HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN

Show Type: Drama

First Telecast: September 19, 1984

Last Telecast: August 4, 1989

Executive Producer/Writer: Michael Landon

Broadcast History:

September 1984 – March 1988, Wednesday 8:00-9:00 on NBC

March 1988 – May 1988, Wednesday 9:00-10:00 on NBC

June 1988, Wednesday 8:00-9:00 on NBC

June 1989 – August 1989, Friday 8:00-9:00 on NBC

Cast

Jonathan Smith..... Michael Landon

Mark Gordon..... Victor French

SYNOPSIS

Jonathan was a probationary angel with a very unusual mission on Earth – to bring a little love and understanding into the lives of people who were in trouble.

Although he had angelic powers he seldom used them,  preferring to rely on persuasion and example as he slipped into and out of the lives of children and old folks, rich people and poor. It might be a mother whose child was dying of cancer, a young boxer being pressured to throw a fight, or a Vietnamese child facing prejudice in her new American hometown. Each of them learned a little about coping with life through love.

Jonathan traveled around the country as an itinerant laborer. His only companion was a burly ex-cop named Mark, who had been a bitter, defeated man until Jonathan helped turn him around. Now he wanted to help his newfound friend in his Heavenly mission.

Tender, emotional stories about the value of kindness in life dominated this series created by Michael Landon, but there was also room for a twinkle in the eye. A notable example of the latter was an October 1987 Halloween episode lampooning Landon's first famous movie role in I Was A Teenage Werewolf (1957) – called, what else, "I Was A Middle-Aged Werewolf."

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