Providence

Dr. Sidney Hansen returns home to Rhode Island From Los Angeles after tragedy strikes.

A dying dog triggers Jims greif; Syd races to save a teen whoose diagnosis is grave; Joanie gets into a lather after meeting Syds Soap- Star patient.

Trouble at home & at the clinic causes Syd to pack her bags to return to LA; Jim faces a clingy client.

Syds momeries confirm her fears about Jims mystery lady; Robbie jumps through the hoops for a new lady.

Syd helps a stripper leave the business, drawing fire from Dr. Marcus and the dancers angry lover; Joanie makes a splash at a cooking contest; Robbie gets involved with a bookie.

Syd gamely tries to help a young stripper who wants to leave her profession and have her bustline reduced to alleviate a dangerous back problem - but her abusive biker boyfriend may have other ideas. Elsewhere, Sydneys chilly relationship with a desirable chief surgeon begins to thaw quickly; Robbies lucky dalliance with horse racing encourages him to roll the dice one too many times; and Joanie searches for the missing ingredient that could make her clam chowder a winner in the Taste of Providence cooking contest.

A wary Syd tries to do the right thing when she takes in Lilly , a troublesome teenager who is returned by her latest foster parents, but in no time, the lodgers carelessness places the entire Hansen household in jeopardy. Joanies hopes soar when she learns that her handsome business partner has broken up with his girlfriend, but their main concern however, is finding a restaurant that will let them showcase her special chowder for food distributors. Robbie comes to the rescue and risks his job when he volunteers his place of employment while the owner is away. In addition, Sydney encounters a likable elderly patient (guest star Maxine Stuart) with hidden health problems, and Jim wants to help a bedraggled stray dog give birth to her pups.

Syd firmly tries to fend off the romantic advances of a handsome businessman (guest star David Lee Smith) whose family is linked to the Mob, and lavish gifts begin to wear her down while at the clinic. She diagnoses a sickly landscaper (guest star Tim Ransom) who she suspects is being poisoned by pesticides. Elsewhere among the Hansen clan: Joanie -- on the eve of her new shop opening -- becomes concerned when boyfriend/business partner shows little interest in her infant daughter; Jim indulges himself when he commits to helping Lilly rig up a Rube Goldberg contraption as part of a school project; and Robbie begins to appreciate the hidden allure of Jims clumsy veterinary assistant in a whole new way.

The series closes its first season with an emotional episode revolving around troubled teen Lilly. With Syd and the Hansens, Lilly has found a sense of security. Syd is thrilled when Kyle returns to Providence for a quick visit, but later becomes concerned when he also seeks her medical advice. Meanwhile, Jim is stunned when his assistant, Heather, quits her job, and enlists Robbies help to convince her to stay. Joanie has a difficult time finding someone suitable to help her out at the Barkery. And, a family celebration turns tragic when a friend from Lillys past arrives in Providence.

On the first anniversary of Lyndas death, the Hansens agree to celebrate her life with a memorial dinner until Jim causes a family uproar when he confesses that a missing secret letter that he wrote to his wife just before her fatal heart attack might have caused the calamity. Elsewhere, Sydney stays close to the athletic Kyle when he learns he must undergo a traumatic surgery. Joanie must make a painful decision when she discovers that the obedient employee in her dog store eatery has been behaving more and more like a canine.

Syd tries to fix the past with her mom.

Syd helps someone pass a physical.

Syd tries to make it home for Thanksgiving.

Syd finds how much family means to her. When she sees what life may have been without them.

Syd believes that a patient she Dr. Sullivan are treating has Muchausen Syndrome which causes a mother to make a child purposely sick in order to seek immediate medical attention. Dr. Sullivan tells Syd that she was treated a year earlier and the results showed no symptoms of the disease. The doctor believes that the patient is being poisoned.

Syd finds the idea of moving to an apartment rather uncomfortable because the family seems ready for Syd to leave the nest so fast. Robbie agrees to substitute for Charlie Heathers befriend when her date is unable to show up. Leaving Heathers mom to think Robby is Heathers fiancé.

