The BEST episodes of Highway to Heaven season 1
Every episode of Highway to Heaven season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Highway to Heaven season 1!
The series stars Michael Landon as Jonathan Smith, an angel sent down to earth "on probation", and his human companion Mark Gordon, played by Victor French. Jonathan and Mark are given "assignments" by "The Boss" (God) where they are required to use their humanity in order to help various troubled souls to overcome their problems. Examples of these problems include families dealing with sick loved ones; wealthy and greedy businessmen being encouraged to use their wealth for good; and discouraging prejudice in regards to people of different ethnicities, appearances, or socioeconomic backgrounds or who have disabilities. Jonathan's mission on Earth is to do enough good so that he could earn his wings and, presumably, ascend to heaven. Due to the close relationship that builds between Jonathan and Mark, this becomes a contentious issue as Mark does not want to lose his friend, and sometimes tries to prevent it from happening.
#1 - As Difficult as ABC
Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/30/1985
Brian Baldwin learns that his hopes of being a college basketball star are dashed when he is diagnosed with cardiac insufficiency. Now he must face another challenge the challenge is that he cannot read. He tries to hide that fact but doesn't hide it very well.
#2 - Going Home, Going Home
Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/23/1985
Mark gets a chance to go back in time to tell his grandfather that he loved him. Mark also gets to help his grandfather said his farm for repossession but he must get Mark Jr. to tell his grandfather that he loves him and would rather stay with him.
#3 - Dust Child
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/28/1984
Family and friends of a Vietnam veteran (James Whitmore Jr.) won't accept his Amerasian daughter.
#4 - Hotel of Dreams
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/12/1984
Mark and Jonathan work as hotel bellhops to help a millionaire's son (Brian Kerwin) find meaning in his life.
#5 - A Divine Madness
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/7/1984
Jonathan and Mark have started their assignment by meeting with one of the people that Crock Jr. wants to bulldoze, a sweet middle-aged lady named Gwen,who runs a veterinary clinic. Jonathan convinces Gwen to go with him to plead her case before Mr. Crock. Poor Gwen is nearly scared out of her wits when she meets 'King Arthur' and is ranted at for being an invader to his realm. Jonathan very smoothly convinces the man that he is a humble subject of the realm who has accompanied the Lady Guinevere, who wishes to petition her liege. The king promptly knights Jonathan and accepts the petition, stunning the lady again by offering his loving heart to her.
#6 - Plane Death
Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/9/1985
Mark hopes that he and Jonathan don't have assignment so they can visit Charlie Down who worked on the police force with Mark. What was supposed to be a happy time with a friend turned into finding out why he went missing for five days. Charlie down worked with border enforcement to try and stop drugs. Mark and Jonathan soon discover where Charlie is they find out that Jack Harm shot Charlie because he found cocaine in a model airplane.
#7 - Highway to Heaven (2)
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/19/1984
In this, the pilot movie for the series, we meet Jonathan Smith walking slowly down a lonely road toward an unknown destination. He flags down a passing truck and asks for a ride from the old man driving. The man refuses and drives on, only to have his truck engine blow before he gets more than a few yards down the road. Jonathan obligingly does a little quick mechanic work on the vehicle and tells him to have a nice day. The man hastily changes his mind and offers a ride. With this scene, the theme of the entire series is set into motion. Stangers help strangers, people do good for one another, the forgotten and lonely are given a new purpose in life, and the world becomes just a little bit better place. In this case, Jonathan's destination is a retirement home called Havencrest, where he takes on the recently vacated job of handyman. It seems no one wants the job because the home is on the verge of being sold out from under the residents, leaving most of them nowhere to go. L
#8 - A Match Made in Heaven
Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/20/1985
Jonathan helps Mark's Cousin Diane find romance in an unlikely place. Diane begins to fall in love with a quadriplegic lawyer named Scotty who is surprised at how fast the romance seems to be going. When they go out on a date to eat dinner they hit a snag.
