Touched by an Angel

Touched by an Angel Information

Touched by an Angel is an American supernatural drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and 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). The series went into syndication in 1998, and has been shown on Ion Television (formerly PAX-TV), Hallmark Channel, Up, Disney Channel UK and Me-TV.

Plot

The episodes of the series generally revolved around the "cases" of Monica (played by Roma Downey), a young angel recently promoted from the "search and rescue" division, who works under the guidance of Tess (played by Della Reese), a sarcastic boss who showed greater respect as an authority figure of her employee, and is more of a surrogate mother, than a mentor. 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 crossroad in their lives and facing a large problem or tough decision. Monica and Tess bring them messages of hope from God and help give them guidance towards making their decision. 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 having to 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", the Angel of Death is introduced as Henry. 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.)

During season seven, a new angel, Gloria, is sent by God during one of Monica's assignments, who 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 Zack (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 Zack is the perpetrator and despite the lack of evidence, Zack 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 Zack is eventually convicted.

After the trial, Monica is able to help the citizens realize their mistake and to see that Zack'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 Zack, 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 Zack. There, she learns that Zack was actually Jesus, 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 by. 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

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Cast and characters

Main

Roma Downey as Monica, a soft kind-hearted angel who is sent town-to-town to encourage people. She's the show's main protagonist.
Della Reese as Tess, a tough and sarcastic, but loving supervisor who plays a key role in every one of Monica's cases. She's also the show's main protagonist.
John Dye as Andrew (seasons 3-9, main; 2, recurring), known as "an angel of death".
Valerie Bertinelli as Gloria (seasons 8-9, main; 7, guest), an accident prone intelligent angel made to understand the way of life in the 21st century.

Recurring

Alexis Cruz as Rafael, an angel
Paul Winfield as Sam, an archangel
Charles Rocket as Adam, an angel of death
Randy Travis as Wayne Machulis
Wendy Phillips as Claire Green, also as Ruth Ann Russell (in one episode)
Gerald McRaney as Russell Greene, also as Dr. Joe Patcherik (in one episode)
Eddie Karr as Nathaniel Greene
Paul Wittenburg as Joey Machulis
Cloris Leachman as Ruth, an archangel
Ossie Davis as Erasmus Jones and as Gabriel
Jasmine Guy as Kathleen, a fallen angel

Notable guest stars

Bruce Altman as Henry, another angel of death
Chris Burke as Taylor, an angel
Bill Cosby as Phil, the Angel of Reconciliation
Barbara Mandrell
David Ogden Stiers as Jones / Satan (in the two-part series finale)
Phylicia Rashad as Elizabeth Jessup
Muhammad Ali as himself (season 5, episode 24)
Maya Angelou as Clarice Mitchell (season 2, episode 7)
Ruby Dee as LaBelle (season 6, episode 10)
Celine Dion as herself (season 5, episode 9)
Marla Gibbs as Millie (season 7, episode 3)
Melissa Joan Hart as Claire Latham (season 2, episode 5)
Wynonna Judd as Audrey (season 5, episode 10, season 6,episode 25 and season 9, episode 20)
Joe Morton as Jake Stone and Martin
Cynthia Nixon as Melina (season 5, episode 20)
Rosa Parks as herself (season 5, episode 23)
Mandy Patinkin as Satan (season 7, episode 23)
Sally Ride as herself (season 5, episode 26)
John Schneider as Joshua Winslow / Satan
Mary McDonnell as Sister Theodore (season 8, episode 18)
Luther Vandross as Reggie (season 8, episode 21)
Montel Williams as Brother David (season 5, episode 20)
Richard Chamberlain as Jack Clay/Everett Clay (season 7, episode 1)
B.B. King as himself (season 2, episode 15)
Dr. John as himself (season 2, episode 15)
Al Hirt as himself (season 2, episode 15)
Ann-Margret as Angela (episode "Millennium")
Rue McClanahan as Amelia Bowthorpe Archibald (Episode "Manny") and Lila Winslow (Episode "Shallow Water")

Production

Touched by an Angel was produced by CBS and Moon Water Productions. 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 at 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, Utah and the show was ready on schedule. The first episode aired on September 14, 1994.

Theme song

The lyrics to the show's theme song, "Walk With You", are sung at the beginning of each episode by Della Reese.

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.

Reception

Awards

The series was nominated for eleven Primetime Emmy Awards between 1997 and 2000, including two nominations each for Downey and Reese in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series categories, respectively. It was also nominated for three Golden Globe Awards, two in 1998 and 1999 for Downey for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series - Drama, and one in 1998 for Reese for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series even though the series was never able to secure either award. Marc Lichtman was awarded five BMI Film and Television Awards for "Television Music" in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001 for his work as the series composer.

Email controversy

A 1999 variation of the "Madalyn Murray O'Hair petition" urban legend, which claims to seek a ban on religious programming, mentioned the show and appeared via e-mail chains. This, despite O'Hair being deceased since 1995 and her original actual religious programming petition to the FCC being rejected in 1975.

