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SYNOPSIS
Dr. Sydney Ludwick (Lisa Hartman Black) is a beautiful woman and a dedicated physician who is very good at her job. Her patients adore her; the hospital nurses love her, too, which is something that can’t be said about every doctor on staff. But Syd is leading a somewhat dysfunctional personal life and dating a cold-hearted colleague who’s really just a “place-holder” until someone worthy comes along. She is unhappy and feeling unfulfilled – and everyone around her, even a dying patient, recognizes it. Syd’s nurse friend, Brenda (Jennifer Echols), is the one who advises her to get away from the hospital hustle and bustle for a while and grab some time to clear her head.
Coincidentally, it’s time for Syd’s 20th high school reunion. Syd wasn’t planning on attending; she hasn’t been back home in years, in part because of bad blood between her and her mother. But Brenda pushes Syd into going, noting that while many classmates will be fat or bald, she’ll return as a successful doctor who wears the same dress size she did in high school. What an ego boost that will be. Reluctantly, Syd makes plans to return to Bloomfield, where she will come to terms with her past and discover a bright new future.
Bloomfield is classic small-town America – a tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone else’s business. Most of the town’s residents are in the midst of a dieting/health kick, as they compete for national “Healthiest Town in America” recognition. Word has already gotten out that Sydney is coming home for the reunion. Many of her former classmates, like lawyer Nelson Hendricks (Larry Manetti) and her former beau Gus Martin (Dale Midkiff), are thrilled at the prospect of seeing her again; man-hungry Connie Murray (Barbara Niven), a former rival, isn’t so excited. And Syd’s mother, Helen (Rue McClanahan), is visibly annoyed that she got the news through the grapevine, instead of through a phone call from her daughter.
When Sydney arrives in town, she gets a warm greeting; the whole town takes pride in her success as a big-city doctor. It’s also quickly brought to her attention that there’s no local doctor since Old Doc Sheldon’s death a few months ago. Nelson, who had a schoolboy crush on Syd, is quick to snag a dinner date with her; she‘s just being polite by accepting, but it means a lot to him. Syd and Connie (who is dating Gus, Syd’s ex) exchange some false smiles and catty conversation. Syd is a little surprised to learn that Gus is now a widower with a young son. Then comes the meeting that Sydney dreaded most of all: She pays a visit to her flamboyant mother. It doesn’t go well between them – distant hugs and icy conversation. Although they never really saw eye to eye, they’ve been totally estranged since the death of Syd’s father several years earlier. Syd had planned to stay at a hotel, but the only one in town has long since closed. She’ll have to stay in the town’s one bed and breakfast, which happens to be the home she grew up in. Not ideal, as far as Sydney is concerned, but she has little choice. Helen puts Syd in her childhood bedroom, which hasn’t changed since she was a teenager.
It’s also not long before Sydney runs into Gus, who is still as charming as ever, and his son Jake (Blake Woodruff). There are still unmistakable sparks of attraction between the former high school sweethearts. Later, at dinner with Nelson that evening, Sydney continues to catch up with her old pals. One is Ed Jenkins (Don Harvey), who has made the unlikely transition from party-loving teen to town pastor. Ed invites Sydney to an afternoon barbecue and, when Syd arrives the next day, she discovers it’s a fix-up for her and Gus.
Gus drives Sydney home, but they take the long way, stopping at Birch Lake, a spot that was a special place for the two of them. Gus talks about his deceased wife Julie, the only woman (other than Syd) that he ever loved. Connie, it turns out, is only a casual friend, although she’s already thinking marriage. He also tells Syd about his son Jake, who’s a great kid, but burdened by nagging health problems that the doctors have never quite been able to diagnose and treat.
After Gus brings Sydney home for the evening, Helen is waiting up, ready to have that long-overdue conversation in which they can clear the air. They have several contentious mother-daughter issues, but the crux of it all is that Syd resents the way Helen treated Syd’s father during his last dying years of illness. Instead of staying by his side at all times, Syd notes, Helen continued with her gadfly lifestyle. Helen then tells Syd something she didn’t know – that even when he was sick and dying, he didn’t want Helen to change her life one iota. “I was doing what he wanted me to do.” As they retire for the evening, Syd has a lot to think about. Maybe the resentment she has long shown her mother was unwarranted.
The next day, Syd, Gus and Jake get to know each other even more during a picnic in the park. Meanwhile, Nelson, who has come to the conclusion that he’ll never be more than friends with Syd, has started to take notice of Connie. In fact, that evening at the reunion dance, when Syd and Gus pair off, so do Nelson and Connie. Outside, on the football field where Gus was the star quarterback, he and Syd express their feelings for one another – only to be interrupted by an urgent phone call from Jake’s babysitter. The boy is having excruciating stomach pains, so Gus and Syd rush to his side. Sydney suddenly shifts into doctor mode and makes a quick but studied diagnosis. They rush the boy to the hospital 30 miles away and, once there, Syd takes charge, informing the ER staff that the child has a rare form of cancer called neuroblastoma. She directs the ensuing examination, surgery and treatment – all successful. The boy will be all right. In fact, he’ll be better than ever now that a proper course of treatment has been determined. The next morning, Sydney is feeling better about herself and her life than ever before. On her way out of town, she makes amends with her mother; heaven forgive them for the time they wasted being mad at each other. And everyone in town hails Sydney as a hero; even former rival Connie treats Syd with warmth and kindness.
Then Sydney pays Gus and Jake a visit at the hospital. It’s time for her to return to her other life as a big-city doctor, but she tells Gus, “That love of your life that you never thought you would ever get another chance with, maybe if you asked her again to stay, she will, but only if you really want her to.” Gus responds, “I really want you to stay.” And they kiss. It‘s a heartfelt kiss that seals their future together.
One year later, Bloomfield is still the same charming Americana small town, only now it’s officially “the #1 Healthiest Town in America.” And there’s a new physician practicing medicine here now: Her name is Dr. Sydney Ludwick-Martin.
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