Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 2.22 “Sail Away”

Posted on October 24, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

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, Jonathan helps a novelist get in touch with his long-passed muse. He also helps him repair his relationship with his grandson before it’s time to move on.

Episode 2.22 “Sail Away”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on April 2nd, 1986)

Two novelists travel to a remote island.

Frank Worton (Lew Ayres) grew up on the island and was inspired to write a series of paperback romances based on his love for a girl named Jenna. Sadly, Jenna died when Frank was a teenager and his books were his way of trying to get continue their relationship, if just in his imagination.

Todd Worton (David Einser) is Frank’s grandson. Todd writes 3,000 words a day and is very strict about his routine. He’s never written anything as successful as his grandfather’s pulpy romances and he feels that his grandfather has never respected his work. What Todd doesn’t realize is that Frank feels the same way about him.

When they travel to the Island, Frank starts to act strangely. He moves into the abandoned house where Jenna lived and claims that it still looks the same as it did when he was a young man. At one point, he thinks that he sees Jenna walking along the beach. Is he going senile or is he being haunted by a ghost?

Or is he being prepared for death? Jonathan and Mark are running a ferry service, taking people to and from the Island. (I can understand Jonathan knowing how to do all of this, as he’s an angel. But how does Mark casually go from job to job? That man’s resume must be a mess at this point.) Just as he did with Eli Wallach a few episodes ago, Jonathan is preparing Frank to move on. By the end of the episode, Frank is boarding a sailboat and heading off with his beloved Jenna. But not before Todd reads the last novel that Frank wrote about Jenna and Frank reads the novel that Todd wrote about him. The two finally make peace and Jonathan, in voice-over, tells us that both books became best sellers.

Awwww! What a sweet episode. This episode is largely a showcase for Lew Ayres and he definitely delivers, giving a heartfelt performance as a man haunted by his past. If you don’t cry when he gets on that boat, you don’t have a heart and you might want to get that checked out. You need a heart to live or so they tell me.

In the end, this is an episode that will make you want to sail away. And while Highway to Heaven has never exactly been known as a subtle show (and I imagine that was by design), I am somewhat impressed at the restraint it must have taken to not include Styx’s Come Sail Away on the soundtrack.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 2.21 “The Torch”

Posted on October 17, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, its the most shocking episode of Highway to Heaven yet!

Episode 2.21 “The Torch”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on March 12th, 1986)

Everett Salomon (Herschel Bernardi) is a Holocaust survivor who has become wealthy and successful in the United States. In poor health and in need of a heart transplant, Everett spends most of his time giving speeches about his experiences in the concentration camp. He is disturbed by the rise in Holocaust denialism and has dedicated his remaining years to battling the scourge of Neo-Nazism. In a disturbing scene that brings to mind the horrible images of the October 7 attacks, a Nazi named Cal (Robert O’Reilly) sneaks onto Everett’s property in the middle of the night and murders his dog.

Cal is a follower of Jan Baldt (Paul Koslo), a Neo-Nazi and a Holocaust denier who has turned his basement into a shooting range so that he and his buddies can fire their guns at pictures of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Moshe Dayan. Jan is consumed by hate and he’s teaching that hate to his young son, Rolf (played by a very, very young Mark-Paul Gosselaar). While Jan rants about conspiracies and bankers, Rolf cleans the guns in the basement.

At a Nazi rally, Jan’s speech is interrupted by Everett’s son, Joseph (David Kaufman). Cal proceeds to make his way through the crowd and ends up shooting Joseph dead. When Everett hears the news, he has a heart attack and is rushed to the hospital by two paramedics, Jonathan Smith and Mark Gordon. Meanwhile, while Jan and Cal celebrate in their basement, Rolf picks up a submachine gun and, not realizing it’s loaded, pulls the trigger and guns both men down.

Everett finally gets the heart transplant that he’s needed ever since he was first liberated from the camps. Unfortunately, that heart comes from Jan Baldt. At first, Everett refuses to accept the heart but then the ghosts of his parents and of Joseph appear to him and tell him that he has to continue to live and let people know the truth about what happened in the camps.

