Touched by an Angel is an American drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey as an angel named Monica, and Della Reese as her supervisor Tess. Throughout the series, Monica is tasked with bringing guidance and messages from God to various people who are at a crossroads in their lives. From season three onward, they are frequently joined by Andrew (John Dye), the Angel of Death (who first appeared as a recurring character in season two).
Plot The episodes of the series generally revolve around the "cases" of Monica (Roma Downey), an Angel recently promoted from the "search and rescue" division, who works under the guidance of Tess (Della Reese), a sarcastic boss who is sometimes hard on her junior colleague, but is more of a surrogate mother than a supervisor.
Monica in one episode outlines that she started in the choir, then annunciations, followed by search and rescue and then case work. Most cases involve a single person or a group of people who are at a crossroads in their lives and facing a large problem or tough decision. Monica and Tess bring them messages of hope from God and give them guidance to help make decisions. During their first episode, the pair receive a red 1972 Cadillac Eldorado convertible as a gift; they use it for transportation throughout the rest of the series while in the human world, with Tess doing the driving. As the series progresses, Monica continues gaining experience as a case worker and, during some cases must learn lessons of her own.
During the series pilot, an angel of death named Adam is introduced. In the season two premiere, "Interview with an Angel", a new Angel of Death named Henry is introduced. Then in the season two episode entitled "The One That Got Away", Andrew (played by John Dye) is introduced as the Angel of Death. Initially a recurring character, he becomes a main character in season three, making him the permanent Angel of Death for the remainder of the series. The original angel of death, Adam, continued to appear in guest appearances over the next few seasons.
In Season 4, a new angel is introduced named Rafael (Alexis Cruz), who appears throughout the series on a recurring basis, often assisting the main trio (Monica, Tess, and Andrew) in their cases. Rafael is a younger looking angel than the others and thus is occasionally involved in situations involving teenagers and young adults so they can relate to each other. Towards the end of the seventh season, a new angel, Gloria (Valerie Bertinelli), is created by God during one of Monica's assignments, designed to adapt to life on Earth in the 21st century. She becomes a regular character for seasons eight and nine, as a trainee under Monica and Tess's guidance.
In the series finale, Monica is up for promotion to supervisor, pending the outcome of a difficult case in which she must defend Zach (Scott Bairstow), an innocent drifter accused of causing a boiler explosion at a school two years ago in the small town of Ascension, Colorado. The explosion killed most of the children, leaving the citizens devastated. During the case, Monica sees many familiar faces, including Joey Machulis (Paul Wittenburg), one of Monica's previous assignments, who is a witness to the events; his brother Wayne (Randy Travis), who is now sheriff; Sophie (Marion Ross), a formerly homeless acquaintance; and Mike (Patrick Duffy), a lawyer Monica saved during her search and rescue days, who is now the mayor. An out-of-town developer claims Zach is the perpetrator, and despite the lack of evidence, Zach is put on trial. Monica does all she can to help him, including asking Mike to represent him, but the prosecutor in the case, Jones, is really Satan in disguise, and Zach is eventually convicted.
After the trial, Monica is able to help the citizens realize their mistake and to see that Zach's return to the town had helped them finally start living again. They begin going back to church, welcomed by the pastor they had once abandoned. Their change of heart, however, cannot free Zach, so Monica visits him in jail and reveals that she is an angel. She then promises him that she will become his guardian angel, forgoing all future assignments and the coveted promotion, to protect him from harm in prison. When she returns in the morning, however, the cell is empty. The citizens decide not to search for him, and it is revealed that Joey inadvertently caused the explosion after the devil tricked him into turning the boiler too high to warm some kittens he'd found.
The perplexed Monica returns to the desert to find Tess and Zach. There, she learns that Zach was actually God, and that her defending him was a test, which she passed by being willing to sacrifice herself for him. Monica is promoted to supervisor. As she leaves, she says her goodbyes to Gloria, and to Andrew, who gives her a pocket watch to remember their friendship. Before parting, Tess gives Monica the keys to the Cadillac, as she is leaving her job to sit at God's feet. Monica is last shown driving away as the camera pans out over the desert.
Episodes
Cast and characters
Main Roma Downey as Monica, a kind-hearted Irish angel prone to getting in trouble, who is sent town-to-town to encourage people. She appears in all but two episodes. Della Reese as Tess, Monica's tough but loving supervisor. She acts like Monica's mother, often addressing her as "angel girl" or "Miss Wings". She appears in all but three episodes. John Dye as Andrew (main, seasons 3–9; recurring, season 2), an angel of death. Valerie Bertinelli as Gloria (main, seasons 8–9; guest, season 7), an intelligent but naïve and accident-prone Italian American angel made to understand the way of life in the early 21st century.
