when Sully was 10. Finally, in HFS, Sully tells Mike that he was angry when his Pa died and would stand on the docks and yell at the sky, but it must have been easier for him than Brian because Sully knew his father was not coming back.)

Sully had a brother who was dragged to death when his foot was caught in a stirrup. Sully was witness to this event (FD), which left him with a fear of horses until he was an adult (Pilot). He was taught to ride and to appreciate the gifts the horse could give him by Cloud Dancing (FD). Until Mike and Sully were married, he did not appear to own a horse (except for a short time in FD), and it was assumed that the ones he rode were borrowed from Cloud Dancing. In the new homestead, the family owns several horses.

When Sully was 10, his mother drown in the Hudson River, but the exact circumstances of this event are not yet known. In WTHI, the death is given an ominous tone; in SR, Sully tells Loren his mother drowned herself. With his immediate family dead, Sully headed west by himself (WTHI).

(Continuity errors: in PrPr, Sully says he and Daniel grew up on the docks together, and headed west together during the Pike's Peak gold rush. In R, Sully tells Brian that Daniel and he headed west when they were young. But, in BeFr, the story is that Sully and Daniel met in New York and fought over a game of marbles, and then met again out west in their early teens. However, in another flipflop, they were in Tennessee together at one point where Sully saved Daniel's live in Shoal Creek (ATM).

There is no knowledge of other siblings or relatives in the U.S. or England. He does not like his first name (LOTL and T) in the early years, but later seems to accept it, introducing himself as Bryon Sully to Walt Whitman (TBE).

We have few tales of Sully's experiences prior to meeting Mike. Sully worked at several different mining operations where he learned to play baseball (TAS), witnessed gambling fever (LOTD) , witnessed greed for gold and silver (P), saw men addicted to morphine (LAD), learned to cook (OTON), and learned self-defense (TS). He knows how to play billiards (AWA) and chess (BeFr) but it was not explained how he learned.

In 1859, Sully appeared in Colorado Springs responding to the Pike's Peak Gold Rush (Pilot). That summer, he was working a silver mine near Cripple Creek, Colorado, (near Colorado Springs) when he was caught in a cave-in. Sully and the other miners were trapped for 22 days, enduring horrors. Daniel rescued him from the mine (PrPr). (However, in BeFr, it is explained that both Sully and Daniel were in the mine when it caved in; Sully's leg was caught and Daniel dug Sully (and himself) out.) From that experience, we assume Sully ended his mining career, given his demonstrated fear of going into a mine to rescue Matthew during a mining disaster (CTL).

In 1861, (according to Beth Sullivan) Sully fell in love with Loren and Maude Bray's daughter, Abagail (Pilot and others). They were married and a wedding photograph shows Sully with short hair, clean shaven and in a suit (Pilot, TH). At the time of the marriage, Abagail was 18 (ROP) which would have her birth in 1843 (although her grave marker indicates her birth in 1839.) Loren did not attend the wedding (FBOW).

The date of Abagail's death is not consistently established. With the events established in AWA, she died during childbirth in early 1863 (and according to Beth Sullivan). However, there are two inconsistencies with this date. According to the grave marker in WTHI, she died on May 5, 1865. But to be consistent with Loren's statement in TH and other timeline events, the year would have been 1866.

The daughter, Hannah, died with her (Pilot, TV). Both are buried in the graveyard near the church. Until his marriage to Mike, Sully visited the graves each Sunday because of a promise (WTHI). When Abagail died, Sully thought he would never love anyone again and would be alone all his days (RE). Sully grew a braid which he cut off and laid on her grave just before marrying Mike (FBOW). Generally, Sully does not bring up this part of his life except to make a point to others: i.e. CL, M and OTON. He does not bring it up in conversation with Mike, particularly when she is grieving over loss of her patients (M).

After Abagail died, Sully was distraught and decided to enlist in the Union Army to lose himself. He became a sniper because of his shooting skills. The date of the written orders for Sully's first mission was June 20, 1863 (although Beth Sullivan says he joined the army in 1864). After completing the assignment, Sully was so overcome by guilt that he deserted. He was suspicious of the assignment and then learned that the man he assassinated was not a Confederate General, but a businessman selected for some contracts, which then went to a competitor (AWA). When Mike and Sully returned to Washington, D.C. to lobby for the Cheyenne, he was arrested and convicted of desertion but President Grant pardoned him and gave him the job as Indian Agent (AWA).

We assume that, in 1863, after his desertion from the army, and because he was still grieving for his wife and child, Sully went to the woods back in Colorado. Because of either lack of skills or a lack of desire, he would have died if Cloud Dancing had not found him (ON). The Cheyenne filled up the empty places inside, and taught him that the earth was precious, and the spirit of the people is the people (IA). Then Mike arrived in Colorado in the summer of 1867.

During Sully's and Abagail's marriage, and for two to four years after Abagail's death, Sully's relationship with his father-in-law was very strained because of Loren's objection to the marriage. Maude had intended to deed land to Abagail upon which Sully built the homestead for Abagail, and thus Sully assumed was his upon Abagail's death. However, in 1968, Loren discovered Maude had not formalized the transfer and threatened to take the land back. They made their peace when Sully donated blood to assist Loren's recovery from a hernia operation and Loren formalized the deed to the land in Sully's name (TH). Loren and Sully have deepened their relationship: Sully provided Loren some spiritual growth and an Indian name when he wanted to run away (FAS); Loren asked for Sully's help (BOC); Loren offered Sully understanding after Washita (SR); Sully asked him to give Mike away in place of her mother at their wedding (FBOW); and Sully asked him to look after Brian while Sully was away (PrPr). There have been several moments of exchange between the two over affairs of the heart (WIL, SO).