Later, Everett leaves the hospital and tells the reporters waiting outside that he will never be silent.

This seems to be one of the episodes of Highway to Heaven that anyone who has ever watched the show remembers. Because the show is usually rather gentle and non-violent, this episode can be a rather jarring viewing experience. The first time I saw it, the only thing that stunned me more than Joseph’s death was the subsequent deaths of Jan and Cal. The episode ends on an uplifting note but I always find myself wondering what happened to Rolf. Without his father around to brainwash him, will Rolf be able to learn something other than hate? Or is it too late for him? Is Rolf damned to follow in his father’s footsteps?

With the current rise of anti-Semitism, this episode still feels incredibly relevant. There’s really not much difference between Jan Baldt’s rants and the stuff currently being spewed by Nick Fuentes, Candace Owens, and Brianna Joy Gray. This episode reminds us that “never again” has to be more than just a catch phrase.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 2.20 “Summit”

Posted on October 10, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Jonathan and Mark do their bet to save the world from nuclear annihilation. Good for them!

Episode 2.20 “Summit”

(Dir by Dan Gordon, originally aired on March 5th, 1986)

Maria Malinoff (Eda Reiss Merlin), a Russian immigrant, is dying. Before she dies, she wants to see her son one last time.

The good news is that her son, Andrey Malinoff (Nehemiah Persoff), is currently in the United States. Even better, Mark and Jonathan have been assigned to let Andrey know that his mother wants to see him and to convince him to set aside his bitterness and see her.

The bad news is that Andrey is now the deputy premier of Russia and the reason why he’s in the United States is to attend a summit with the President (voiced by Frank Welker). Andrey is a communist who doesn’t believe in angels or American exceptionalism!

Mark and Jonathan are able to get jobs as waiters for the summit. (It helps that there is another angel working at Camp David.) They are even able to get Andrey away from his handlers long enough to take him to see his mother. Andrey is convinced that Jonathan and Mark are with the CIA and their whole “mission” is a trick to keep him from attending the summit. Mark dislikes Andrey because he’s a Russian and he think his country is superior to America. Jonathan dislikes Andrey because he’s abrasive and refuses, at first, to accept that Maria is his mother.

Eventually, though, Maria starts to talk about what Andrey was like as a child. Realizing that she is who she says she is, Andrey sits with his mother and talks to her until she passes away. Then, he returns to the summit a (slightly) changed man. He may still be a communist but at least now he knows the meaning of the word compassion. Mark takes a few minutes to ask Andrey and the President to work out their differences, explaining that everyone in the world is scared of nuclear war. The President, who is heard but not seen, is touched by Mark’s plea and agrees to have a long conversation about peace with Andrey.

Having apparently brought about world peace, Mark and Jonathan head off to their next assignment.

This episode — which was one of the few to be directed by neither Michael Landon nor Victor French — just felt silly, especially when compared to the strong episodes that came before it. Nehemiah Persoff does a lot of blustering in the role of Andrey but he never convinces us of the character’s emotions or his transformation. As an anti-communist, I enjoyed listening to Mark insult the Russians but otherwise, this well-meaning episode was a definite misfire.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 2.19 “Heaven on Earth”

Posted on October 3, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, things get a little bit sad on the highway to Heaven.

Episode 2.19 “Heaven on Earth”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on February 26th, 1986)

Now, this episode made me cry!

While visiting an amusement park on their day off, Jonathan and Mark come across a lost six year-old girl named Sarah (Morgan Nagler). Jonathan offers to take Sarah to the park’s security office but Sarah says that she’s not allowed to go anywhere with a stranger. After explaining that he’s a former cop and knows how to deal with lost children, Mark asks Sarah for the name of her mother. After learning that Sarah’s mother is named Nancy, Mark goes to the security office and has them page her. Soon, Sarah and Nancy are reunited. Yay!

