"Séries Mania" - December, 1999 (France)

Great Couples for small screen (TV) Where to see them? Watch Dr Quinn Medicine Woman on M6 and Serie Club She : Michaela Quinn (Jane Seymour), woman doctor, a native of Boston, who set up alone in the little community of Springfield, against hostility of the local inhabitants of the village. Him : Byron Sully (Joe Lando), independent and unsociable who chose to live with the Indians and a wolf. She and Him : Sully quickly brings his support to this courageous woman. The mutual respect gradually beomes little by little a loving feeling which they cannot deny. Translated by Sophie Dupont

"Séries Mania" - November, 1999 (France)

JOE LANDO, HIS LIFE WITHOUT DR QUINN
by Jean Jacques Jelot-Blanc
Translated for this web page by Montse Casanova

Televison found in him one of its sex symbols of the nineties. Although Joe Lando is not yet worth the 10 million dollars for a film like Clooney, he gets as much mail as Dr Ross. He conquered women's hearts.

Women adore this "ex-pizza spinner" who once catered the lunch trays of Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson before succeeding in crossing studios' doors to taste the fruits of a glory earned the hard way. He is all the more liked for the role he played in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, the part of Byron Sully, a man of great tenderness, dedication and touching honesty. It did not matter that he was not the hero of this female saga, it was his recognition as an actor. Women's eyes saw only Byron and hence the actor whose performance was just divine.

During the five years that the filming of DQMW lasted, Lando clung to his part as to a life buoy. "To-morrow I may take a plunge, so I make myself available to all opportunities to give the best of myself," Lando said. He recalls that in 1992, thanks to his modest popularity after 370 episodes in the soap One Life to Live, he auditioned for a new TV series to get the part of a young Indian, Byron Sully, Jane Seymour's partner in DQMW. Impressed by so much charm, ardor, will and straightforwardness, producer Beth Sullivan (author of the series as well) and casting director Geri Windson decided on the spot to hire him and stop auditioning further candidates for the part.   The rest is history.

With his athletic looks, his green eyes and long mane, Joe made such an impression on the fans that very soon he received more letters than star Jane Seymour who, for a while, had tender feelings towards her partner. From the personal point of view the story had a happy ending since the ex- lovers became friends. From the professional one after five years of success, Dr Quinn was cancelled without mercy and without warning. For Jane Seymour it was a personal failure, for Joe, a disaster, the end of a beautiful dream. "When the news leaked, I was hurt emotionally. It was so strange. In order to avoid being depressed, I systematicaly accepted all the offers made through my agent."   That is why we could see him in two episodes of JAG and later in a TV movie, Cindy, a pilot for a children's series on Cinderella's daughter. Then, in the spring of 1999, the rumours started gathering about the possibility of a resumption of DQMW on CBS.

Joe has not forgotten that to play Byron Sully he had to pay a price; during the filming he broke  his nose five times,  his fist three times and his jaw once. Who could wonder then that fans adored this great guy whose gentleness equals his straightforwardness. At the height of the series success, Joe received over 5000 letters every day. Further proof of the fervent admiration he was privileged to rouse  was the incredible sum of 2000 dollars for  which the red and white Cheyenne necklace he used to wear in the series was auctioned at a convention. That is why when DQMW was cancelled, the shock was hard. Joe nonetheless supported Jane Seymour in the battle for a resumption. Two years of efforts and hard negociations with CBS were necessary but at the beginning of 1999 it was the end of the tunnel;  the contract was signed, the comeback announced. Joe resumed his role next to Jane Seymour for the filming of the highly expected follow up.

First entitled Dr Quinn Medicine Woman, the Movie, and later,  The Reunion and eventually Revolutions, it was filmed at the Paramount Ranch over three weeks and edited and mixed in record time in order to be shown by CBS on Saturday the 22nd of May on primetime. In view of the excellent ratings, CBS is asking for a second TV movie with Jane and Joe. For the latter no problem what so ever, except for his look :   "the hardest thing was to wear a wig ( cost : 2 400 francs !) in order to resemble the old Sully, since my hair is short now" Joe said. A few days after the showing of Revolutions, Joe, his expectant wife Kirsten and son Jack (just one year old) left Los Angeles for Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada), where the filming of a new series, Cliffhangers, started, a Paramount production directed by two senior pros of the small screen, Doug Schwartz (BayWatch) and Michael Braverman (Beverly Hills). "My part is that of a divorcee - Joe said describing his character - ex Wall Street whiz-kid, ex cocaine addict, short time sober. As a at-risk teens' councellor, I will endanger my life in order to win back my ex wife, a pretext for romance."