Syds latest patient Mr. Ellison come to the clinic for treatment for advanced cancer and wont live along. Syd is asked to keep Mr. Ellison alive for three days so he can get money for his family to do that he must out live the statute of limitations so the money will go to his family. Syd finds the money gives it to her patient. Heather is getting married to Charlie who has a prison record, Dr Hansen is worried that she may be moving to fast. Heathers mom Donna doesnt like Charlie. Who has been married twice. Mrs. Tupperman tells Robbie of Charlies past. Syd runs into Daniel Hartman who says Mr. Ellison sold trust deeds and was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison and now Mr. Hartman wants the money to go to the families. Heather wants to get married to Charlie and may find that hard to do because of her love for Robbie. Heathers mom tries to Robbie to stop Heathers wedding but wont do it because feels Heather would be happy. Mr. Hartman go to Syds house to ask for

Syds dad is about to 60 years old and is not happy about it. Jim is mad that people are taking over a former vets practice leading Jim to wonder about closing his practice. Robbie is still trying to figure out how to repay Heather. Jims accountant advises him to sell his practice because the accountant feels Jim should retire. Jim gets ready to shut down his practice. Syd and Joanie read the fax and learn he could retire (Syd was waiting for a fax and stumbled on the fax for her dad.)

Jim begins spending time with Monica Lang a photojournalist who wants to spend more time with Jim. Syd and Joanie begin worrying if the relationship has gone to far after they follow their father to the jewelry District. Jim later tells Monica the relationship is over but Monica has other ideas. She feels attracted to Jim and makes sure he understands that.

Syds family notice her having a headache & thinking she is stuck in ""Alice in wonderland"" Mrs. Hansen takes on the life of her daughter to help figure out is wrong. Jim goes with Monica to an exhibit, and heads home. Robbie continues to study for a game show.

Syd is about to go and will need therapy to help her leg heal from Encephalitis. Syd finds out her therapist is a man not big on machines. Syd begins working out and over works. Jim takes in dogs that came from Chicago because the owner wasnt found. Andi is stalking Robbie because he wouldnt cheat for her, Syd ignores her bodys needs to rest while driving Izzy home and hit a tree. Joannie learns that Bert has girl friend. Syd doesnt feel normal and thinks about quitting medicine.

John Hemming asks Syd to look at former patient of his who wants to be a ballerina. Rebecca wants Syd to clear her for the Providence Ballet. Jim hires someone to train Fearless, later wishing he hadnt done it. Rebeccas problem could be more serious. Joanie finds out Burt has a problem. Syd learns that John may be in love with Rebecca, she made it up to get Syd off her back.

Syd dreams she is on The Titanic with john Hemming, Syds mom thinks she knows why her daughters relationship with men is bad. Syd finds out more about John. She also treats Jamie Rohan for a broken wrist & finds out he is taking Ratalin. Robbie tries to help Andi in court. Joanie and Syd go for a night out and see John dancing with a blonde woman. Syd learns that Scott died and his brother Jamie may have ADHD. Syd runs to find Jamie who is thought to have taken Scotts medicine. John tells about Cheryl who his was to marry.

Syd continues to find the parents of a little girl but Syd learns Mrs. Hemming disapproves of her job. Syd learns she is up for a new job and wonders if Mrs. Hemming was behind it. Meanwhile Rocket still has no home until he paints the Logo of his research center. Jonaine feels bad about being a mom again because everyone treated badly as Hannah came. Anchees parents are found working at a sweatshop as they shop Syd & Anchee a reward poster posted at $25,000.

An anguished Syd is forced to recall a repressed childhood memory of her late mother Lyndas flirtation with a neighbor while she nurses a dying elderly woman who struggles to remain alive long enough to reconciliate with her arriving daughter. Elsewhere: Joanie poses as Syd at a pharmaceutical convention in order to get her sister some much-needed drug samples but winds up in jail with a gaggle of hookers; Robbie mistakenly ends up playing a serious game of cards with some mob wiseguys; and Jim turns the house upside down when he becomes obsessed with ousting a playful but evasive mouse.

Reminded of a former school chum with muscular dystrophy, Syd reaches out to help a reclusive young man whose face is hideously scarred while she runs afoul of Joanie whos suddenly in overdrive as she prepares for a whirlwind marriage to Burt in just a few days. In addition,, it doesnt help to have Burts voyagebound parents around as they pull up in their RV and can barely hide their mutual resentment. Meanwhile, Robbie once again gets in over his head when he agrees to be a bookie to accept bets placed on the games of an adolescent hockey league, and a stammering Jim fends off the advances of an aroused married woman.