Sully rented the homestead to Mike for one dollar per month (Pilot), but as Mike and Sully married, they moved into a new house that Sully built. Sully gave the old homestead to Matthew (TT, FBOW) for his planned wedding to Ingrid. Suly wanted to make repairs and expansions to the homestead (H) but Mike was reluctant at that time so nothing new was added. He repaired the roof at one time (MITM). When Matthew wanted to renovate the homestead, Sully was somewhat reluctant (BK).

Sully can read and write (FD, TC, TL, IA, PP and others) but how he learned has not been explained. He admits he is short on book learning (TO). Despite this lack of formal education, he has a range of skills and knowledge: he has done assay work (BW) and was a powder man in the mines (CTL), he is adept at carpentry as he built a homestead (Pilot and others), he carves (Pilot, FC, others), he works with leather (HB, TR, HIA), he is knowledgeable about wildlife and the environment (RE), he is a trapper and a hunter, and occasionally works as a guide (P, BS, TA, RE, DOA). Because he speaks the Cheyenne language, he often acts as a translator (Pilot and others). He was a Lieutenant in the Union Army (AWA). Sully knows and uses bird calls for communciations (A, H, MOT). He knows little about driving cattle, but knows the land and signs of the weather (CD). Despite his lack of formal education, he is versed in poetry and enjoys Whitman (TL, TBE). During the series, he became an Indian Agent (WA, IA, others) but was fired (WACIB). Since then, he has been a guide (ATG), and surveyed (APTD). In season #3 he built the new homestead, and in season five, he worked on a house for Preston though the did not complete the work (MOT).

Actions speak louder than words for Sully (MITM). His words are few but to the point. He rarely reveals matters from his past and speaks in present tense. He will state his observations and rarely his feelings.

Sully has great respect for and has adopted certain parts of the Cheyenne way of life. Although he is white, his spirit goes with the Cheyenne (GAMS). Sully says they have always been a friend to him (Pilot) and speaks the language (Pilot and others). He has gone on vision quests several times (ROP), and knows (and can practice on his own) the Cheyenne religion and traditions (HI, RE, others). He knows Cheyenne medicine (E, DOA, WACIB, ATM). However, Sully demonstrates tolerance about traditional Christian religions and attends church with Mike and the kids.

Cloud Dancing refers to Sully as his younger brother (RG, TO), and Sully calls Cloud Dancing his brother and says Cloud Dancing taught him not to hate (TI); he has called Cloud Dancing the only family he has (LA). Sully does not believe the government has treated the Cheyenne fairly so he tries to assist with food, medicine, learning and negotiations with the army (SC, IA). If Cloud Dancing or Black Kettle have given Sully a Cheyenne name, as they did for Mike and Loren, it has not been revealed and both have called him Sully when referring to him (TP, RG). In Washita, Sully tells Mike "The Cheyenne are my family. They always will be."

Robert E is a special friend of Sully's. Sully was best man at Robert E and Grace's wedding (SS). Sully helped Robert E and Grace in FC. Robert E has shared his history with Sully more than anyone (TE) and offered Sully guidance to follow his own code of life (DOA). Grace and Robert E. are God-Parents to Katie. Robert E. employed Sully and gave him a set of horseshoes in BeFr for the cattle drive. Robert E sold horses to Sully in MOT, and knew their purpose and understood. There is more to their relationship than we know.

Sully's friendship with Daniel is longstanding, and he said he and Daniel are alot alike in that they like the woods better than cities, but that they did argue about striking gold and competition (R). Daniel could not read read and Sully went to help him set up a gold mine in the fall of 1870 (PrPr). In BeFr, Sully says he and Daniel are like family and think the same on most things. By BeFr, Daniel can read.

Sully is a man of peace and wants people with differences to talk to each other rather than fight. Black Kettle, the Cheyenne Chief, valued Sully in this role (The Pilot, TP, TI). He does not carry a gun (SC) and uses his knife and tomahawk in only defensive actions. Events described in AWA lead us to understand Sully's decision to adopt a non-violent attitude. Because he is competent with the knife, tomahawk, bow and arrow, as well as hand-to-hand combat and the rifle, and because he rejects guns (LAD), Sully may have had an even more violent past than described in AWA which he rejected when he came to the Cheyenne. Sully rejects using his skills in such a way that exploit the Cheyenne (MT). He has used a gun only once to kill Pup who was rabid (BK).

In addition to his adoption of Cheyenne beliefs, Sully has demonstrated a number of fundamental principles. He is concerned about what greed does to people (P, TR, LOTD). Sully is concerned about the influx of people on the environment (P, RE). He cares about the wolf on which the government has a bounty (Pilot). Sully believes that you should take only what you need from the earth (LOTL and others). Although he has never spoken or acted out about the issue of alcohol, he has never been seen to take a drink except for sipping champaign in Boston (WTHI). (However, he went into the saloon for the bachelor party in FBOW, and with Kid Cole in TMFD.) Sully is opposed to the death penalty (EFAE) and, while he knows he could kill in self- defense of himself and his family, believes there must be a better way to deal with murderers after the moment of passion is over. However, he also does not feel a need to change how other people think about things (EFAE). He knows he must live with himself first (WOTY).