Before leaving California, Joe did not fail to honor with his presence, on April 20th, the Star ceremony celebrating Jane Seymour on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, the avenue of the stars where one day it will be perhaps his turn to leave his print on the sidewalk. "How many times did I walk along this avenue when I left Illinois with 400 dollars in my pocket ?" Joe exclaimed. To earn his living he became "pizza spinner" in a fashionable restaurant and won himself a solid reputation in his job, being very skilful at making the dough rise and baking it in a wink. One day his know -how led producer Lawrence Kasdan to hire him for the film I Love You To Death where he had to teach Kevin Kline and Tracey Ullman how to spin pizzas as real pros. Joe had eventually found the ideal opportunity to get closer to the show business. A few years later he was working with the best, still speaking with his Chicago accent, one of the keys to his charm. And next to him always his wife Kirsten. "She always supported me. She always believed in me. When I was a cook, she was a cashier in the same restaurant . Today even if it is tough, if money is scarce (it happens !), we are happy, even in our mobile home ! We left in it for Canada to live the Cliffhangers adventure. " Since the beginning of the filming and while waiting for the showing in the US at the end of 1999 , Joe works non stop. Enjoy it before it is too late, this is his principle in life. There are many TV moviescripts waiting for him, they should keep him busy until 2001. "When I think that still not long ago I was reading dozens of scripts in the hope of getting a part with three lines in a small production" he concluded.

Where to write to him :

His publicist : Dominique Appel
Huvane, Baum and Halls
8383 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211

His Agent: William Morris Agency
151 El Camino Drive
Beverly Hills, CA, 90212

Cliffhangers: a resumé

It is has been filming since July 19th 1999 at the Lions Gate Studios and the Seymour Forest. The series will have 22 episodes for the whole 1999-2000 season that will end February 11th 2000. It has been bought by Fox Family Channel for the US and WIC Stations for Canada and should also be shown in Europe around Christmas. For the time being France has not bought it. Created by Michael Braverman, Matthew Hastings and Harold Tichenor and co-produced by Lando, Cliff Hangers will star a new partner, Anne Marie Loder, a quite well known actress in Canada and especially Jim Byrnes, former Ken Wahl's partner in I Love You To Death and one of the famous watchers in the series Highlander. If you want to know everything on the series and on Joe Lando, visit Canadian Carol Moorhouse website: http://joelando.org/ There you will find articles, commercial pictures, pictures taken by fans, family pictures sent by Joe, videos with clips of his films and the best moments of Dr Quinn and his earlier series (a must !). You will also have the possibility to buy a calendar "Joe 2000" (12 exclusive pictures ) or a reproduction of Sully's necklace. Finally, although Joe does not want a fan club, there is a chat list dedicated entirely to him : "Joescorner," you will find it all on Carol's site.

TV Week, October 9 - 15 1999

The Province (Vancouver), September 26, 1999

The Vancouver International Film Fesitval got off to a rollicking start Thursday night with a gala do that has become the annual must-attend event with local culture vultures.

This year's hot-ticket party was held at Vancouver Aquarium where film fans swapped business cards and anecdotes beneath an eary back-drop of silent gliding whales.

As the orcas eyed the sushi and salmon canapes, oblivious party goers mixed and mingled tank-side.

Mike Roberts

PRESS RELEASE

Thursday September 16, 2:37 pm Eastern Time

Company Press Release

SOURCE: Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

Canadian broadcast rights to Lions Gate Television's ``CLIFFHANGERS'' acquired by WIC Entertainment Ltd.

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 16 /CNW-PRN/ - LIONS GATE ENTERTAINMENT CORP.

