Highway to Heaven is an American fantasy drama television series that ran on NBC from September 19, 1984, to August 4, 1989, and it consistently earned respectable ratings; it was in the Nielsen Top 20 in its first season, and ranked in the Top 40 for its first four seasons. The series aired for five seasons, running a total of 111 episodes, and starred (and was produced by) Michael Landon as Jonathan Smith, and Victor French—Landon’s co-star from Little House on the Prairie—as Mark Gordon.

Plots and themes:

Jonathan Smith, formerly a man who lived on earth named Arthur Thompson, is now a “probationary” angel sent to Earth to help people in need. In the course of an “assignment”, he meets Mark Gordon, an embittered retired policeman now bouncing from job to job. At first distrustful of Jonathan, Mark helps him complete his assignment and soon comes to realize his true nature, and is then given a job by “The Boss” (i.e. God): to assist Jonathan in helping troubled people on Earth. Jonathan and Mark are given assignments where they help various troubled souls overcome their problems.

Each episode typically begins with Jonathan and Mark arriving in a new city and taking jobs as business employees or civil service workers as part of their latest assignment. Due to Jonathan’s angelic nature, the two are able to work as police officers, medical personnel, teachers, social workers or other skilled employees (background checks or employment history verification being “angelically” provided or somehow never looked into), allowing for a variety of identities and scenarios. Both Jonathan and Mark face the same difficulties as people on Earth trying to rectify these problems, and have little to aid them beyond a bare outline of their assignment. Jonathan has exceptional physical strength, but he can only use it for manual labor or for self-defense. At certain times Jonathan presents gifts to others, such as decorating a drab nursing home with flowers or giving someone a bicycle. These material gifts likely come from “the Boss” or Jonathan’s superiors, but when asked, he answers only “A friend of mine provided them”. However, in rare situations, “The Boss” provides the protagonists with what Mark calls “The Stuff” (i.e. divine intervention).

The series aimed to address contemporary social and emotional issues with sensitivity, and also with humor, particularly between Jonathan and Mark. Their personalities often clash (Jonathan being more sensible and compassionate but sometimes naive, and Mark being more pragmatic and cynical), but they always support each other. Jonathan’s mission on Earth is to do enough good in order to gain his wings and, presumably, ascend to Heaven. As Jonathan and Mark develop a close relationship and Jonathan is in better favor with his superiors, Mark is torn between losing his best friend as opposed to being happy for Jonathan’s being promoted to Heaven, and considers impeding the process.

This episode is Season 4, Episode 5 in the series run.

“On Halloween night, Jonathan helps a little boy get over his fears, and in the process, get even with his older sister! Meanwhile, Mark dreams Jonathan is a Werewolf.”

We thought we would bring Michael Landon and Victor French into the mix with a Highway to Heaven review! I Was a Middle-Aged Werewolf is paying an homage to the 1957 Michael Landon film, I Was a Teenage Werewolf where he stars as Tony Rivers.

I Was a Middle-Aged Werewolf originally aired on October 28, 1987