Sully opposed the coming railroad; he feared it would cause the ultimate destruction of the Cheyenne and his way of life (RG, TT). While he came to accept the railroad as reality, he struggled in part of season 3 and all of season 4 to make the evolution for the Indians as peaceful as possible. That is, he wanted them to be able to cope in the new world while retaining as much of their culture and heritage as possible. (HAM, LC, ON).

Sully believes that truth is important, but also knows when the truth can hurt. Truth, Sully said, makes people believe you but he knew the truth of the disappearance of the children's father would leave them without hope (FD). In TP, he saw lying as a way out of an dangerous situation with General Custer. The truth was critical to keep the peace between the Cheyenne and the whites when Jake accidentally shot a brave (TI), but would cause the slaughter of innocent Cheyenne if the truth about the deaths of two soldiers at the hands of the dog soldiers were told (TA). Truth in love is mandatory (WTHI and TMFD).

Sully clearly believes in acceptance of others, particularly those disregarded by the majority society, as demonstrated by his continued friendship with Robert E and Grace as well as the Cheyenne. He also has demonstrated his acceptance of women in non-traditional roles, as shown by his belief in Mike as a doctor, his respect of Myra despite her occupation, and his support of women's voting rights (TC). Sully had no opposition to the developing relationship between Matthew and Emma (IYLS, COH, LC). He was most tolerant of Walt Whitman (TBE) and gave the Cheyenne point of view. He supported integration of the schools (TO, SBE). (An inconsistency was in L where he rushed to judgement of Sherriff Birch as a man who had killed 100 men.)

However, in this acceptance of others, he also clearly rejects many conventions of society, preferring to be off by himself (HB, GT). He uses the solitude to think, to judge his reactions and define his course (GT). While we can attribute Sully's preference for being alone as a result of the losses he has experienced, it is also his temperament to look inward for his strength. As a result, his association with the Cheyenne sent him on a course of self-reflection that would change his life and give him the ability to define the values of his life. These values, in fact, give him a wisdom beyond formal education. This evolution did not alter his preference to be alone, but gave him a peace in that solitude. A lone glimpse into his thoughts about suicide was seen in BTD where he talked about the gift of being alive.

The children knew Sully before Mike arrived in Colorado Springs in 1867, and before their mother, Charlotte died. From the beginning of the story, Sully clearly had feelings for the children as demonstrated by gifts for them at Christmas (Pilot). He has been their confidant, their friend, their teacher, their father, and their hero. The kids knew of Sully and Mike's impending relationship before the adults could verbalize it (HB, P, HI, WTHI). Sully rarely tells the children what to do, even when he knows they are not being truthful or are making a mistake. (TS, LAD, CTL, LOTD). He allows them to make their own choices but is always willing to discuss with them (CvsQ). His feelings for the kids remain unspoken but clearly demonstrated. However, as he grew closer to the family, particularly in the third season, Sully began to have a more protective attitude toward the children, particularly Matthew in CD where they fight over the best choices for the drive (however, one can argue that is a continuity mistake and not an evolving father-like relationship). Sully overtly disciplines Brian for the first time in His Father's Son.

Sully has told stories about the White Buffalo (RG), the Cheyenne beliefs about eagles (TO), the Cheyenne spirit, Unkatahe, who watches over human souls (HI), and about Old Pete (SC). In addition, Brian knows that Sully knows how to keep a fire going in the rain, where the best fishing worms are, and where the eagles live, as well as where treasure is buried (SC). He also knows that Cheyenne braves want enthusiastic brides (MAD). However, we have not heard a full story from Sully since SC.

Sully's relationship with Mike is a demonstration of the fundamentals of his character and his resulting definition of love, which also becomes a story of his reinvolvement in society. At the time of Mike's arrival, Sully was clearly known to the people of Colorado Springs, who thought he was a misfit (Pilot) but for whom the populace also had some awe and respect, combined with misunderstanding. They knew, for example, that he would not support the activities of the KKK and he was not invited to their organizational meeting (FC). Hank and Jake often attempted to ridicule Sully for his sympathies for the Cheyenne. Sully interacted with most of them only as necessary for his own needs, to maintain order (TE), or to protect the weak and innocent. But he observed them.

Through the course of his relationship with Mike, Sully became more verbal, more involved with the children, and more involved with the people of Colorado Springs. He dressed in a suit as required (HB, TR, SS, WTHI, BF, DMD, RE, AWA), although he wore Cloud Dancing's gift of a wedding shirt rather than the tudeo jacket for his wedding to Mike, and worn buckskins to church in the fourth season (WOTY). Sully reluctantly attends town meetings (GT, JOL), and attends church with the family (JOL, MITM, ASOM). Katie was baptized in the church. He has even learned to dance (WTHI, BF, BO, AWA, FBOW). He has become father to the children (CvsQ, FFC, HFS). He rarely smiled or laughed in the first season, but began to demonstrate a broader range of emotions as his ties to Mike and the children grew. In addition, the town's residents seem to accept him better, even going so far as to protect him from a misunderstanding with the army (SC), accepting his presence at the Christmas party (DMD), worrying about his reaction to David's arrival (RE), and protecting Mike, Sully and Cloud Dancing from Custer (FBOW), and the town's support of his knowledge (DOA).