WIC Entertainment Ltd. has acquired Canadian broadcast rights to the 22-episode drama series CLIFFHANGERS, it was announced today by Dennis Miller, President, Lions Gate Television.

CLIFFHANGERS, produced by Lions Gate Television in partnership with Paramount International Television, will air in the United States on Fox Family Channel. It is currently in production in Vancouver. WIC Entertainment expects to begin broadcast of the series this fall on WIC Television stations across Canada.

Miller and Dale A. Andrews, Executive Vice President, WIC Entertainment, also announced an agreement to develop an additional series planned for broadcast in the fall of 2000.

``We are delighted that WIC will be broadcasting CLIFFHANGERS in Canada,'' Miller said, ``and look forward to partnering on other projects in the future.''

``We are very pleased to be working with Lions Gate on this high-profile series,'' said Andrews. ``We believe the spectacular locations, outstanding talent and the compelling drama and characters of CLIFFHANGERS will be a ratings winner.''

Gary Marenzi, President of Paramount International, commented, ``We are genuinely excited that WIC has joined Paramount and Lions Gate on the CLIFFHANGERS team. They are the right broadcaster for this series - which is going to break new ground around the world.''

Joe Lando (``Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'') stars in the one-hour drama series as a former high-living, financial whiz-kid who dedicates his life to helping at-risk teens at an alternative high school in the mountain wilderness after escaping his own nightmare of alcohol and drug abuse. Multi-Emmy Award- nominated Michael Braverman (``Life Goes On,'' ``Chicago Hope''), Doug Schwartz (``Baywatch''), show creator Matthew Hastings and Harold Tichenor (``Nightman'') are executive producers. George Horie is producer.

LIONS GATE ENTERTAINMENT CORP. (AMEX/TSE:LGF) develops, produces and distributes a targeted range of film and television content. Via four operating divisions-Motion Pictures, Television, Animation, and Studio Facilities-the distinctive Lions Gate brand is recognized as a symbol of quality entertainment throughout North America and around the world.

WIC Entertainment Ltd. is responsible for the development, licensing and investment in Canadian programming for all WIC Television operations. WIC Television operations include nine television stations in six of Canada's largest markets reaching approximately 75% of English-language viewers, in addition to pay television services Superchannel, MovieMax, Viewer's Choice and equity investments in The Family Channel and Teletoon. Through relationships with Canada's most talented writers, directors, animators and independent producers, WIC Entertainment is a leading production partner in the creation of quality Canadian programming.

www.lionsgate-ent.com

SOURCE: Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

More Quotes and News:
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp (Toronto:LGF.TO - news; AMEX:LGF - news)
Related News Categories: entertainment

Lions Gate Entertainment Annual Report, 1999

LIONS GATE TELEVISION

Lions Gate Television began operations in fiscal 1999, and is expected to drive top line growth for the Company in fiscal 2000. Two one-hour drama series have been put into production: "Hope Island" starring Cameron Dado ("F/X: The Series"), and "Cliffhangers," starring Joe Lando ("Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman").

"Hope Island" has received a 13-episode order from PAX-TV. This family drama centers on a minister with a myserious past who arrives on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest to revive a long-abandoned church. The quirky denizens of Hope Island both charm and challenge the young cleric. "Hope Island" is being filmed on location in Britannia Beach, about an hour's drive from Vancouver on the mountain-rimmed shoreline of Howe Sound.

"Cliffhangers," an action-drama about troubled teens who learn how to cope with life's challenges at an alternative high school in the mountain wilderness, was given a 22-episode commitement from Fox Family Channel before even a single frame of footage had been shot. "Cliffhangers" is executive produced by Doug Schwartz ("BayWatch"), Michael Braverman ("Chicago Hope"), and Joe Lando. The interiors are being shot at Lions Gate Studios, in North Vancouver. Both series are produced in association with Paramount International Television.