Later, as they drive through the desert, Mark and Jonathan are nearly run off the road by a drunk driver. A few moments later, they come across an auto accident. The owner of a jeep swerved to avoid the drunk and instead crashed into a station wagon. Jonathan suddenly tells Mark that they should leave but Mark walks up to the overturned car and discovers that it was being driven by Nancy. Nancy survived the accident but Sarah did not.

Broken-hearted, Mark blames himself. He tells Jonathan that, if he hadn’t been so eager to show off, Sarah and Nancy wouldn’t have left the park when they did and they wouldn’t have been in the car accident. Mark pulls the car over to the side of the road and tells Jonathan to get out. Jonathan reluctantly does so and Mark drives off.

Mark drives until the car runs out of a gas on the outskirts of a small town. The proprietor of a local store tells Mark that the town’s pretty much been dead since the new turnpike was built. There are two gas stations but they’re both closed on Wednesday because the owners like to go fishing together. Reluctantly, Mark goes to the local boarding house and asks for a room for the night.

Mark is shown his room by a helpful girl named Wendy (Alyson Croft). Inside his room, Mark spots a picture of Wendy with Sarah and realizes that Jonathan led him to the boarding house. Later, at dinner, Mark meets Wendy’s father, a divinity student named Tom Ward (Michael Anderson, Jr.) When Wendy goes to call her friend Sarah to find out how the amusement park was, Mark can only sit in silence as Wendy tells her father that Sarah’s family wants to speak to him. Without telling Wendy why, Tom says that he has to go to Sarah’s house. He tells Wendy to get to bed early and then he leaves with his wife and their infant son.

Mark goes back to his room. Wendy pops in and to give him a heater because the furnace is broken. Unfortunately, the heater is also broken and makes an annoying clicking sound. Mark angrily kicks it over before going for a walk.

While standing outside of a church, Mark hears the sirens of fire engines. The Ward house is on fire! The firemen manage to get out Wendy’s grandmother but they say there’s no way to rescue anyone else. Mark rushes into the house, determined to save Wendy. And …. he promptly faints.

When he awakens, he’s with Jonathan. Jonathan says that “the boss” has decided to give Mark the chance to play God. Mark says that he wants everything he wishes to be true and that he wants all of his mistakes to be corrected as if they never happened.

As a result, the town is suddenly thriving but the proprietor of the now 24-hour gas station is dead as a result of having worked himself to death. Wendy is alive but, because Mark wished for her to have everything she ever wanted, she’s now a spoiled brat. And Sarah….

When Mark demands to see Sarah, Jonathan takes him to the cemetery and shows him that Sarah is still dead. Jonathan explains that Sarah’s death was not his fault. It was the fault of the drunk driver and there was nothing Mark could have done to save her.

Mark awakens in the burning house. Not only does he manage to save Wendy’s life but, once he’s released from the hospital’s burn unit, he and Jonathan once again hit the highway….

This was a good episode, though I have to say that the Wards were a lot more forgiving about Mark burning down their house than I would have been. This episode worked largely due to Victor French’s heartfelt performance as Mark. Watching him, it was impossible not to feel his pain. In the end, the message was a good one, though I do think it would have been nice to see the drunk driver punished for his actions.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 2.18 “To Bind The Wounds”

Posted on September 26, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Jonathan and Mark invade people’s dreams.

Episode 2.18 “To Bind The Wounds”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on February 19th, 1986)

Timothy Charles (Eli Wallach) sits in a cemetery, the only person to show up for the burial of his son, Timothy Charles, Jr. The younger Charles died nearly twenty years earlier, while serving as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. Only recently have his remains been returned to the U.S.A.

The elder Charles is himself a veteran and lives in an airplane graveyard that sits in the desert. He served in World War II. The United States won World War II and Timothy Charles was celebrated as a hero. The United States lost Vietnam and, as a result, most people want to pretend like it never happened and ignore the sacrifice of men like Timothy Charles, Jr.

