HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN: HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN {PARTS 1 AND 2} {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The premiere of this fantasy series about an angel named Jonathan, who helps people in trouble, and his human sidekick, Mark, a former police officer.
A man walks down a desolate desert highway and is denied a ride by an old man in his truck. The truck suddenly breaks down, and the man repairs it almost instantly. The old man changes his mind and offers him a ride. He introduces himself to the old man as Jonathan, and that he is going to visit the Havencrest retirement home to see “old friends.” He enters Havencrest to find its residents in a state of near-motionless lethargy, and overhears the director, Mr. Haskins, planning to oust one of the seniors since their family can’t keep up with their scheduled bills. Jonathan approaches him to apply for a position at Havencrest as a gardener and maintenance worker. The director is suspicious of Jonathan but hires him after Jonathan offers to work without pay for his first month. Jonathan speaks with Leslie, one of the staff, and learns that the seniors rarely go outside and are not visited by relatives particularly often. While making repairs he talks with Estelle, one of the residents, who complains about living alongside other elderly people and claims that she is leaving to live with her daughter’s family in a few weeks.
Jonathan takes the opportunity to plant flowers around the Havencrest grounds, although Mr. Haskins disapproves of this. He remarks to himself that the property is going to be sold and the home torn down. Leslie invites Jonathan into her apartment after work and introduces him to her brother Mark, who lives with her. Mark is in a foul mood, explaining that he was just laid off, and he storms out. That night, Leslie goes out for a walk and encounters Jonathan. She tells him that Mark was fired for getting into a fight, although she is uncertain why it occurred. She also tells him that Mark was a policeman in Oakland for many years and was passionate about his work, but eventually suffered from anger management problems and was fired for use of excessive force and has lived with her for the past five years. Leslie is concerned about her brother, particularly since he has recently developed a drinking habit which could put his life at risk. Jonathan offers to go make sure that Mark is safe. He finds him at a local bar, but Mark asks to be left alone. He starts talking about Leslie, remarking that she has not pursued any romantic relationships in the years since he moved in with her. He laments that “the world stinks” and that his years as a police officer desensitized him to the violence and misery surrounding him.
Mark provokes another bar patron into a fight and they go outside to settle it. Jonathan intervenes and saves Mark, taking him back home. The next morning Jonathan shows up with a pair of bicycles and convinces Leslie to ride to work with him. They arrive to find that the flowers Jonathan planted have grown to full size overnight. Jonathan learns that Havencrest is up for sale and will be torn down, although he is optimistic that this will not come to pass. Jonathan befriends many of the residents and gets them to help out with the gardening as an outdoor group activity. Mr. Haskins upbraids Jonathan, believing that he is putting the old folks at risk unnecessarily. However, Jonathan insists that everyone will be fine, and that it is a good way to alleviate their boredom. Leslie backs him up and Mr. Haskins capitulates. Jonathan decides to hold an outdoor barbeque when he learns that Havencrest’s kitchen ovens have broken down. Leslie informs him that Sidney, one of the residents, is trying to get Estelle out of her room, and that he is infatuated with her.
Estelle rebuffs Sidney’s attempts to get her to come outside as he professes his love for her. She sends him away. Despite her insistence that she be left alone, Estelle seems to be lonely. Mark distrusts Jonathan, believing that he is some sort of con man. Leslie disagrees and asks to be left alone the following night so she can have Jonathan over for dinner. The next day, Jonathan asks Estelle to take care of a puppy for him until her daughter returns to take her out of Havencrest. After some initial reluctance, she agrees, and Jonathan reminds her that she will have to take him outside for walks periodically. Mark, still suspicious of Jonathan, visits a local bicycle shop to inquire if they gave Jonathan any bicycles, but the owner does not recognize his name. At Havencrest, Leslie is surprised to see Estelle out of her room; she is walking the puppy, whom she has named “Poofy.” She has grown quite attached to him, and offers to care for him if Jonathan is away. Leslie asks Jonathan over to her place for dinner and he accepts. Estelle runs into Sidney again and tries to get him to leave her alone, but he attempts to ask her to have dinner with him. She refuses, unwilling to leave Poofy alone, even after Sidney offers to bring dinner to her. He walks off, but Estelle stops him and changes her mind, inviting him over for dinner.