TV Guide (USA), September 11-17, 1999

CLIFFHANGERS (January) 

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman's Joe Lando leaves the farm for the mountains in this dramatic series, in which he stars as a dedicated headmaster at an alternative high school for troubled teens in the Washington wilderness.
 

pic not from TVG

PR Newswire (July 20, 1999)

LOS ANGELES, July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

(Amex: LGF; Toronto)

Joe Lando will star in CLIFFHANGERS, a new and innovative one-hour dramatic series from Lions Gate, in partnership with Paramount International Television. The announcement was made today by Dennis Miller, President, Lions Gate Television, and Rob Sorcher, Executive Vice President of Programming and Development, Fox Family Channel.

CLIFFHANGERS has received a full-season commitment of 22 episodes from the Fox Family Channel. Production began on July 19, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Paramount International Television will distribute the show internationally.

CLIFFHANGERS will be executive-produced by multi-Emmy Award nominated Michael Braverman (Life Goes On, Chicago Hope), Doug Schwartz (Baywatch), Matthew Hastings (the show's creator), and Harold Tichenor (Nightman). This will also mark the first time actor Joe Lando (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) has served as an executive producer of a television series.

"CLIFFHANGERS represents a new dimension to our contemporary family brand," said Mr. Sorcher. "Both the series' concept and the talented production team are exactly what Fox Family Channel needs for its first foray into the one-hour drama format."

"With a star and producing team of this quality, CLIFFHANGERS is positioned to be a signature series for Fox Family and one that will travel well internationally for Lions Gate and Paramount International Television," said Mr. Miller.

"CLIFFHANGERS is a solid example of the first-rate programming to come from Lions Gate Television," said Kevin Beggs, Senior Vice President, Series Television for Lions Gate. "We are proud to have this series as one of the cornerstones of Fox Family Channel's schedule."

CLIFFHANGERS is set at an alternative high school for at-risk teens in the mountain wilderness. Joe Lando, best known for his six-year starring role as Byron Sully on the hit television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, will star in the series as Peter Scarbrow, a former stock-broker and financial whiz kid whose high-living degenerated into a nightmare of drugs and alcohol abuse before he turned his life around. The series also stars a talented ensemble of breakout teenage actors. Each episode serves as a blueprint for positive ways to meet and overcome many of life's challenges.

CLIFFHANGERS represents Lions Gate Television's second dramatic series scheduled for the 1999-2000 fall television series, following the recently announced "Hope Island" for PAX TV.

Fox Family Channel, which premiered on August 15, 1998 as a revitalized version of the Family Channel, is a division of International Family Entertainment, Inc. The family-targeted basic cable network, available in 74.5 million homes nationwide, delivers a dynamic mix of original and acquired series, specials and movies for the entire family.

LIONS GATE ENTERTAINMENT CORP. (Amex: LGF; Toronto) develops, produces and distributes a wide range of film and television content. Through its four main operating groups -- motion pictures, television, animation, and studio facilities -- the distinctive Lions Gate brand is recognized throughout North America and around the world.

SOURCE Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation

CO: Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation; Paramount International Television

ST: California

07/20/99 09:30 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com

Reuters/Variety (July 19, 1999)

PASADENA (Variety) - The Fox Family Channel has ordered 22 episodes of "Cliffhangers,'' a one-hour drama about students who attend a school for at-risk teenagers.

Shot in the mountains in Washington state and based on true stories of troubled youths, "Cliffhangers'' will deal with subjects such as drug and sexual abuse, and teen suicide.

"These are the issues that usually don't get on primetime TV,'' said executive producer Michael Braverman, who will begin production on the series Monday in Vancouver. "This is an intensive, issue-oriented teen and adult drama.'' The series will premiere next season. Joe Lando will star and also serve as an executive producer.

Separately Fox Family has hired comedian David Alan Grier to star in "Random Acts of Comedy,'' a game show featuring improvisational sketch comedy. It will premiere in November.

Reuters/Variety

from Soap Opera Weekly (June 22,1999)

JOE LANDO (EX-JAKE HARRISON, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-MacCauley West, Guiding Light) is trading the travails of the Old West for the rigors of raising teens. Lando, who recently revisited the character of Byron Sully for Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Movie on CBS (the series ran on the network from 1993-'98), stars in the new series Cliffhangers.