Sully was attracted to Mike from the first moment and he has been faithful in his providing for her, his protection of her and his support for her, as well as for her children. His definition of love required his faithful actions (MITM) but did not require the same in return. Although he had expressed his love before (WTHI and others), he first expressed his frustrations in love to Mike in Another Woman, but upon that rebuff, never asked Mike for anything of a personal nature until he proposed (RE). However, in the third season, Sully started to express his needs more often: the need to move away from the coming railroad (TT); the need to have Matthew listen to his advice (CD); his need to build the new house within his means (MT).

At first, he needed time to move past his grief for his wife and daughter (TH, CL) and then to prepare himself for the dangers of opening his heart again after all he had lost (HB). Despite his own self-knowledge and self-conviction, he worried about their differences (P) -- differences in background, differences in religion, differences in approaches to people and issues, differences in education and income, differences in lifestyle. And while he may have worried about these differences, he knew and accepted her in a way few other men would for the times and place. It was as if he recognized his own commitment, freely given and without demands, but was waiting for Mike to be able to do the same. Sully knows Mike better than anyone else (W).

Sully has, without question, maintained his devotion to Mike despite the times she has been attracted to other men (FD, HB, P, OT, WTHI, RE), has doubted him (TE, RG, ROP, TI, BF, CTL, AW), and has hurt him (HI, RE, TT, EOTW). During the first two seasons, in his reticence, he was misunderstood by Mike, who believed his lack of words meant a lack of commitment.

That is not to say Sully does not have needs and wants of his own. From the beginning, Sully has never wanted anything more than to love someone and to have a family, and until this point, has had neither for very long, clearly contributing to his reluctance to reveal himself with words. It is as if he believed if he finally let the words out, it would ultimately lead to the loss of the people for whom he had just declared his passion. He finally spoke clearly about his losses in Sully's Recovery. Sully gives voice to his wants and needs very few times (P, WTHI, AW, RE, TT, MT, RON).

Sully was tempted only once by someone who recognized his kindness and his capacity (AW). But Sully's love for Mike, despite Mike's lack of warmth and support for him at that time, was enough to reject the temptation to be held and appreciated and loved by someone else. Sully's steadfastness in holding his promise to always be there for her, even in the face of her rejection, is evidence of the depth of his love and commitment to Mike.

His ultimate gift of love to Mike was telling her he loved her enough to let her be happy with someone else if that is what she choose (RE).

The third season attempted to investigate how Mike and Sully would resolve their differences on two major issues: the arrival of railroad and the differences in their income. On both, Sully acceded to Mike's wishes. In TT, Mike promised they would leave Colorado Springs if she ever saw his heart breaking because of the effects of the railroad and thus he agreed to stay; in MT, he acceded to her wish to use some of her money to help build the new house.

Their relationship on a sexual level had its ups and downs. The first season had palatable but appropriate sexual tension. During the second season Mike's worries about sexual matters were brought to light and seemingly somewhat resolved in BF. They were resurrected and featured in AW only to be buried in the subtext or ignored until the matter was finally discussed again in Tl.

In the third season, after Mike and Sully are engaged, the incidents of sexual tension and romantic moments are far and few between. They both admit they are thinking of children in TT. In CD, Sully washes her neck and back; in TL, after initial rejection of his choice of poetry and its implications, Mike permits Sully to read more of Walt Whitman, and confesses to Sully her fear about their future intimate relationship. Some of the intimacy issues were dealt with in RON, where Sully expressed his desire for more than talk and Mike began to deal with the pending marriage. In FBOW, Sully demonstrated his understanding of her fears and upheld his promise to be gentle (RON).

There have been additional inconsistencies in the writing for the character of Sully. The first is the lack of compassion he displayed in TOT toward the orphans, particularly given his own orphaned state, the loss of his own child, his compassion for the cowboys' baby (CL) and his affection for Brian, Colleen and Matthew.

The second was his initial dining manners and reluctance to wear a suit when he first arrived in Boston (WTHI) given his prior eating behavior and suit wearing.

A third one can be argued: his violence towards David (RE) when his anger was with Mike. A minor one can be argued in his speech to the town (SC) where he declares to have never broken any laws of the territory. In fact, he had helped Cloud Dancing escape imprisonment by Custer (TP) and deserted the army (AWA). He has since participated in the hijacking of dynamite (though it is definitely areguable that part of his reason for participating was his desire to prevent violence) (TD) and has helped the Cheyenne escape the reservation (again, arguably at their request and with no intent for violence or harm to anyone) (MOT).

There was concern in the third season about a growing stubbornness and a reversion to stereotypical male attitudes about roles. "Cattle Drive" is an example where he directly interfered with and/or was concerned with Matthew's choices; "Money Troubles" showed a reaction to using Mike's money that stretched his previously defined character; "The Train" showed an argumentative attitude in front of the children; Halloween II showed a lack of support for Mike (although in a ludicrous situation), A Washington Affair stretched our knowledge of Sully in that he might have had a more violent past which has not been explained, and he was little more than window dressing in Ladies Night, The Library, Halloween, The First Christmas, End of the World, Pike's Peace, Cooper vs. Quinn, What is Love, Things My Father Gave Me, Baby Outlaw, and Permanence of Change.

This concern was also expressed as a loss of Sully's mysticism or spirituality: he no longer tells stories to Brian, he does not quote Cloud Dancing, he does not spend time considering. Despite his statement to Mike that his home is with her and the children now (Washita), he seemed to give up his daily living style, except for his wedding shirt (For Better or Worse). This concern is particularly evident in Sully's Recovery, where his acceptance of the Washita massacre is settled in his own mind by Loren as opposed to his reliance on Cheyenne teaching and a searching of his own heart and memories.