Jonathan and Mark show up at the funeral. Though he doesn’t know them, the elder Timothy Charles is touched by their presence and invites them back to his airplane. The elder Charles, bitter about how his son has been forgotten, wishes there was some way he could memorialize him. Jonathan and Mark suggest setting up a scholarship.

Unfortunately, a scholarship requires money and none of the wealthy people in town are willing to contribute. They all want to forget the trauma of the war. So, Jonathan and Mark pop up in their dreams and show them what a hero Timothy Charles, Jr. (played by Moosie Drier, Jr.) truly was. They agree to set up the scholarship. At the announcement ceremony, the elder Charles gives a heartfelt speech thanking them.

Timothy Charles, Sr. returns to his airplane. Suddenly, the plane is flying into heaven and his son is sitting beside him. Awwwww!

As I mentioned two weeks ago, I’m binging Highway to Heaven while in an emotional state. My father died in the early morning hours of August 19th and I’m still very much in mourning. As a result, while the logical side of me can watch this show and realize that it’s shamelessly sentimental and manipulative, the emotional side of me doesn’t care. Eli Wallach was a great actor who had a tendency to go a bit overboard. There’s nothing subtle about his performance here. And the ending, with father and son literally flying to Heaven, was absolutely shameless. But dammit, it made me cry.

And, to be honest, this episode makes an important point. The people in Timothy’s town are reluctant to honor him because he served in an unpopular war that America lost. It’s similar to the attitude that a lot of people now seem to have to those who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. One sees it in the relentless gaslighting about the disastrous withdraw from Afghanistan and the refusal to honor the 13 service members killed at Abbey Gate. Instead of holding our leaders to account, the American people often seem to blame those who served. Hopefully, someday, that will change.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 2.17 “The Last Assignment”

Posted on September 19, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, it’s time for a theological debate!

Episode 2.17 “The Last Assignment”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on February 12th, 1986)

While he and Mark drive through another run-down American city, a radio news report of a man dressed as Santa Claus giving people exactly what they ask for even though it’s not even Christmas leads Jonathan to suspect that Harold might be in the area. As Jonathan explains to Mark, Harold is an angel who has been on probation for hundreds of years because he can’t obey the rules. Instead of encouraging people to find it in themselves to do the right thing and to create their own opportunities, Harold just gives people exactly what they want. If Jonathan is all about teaching people to have faith no matter what, Harold is about creating sudden miracles.

It’s actually an interesting plot, in that it really does capture one of the central debates at the heart of any religion. Should God just give people what they want or should people’s faith in God give them the strength to understand and pursue what they truly need? It’s the battle between those who take a vow of poverty and show their devotion through sacrifice and suffering and those who preach the so-called prosperity gospel, insisting that God is some sort of celestial regulatory agency.

(It’s also a reflection of the ongoing debate as to how involved the government should get in other people’s lives. Jonathan argues for a hands-off approach that respects and promotes the idea of individual freedom. Harold, for his part, seems to be a big government guy. Jonathan supports encouraging people to pull themselves up. Harold supports hand-outs. Jonathan is a Republican. Harold probably wants to be Bernie Sanders’s guardian angel.)

Jonathan tracks down Harold (Ed Asner). Harold has opened a fire hydrant and turned water into wine, making all of the neighborhood alcoholics vey happy. Harold says that he performed a miracle and gave the people what they wanted. Jonathan argues that the people needed to learn that they had the power within themselves to find their own happiness. Taking it upon himself to keep an eye on Harold, Jonathan can only watch as Harold bends the rules to help a woman sell her stamp collection for $500 and also reunites an older woman with her lost dog. Jonathan says that Harold isn’t teaching anyone anything or helping anyone to discover their inner strength. Harold argues that he’s helping out the faithful. But when Jonathan and Harold meet a priest who has lost his faith, both of their approaches are put to the test.