Lando recently moved himself, wife Kirsten and year-old son Jack to Vancouver, British Columbia, for the series. "It is about kids at risk, and I am going to be a counselor who runs an academy, the Horizon School. It's a high school for kids who have been taken from their homes and, through interventions by the state, are put in these places," explains Lando, who is also the series' co-executive producer. "Most of these kids are abused, have been victims of incest, did drugs or had some kind of problem. It is kind of like an Outward Bound, where we take the kids [to the wilderness] and break them down." His character, Peter Scarbrow, will be able to empathize with the kids. "He's a recovering cocaine/heroin addict who has overdosed twice," and recovered at a wilderness detox center himself.

While some of these tough-love boot camps have met with controversy (there have been published reports of participants filing lawsuits claiming their rights were violated), Lando says that he and his co-producers "did research at the legitimate schools. And they are expensive, too. They're the Harvards of this camp kind of school." Lando notes that students attend these institutions for about 30 months. "They come in at 14 or 15 and leave at 18. They can leave at that point if they want to. Most of the kids stay on, because once they get there it changes their lives completely, and they are scared to go back out into the real world."

Principal photography for 22 episodes commences July 19. Paramount International Television, in partnership wih Lions Gate Television, will distribute Cliffhangers worldwide, and it could air as early as January 2000 overseas and in Canada. It has yet to be determined when the series will air in the U.S.

Irene S. Keene

from the New York Daily News, June 8, 1999 (Marilyn Beck's column)

With the future looking doubtful for additional Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman telepics, Joe Lando's off to another series. The actor, who has been called a Frontier Fabio, gets modern with the syndicated "Cliffhangers" which begins production in July in Vancouver - via Paramount TV and Lionsgate TV - for 22 episodes. He plays the administrator of a school for troubled youngsters, the sort who arrive in handcuffs. But the school is in bad financial shape and likely to be taken over by a corporation.

from the TV Times (Ottawa Citizen) May 22 to May 28, 1999

Sully and Dr. Quinn are ready to ride again ... and again

Less than a year after it cancelled the series, CBS decided to saddle up Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman for another ride in prime time, this time as a TV-movie. And if this weekend's telecast of Revolutions (Saturday) pays off in big ratings for the TV network, viewers can probably count on more to come. In fact, Dr. Quinn star Jane Seymour credits loyal fans of the show with bringing her TV alter-ego back in the first place. "It was definitely their effort," she said recently on the Revolutions set.

A staple of CBS's Saturday lineup from 1993 to 1998, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman cast Seymour as Michaela Quinn, one of the first female doctors on the American frontier. Joe Lando played her supportive husband, Sully.

When CBS announced the show's cancellation last year, thousands of fans got together to create The Coalition to Save Dr. Quinn. The group bombarded CBS with protest letters and picketed the network's offices in New York and Los Angeles. It also raised thousands of dollars in order to buy full-page ads in newspapers and magazines to protest the cancellation. "The fans went crazy when the show was cancelled," says Lando. "I don't think there's ever been another show that's been so incredibly supported by its fans."

Actually, similar efforts have brought back such shows as Cagney and Lacey and The Sentinel in the past. And there are currently campaigns to save such series as ABC's Vengeance Unlimited, UPN's Legacy and Fox's Brimstone.

When such efforts pay off, the stars are grateful. In fact, to thank her fans for their support, Seymour extended an open invitation to watch the production of Revolutions at the Paramount Ranch in Agoura Hills, just north of Los Angeles. "It's always been fun to have the fans there," says Lando. "We had a couple of hundred people out there the first few days of the movie because we hadn't been at the ranch in a year."

The first week's filming took place in the western town that has been used for the show's six seasons. The following three weeks of filming took the cast and crew to Newhall, Calif., where a Mexican town and prison were re-created.

Revolutions was written by Josef Anderson, one of the series' regular writers. And Seymour and Lando were both enthusiastic from the start about the notion of returning for a Dr. Quinn movie. "I was sent a copy of the script early this year and I loved it," says Lando. "It was one of the best Dr. Quinn episodes I've ever read. It's a good old-fashioned western, still keeping the heart and the values that Dr. Quinn had."