#9 - One Winged Angels
Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/16/1985
Jonathan has a tough time on this particular assignment. He is supposed to get Libby and earl to fall love with each other but Jonathan runs into one problem before he can accomplish the assignment he falls in love with Libby. Mark tells Jonathan that God may have wanted Jonathan to fall in love again so he wouldn't lose touch with what it's like to be a human being and feel how painful falling in love can be.
#10 - The Return of the Masked Rider
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/3/1984
Jonathan and Mark take jobs working in a local area boxing ring. The owner's grandson, Joey, has a good shot at the local championship fight against the leader of the gang causing the problems. Joey wants to win so that he can give the kids in the neighborhood an honest example to live up to, hopefully to prevent at least a few of them from joining the gangs. In order to ensure his victory, Thumper (the gang leader), kidnaps Joey's grandfather. Joey feels that his hands are tied and he has no choice but to throw the fight. Mark tries to tough talk the gang, figuring on Jonathan's angelic powers to kick their collective ass, but God doesn't see fit to grant Mark's wish and Jonathan gets beat up. He doesn't have any marks to show for the beating, but Jonathan is obviously pretty irritated with Mark over the incident, and can't figure out what he's supposed to do if God won't let him take the direct approach.
#11 - Highway to Heaven (1)
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/19/1984
In this, the pilot movie for the series, we meet Jonathan Smith walking slowly down a lonely road toward an unknown destination. He flags down a passing truck and asks for a ride from the old man driving. The man refuses and drives on, only to have his truck engine blow before he gets more than a few yards down the road. Jonathan obligingly does a little quick mechanic work on the vehicle and tells him to have a nice day. The man hastily changes his mind and offers a ride. With this scene, the theme of the entire series is set into motion. Stangers help strangers, people do good for one another, the forgotten and lonely are given a new purpose in life, and the world becomes just a little bit better place. In this case, Jonathan's destination is a retirement home called Havencrest, where he takes on the recently vacated job of handyman. It seems no one wants the job because the home is on the verge of being sold out from under the residents, leaving most of them nowhere to go.
#12 - The Banker and the Bum
Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/27/1985
Jonathan tries to help a candidate for mayor learn to be nice but gets more than he bargained for when Melvin rich decides to stay rich. Jonathan then has Willie the waiver change places with Melvyn rich to see what it would be like if the each lived different lives.
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#13 - One Fresh Batch of Lemonade (2)
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/31/1984
One day, while showing off for some friends by riding his skateboard and hanging on to his friend's speeding car, another car comes around a blind corner from the opposite direction and is not able to swerve out of the way in time to avoid hitting Deke. The next time we see the young man, he is in the hospital where both of his legs have had to be amputated below the knee. Feeling bitter and resentful toward everyone, Deke drives away everyone who tries to visit with him. He seems intent on simply sulking and bemoaning his fate until the day he dies. Fortunately, this is where Jonathan steps in to help. He has taken the job of physical therapist at the hospital, but it's easy to see that it's really Deke's mental and emotional state that he's there to work on. With the willing help of a quadriplegic patient named Scotty, a shy fellow student named Eleanor, and a young gymnast (Bart Connor) who is the boy who crippled Deke, Jonathan sets out to restore Deke's faith in himself. There is
#14 - One Fresh Batch of Lemonade (1)
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/24/1984
One day, while showing off for some friends by riding his skateboard and hanging on to his friend's speeding car, another car comes around a blind corner from the opposite direction and is not able to swerve out of the way in time to avoid hitting Deke. The next time we see the young man, he is in the hospital where both of his legs have had to be amputated below the knee. Feeling bitter and resentful toward everyone, Deke drives away everyone who tries to visit with him. He seems intent on simply sulking and bemoaning his fate until the day he dies. Fortunately, this is where Jonathan steps in to help. He has taken the job of physical therapist at the hospital, but it's easy to see that it's really Deke's mental and emotional state that he's there to work on. With the willing help of a quadriplegic patient named Scotty, a shy fellow student named Eleanor, and a young gymnast who is the boy who crippled Deke, Jonathan sets out to restore Deke's faith in himself.