Syd tries to compel a grieving recluse (guest star Alastair Duncan) to allow plastic surgery to correct his facial deformities when she learns that he will soon be evicted from his roost while Joanie withdraws from her family -- especially from her protective older sister -- in the wake of her recent miscarriage. Elsewhere, Robbie resorts to desperate measures in order to cozy up to the beautiful mother (guest star Maria Pitillo) of one of his adolescent hockey players (guest star Mickey Toft) while Jim struggles to coax his young granddaughter Hannah to take her medicine.

When Syd applies for a grant for her clinic from a prestigious medical foundation, she meets a mysterious man who claims to be her father -- and as she gets to know him, his story about his relationship with her late mother begins to make more and more sense. Meanwhile, as Jim senses that Syd and Joanie are snooping around about the circumstances of Syds birth, he treats a Lhasa apso dog that refuses to eat. Elsewhere, Robbie gets heat from the ex-husband just when it seems his romance seems to be blossoming with the attractive mother of one of his pee-wee hockey players and Joanie reluctantly hires a sensitive, temperamental baker.

After Syd greets her old medical school pal on leave from a rural African hospital, he shows frightening symptoms of the super-deadly Ebola virus, forcing the health department to clamp a quarantine around her clinic -- as well as the Hansen household where Joanie is hosting a chaotic childrens birthday party. In the meantime, while a desperate Robbie spots his family on the TV news and heads home hoping to help, Joanie discovers that his girlfriend -- whos also trapped inside the house -- was the same girl who tormented her at summer camp years before. Elsewhere, Jim busies himself treating a bulky bulldog suffering from serious anemia.

A critically ill infant preoccupies Syd, whos entangled with a ubiqutious politician; a romantic getaway in the wild is anything but for Robbie and Tina.

Political & romantic mattars busy Syd, whos in D.C. with Rep. Connelly for a showdow with a drug company; diverse cries ensnarl Robbie, Tina -and the hansensdog.

When Jim returns home to recuperate from a serious head injury after being shot in last seasons finale, Syd, Joanie and Robbie clash over each others reactions to the changes in their father. Syd believes Jim needs more help than they can provide at home, Joanie thinks he needs to be surrounded by loved ones in his own environment while Robbie is detached and angry over the ""loss"" of the father he knew. Besides trying to keep the peace in her family, Syd must also deal with a neurotic patient who believes television characters are real people.

FRIENDS AND LOVERS - Syd (Melina Kanakaredes) and Joes (guest star Steven Ekholdt) relationship is strained when Syd becomes better acquainted with his estranged wife Erica (guest star Christina Haag) and the two women discover that they like each other. Brought together through volunteer work for breast cancer research, Erica asks Syd to consult on her friend Lynns (guest star Allison Smith, ""The West Wing"") breast reconstructive surgery. Meanwhile, Joanie (Paula Cale) struggles with financial problems caused by Jims (Mike Farrell) HMO coverage, or lack thereof. Jim discovers the joys of home shopping on cable television which adds to Joanies concerns. Joanie and Heather (guest star Dana Daurey) interview a temporary replacement for Jim to run the vet clinic and decide to hire Dr. Sam Magala (guest star Cress Williams). Robbie (Seth Peterson) tries to help Tinas (guest star Maria Pitillo) son Pete (guest star Alex D. Linz, ""Home Alone 3"") with a school science project but meets w

WILL SYD VOTE IN FAVOR OF CONTINUING HER ROMANCE WITH JOE CONNELLY? THINGS HEAT UP WHEN PETE (GUEST STAR ALEX D. LINZ, MAX KEEBLES BIG MOVE) SETS FIRE TO HIS BEDROOM -- As election day draws near, Syd (Melina Kanakaredes) sees nothing positive about negative campaign tactics used by Joe Connelly (guest star Steven Eckholdt) and begins to seriously question his integrity. Meanwhile, an increasingly hostile Pete (guest star Alex D. Linz, Max Keebles Big Move) realizes Robbie (Seth Peterson) really cares for him when Pete accidentally sets fire to the apartment and Robbie saves him. Elsewhere, during an unsupervised moment at the clinic, Jim (Mike Farrell) administers an injection to a dog and the animal goes into cardiac arrest when Dr. Malaga (guest star Cress Williams, NBCs ER) unwittingly gives the dog another shot of the same drug. Later at home, Joanie (Paula Cale) gives Jim an herbal supplement, not knowing it could cause an ulcer.