The movie finds Katie (Kaile Zaretsky), Michaela and Sully's daughter, falling victim to kidnappers who are seeking revenge on Sully for keeping their company from obtaining copper mining rights in Colorado Springs. And so, Michaela, Sully, and the rest of the townsfolk end up forming a posse to find the tiny girl, who has been spirited away to Mexico.

The original Dr. Quinn series was a runaway success on CBS. Its ratings were still strong when network programmers cancelled it. The move took the cast and crew of the show by surprise, especially when CBS announced another more violent western called The Magnificent Seven as a replacement. (That show has since been cancelled as well).

Between her stints as Dr. Mike, Seymour keeps herself busy. Back in March, she appeared in a TV-movie called A Memory in my Heart. She also co-wrote two children's books with her husband, director James Keach. And last month she was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame.

Lando hasn't exactly been idle either. He did two episodes of JAG and did a children's show called, Cindy, The Adventures of Cinderella's Daughter.

Lando also has a new series on deck called Cliffhangers, in which he plays a counsellor who runs a school for troubled kids. (The series begins filming in Vancouver this summer.)

We're really excited about it," says Lando, who has also signed on as co-executive producer of the show. "I think we have a good team."

It's the team behind Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman that is still extra-special to Lando, and to Seymour. She would like the show to return, if not as a weekly series, then as a series of TV-movies. "The response (to the news that a movie was being filmed) has been overwhelming," Seymour explains. "Should the movie be successful, we believe CBS might want to do it again."

That would suit Lando just fine. "Hopefully," he says, "there'll be another one or two per year."

United Feature Syndiate, April 29, 1999

"Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" fans, rejoice! The popular western, whose fans bombarded CBS with protest letters last year when the network unceremoniously dumped the series after six years, returns with a TV movie, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Movie," on Saturday, May 22, on Channel 4.

"It all came together actually very quickly," says Joe Lando ("One Life to Live," "Guiding Light"), who reunited with Jane Seymour and most of the original cast for the film. "Luckily I had my old buckskins and jacket and tomahawk all in a trunk. As soon as I threw on the clothes, Jane and I looked at each other like we never even stopped. It felt like a long weekend, that's all."

Lando, who became the father of a son, Jack, after the show's cancellation, was touched by the repsonse and the support of the fans after the announcement. "They just clogged up everything when we got canned," says the actor. "It was funny, and it was also touching. We appreciated it. Judging by the fan support that we had, they are responsible for the fact that the show came back for a movie of the week."

In the film, as the townspeople gather for a surprise birthday party Sully (Lando) has planned for Dr. Mike (Seymour), their daughter, Katie, is kidnapped and whisked away to Mexico by a mining commission, after the organization has had bad words with Sully. "There's a lot of blame that's put on Sully because it was a decision that he made," Lando said. "The repercussion was the abduction of Katie. It was something he didn't foresee. They do wrong by taking his child." Everyone comes together to search for the little girl. "That's something that propels us into the story," the actor said. "That's what starts our adventure. We have to deal with finding Katie, the tension between Dr. Mike and Sully, and the renewed hope that she's still alive. And then healing some of the wounds." "It's really a true 'Dr. Quinn' in the tradition of the first and second year, I would say," he adds. "So it's really a good story. I'm grateful they wrote such a great part for Sully. It had been a long time. I thought my character was becoming a little anemic." If the ratings prove successful, there's a possibility of more TV movies. "If we can do a couple of these a year, it would be great," said Lando, who is set to star in a new syndicated series in the fall. "If we could only do one more, it would be great. We can really tell a good story and use all of the elements." "The way we've left this story, is that we're being very optimistic," he continued. "We haven't really put a closure to the series. We want it to go at least a couple more so we can play out the story. It's a lot better for us; at least it is for me personally."

from "Media Week" April 19, 1999

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman may be gone from series television, but she's certainly not forgotten. And CBS, which cancelled the once popular drama last spring, is banking on that familiarity in reuniting the series' original cast for a two-hour movie during the May sweeps.

The telefilm, titled simply Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Movie, will air on Saturday, May 22. The project marks both the return of an old Saturday-night staple for CBS and a mending of fences between the network and the show's creative team who publicly expressed their anger following its sudden demise.

