Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Highway to Heaven, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1989. The entire show is currently streaming on Freevee and several other services!
This week, Highway to Heaven begins its second season with a two-part episode.
Episodes 2.1 and 2.2 “A Song For Jason”
(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on September 18th and September 25th, 1985)
Well, this is certainly a tear jerker.
The two-part second season opener of Highway to Heaven finds Jonathan and Mark assigned to work at Camp Good Times, an actual summer camp for children who have cancer. And while Jonathan is, as usual, enthusiastic about the assignment, Mark responds by begging to be allowed to sit this one out. Jonathan’s response is to tell Mark to stop feeling sorry for himself and to help the kids. Mark starts to walk away from his friendship with Jonathan until he runs into one of the kids, Jason (Joshua John Miller, whose best-known work as an actor might be as the scary child vampire in Near Dark). Jason basically repeats the same thing that Jonathan said, telling Mark that he needs to stop feeling sorry for himself. Mark realizes that if a kid like Jason can be brave in the face of cancer then the least Mark can do is spend a summer as a camp counselor.
(Adding a bit of poignance to all this is that both Victor French and Michael Landon would die of cancer five years after this episode aired.)
Jason is the son of rock star Miki Winner (Barry Williams — yes, Greg Brady). Miki is always finding excuse not to spend any time with his sick son. Maybe Jonathan can change his mind.
But that’s not all!
Curtis (played by a ten year-old Giovanni Ribisi in his acting debut) is scared to death to go outside, a result of his overprotective mother (Robin Riker) constantly harping on the fact that he could die at any minute. Can Jonathan help Curtis have fun while encouraging his mom to let Curtis be a kid?
Teenage jock Gary (Brian Lane Green) has bone cancer and might lose his leg. Can he got over his bitterness and get a date with camp counselor Trish (Jill Carroll)?
And will Mark finally realize that there is hope to be found in even the most dire of situations?
(The answer to all of that is yes but you probably already guessed that.)
Even by the standards of Highway to Heaven, this episode was a bit heavy-handed, without a subtle moment to be found. Barry Williams is as unconvincing a rock star here as he was on The Brady Bunch Variety Hour. Some of the kids were better actors than others. It’s also hard not to feel that the story could have been told in just one episode. The first part, especially, feels a bit padded. That said, it all still brought tears to my mismatched eyes because, seriously, how couldn’t it? This is one of those episodes where the show’s earnestness and sincerity really worked to its advantage. The episode is so heartfelt that it feels rather churlish to be too nit-picky about it. In the end, flaws and all, the episode works.
Add to that, if you can’t enjoy the scene where Jonathan disguises himself as a barber and shaves a bully’s head, I don’t know what to tell you.
Through the Shattered Lens 
Orthodox Judaism FAQ • Answers to frequently asked questions on Judaism
To keep shabbat requires knowledge how to distinguish shabbat from the week day. This discerning in the language of Hebrew “הבדלה”. The Torah commands not to work. Translations hides a multitude of sins. The word “work” expressed as מלאכה: skilled labor and עבודה: unskilled labor. The bible translations “broad brush” of “work” conceals this subtle distinction. The Talmud studies how different languages say the same thing. Examine the Targum Onkelos and witness a masterpiece by which a scholar makes a Hebrew/Aramaic 1:1 translation.
The study of this Targum assists all generations of “down stream” pupils to learn the Aramaic employed by the Talmud Bavli. Aramaic employs the clause: “מאי נפקא מינא”, which asks the question: “What’s the differerence”. The study of the Torah commandments, all 613 Torah commandments, most essentially requires making this מאי נפקא מינא which transforms positive & negative commandments – which do not require k’vanna; to tohor time oriented commandments, which do require k’vanna.
Why do Jews not believe in JeZeus even after all he did; and he said if you don’t believe in me you’ll go to Hell for eternity. Did Jesus lie? Is Gehinnom eternal? Do Jews not believe what he says? Why for 2000+ years have the Jewish people abhorred and decried belief in JeZeus as a false messiah avoda zarah?
New Testament theology = revisionist history. However T’nach does not teach history, despite historical/conservative Judaism narishkeit. The T’NaCH defines prophesy as a tohor persons who commands mussar.
Witchcraft, by stark contrast, a tumah false prophet predicts the future. Hence the New Testament (Roman counterfeit) declares that JeZeus fulfilled the words of the prophets. Proof that the New Testament promotes false prophet theologies. False prophet theologies defined as a predetermined creed/dogma which dictates what and how people should believe in God as an act of faith.
The Torah defines the tohor concept of faith as: Justice, Justice pursue. Based upon the cruel corrupt and oppressive Courts of king Par’o who withheld straw to Israelite slaves and who ordered the overseers to beat without mercy Israelites for their failure to meet the quota of bricks imposed upon these Israelite slaves. Based upon the conditions where Par’o supplied the Hebrews with the straw they required to make bricks their quota of bricks.
