Ein Hauch von Himmel

In the tradition of Highway To Heaven the Creator/Deity has a trio of angels sent down to earth to give a little comfort and cheer to folks down on their luck. I guess with the death of Michael Landon somebody decided to take up the slack and create a show along the same lines which ran for 8 years.

Using phrases like young and old seem meaningless when you're talking about eternity, but in relative terms old and wise angel Della Reese serves as friend and mentor to Roma Downey a fairly new angel on the job. When someone is about to enter eternity John Dye who is an angel of death is called in as well.

The stories ran just about like Highway To Heaven stories did. A possibly more liberal bent to them. I recall one episode where the angels comfort a man afflicted with AIDS. A disease purportedly restricted to gays and drug addicts. You'd have never seen that on the Landon show.

Of course Della Reese sang in several episodes. Those were a special treat. It's doing well in circulation and may it continue to do so.

Roma Downey, John Dye, and Della Reese star in the best show on television today. I especially like Roma Downey and John Dye. This was a message oriented series that deals with a different subject with each different episode they make. Seeing who will be guest starring is always a thrill like seeing Randy Travis, Bill Cosby, and others who have been gone from TV for awhile and those who are different TV shows.

I have so many favorite episodes that I have like 'Til We Meet Again' but my favorite episode is the 100th episode with guest stars Wynona and Celine Dion. I wish I could have seen more of Celine Dion and Wynona in future episodes because they were fantastic.

"Touched By An Angel" is a show that should never have gone off the air because it was a show that not only touches everyone watching it but the guest stars who have acted on it. It is as if this show has a special gift for touching and uplifting people that are surrounded by the show.

My favorite character was the 'Angel Of Death' Andrew, played by John Dye, because he just doesn't take the dying away; he makes sure the dying understand why they are going to heaven. Everybody I know that watch this show doesn't have one negative word to say about it.

"Touched By An Angel" was so touching that it made me want to do one of two things: become an angel like Monica, Tess, or Andrew, and be on the receiving end of their help.

I resisted watching this show for the first few years: too syrupy, too Christian (I'm Jewish), but once I got started (season 3) I was hooked. Yeah, it's predictable, manipulative, extremely Christian(even on the episodes which feature Jewish characters!), but I love it. I can't wait for Monica to glow and say, in that delightful brogue: God loves you so much! However, I think the show 'jumped the shark' when it introduced Valerie Bertinelli as 'Gloria'. She is totally annoying, and unnecessary to the stories. I might have liked her as a guest angel, but enough of her already. As far as the Jewish thing, I'm no expert, but I think that angels sent from God to Jews would not say 'God loves you'. Our relation to God is different than that. Maybe 'God knows you are trying your best' would be more appropriate. Still, I love this show, and now that it's been cancelled, I can't wait for the full set on DVD.

...I have to admit, every time I accidentally turn into this show (re: I never intentionally seek it out, but always run across it while channel surfing) I always leave it on. Now, mind you, I have very little faith in the existence of God or, God forbid (natch), angels, I can't help but feel a little, well..."touched" at the end of every episode. I've seen about a half dozen episode in all the years it's been on, and it is a worthwhile show. You would have to be completely fanatical about the NON-existence of God and angels to hate this show, since it doesn't offend, but just tries to offer good thoughts.

I'll be short and sweet. "Touched By An Angel" is a beautifully written, wonderfully acted, and fascinating to watch show. There are no "bad" episodes. The show received a very successful and very deserved nine year run.

I have made errors in judging in the past about the quality of various shows, but of this I am certain. "Touched By An Angel" is my second favorite show of all time. (Second only to the beautiful, short-lived "Once and Again".)God has truly inspired everyone involved with this show. May God bless them all!