In the fourth season, Sully had four main themes. For most of the shows he was the "father" figure for the children and husband to Mike in dealing with their grief, and child-raising issues. He taught Brian to throw the tomahawk and drive the wagon (FFC); he tried to help Matthew deal with grief (BK, HOW) and how to know love again (COH, IYLS), as well as self-defense (TS). He comforted Colleen when she lost her money (IMC) and helped the Reverend fix the church and defended the Rev (DWTD). He played counselor to Mike when she was upset over Dorothy's book (DB). He again counselled Mike about her friend, Miriam (R).

An on-going feud with Preston started with an immediate dislike at the railroad station and a subsequent refusal to build Preston a home (ANL) which escalated when Sully opposed Preston's casino and then found a way to keep it from being built (TE). Tension erupted when searching for a kidnapped child, Preston taunted Sully about his lifestyle but crossed the line when he insulted Mike. Sully saved Preston's life by carrying him back to civilization and attempted to give Preston some wisdom about why he did it (DOA). The animosity between them continued (FI, ON).

Sully's role as Indian Agent was played out in 5 primary episodes, where he first convinces Cloud Dancing to move to the reservation (ANL). The townsfolk have Thanksgiving on the reservation this year (OTON). Sully was constantly working to keep differing tribes from fighting (ANL, HAM, LC, ON, WACIB). Sully gave Cloud Dancing the idea to sell the reservation's excess corn to Loren, but Cloud Dancing made a better deal (IMC). He works to make the government sponsored school encourage individual cultures (HAM). He decided he had to live with himself first, and did not make the reservation men cut their hair, build houses and a church, or make the medicine men stop their ceremonies, knowing Superintendent Hazen would disapprove (WOTY). Hazen does appear and does disapprove of Sully's guidance of the reservation activities (LC). When Cloud Dancing claims to have shot a soldier, Sully worked to have the trial on the reservation, but when forced to move it into town, was able to prove a state of war existed and thus Cloud Dancing was acting as a solider (ON). When the new army soldiers at the reservation move Cloud Dancing, Sully follows to rescue him from life at another reservation, and ultimately looses his job as Indian Agent (WACIB).

Finally, Sully evolved into marriage and pending fatherhood. He came to understand the depth of Mike's feelings and his own new feelings in ANL and dealt with the fear of losing Mike and a child and accepted it (OTON). He made a cradle for his child (DWTD). He worried about a patient with leprosy and how it might affect the baby, but later regretted his stance (FI). He worried about Mike's condition (ON). He was supportive during the entire pregnancy and overcame his own painful past experiences to deliver his baby in WACIB.

Season 5 is subtitled "The Gutting of a Hero" as Sully is a character who watches as the world changes in ways that he would not choose, and he is, for the most part, shown to be powerless to stop or alter the changes. Sully is involved in four loosely woven threads during the fifth season where he has minor success and major defeats -- the plight of the Indians, the emerging movement to protect and/or preserve the natural environment, his role as father, and his and Mike's money woes.

In the season opener, Runaway Train, the stage is set for Sully's season long frustration over Indian affairs. He travels to seek the return of Cloud Dancing to the Palmer Creek Reservation and succeeds by agreeing to never again involve himself in Indian affairs -- he can not visit the reservation or write letters of advocacy on behalf of the Indians.

That promise is hard to keep: in Right or Wrong, Sully works to help a Pueblo Indian, Strong River, being held prisoner because he came to hunt for a plant to help his ill child. Mike objects out of fear of the potential consequences for Sully and thus the family. Sully counters that there was a time that she would have done anything to help a man like Strong River - that it is the right thing to do. After the escape, Sully brings a shot Strong River to Mike for treatment and she accepts Sully's action when she herself has to deal with Strong River on an individual level. Mike is temporarily jailed for her actions, but is freed when the Army is embarrassed by the publicity over having jailed a woman and her child. Sully is never implicated. (In this ep Sully also votes -- presumably for Jake for Mayor).

In Farewell Appearance Sully sends supplies via Brian to the Indian Reservation. Here it can be argued that he is both abiding by and breaking his deal: he does not go onto the reservation, but is obviously still actively involving himself with Indian affairs.

In Moment of Truth Cloud Dancing is again severely beaten this time endangering his life. In his anger Sully tries to go to CD, but is stopped by Mike. Sully admits to her his extreme frustration at being unable to go onto the reservation -- at having to rely on his wife and children to provide him information. When Mike again afraid of what Sully might do and it's consequences, says she only wants Cloud Dancing and Sully to live, Sully asks at what price.

Sully ultimately sneaks onto the reservation to see Cloud Dancing. He is further angered to see Cloud Dancing in white man's clothes. The Indians ask Sully to help them escape saying, "To live one day free has more honor than to live a lifetime here." Sully agrees to help. He procurs horses for the escape and dynamite to be used as a diversion. During the escape the Indians take up arms and begin fighting. Sully tries to stop them but is unable. He is spotted by Sgt McKay helping Cloud Dancing escape. After the escape, some Indians elect to stay in the CS area and use their freedom to fight. Sully says if he knew they were going to do that he would not have helped them escape.