Theological debates aside, it’s obvious that the main point of this episode was to give Ed Asner a showy role. Asner makes the most of Harold, playing him as someone who may pretend to be a buffoon but who actually truly cares about people and who is truly angered by what he views as being cosmic injustice and holy indifference. Asner and Landon both give good performances here and, as a result, the rather episodic story is always watchable. The show may ultimately come down on Jonathan’s side but you’re still happy when it becomes clear that Harold isn’t going to change his ways for a second.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 2.16 “Keep Smiling”

Posted on September 12, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week’s episode made me cry.

Episode 2.16 “Keep Smiling”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on February 5th, 1986)

One night, seven year-old me asked my mom, “After someone dies, will they be able to come back to visit us?”

My mom told me that they would but that we wouldn’t be able to see them. But we would know that they were there. We would feel it in our hearts. And maybe we would see them in our dreams.

I relate this anecdote because I think it’s important to understand my current state of mind as I watch and review this show. My mom passed away nearly 16 years ago. My Dad passed away nearly a month ago. I’m still very much in mourning right now. My logical side can look at an episode of Highway to Heaven and say that it was an extremely sentimental and, at times, rather manipulative show. But my emotional side, the side that leads with my heart and that hopes to see my mom and dad every night in my dreams, that side watches this show in tears.

And there’s nothing wrong with that. Sometimes, it’s important to cry. For someone like me, who tends to put up walls whenever I’m upset, watching a show like this can actually be very helpful.

This week’s episode features Jonathan and Mark helping out Jane Thompson (Dorothy McGuire), a lonely widow who has never really gotten over the death of her husband, Arthur. Arthur died of lung cancer nearly forty years ago. Now, Jane lives alon in their house. It’s been a while since even her daughter has come to visit. Jonathan and Mark stop by the house, looking to rent out Jane’s spare room. Jane says she would prefer a woman to be her roommate. Jonathan says he understands and then tells her, “Keep smiling.” Hearing the phrase causes Jane to change her mind about renting the room to Jonathan and Mark. “Keep smiling,” was something that Arthur always used to say.

That’s because, before he became an angel, Jonathan was Arthur Thompson! (Jonathan explains to Mark that angels come back in a “different form” than how they appeared when they died.) While Jonathan tries to cheer up the depressed Jane and get her to embrace life, Mark tries to convince Jane’s daughter to pay her a visit. When Mark doesn’t have any luck, Jonathan throws on a white jacket and a pair of ray-bans and, pretending to be a gigolo, he tells his daughter that he’s going to marry Jane for her money. That may sound a little extreme but hey, it works!

This episode made me cry. What can I say? Right now, emotionally, I’m just at a point where anything that is sentimental and well-acted will bring tears to my eyes. This show may be a tad manipulative but, at its best, there’s an aching sincerity to this show that simply cannot be dismissed. Sometimes, that type of sincerity is exactly what is needed.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 9/1/24 — 9/7/24

Posted on September 7, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’ve been getting ready for our annual October horrorthon so, this week, I binged a few of the shows that I review for the Shattered Lens and I wrote up several weeks’s worth of reviews. If nothing else, I can proudly say that I’ve got reviews of CHiPs, Degrassi Junior High, Malibu CA, and Highway to Heaven all ready to go for the next two months.

On Friday night, I watched an episode of Night Flight that featured music videos from David Bowie. The music was great. Though it wasn’t featured on the episode, I found myself singing Heroes while I watched it.

On Saturday morning, Jeff and I watched an episode of Homicide: Life on the Streets, which is currently streaming on Peacock. The episode featured Robin Williams as a man whose wife was gunned down in front of him and who found himself disgusted by the seemingly callous attitude of the detective investigating the crime. This is a show that I’ve heard a lot about and one which I’ve been told I should consider reviewing for this site. The episode that I saw was really good so I might have to do just that.

I haven’t really watched that much television over the past few months. In fact, I went a few weeks without watching a single thing, which is one reason why there’s been a few weeks where I didn’t even have a reason to post a Week In Television. All of my focus was on taking care of my father. I have a lot that I now need to get caught up on and I shall. It might take a while but as James Bond told Tracy at their wedding, “We have all the time in the world.”

