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Successful plastic surgeon Sydney Hansen has it all; a thriving practice, the respect of her peers, a wonderful boyfriend.who she catches having sex with another man in the shower. To top that off, her mother dies before Sydney was able to resolve a lot of issues with her. Her mother (Concetta Tomei) continues to haunt her dreams and involve herself in her daughter's life even after death. Which is probably what all mothers want anyway. Returning home, Sydney catches up with an old boyfriend, becomes closer to her father (Mike Farrell). She also manages to find herself after losing her sense of self in the dizzy world she occupied before. ***

While "Providence" can descent into the worst soap opera clichés on occasion, the talented ensemble cast keeps the drama afloat. Kanakaredes comes across as warm and wonderful if a bit troubled during the pilot episode and Farrell as her father provides a sense of balance and calm at the eye of the storm her life has become. Unfortunately, this set is like a highlights reel; it focuses on the best episodes during the show's four year run but that also creates a sense of too many traumas, too little time. The direction helps keep the cast focused which prevents the over acting seen all too frequently in over-the-top dramas. "Providence" manages to veer from strong drama to soap opera and then to comedy all within the span of several episodes making it a diverse, somewhat unpredictable drama that will keep viewers interested. What matters most, though, is that we truly end up caring about these characters and their traumas. Keep in mind this doesn't include the entire first season but, instead, has the best twelve episodes from that originally aired during the show's entire run from 1999 until 2002. ---