Critical

Touched by an Angel received mixed reviews from critics but positive reception from audiences. During the show's first season, the show was criticized by some people calling it "syrupy" (earlier reviews were skeptical of the show's first season). Common Sense Media reviewer Emily Ashby gave the show 3 out of 5 stars, who said that "this uplifting, inspirational show is steeped in strong moral messages, life lessons, and Christian overtones that include multiple references to "God," "Lord," and the "Father."

The Parents Television Council picked it as one of the best shows for family viewing.

In popular culture

Maria Bamford imitated Monica on the track "Touched By an Angel" on her Burning Tours album.

It was also spoofed on MadTV as "Touched By an Atheist" guest starring comedian George Carlin.

Merle Highchurch, a character on the podcast The Adventure Zone, frequently summons Della Reese or Roma Downey as part of his Guardian of Faith spell.

Ratings

Touched by an Angel became one of CBS's highest-rated series during season three and continued through season six, when it was the ninth most watched network series, with 17,190,000 viewers that amounted to a 15% share of the market as determined by Nielsen Media Research. In season eight, after the series moved from its Sunday time slot to a Saturday one, it dropped to 79th place, with 8.3 million viewers.

Season		Episodes	Time slot (ET)	Season premiere	Season finale	Season rank	Viewers (in millions)
1	1994-1995	11	Wednesday at 9:00 pm (Episodes 1-8) Sunday at 8:00 pm (Episode 9) Saturday at 9:00 pm (Episodes 10-11)	September 21, 1994	March 4, 1995	#78	8.90
2	1995-1996	26	Saturday at 9:00 pm	September 23, 1995	May 18, 1996	#34	11.10
3	1996-1997	29	Sunday at 8:00 pm	September 15, 1996	May 18, 1997	#10	13.19
4	1997-1998	26	Sunday at 8:00 pm (Episodes 1-25) Sunday at 9:00 pm (Episode 26)	September 21, 1997	May 17, 1998	#5	21.80
5	1998-1999	27	Sunday at 8:00 pm	September 20, 1998	May 23, 1999	#6	19.50
6	1999-2000	26		September 26, 1999	May 21, 2000	#9	17.19
7	2000-2001	25		October 15, 2000	May 20, 2001	#25	14.00
8	2001-2002	22	Saturday at 8:00 pm	September 29, 2001	May 11, 2002	#79	8.30
9	2002-2003	22	Saturday at 8:00 pm (Episodes 1-21) Sunday at 8:00 pm (Episode 22)	September 28, 2002	April 27, 2003	#91	7.60

Media

A book on the series, Touched by an Angel, was published by Zondervan in November 1997. Written by Williams and Robin Sheets, it contains background information on some of the stories featured, series production information, basic details on the first fifty episodes and profiles of Downey, Reese and Dye. It also has short story versions of four episodes: "Interview with an Angel", "There, but for the Grace of God", "An Unexpected Snow" and "Jacob's Ladder". A second book, In the Words of Angels: Twenty Inspiring Stories from Touched By an Angel, was published by Fireside Books on August 28, 2001. Also written by Williams, it collects twenty short stories based on episodes from the series.

An audio soundtrack, Touched by an Angel: The Album, was released on November 3, 1998. The 15-track CD includes a full-length version of the series theme song, "Walk With You", performed by Della Reese and songs by Cline Dion, Shawn Colvin, Bob Dylan, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Amy Grant, Jaci Velasquez, The Kinleys, Wynonna and Amanda Marshall. The soundtrack went platinum. A second album, Touched by an Angel: Christmas Album, was released on November 9, 1999 with 13 tracks of Christmas music. In addition to having tracks performed by Reese and Romey, it features songs from Randy Travis, Keb' Mo', Charlotte Church, Kirk Franklin, Collin Raye, Amy Grant and Donna Summer. Both albums were released by Sony Music Entertainment, the successor to the former record division of CBS.

DVD releases

CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount) has released all nine seasons on DVD in Region 1. Seasons 1, 2, 5-9 were released as single season box sets, while seasons 3 & 4 were released as two volume sets.

On February 9, 2016, CBS DVD released Touched by an Angel: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.

Four themed sets, each containing four episodes, have also been released. The first two, "The Inspiration Collection: Holiday" and "The Inspiration Collection: Hope" were released on November 10, 2009; "The Inspiration Collection: Faith" and "The Inspiration Collection: Love" were released January 26, 2010.

In Region 4, Shock Records has released five volumes of episodes from the series, each containing nine episodes and a set containing all five volumes together.

DVD name	Ep #	Release date
The Complete First Season	13	August 31, 2004
The Second Season	22	May 3, 2005
The Third Season, Volume 1	16	February 7, 2006
The Third Season, Volume 2	13	November 28, 2006
The Fourth Season, Volume 1	13	March 27, 2007
The Fourth Season, Volume 2	14	December 4, 2007
The Fifth Season	26	July 24, 2012
The Sixth Season	26	September 25, 2012
The Seventh Season	25	April 23, 2013
The Eighth Season	22	July 30, 2013
The Ninth Season	22	November 19, 2013
The Complete Series	211	February 9, 2016