When it comes to playing TV's dearest mommies, know one does it better than Carol Potter. She perfected parenthood during her years as Cindy Walsh on Beverly Hills, 90210, and as a result, was a natural to be cast as the down-to-earth Joan Cummings, Meg and Sara's mom on SUN. "I have this innocence about me," the actress laughs. "I'm known as the good mom and I love playing it."

Before Joan hit the beach, there was not a lot of motherly nature on display on SUN. Elaine was a killer who made bad waffles; Olivia is an alcoholic socialite, and gadfly Bette, viewers only recently learned, even had a kid. "I can see why the producers felt they needed a grounded character," Potter says. "With all the crazy things going on, you need a balance. Otherwise, the strange becomes normal."

What does Mother Cummings think of her new community? "Losing the farm and relocating has been hard on her," Potter says. "But being so close to her daughters is pretty close to heaven, especially with all the wild things that have been going on in Meg and Sara's lives."

Like all mother/daughter relationships, the bond between Joan, Meg and Sara is strong and sometimes painful. "Meg and Joan always had a very close and instinctive relationship," says Potter. "They have the same attitude about life."

"On the other hand, Sara has always been more of a puzzle for Joan," the actress continues, adding that Joan feels responsible for the mess that her older daughter has gotten herself into. "Joan takes it personally. "What did I do wrong?"

Although Potter has become the 1990s June Cleaver, her real life has been anything but a sitcom. Her first husband, screenwriter Spencer Eastman, died of brain cancer after two-and-a-half years of marriage, leaving Potter to raise their 9-month-old son on her own. "Christopher is almost 11," says the proud mother, beaming. "It was very tough. I don't even know what it's like to go through a normal infancy. Christopher was three months old when Spencer was diagnosed. From that point on, nothing was normal about our lives. "As difficult as things were, I felt a very strong sense of the hand of God working in our lives," she adds. "The experience made me much more in touch with what other people go through in their lives."

Potter met her current spouse, former actor Jeffrey Josephson, while waiting for tires at a repair shop. "We both said we didn't date actors," she chuckles.

A Mother's Wish

Like her own recovery from the tragedy in her life, Potter is eager for Joan to bounce back from the hardships that she has faced. "Just as Joan and Hank found a house, the earthquake hit," she marvels.

And what does the perfect mother wish for her family? "I hope Hank can let himself off the hook about losing the farm," she says, in character. "I hope Sara will understand that her parents love her and that she can come to them in a time of need. And I wish Meg would get the chance to marry Ben, for God's sake. And, hopefully they'll have a baby, too.

Spoken like a true mother.