WITH AN EYE ON . . . : How the West is coping on ‘Dr. Quinn’: Jonelle Allen and Henry Sanders

Infertility is not just a contemporary concern.

Beginning this week, CBS’ popular pioneer drama, “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” now in its third season, tackles the subject over several episodes.

Facing the condition will be blacksmith Robert E. and cafe owner Grace (played by Henry G. Sanders and Jonelle Allen), who married on the show last season.

“I love how they’ve made us human beings, with both good and bad points,” Allen says of her and Sanders’ characters.

Allen began her acting career at age 5 opposite Helen Hayes in a revival of “Wisteria Trees” at the New York City Center. A varied background, she says, has been a plus. While growing up, she lived in Harlem, worked on Broadway and attended private school in Central Park West.

“I was like Sybil with her multiple personalities. I was always interacting with diverse groups of people,” she recalls. “It probably helped me as an actress.” She received a Tony nominee for “Two Gentlemen of Verona,” in which she starred opposite Raul Julia. Before “Dr. Quinn,” her work in film and television ranged from “Hotel New Hampshire” to “Palmerstown” and “Generations.”

A Vietnam veteran, Sanders was an aspiring novelist who found that an acting workshop worked like therapy for him. “It allowed me to touch on some feelings and emotions I hadn’t dealt with,” says Sanders in a conference call from his Altadena home.

“I auditioned for every role I heard about,” he says. “I did everything, bad plays, anything, to get experience. Suddenly, I realized it was what I wanted to do.” Numerous roles in Los Angeles theater have included “Fool for Love” and “Short Eyes,” which he considers his “big breakthrough.” A friendship with filmmaker Bobby Roth led to a part in Roth’s “The Boss’ Son”; roles in “Bull Durham” and “Made in Heaven” followed.

Both Allen and Sanders take great pride in their current roles on “Dr. Quinn” and how their characters are being developed. “We’ve both got thriving businesses going and now audiences are going to see how we relate as husband and wife in a new home,” explains Allen.

Part of that “new home” includes children. “Grace wants all of it to come to fruition with this man,” Allen adds. “She wants to have a family.”

Sanders points out that the story line is in keeping with facts known about the time. “They knew enough about infertility back then to know what it was,” he says. “It’s completely historically accurate.”

Sanders reveals that he and his wife of 17 years, Naila, a wardrobe designer, had their own bout with infertility. “It took us four years to have children, before they found out it could be taken care of with a simple operation,” says the father of four. “We were lucky. It’s an issue that plagues many couples, and it will plague Robert E. and Grace for several episodes.”

Both Sanders and Allen point out how important their characters--and their concerns--are to the show. “A blacksmith is a very intricate part of the community; a lot of people depend on him,” Sanders says.

“The cafe is integral to the show” as well, says Allen. “It’s the social place to meet, where things take place. Both of them work together to build their community.”

“What’s most important,” adds Allen, who is single, “is first and foremost you’re seeing an African American couple, a male and female who work together in all those things couples go through--loving, fighting, striving, surviving, bonding--being human in a positive light during the Old West.”

The depiction of Robert E. and Grace as a thriving--and emancipated--couple pleases Allen. “I get upset when people say the show is politically correct,” she explains. “I choose to say it’s historically correct. The research is there and has been done.”

“Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” airs Saturdays at 8 p.m. on CBS.