While Jonathan is having dinner with Leslie, Mark takes the opportunity to infiltrate Jonathan’s apartment and look through it. He discovers that the place is virtually empty, lacking in toiletries, food, or extra clothing. Jonathan stops in briefly to pick up sour cream from his apparently empty refrigerator, and Mark reveals himself to confront Jonathan about this. Mark believes that Jonathan’s apparent good will is a front for some sort of criminal endeavor. Jonathan claims that he is an angel working directly for God, and is sent to various places in order to help people. Mark believes Jonathan is insane and forbids him from seeing Leslie. Jonathan claims that he is “new” at being an angel and makes mistakes, although God allows them to occur so that he will learn from them. Mark threatens to call the police on Jonathan, but Jonathan explains that it will do no good and that he has not yet completed his job. Jonathan leaves Mark alone, and Mark is mystified when he checks Jonathan’s refrigerator again and finds a steak, his favorite food. Jonathan returns to Leslie just as she gets off of the phone with Estelle, who informs her that Mr. Haskins has just sold Havencrest and that all its residents will require other accommodations.
Leslie and Jonathan decide to go down to Havencrest to talk with the residents, but Mark leaps out of the bushes to stop them on the way there. They tell him about the situation and he offers to drive them there. The residents of Havencrest feel that they are being discarded and treated with disdain. Estelle admits that her family doesn’t actually want to take her back, and that the other residents are her only friends. Jonathan attempts to convince Mr. Haskins not to go through with the sale, but he does not seem to care about the welfare of the residents. Jonathan wishes to speak to Sinclair, the owner of the building, but Mr. Haskins says that he will not speak to him. Nevertheless, Jonathan pursues him and finds Sinclair in a high-rise office building. Sinclair nearly throws him out, but relents when Jonathan refers to him by a nickname devised by his first love from high school. Jonathan pleads with Sinclair not to sell Havencrest, but he says it is “only business” and he is not concerned about the residents either. Unless Jonathan can raise enough money to purchase the place himself by the next day, Sinclair intends to finalize the sale.
Jonathan ponders what to do about the situation and is visited by Mark. Mark suggests that he use his angelic powers to instantly resolve the situation, but Jonathan says that God will not allow him to do so. While brainstorming, Mark offhandedly suggests betting at a racetrack, and Jonathan mentions that he has foreknowledge of which horses will win but will not do so since God would not approve of gambling. Mark manages to convince him to change his mind, albeit reluctantly. They convince the residents to put up their money for the bet and they all drive down to the track. After examining the horses, Jonathan picks one and instructs everyone to bet on it. The race commences and their plan goes awry when their horse places second instead of first. However, Sidney discovers that their ticket has an incorrect number, that of the winning horse. Thus they win the bet, acquiring enough money to buy out Havencrest from Sinclair, thus making the residents the new joint owners of the property. This allows them to set new, less restrictive rules about their accommodations and activities. They hold a party to celebrate, and Sidney and Estelle share a kiss. Mark finds Jonathan outside, who says that his work is done and he must move on to his next assignment. He convinces Mark to move out of Leslie’s place in order to give her a chance at making a new life for herself. They bid farewell to each other and Jonathan leaves. The next morning, Jonathan is walking along the highway when Mark finds him and pulls up in his car. He offers to accompany Jonathan on his various assignments, hoping to alleviate his loneliness. Jonathan refuses, saying that the decision is not up to him. However, Mark’s car breaks down as he pulls away, and Jonathan interprets this as a sign from God that they should travel together. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:36:41
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:52462
- GENRE: Drama, fantasy/science fiction
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, fantasy/science-fiction; Angels
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1984-1989
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Michael Landon … Executive Producer, Director, Writer
- Kent McCray … Producer
- Marvin Coil … Associate Producer
- Gary Wohlleben … Associate Producer
- David Rose … Music by
- Michael Landon … Cast, Jonathan Smith
- Victor French … Cast, Mark Gordon
- John Bleifer … Cast, Sidney Gould
- Mary McCusker … Cast, Leslie Gordon
- Elizabeth Kerr … Cast, Miss Mattie
- Joe Dorsey … Cast, Sinclair
- Helen Hayes … Cast, Estelle Wicks
- John O'Leary … Cast, Mr. Haskins
- Eddie Quinlan … Cast, Clyde
- Georgia Schmidt … Cast, Loretta
- Charles Lampkin … Cast, Doc
- Stuart Nisbet … Cast, Jake
- Ted Gehring … Cast, Customer
- Tony Epper … Cast, Hal
- Jerry Wills … Cast, Buddy
- Melora Harte … Cast, Waitress
- Kathleen O'Haco … Cast, Arlene
- Stephen Yochem … Cast, Gary Johnson
- Ralph Clift … Cast, Track Teller
- Benjamin Jurand … Cast, Bettor #1
- Kurt Smilosin … Cast, Bettor #2
- Jack Dunlap … Cast, Bartender