Recurring Alexis Cruz as Rafael, an angel Ossie Davis as Erasmus Jones and Gabriel, an archangel Jasmine Guy as Kathleen, a fallen angel Celeste Holm as Hattie Greene Wynonna Judd as Audrey Carmichael Eddie Karr as Nathaniel Greene Cloris Leachman as Ruth, an archangel Gerald McRaney as Russell Greene and Dr. Joe Patcherik Wendy Phillips as Claire Greene and Ruth Ann Russell Charles Rocket as Adam, an angel of death Marion Ross as Sophie and Emma Randy Travis as Wayne Machulis and Jed Winslow Paul Winfield as Sam, an archangel and Andrew's supervisor Paul Wittenburg as Joey Machulis
Notable guest stars
The series featured hundreds of guest stars during its run. Those who played other angels or demons included: Bruce Altman as Henry, an angel of death (season 2, episodes 1 & 4) Chris Burke as Taylor, an angel (season 3, episode 26; season 4, episode 2) Bill Cosby as Phil, the angel of restoration (season 3, episode 27; season 5, episode 17) Olympia Dukakis as the music angel Clara in "A Joyful Noise" (Season 3 Episode 1) Keb' Mo' as the angel of music (season 3, episode 27; season 9, episode 9), Isaac (season 6, episode 9),and J.D. Winslow (season 7, episodes 24–25) Mandy Patinkin as Satan (season 7, episode 23) John Schneider as Frank Littleton/Satan (season 2, episode 6) and Joshua Winslow (season 7, episodes 24–25) David Ogden Stiers as Jones/Satan (season 9, episodes 21–22)
Musicians and other non-actors who guest starred included: Maya Angelou (season 2, episode 7) Charlotte Church (season 6, episode 7) Natalie Cole (season 2, episode 7) Bill Gaither (season 7, episode 24) Faith Hill (season 4, episode 1) Kathy Ireland (season 6, episode 3) Wynonna Judd (season 5, episode 10) Naomi Judd (season 6, episode 25) Tara Lipinski (season 5, episode 15) Jo Dee Messina (season 6, episode 9; season 9, episode 7) NSYNC (season 6, episode 7) Renee Olstead (season 4, episode 15) Sally Jessy Raphael (season 2, episode 22) Kenny Rogers (season 6, episode 14) Kerri Strug (season 3, episode 28) Luther Vandross (season 8, episode 20) Montel Williams (season 5, episode 20) Daryle Singletary (season 2, episode 3)
As themselves: Hank Aaron (season 8, episode 2) Muhammad Ali (season 5, episode 24) Nadia Comaneci (season 3, episode 28) Celine Dion (season 5, episode 9) Dr. John (season 2, episode 15) Al Hirt (season 2, episode 15) Al Jarreau (season 2, episode 15) Toby Keith (season 8, episode 7) B. B. King (season 2, episode 15) Rosa Parks (season 5, episode 23) Plus One (season 7, episode 20) Sally Ride (season 5, episode 26)
The show also featured early appearances by many actors who later achieved greater fame, including: Jack Black Bryan Cranston Kirsten Dunst America Ferrera Alyson Hannigan Shia LaBeouf Brie Larson Justina Machado Hayden Panettiere Pedro Pascal Zachary Quinto Jacob Tierney
Canadian broadcast
In 1994, CBC Television picked up the show but 2 years later it did move to CTV Television Network. In 2001, the show in Canada was moved again on Global Television Network.
Production Touched by an Angel was produced by CBS and Moon Water Productions. The network had wanted to do a series about angels after reading a story in Newsweek about how belief in angels was becoming popular. Critic Harold Bloom, among others, noted a cultural awareness of angels around those years that began in 1990 with Sophy Burnham's international bestseller A Book of Angels, and continued with Tony Kushner's 1993 Pulitzer Prize-winning play Angels in America, among many other cultural touchstones.
Most episodes of the series were produced in Salt Lake City, Utah. According to New York Times reviewer Caryn James, John Masius created the first pilot episode for the series, but it was a darker, less hopeful story than the producers wanted. It cost the studio $2 million to produce the episode. Masius wrote the show as a reflection of his spiritual anger at the time due to his two children being born disabled. Martha Williamson was approached to be the series executive producer in early 1994. She described the pilot she received as "upsetting" as it "portrayed angels as recycled dead people with power over life and death." She initially declined the position, but during a lunch with Andy Hill, then President of CBS, she mentioned the show and suggested he find a producer who would create a show with "loving, joyful" angels that the audience would have to believe in.
Williamson stated that she could not stop thinking about the show after that meeting, and eventually called to ask if the position was still open. Though getting the position was no longer a sure thing, she passed up a more lucrative position directing a court drama and went in for an interview with CBS in June 1994. During her interview, she states she emphasized that she was a Christian and could only do a show that depicted angels in a way she felt was true to her view of angels and that was respectful towards God. She also indicated that the pilot should be redone from the beginning, keeping only the characters Monica and Tess, reworked. The studio agreed with her remarks and hired her. Williamson herself wrote a new script for the pilot episode, while also working on hiring the remaining staff for the series, which was due to premiere in September. The pilot was filmed in Salt Lake City and the show was ready on schedule. The first episode aired on September 14, 1994.
Theme song The show's theme song, "Walk with You", was sung by Della Reese with a gospel choir. An extended version appeared on the series soundtrack.
Spin-off In 1996, Promised Land was launched as a spin-off series, following the Greene family whom Monica had met during one of her cases, as they travel the United States helping those in need. Four crossover episodes aired during Promised Lands three-season run.
Broadcast and syndication The series went into syndication in 1998, and has aired on PAX-TV, Hallmark Channel, CBS Drama, Up, MeTV and Start TV.Start TV It has also aired on Hallmark Drama (now Hallmark Family).Hallmark Drama