Sully takes the still ailing Cloud Dancing to Mike for treatment. While visiting with Mike she again comes to some acceptance of what Sully has done, although now he is a wanted man and Sgt O'Connor has returned to find him. Sully leaves to accompany Cloud Dancing to the Tongue River region where the Northern Cheyenne live. When Sgt O'Connor gets close to them, Sully leaves Cloud Dancing to lead O'Connor away. O'Connor eventually locates Sully and the two men fight. The fight ends when Sully and O'Connor fall off a cliff into a river below. O'Connor is found dead by Mike, Dorothy and Sgt McKay. Sully is no where to be seen.

A second thread in the fifth season -- Sully's desire to protect and/or preserve the natural environment -- has a modest introduction in All That Glitters. Mr. Henderson wants Sully's help to shoot and stuff a bear as a souvenir. Sully refuses but Hank's offer of help causes Sully to change his mind. Sully uses the time they are hunting for a bear to talk of stories of mother bears and their cubs. When they finally find a bear, Henderson is no longer able to shoot it.

The theme is featured in Last Dance. Sully is offered a job by the government to map and write reports about the natural wonders and to protect the buffalo in the newly formed Yellowstone National Park. Sully very much wants to take the job, but Michaela is reluctant to leave their home in Colorado Springs. In the end when she does agree to move to Yellowstone, Sully changes his mind and decides to stay in Colorado Springs and work to have the Red Rocks area set aside as protected land.

In The Dam, the Danforth Company has bought land in Cascade Valley - they plan to build a dam -- flooding the valley. Sully gets involved as he goes to warn Matthew about Preston and his men who are planning to stop the building of the dam. But Sully too opposes the dam. He tries to talk Danforth out of building the dam by pointing out all that will be lost not only to them but to their children. He tries to make Matthew understand his objections by reminding him of past time spent in the valley.

Ultimately, he agrees to help Preston to hijack the dynamite coming to help clear the land. He does so to help prevent violence and to delay the dynamiting giving Preston more time to take legal action. When the wagon they hijack is discovered to be a decoy Preston's men commence to shooting. Sully jumps in to stop them but not before both of the decoys have been hit. The decoys ID Sully. Matthew blackmails Preston into testifying that Sully tried to stop the shooting. Sully is found guilty and sentenced to 6 months. 5 months of the sentence is suspended due to extenuating circumstances. The land is blasted with the dynamite.

In Farewell Appearance, we learn from Mike that Sully has been working continually (albeit it offscreen) to protect the Red Rocks area. In FA Sully receives a letter telling him the railroad plans to build a spur through the Red Rocks area. Sully convinces the railroad on a better and cheaper route -- passing through Possum Valley that is flatter.

A third theme is the Sully's money woes, introduced during Having it All when Sully notes that he must find work, and that he must go further from home to trap -- something he is reluctant to do now that he has a family.

The crisis is defined in A Place to Die, when, after Mike has to burn all of the contents of her clinic to kill an unknown infectious agent, she and Sully mortgage the homestead to get a loan from Preston to resupply the clinic.

Attempting to further this theme, In Season of Miracles the writers have Mike and Sully hope the children will understand they can not afford much for Christmas. (Note: this seems to ignore Sully's demonstrated ability in the past to make gifts for Mike and the children -- a bit of character assination to further a theme.)

The theme is a central component in the plot of Between Friends. Sully has been taking jobs out of town to earn money to pay the mortgage. He and Mike are behind on their mortgage; Sully takes a job on a cattle drive which should earn him enough money to be able to make 3 mortgage payments and refuses a share in the money Daniel made from the sell of his mine which Sully helped him set up -- he considers his helping Daniel as something between friends not requiring payment.

While Sully is away, Preston calls in the loan and Mike accepts Daniel's offer to pay the loan off. Upon his return, Sully is angry Mike did not do more to stall Preston and he is angry that Daniel interferred with his family's business. He declares that he will pay Daniel make all of the money. He takes on work at Robert E's.

At Preston's ridicules about Daniel taking his place while he was away on the cattle drive, and hating owing a friend, Sully agrees to build Preston a house -- a job which will earn him enough money to pay back Daniel. After the agreement between Preston and Sully, Preston changes the agreement moving up the deadline and docking Sully pay for every day he is late but saying he will give him a bonus if he finishes the house early. For the rest of the season Preston is constantly making changes to his plans and bugging Sully about the progress of his house. Finally in Moment of Truth, fed up with Preston and everything else, Sully tells Preston he will no longer work on his house - he says he will find another way to pay back Daniel.

A fourth loosely woven theme is Sully as Father. Although for the whole season there is not a single story written for Sully and Katie - we often see him holding and interacting lovingly with his daughter. In Los Americanos he is thrilled when he thinks he hears here say Papa. In Moment of Truth, he tries to get her to say Papa - when she finally does he is not present to hear it. In Having it All he babysits and eventually becomes frustrated when she needs to be fed and he can do nothing to pacify her cries. In Hostage he plays with her and helps her take her first steps.

In His Father's Son when Sully is angry with Brian for skipping school and going to Manitou, Brian yells at him that he doesn't have to listen to him because he is not his father. Sully is stung by the words. The following day, Sully lays some ground rules for Brian. When an angry Brian asks why he is doing this, Sully responds because he is his Pa. Brian starts to leave but then turns and hugs Sully.

The most explored relationship with the kids during the fifth season was between Sully and Matthew. The traditionally close and supportive relationship became adversarial. The early season had the relationship between the two, i.e., the conversation between Sully and Matthew about Emma in Last Dance and Matthew helping Sully kidnap Mike.