Yitro commanded a strong mussar to Moshe when he saw Moshe all alone judge the disputes between the people. Justice defined as the power of common law courtrooms to make fair restitution of damages inflicted upon Jews by other Jews.
Muhammad pulled the exact same rabbit out of his tumah magic-hat. The Koran rhetoric repeats prophet, prophet, prophet Ad infinitum, yet never defines – from the Torah – the term prophet. The Gospels did the exact same tumah Abracadabra, with the ((to quote Baba Kama: “Mountain hanging by a hair”)), the Pie in the Sky term of: Love.
T’NaCH prophets command mussar. Why? Because mussar applies straight across the board to all generations of bnai brit Israel. A bnai brit Israel grows the תוכחה\mussar rebuke within our hearts.
We grow and nurture this mussar within us. And these “tohor spirits” (based upon the revelation of the שם השם לשמה) they live within our hearts. They cause bnai brit Israel to dedicate defined tohor middot (‘ה’ ה’ אל רחום וחנון וכו, also known as the Oral Torah revelation at Horev) in all our future social interactions with our family, neighbours & people.
Hence the spirituality known as: the baali t’shuva. Mesechta Sanhedrin of the Talmud learns the mitzva of Moshiach tied to the mitzva of baali t’shuva. Based upon Moshe and the burning bush confrontation. Wherein Moshe vocally opposed to go down unto Egypt to bring Israel out from judicial oppression slavery. Yet Moshe, as a baali t’shuva descended unto Egypt and brought Israel unto freedom. Moshe serves as the Torah model for the mitzva of Moshiach. Moshe did not build a Catholic assimilated Cathedral as did king Shlomo. King Shlomo worshipped avoda zarah.
Moshe struggled to build the small sanhedrin Federal courts on the far side of the Jordan river. When king David, based upon the mussar commanded by the prophet Natan, commanded his son Shlomo to build the Beit HaMikdash, he had no such k’vanna for king Shlomo to assimilate and copy the customs manners and ways of the Goyim, who reject the revelation of the Torah at Sinai, and who build Cathedral Temples throughout the annuls of Human History. The k’vanna of the Moshiach to build the Beis HaMikdash learns from Moshe Rabbeinu who established the small Sanhedrin Federal Courtrooms in 3 of the Cities of Refuge on the other side of the Jordan river.
The mitzva of Moshiach constitutes as a tohor time oriented commandment; applicable to all generations of the Jewish people, just like tefillah stands in the stead of korbanot. All tohor time oriented commandments, applicable to all the Jewish people. All tohor time oriented commandments stand upon the foundation\יסוד of “fear of Heaven”.
This foundation of pursuit of judicial justice requires that a baali t’shuva dedicates a tohor middah. Which tohor middah does the mitzva of Moshiach require as its holy defining dedication to שם השם לשמה? The middah dedication to restore the lateral Sanhedrin Federal common law courts across the Torah Constitutional Republic.
Mesechta קידושין teaches that tohor time oriented commandments as applicable to women qualifies as a רשות option. If women choose to place tefillen or read from a Sefer Torah these tohor time oriented commandments come within the רשות of their Will. The NaCH kabbalah בנין אב precedent for this Talmudic ruling, the story of D’vora & Barack fighting together to defeat the Army of Sisera.
The oath sworn alliance, known as “brit”, (like as found in בראשית\ברית אש, ראש בית, ב’ ראשית), this key Torah term means “alliance” and also “Republic”. The 12 Tribes forged this oath brit alliance which established the First Commonwealth of the Torah Constitutional Republic of the 12 Tribes. Based upon the Torah precedent, (known in Hebrew as בנין אב) upon Moshe anointing Aaron and his House as Moshiach.
Aaron dedicates korbanot. A korban sacrifice does not at all represent a barbeque unto Heaven. To dedicate a korban requires swearing a Torah oath. Just as to cut a brit לשם השם לשמה requires swearing a Torah oath. Just as the Shemone Esrei standing tefillah requires the k’vanna to swear a Torah oath through the dedication of one or more defined tohor middot.
The mitzva of Moshiach, a mitzva applicable to all generations of Israel. Just as tefillah and the mitzva of shabbat applicable to all generations of Israel.
The revisionist history of Xtian avoda zarah lacks the wisdom to discern between T’NaCH/Talmudic common law from Roman statute law. This tumah avoda zarah has witnessed oppression and cruelty that far surpasses the evil ways of Par’o and the Egyptians. This false prophet false messiah based religion proves the Gospel declaration of: “By their fruits you shall know them.”
The church stands guilty of the Shoah blood of Caine: Inquisition, 3 Century ghetto war crimes, annual blood libel slanders etc etc etc.
LikeLike
Pingback: Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 3/17/24 — 3/23/24 | Through the Shattered Lens
Pingback: Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 3/18/24 — 3/24/24 | Through the Shattered Lens