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 2.15 “Change of Life”

Posted on September 5, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, things get freaky, as in Friday.

Episode 2.15 “Change of Life”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on January 29th, 1986)

Once again, Jonathan and Mark find themselves in Hollywood. It’s interesting just how many of Jonathan’s heavenly assignments involved helping a film or television star feel better about life. Given that Michael Landon was heavily involved in the show as a producer, director, writer, and star, I’ve usually assumed that the Hollywood episodes were his way of dealing with his own possibly conflicted feelings about being a part of the entertainment industry.

(Interestingly, the Hollywood episodes always seem to take place in a sort of old-fashioned fantasy of Hollywood, where anyone can become a star and where westerns and historical epics were still being shot on studio backlots.)

This time, Jonathan and Mark find themselves assigned to work with actress Linda Blackwell (Anne-Marie Martin). Jonathan is her new bodyguard and Mark is her hairdresser. Mark totally freaks out when he discovers that he’s not only going to have to cut hair but that God has lied and provided him with a fake beauty school diploma. Everyone, including Linda and head of studio security Sam Quigley (Greg Mullavey), assumes that Mark and Jonathan are a couple. Jonathan is amused by it but Mark freaks out.

(Seriously, though, Mark and Jonathan are two single, middle-aged men who drive around the country and regularly rent apartments together. What does Mark think everyone’s been assuming for the last years and a half?)

Anyway, Mark thinks that being a woman is easy. Linda thinks that men spend all of their time being pigs. No sooner can you say “Freaky Friday” then the lights have switched on-and-off and Mark and Linda have switched bodies. Mark discovers what it’s like to be objectified and Linda discovers that Sam isn’t a jerk but instead, he’s a sensitive guy who wants to marry her.

It’s a pretty simple episode, even by the standards of Highway to Heaven. There’s a bit too much gay panic humor, with Mark overreacting to such an extent that it’s hard not to wonder if maybe there’s some truth to what everyone is assuming. But, on the plus side, both Victor French and Anne-Marie Martin do a good job portraying Mark and Linda, both before and after they switch bodies. There’s nothing at all subtle about Victor French’s performance here but, considering that his usual role on Highway to Heaven was to be kind of gruff and stoic, it’s a nice change-of-pace to see him not only doing physical comedy but also showing himself to be fairly adept at it.

The episode ends with both Mark and Linda back in their original bodies. Linda marries Sam. As for Mark, he mentions that cows never have to worry about any of the stuff that humans do. Uh-oh, Mark, don’t give God any ideas….

TOO LATE!

The episode ends with Mark, who is driving, mooing while a cow chases after Mark and Jonathan’s car. God apparently enjoys playing little tricks on Mark. Hopefully, the car didn’t end up crashing.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 2.14 “Close Encounters of the Heavenly Kind”

Posted on July 11, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

There’s really not much to say about this episode.

Episode 2.14 “Close Encounters of the Heavenly Kind”

(Dir by Victor French, originally aired on January 15th, 1986)

Adam (Jerry Supiran) is a kid who lives with his grandfather, Harvey (Harold J. Stone). Unless Harvey can find a real job, Adam is going to be put in foster care. Harvey is a self-taught electrician but, since he never graduated high school, no one is willing to take a chance on him.

One night, a meteorite crashes into the Earth. When Adam rides his bike out to the impact area, he sees Jonathan and Mark stepping out of the crater. Though Jonathan and Mark just happened to be driving by and decided to investigate the meteorite on their own, Adam assumes that they’re aliens. Jonathan lets him assume that as he and Mark go on to help Harvey find a job and also help Adam to find the courage to stand up to his bullies.

Especially when compared to last week’s episode, this was all pretty bland. Jerry Spurian was one of those child actors who overemoted with every line while Harold J. Stone comes across as just being cranky and disagreeable. This felt like a throw-away episode and there’s really not much else to be said about it.

(How’s that for a short review? Sorry, there’s not much to say about this one.)