THE NEWLYWEDS ATTEMPT A HONEYMOON GETAWAY AS JIM RETURNS TO REHAB; LINDSAY CROUSE (BUFFY) GUEST STARS - Newlyweds Robbie (Seth Peterson) and Tina (Maria Pitillo) grow increasingly frustrated with the airlines, and each other, when travel problems arise and it seems that theyll never make it to Miami for their honeymoon while Jim (Mike Farrell) returns to rehab and makes some painful revelations to his new coach (guest star Lindsay Crouse, ""Buffy The Vampire Slayer"") about his feelings towards Syd (Melina Kanakaredes). Likewise, Syd begins to realize that her fathers condition has been taking an emotional toll on her, and that she needs to seek help to deal with it. Elsewhere, Joanie (Paula Cale) finds herself with too much time on her hands and decides to look up an old friend from school. Concetta Tomei also stars. TV-PG

THANKSGIVING BRINGS OUT JIMS GOOD DEED - MUCH TO SYDS DISMAY -- Jims (Mike Farrell) rehabilitation requires him to travel on a bus to do his errands but when he decides to do a Good Samaritan deed for the bus drivers grandmother, he ends up accepting a ride from some rough dudes -- and an unknowing Syd (Melina Kanakaredes) grows frantic when he doesnt return on time. Meanwhile: St. Clares loans its space for a charity Thanksgiving dinner hosted by the Daughters of the Mayflower allowing Syd to treat their chairwoman -- whose lineage might be suspect; Joanie (Paula Cale) and Hannah take a ride in the country and end up saving a turkey; Robbies (Seth Peterson) well-intentioned plan to surprise Tina with a big family holiday dinner goes up in smoke. Concetta Tomei also stars

Syd is personally and professionally stunned by a malpractice suit brought on by a high-risk pregnancy patient (guest star Ashley Johnson) and in turn questions her recent decision to end therapy sessions with Dr. Dunseith (guest star Isabella Hofmann). In the meantime, Joanie and Phil (guest star Dan Montgomery) go rock wall climbing as platonic friends, but soon realize that the tension between them isnt just in the ropes. Jim begins an independent living program at the rehab center and can return to work at the vet clinic part-time if Sam (guest star Cress Williams) shadows him. Meanwhile, Jim uses a pet kitten to help his friend Meredith (guest star Marcia Srassman) realize that she never has to live alone. And something is cooking at ONeills when Robbie creates a salad dressing that inadvertently induces labor pains in pregnant customers. Amid the expectant customers, Tina (Maria Pitillo) suspects she may be pregnant herself.

WILL SYD OBJECT TO HER DEFENSE ATTORNEY? -- Syd (Melina Kanakaredes) meets the attractive, brilliant attorney Owen Frank (guest star George Newburn) who will defend her in the malpractice suit and faces a will stronger than her own. Joanie (Paula Cale) is apprehensive about taking her relationship with Phil (Dan Montgomery) to a more physical level. Robbie (Seth Peterson) and Tina (Maria Pitillo) try to play cupids with Pete (Alex D. Linz) and his tomboy friend, Nicky (guest star Brenda Grate). Jim (Mike Farrell) performs surgery on a patient for the first time since his injury and does so well that Sam (Cress Williams) tells him he no longer needs a ""shadow"". TV-PG

Hollywood is calling! Syd goes to LA to speak to students at UCLA. But her ex-boyfriend Jerry takes her on the set of his show. Joanie gets a movie role. Jim is allowed to drive again.

Syds medicial trial begins.

Jim has a new friend. Syds dates with Owen get interesting.

Syd moves in with Owen when a schizophrenic patient becomes obsessed with her.

Syd must face the challenge of working with a new boss Dr. Bil Augustine at an acute care clinc while trying to rasie money to rebuild St. Clares. Owen asks Syd an important question.

Syd and Dr Baylor treat a suicide victim and have different views on things.

Syd must deal with two bomb shells She loes the engagment ring! Later she must a double shift on Halloween night and not being with Owen for there own fright night.

Syd and Qwen go to their marriage license, Syds guilt about kissing Dr.Baylor gets to her.

Syd comes down with a little cold butthe cold gets worse and Owen must take her to the emergency room. Can Joanie get Leos trust back after telling a secret about his girlfriend on the radio?

Will Syd get to spend her wedding night Owen? She almost gets to unill a patient enters the ER with a bullet wound and the patients dad takes the ER hostage. Also Owen and Syd may leave Providence.