#15 - Song of the Wild West
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/17/1984
The guys' latest assignment is reunite a broken family. Evelyn Higgins left her husband Tim and baby daughter Sarah in search of a career in music and Tim never forgave her for it, even going as far as telling their daughter that her mother has died. Evelyn had a fairly successful career after changing her name to Patsy Maynard, but guilt and sorrow over her past life have led her to become a lush and a has-been who can only get gigs playing small honkey-tonk bars. She is set to play one such place right outside her old hometown and her daughter eagerly comes to see her, having no idea that the singer is her mother. Sarah shares her mother's love of music and wants to be a professional country singer, against the wishes of her father who fears losing his daughter the same way he lost his wife. Jonathan and Mark go to work in the bar/casino where Patsy sings. Through a little investigative work, Mark discovers that the owner of the place is a crook who is rigging every game. Jonathan fi
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#16 - The Right Thing
Season 1 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/27/1985
A former jogger still grieving over the loss of his wife's death sees no reason to live again. So Harry is put into a nursing home even though Matt's father doesn't agree with the plan. Harry gets the chance to fill his wife's wish to go Hollywood.
#17 - Another Song for Christmas
Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/19/1984
Jonathan and Mark become involved in their own version of Dickens' classic "Christmas Carol" ... only their "Scrooge" is a heartless used car salesman.
#18 - Thoroughbreds (1)
Season 1 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/1/1985
Jonathan and Mark reunite Lizzy MacGill Garth Armstrong (they haven't seen each other since they were kids) Garth is set to marry Elaine who he doesn't like very much because his father wants him to marry someone rich. Lizzy and Garth compete together in a horse competition and find out who is the best horse rider but they also find that they love each other. Garth to finds his daughter's wishes by asking Lizzy to marry him. Only to encounter some trouble ahead.
#19 - A Child of God
Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/6/1985
Jonathan and Mark try to reunite a father and daughter who hadn't seen each other in years because of the daughter had a child from own without a husband. Now Jonathan has a difficult task of trying to convince the father that he doesn't have a lot of time to get to know his daughter Marsha because she is terminally ill.
#20 - Catch a Falling Star
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/14/1984
A movie star is stranger to his own kids.
#21 - To Touch the Moon
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/26/1984
Jonathan counsels a young runaway (Tony La Torre) and a widow (Carrie Snodgress) with a terminally ill son (Barret Oliver).
#22 - An Investment in Caring
Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 3/13/1985
Jonathan must get neighbors to help Helen keep her home from getting in the hands of corporate developers. Jonathan asks the neighbors to buy some stock and hope that it rises high enough so they to will lose their homes. Also Jonathan tries to get a man that used to work for the developer to make sure that his wife's death will mean something.
#23 - The Brightest Star
Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 3/6/1985
Jonathan and Mark help a young actress not to be so controlling around other's. Laurie soon tells Mark and Jonathan that she never wanted to be the star. She only wanted to continue acting and let someone else be the star.
#24 - Help Wanted: Angel
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/21/1984
Martin Lamm is waiting to hear that his script will become a movie, checking with the front desk clerk frequently to see if any mail has arrived for him. None ever does. Martin's friend, Joey,nails a poster on a pole asking for an ""angel"" in the sense Martin needs one: someone with the money to help him turn his script into a movie. Jonathan and Mark respond to the poster, not knowing what kind of angel Joey is looking for. While Jonathan and Mark are finding out what kind of angel Joey is looking for, a man named Petros arrives with the poster in his hand. He loves the script and and wants to make the movie. Petros at first scoffs at Martin's idea of using people from the neighborhood as actors in the movie, but Jonathan suggests they might find a star among the amateurs, save money and help people at the same time.
#25 - Thoroughbreds (2)
Season 1 - Episode 25 - Aired 5/8/1985
In the conclusion of a two-part story, wealthy horse breeder Mr. Armstrong (Stephen Elliott) is still dead set against the romance between his playboy son Garth (John Hammond) and the daughter of Armstrong's head trainer MacGill (Noble Willingham). It is up to angel-in-training Jonathan Smith (Michael Landon) to smooth out the course (or in this case, the bridal path) of true love. Complications ensue when the young couple elopes -- with Garth unaware that his sweetheart is suffering from cancer