"There were a lot of hurt feelings with the way the series ended-you just don't go flippantly cancelling a show like this without a goodbye season," say Beth Sullivan, executive producer of both the series and the movie. "But we put those issues aside, and got to the task of making this film."

Sullivan says that just after New Year's, the network contacted her about producing a Dr. Quinn movie. "The call came and they said, 'We want to heal the wound,' "Sullivan recalls.

The movie follows pioneer physician Mike Quinn (Jane Seymour) and her husband, Byron Sully (Joe Lando) through the wilds of 1860s Mexico as they search for their kidnapped daughter, Katie.

Seymour would like bygones to be bygones as well. "I never had a personal war or vendetta with CBS," she says. "I realized it wasn't me personally they were cancelling."

In fact, at the time that CBS announced its decision to end the series last spring, Seymour was in production on al movie for the network, A marriage of Convenience. The romantic drama, co-starring James Brolin, became one of CBS' highest-rated TV films ever when it aired last fall.

"Jane Seymour speaks directly to our core audience-women 25-54 and 18-49," says Sunta Izzicupo, CBS senior vp for television and miniseries. "You can put her in many different concepts and they'll work."

Yet after five years, Seymour's Dr. Quinn did not work for the network anymore as a series. The show premiered in January 1993 from CBS Productions and quickly found an audience with family viewers on Saturday evenings. But after Dr. Mike and Sully married during the third season, ratings dropped from an average 22 share to an 18. Viewership continued to decline, and as the ax hovered over Quinn last season, reports suggested that the series was no longer making money. "I believe it was still profitable," producer Sullivan says, noting that the show remains popular overseas, that it was sold into domestic syndication after its third season, and that it began airing daily last year on PaxTV, in what amounted to a second syndication sale.

CBS exhibited its renewed faith in the good doctor by spending "above the average" of $3 million for next month's telefilm, Izzicupo says. Part family drama, part action/adventure, the movie targets not only Dr. Quinn's core audience but also will be promoted to viewers who avoided the series in droves-young males. "I think that's what doing this type of story was about," Izzicupo says. The movie "has a rugged look to it, like a big old Western. There are male/ female aspects to it."

The story line and marketing strategy does not sit particularly well with Sullivan, who chose not to write the teleplay. "If I had to (create) what movie should come back to viewers after a year of rancor and weirdness, this would not be the one," the producer says. "But I'm sure fans will enjoy it."

If they do, CBS may sign on for a series of Dr. Quinn movies, Izzicupo says. That's fine by Seymour. "This is a special piece of programming," the star says of Quinn. "If I'm asked to make it from time to time, I'll find a say."
 

from "AOL News Search," April 15, 1999

Lions Gate Television, the television division of Lions Gate Entertainment, (AMEX/TSE:LGF) has begun pre-production in Vancouver for CLIFFHANGERS, an original series of 22 one-hour episodes produced by Lions Gate Television for worldwide distribution by Paramount International Television.

Representing Lions Gate Television's expansion into the area of dramatic series television, CLIFFHANGERS stars Joe Lando (Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman), who will also co-executive produce alongside Douglas Schwartz (one of three creator-executive producers of the long-running worldwide hit hour series ``Baywatch,''), Michael Braverman (Beverly Hills 90210, Chicago Hope, Life Goes On) and Matthew Hastings.

Lions Gate Television will produce the series in Vancouver, with production set to commence in July. The company will also retain Canadian distribution rights.

The setting for CLIFFHANGERS is Timberline High School - definitely not the high school your parents went to - where the students are taught `No Risk, No Reward' - translation: You're about to discover just how challenging life can really be. While the indoor classroom might be tough, the outdoor classroom is flatout torture: mountain climbing, river rafting, BMX racing and snowboarding - ``Cliffhangers'' gives a whole new meaning to Outdoor Ed.

We are delighted to enter pre-production on CLIFFHANGERS, and to join with Paramount International Television in bringing the series to audiences worldwide,'' said Lions Gate Television president Dennis Miller. ``Filled with action and drama, CLIFFHANGERS is developed with global audiences in mind, offering the kind of high energy excitement that transcends all cultures.''