The seeds for the adversarial relationship were sown in Legend. While Matthew did not show any visible anger, he probably did not appreciate Mike and Sully following him. In The Dam, Matthew is very sensitive to anything he interprets as Sully thinking he can not do his job. He ultimately proves he can do his job by arresting Sully...but in doing so he allows the other guilty parties to escape. In Farewell Appearance the strain is seen in Sully's refusing to tell Matthew about how he plans to handle the train's plans to build a spur through the Red Rocks.

Finally, In Moment of Truth, Matthew is visibly angry/disgusted with Sully for his part in the reservation escape and when he finds Sully he tries to arrest him at gunpoint. He eventually lets CD and Sully go, but he seems to do it more out of good feeling for CD and Mike than out of any feeling for Sully.

The author considers most of the fifth season as an attempt to dismiss Sully's importance from the storyline. He was unable to affect positive solutions, beginning with Runaway Train, continuing in The Dam, Hostage and Moment of Truth. The increasing money troubles brought in a rival and Sully remains at a disadvantage at season end. His work on environmental issue shows only defeats, and the one success is off screen.

For the record and trivia buffs: Sully gave Mike the carved wooden shingle for her practice that hung outside the door of the old homestead but is not in evidence at the new homestead. He saved her life by taking her to Cloud Dancing when she had influenza (E) and then kissed her on the forehead as she slept. He gave her saddlebags, wore a suit and kissed Mike while she was awake in HB; he hugged her, and later walked her to the clinic with his arm around her in TO; he told her he cared in P, as well as finally agreed to be in the picture of the town with her. Sully gave Mike a new saddle for her new horse and a rose in TR; he held hands and almost kissed her in TO; he taught her to fish (S); he kissed her cheek, wanted to fix the homestead, and despite his misgivings, fixed a rocking horse for her in H; he traveled to Boston because he was worried about her, wore suitable clothing, learned to eat snails, learned to dance and told her he loved her in WTHI; he accepted David's role in her life in GT; he learned more dances, gave her candy and wore a suit again in BF; he stayed with the kids and did laundry in SC; he supported her candidacy and even deeded parts of his land to give more women the vote as well as brought her flowers in TC; he proposed and accepted her proposal in RE. He agreed to stay in Colorado Springs (TT); he accept that she would contribute financially to the new house (MT); he tried to get her to relax and enjoy life (EOTW); he gave her an engagement ring (WIL); he made sure some one would give Mike away at her wedding and made her a bed for her wedding present (FBOW). Sully surprised Mike by taking her to the Halloween party as Prince Charming in an appropriate carriage (HIII). Sully gave Mike a baby carrier in HIA, as well as flowers and perfume.

Sully has given gifts to the children: in Pilot he gave Brian a puppy (later named Pup), a hair-comb to Colleen and a pocket knife to Matthew. He gave Matthew the homestead (TT) and a necklace to "his son" Brian (FFC). He made a sled for Brian for Christmas (DMCD) and built him a hummingbird feeder/house (DB). He built and gave Colleen a trunk (ATG) and a dollhouse for Katie (HFS).

Gifts given to Sully to date: a canteen from Matthew (LOTD) and the bicycle from Mike and the children (RE). Mike made him a wedding shirt (W) but it was given to Cloud Dancing in return for his teachings. He received a hacksaw from the men of the town in FBOW and horseshoes from Robert E in BeFr.

In the first two seasons, Sully called Mike "Dr. Mike" consistently, except for four times. The first time, in her presence, he gave a toast to "Michaela and Williams (WTHI). He referred to her as Michaela as the dog soldiers took her away in TA. He referred to her as "Michaela" in conversation with David, and, finally, to her personally in RE. In the third season, he calls her "Dr. Mike" in front of others and "Michaela" privately. Now he calls her Michaela consistently.

Mike doctored Sully back to health from a severe beating (RG); the kids did the same when he was shot in the back by the army (SC). He was knocked unconscious by the force of exploding dynamite and saved from drowning by Mike (BW). He has been hit on the head and rendered stunned (CTL and FC). He had a migraine in RE which Mike was only able to cure by assisting Sully in a sweat lodge. He sprained his ankle in PP. He was knifed which required stitches by Mike and broke his tibia in WACIB. He was shot and beaten in H but apparently with little adverse effect; he sustained a cut in APTD. In fighting Sgt. O'Connor, he fell from a cliff and sustained a severly broken left tibia and a less severe broken right leg, as well as numerous cuts and bruises (MOT). Although he set his own legs and used native cures, he suffered infections and almost died if Mike had not found him and provided mouth-to-mouth resusitation and other medicial treatments (RTB).

Sully has saved the life of Mike (E, CL, TA); Brian (Pilot); Colleen (H); Matthew (CTL), Ingrid's brother, Jon (LOTL); Loren (TH, SR); Black Kettle (Pilot); Cloud Dancing (TP, LC, ON, WACIB); Robert E. (FC); Jake (TI); Myra (TC, MITM), Kid Cole (SS), President Grant (AWA), Kid Cole and his wife (T), and Preston (DOA).

Sully has advocated peace, tried to protect the peaceful Cheyenne and tried to get people to talk and reason (Pilot, E, TP, LOTL, BW, RG, TO, S, TI, SC, CTL, BS, LOTD, FC, TA, CD, BOC, IA, W, ANL, HAM, LC, ON, WACIB).