Lions Gate Entertainment (AMEX/TSE:LGF) develops, produces and distributes a wide range of film and television content. Through its four main operating groups - motion pictures, television, animation, and studio facilities - the Lions Gate brand is recognized both in North America and around the world. The Academy Award winning films ``Gods and Monsters'' and ``Affliction'' are both now playing in movie theatres in the U.S. and Canada. Current television productions include ``Great Streets'' (PBS) and ``Red Handed'' (UPN). And popular animated programs, such as ``Bad Dog'' and ``Princess Sissi'' can be seen on television in several countries, including Canada and France.
 

from "Star" April 13, 1999

DQMW fans will be relieved to know that sexy Joe Lando is coming back to weekly TV. He's got a new series in which he plays a kindhearted, outdoorsy guy who runs a tough-love camp in the wilderness for wayward kids. The question is -- will he cut off his long hair?

from "Star" April 6, 1999

Dr. Quinn is riding back onto-TV screens and STAR has a special sneak preview.

In an emotion-packed TV movie, Jane Seymour's Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman will not only have to rescue her daughter from a crazed businessman- but will face a Mexican firing squad.

The return of the gutsy frontier doctor is good news for fans who bombarded CBS with protest letters last year when the network unceremoniously dumped Dr.Quinn after six years.

The new movie, Revolutions, will air in MAY and reunites most of the original cast including heart-throb Joe Lando.

The film begins with Dr. Mike and her hubby Sully (Lando) having a sad, tearful funeral for their 4 year old daughter Katie, horribly mangled in an accident. "However the grieving couple soon learn that the girl they've buried is not their daughter,"says a setside source.

They learn that Katie's been kidnapped and whisked away to Mexico by an evil businessman who has crossed paths with Sully. Despite warnings not to cross the border, the duo go in search of their little girl. When Dr. Mike tends the wounds of a bandit wanted by the bloodthirsty Capt. Ruiz, who's in cahoots with the crazed kidnapper, she winds up in jail, then in front of a firing squad.

"Just before facing death, Dr. Mike is freed by a band of revolutionaries fighting Capt. Ruiz, says the source. It doesnt take her long to pick up her search for Katie.

from "Daily Variety" January 28, 1999

BYLINE: ELIZABETH GUIDER

NEW ORLEANS --- Paramount's international TV division is putting final touches on a drama series co-production with a foreign partner.

The project is called "Cliff Hangers" and is a co-production with Lions Gate Media in Canada.

It's a first for the international TV arm of Paramount, which, like several others of the Hollywood majors, is actively trying to create shows with foreign partners for the international market.

"Cliff Hangers" is being described as "a blue sky action drama" and revolves around a school in the Far North of Canada, whose students get involved in search and rescue missions in the region. Motto of the school is "no risk, no reward."

The series toplines Joe Lando, who starred in "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman." Its production team also boasts "Baywatch" exec producer Douglas Schwartz and "Chicago Hope" exec producer Michael Braverman. Well-known action photographers Warren Miller Films will handle the action sequences.

The execs responsible for putting the deal together are James Dowaliby at Paramount Intl. TV and Dennis Miller, the head of Lions Gate Media, the TV arm of the Canadian producer/distribbery.

Lions Gate will handle North American rights, while Paramount will distribute in the rest of the world. Barring a last-minute snafu, production will begin in British Columbia in June.

Neither Dowaliby nor Miller could be reached for comment at NATPE.

from the Hollywood Reporter, January 28, 1999

NEW ORLEANS -- New big-budget action series "Cliffhangers" is being fielded for the global market under a soon-to-be-signed co-production deal between Paramount International Television and Canada's Lions Gate Media, sources confirmed Wednesday. The deal is unusual in that Paramount will not take the series, to be shot in British Columbia, to the U.S. market until at least 22 episodes are in the can. Potential international sales are sufficient to create a viable financial model without U.S. presales, sources said.

"Cliffhangers" will star Joe Lando ("Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman"). On board as executive producers are "Baywatch" producer Doug Schwartz and "Chicago Hope" and "Beverly Hills, 90210" exec producer Michael Braverman.