Despite his peaceful nature, circumstances have forced Sully to engage in action: to rescue Mike from drunk cowboys (Pilot), to defend Loren's store from an angry mob (E), rescue Cloud Dancing from Custer (TP), stop Ethan Cooper from stealing money (FD), to extract revenge and protect the interests of the Cheyenne with Tate Rankin (RG), to help Hank defend Zack (TS), to protect Dorothy from her husband (SS), to stop the dog soldiers from destroying the railroad (SC), to stop violence between miners and mine owners (CTL), to threaten violence against gambler in order to return Matthew's stolen money and Mike's first engagement ring (LOTD), to protect Grace's cafe, and to threaten violence to protect his "family" (FC), to save Mike from the dog soldiers (A), in a moment of passion, against David Lewis (RE), to try to stop mob action (TL, FC), to save Kid Cole and Sister Ruth (TII), to save Cloud Dancing from a bounty hunter (ANL), to rescue Matthew and another child (DOA), to defend Mike's honor (DOA), and to separate fighting tribes on the reservation (ANL, HAM, LC, ON). He fought in H, and foiled Hank and Preston in L. In season #5, as discussed above, two efforts failed in TD and MOT.

Sully often solved problems in more creative ways: TGAMS, FD, TH, ROP, H, DMCD, TC, RE, FAS, BOC, TE.

He has been present for and/or assisted in medical procedures on Black Kettle (Pilot), Robert E (TV), Loren (TH), Jake (HB), the Cheyenne (TO), a woman having a baby (DMCD), a soldier (BS), Myra (TC), Grace (RE) and Cloud Dancing (LC). He has carried Wolf, Mike, Dorothy, Brian, Colleen, Myra, Ingrid, and many other supporting characters in his arms and Matthew across his shoulders (CTL) as well as Preston (DOA), Gilda St. Clair (ATG) and Jake's father (RM).

Sully wore a hat in the Pilot, but has not since. He has a red and black blanket which serves as a wrap against the cold, a pillow and a blanket but we did not see it from the end of season #2 until it was burned in season #5 (APTD).

He has several pairs of buckskin pants, some lighter colored than others. He has a variety of shirts of various colors, all of which tend to have full sleeves, but also has a buckskin sleeveless shirt. In the first two seasons, the most frequently used shirt was collarless, has strips which have faded, with small ruffles on the front and hangs very long when not tucked in. In the early episodes, he wore his shirts outside of his pants; in later shows, his shirts are more consistently tucked in. Sully owns a leather jacket with fringe and material trim of blue and white, but in the third season has another fringed, mid-length coat with yoke-like material over the shoulders. He later had a third coat more like the first but without the blue trim. He wore moccasins for the first two and one half years but wore boots beginning in the middle of the third season. He wears these clothes exclusively, except when dressed in a suit; he has never dressed in more traditional daily clothing for the time, except for a green shirt (RG) and a blue one under the suit jacket at Robert E's wedding (SS). He wore Cloud Dancing's wedding shirt for his own wedding. In the fourth season, he wore leather gloves for many of the episodes.

He wears a Cheyenne medicine bag with a feather attached to it, presumably obtained because of his vision quest (although the third season saw the disappearance of the feather). He also consistently wears one bead necklace that has become longer over time, but its significance has not been explained. During the first three seasons, Sully wore a pouch on his right hip, that looked to be made of a turtle, and was held in place by the belt that holds his knife and tomahawk. He was seen to keep string (LOTL) and coins (HB) in this pouch; he also kept Dances on Clouds' necklace in it until he gave the necklace to Cloud Dancing (TA). After the marriage, Sully did not wear the pouch.

Wolf is his constant companion, although how and when that came to be has not been explained. Wolf has saved the day several times (TO, L and H), but has been sent away (A) or was ineffectual (RTB).

Before his marriage, Sully lived in various lean-to's, with few other possessions. Even though Loren assumed he lives in a tepee (SC), there was no evidence he had one in addition to the lean-to's, although he has spent the night at the Cheyenne reservation (Pilot), and has spent time in the mountains with Cloud Dancing. He slept on the ground (BF) and until his marriage, was never been seen to sleep in a bed, except during his recovery in RG.

Sully has completed the tomahawk throw in one camera angle in the Pilot, TV, RG and SS. He has had three different tomahawks: the original with dark handle and feathers of the Pilot; a new one with a decorated handle of light wood obtained in TV; and a new one first seen in FC, where the handle is of the same design as the second, but has a longer handle and a larger, more curved metal head. (For trivia purposes: the tomahawk that landed in wood in TV and RG has a different metal head than the prop used for the second tomahawk. The tomahawk that landed in close-ups in FC and TA looks identical to the prop.) He has had three knifes: one with a skin-covered handle; one with a black handle, which appeared in the early programs of the second season, and a white-handled one that appeared in WACIB. He was never shown to own a rifle or a gun until the marriage to Mike -- now one hangs over the fireplace in the new homestead. He generally does not handle guns except to take one away from Colleen (LAD), to take one away from a dog soldier (SC), to throw one away (T), to take one from Matthew and return it to the mantle (BK), and to shoot Pup (BK).

The end Original 8/26/94
Update 1/20/95
Update 9/3/95
Update 9/18/96
Update 10/97 with the assistance of Patricia Blair

Corrections and additions gratefully accepted.

Reproduced on TJLWP with kind permission of Karen Holp