The BEST episodes of Highway to Heaven season 3

Every episode of Highway to Heaven season 3, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Highway to Heaven season 3!

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.

Last Updated: 1/13/2024Network: NBCStatus: Ended
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The Gift of Life
star
8.50
14 votes

#1 - The Gift of Life

Season 3 - Episode 25 - Aired 5/6/1987

Jonathan and Mark's latest assignment is to try and get cold hearted businessman R.R. Benson to change his ways. When subtlety fails, Jonathan decides to try the direct approach and tell Benson who he is and why he is here. When Benson refuses to change, Jonathan tells him to read the Bible. And it's during the night that a burglar breaks in and shoots Benson. Later Jonathan and Mark find Benson but he's now a spirit. That's when Jonathan takes him on a tour of his life and what he has done. Upon seeing that Jonathan tells him he's being given the opportunity to relive the last week of his life. And he tries to do the right thing this time.

Directors: Michael Landon
Writer: Dan Gordon
Watch Now:Amazon
Wally
star
8.50
16 votes

#2 - Wally

Season 3 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/14/1987

Jonathan and Mark tag along with an elderly street puppeteer who's also an angel - but doesn't know it.

Directors: Michael Landon
Watch Now:Amazon
Parents' Day
star
8.29
14 votes

#3 - Parents' Day

Season 3 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/25/1987

Jonathan and Mark, as police detectives investigating drug selling in schools, become involved when the son of a famous news anchorman and leading anti-drug proponent learns that his father is a secret cocaine user and informs the police, leading to a cover-up and betrayal of trust by the father.

Directors: Michael Landon
Watch Now:Amazon
A Father's Faith
star
8.25
12 votes

#4 - A Father's Faith

Season 3 - Episode 22 - Aired 3/4/1987

When Jonathan and Mark decide to take some time off, they visit Mark's friends to go fishing. When they arrive, they discover, the son of Mark's friends was in an accident a few years ago and after being taken off life support is still alive and is a convalescent home. And the father spends all his time with his son practically ignoring his wife. And the tension between them causes problems for their daughter who hasn't visited her brother because she was with her brother when he had his accident.

Directors: Michael Landon
Watch Now:Amazon
A Mother and a Daughter
star
8.14
14 votes

#5 - A Mother and a Daughter

Season 3 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/4/1987

Jonathan and Mark's assignment is to reunite a Hollywood actress with her estranged daughter who is writing a book about her life with her mother in a negative way because she was never told the truth about her father. Meanwhile, another angel reveals to Mark that if Jonathan is successful with this assignment it could mean he will be moved up to heaven and Mark isn't happy about the idea of loosing his best friend.

Directors: Michael Landon
Watch Now:Amazon
For the Love of Larry
star
8.05
20 votes

#6 - For the Love of Larry

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/8/1986

After his owners are trapped at the bottom of a hill in car accident, a precocious dog tries to lead Jonathon and Mark to them.

Directors: Michael Landon
Watch Now:Amazon
Heavy Date
star
7.91
11 votes

#7 - Heavy Date

Season 3 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/18/1987

Jonathan and Mark have an interesting assignment as they try to give Gary and Alice a new direction in their lives. As Gary begins to fall in love with Alice he soon discovers a secret that suddenly makes him a father. Alice makes plans to give up her baby for adoption but as the birth of the baby gets closer she begins to have second thoughts about giving the baby up.

Directors: Michael Landon
Watch Now:Amazon
Basinger's New York
star
7.88
17 votes

#8 - Basinger's New York

Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/17/1986

It's Christmas time and Jonathan and Mark's assignment is to prove to a cynical reporter, who doesn't believe that there's any goodness in the world, that there is.

Directors: Michael Landon
Writer: Lan O'Kun
Watch Now:Amazon
Love at Second Sight
star
7.79
14 votes

#9 - Love at Second Sight

Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/5/1986

Jonathan and Mark are on their way to their next assignment and meet another angel, Ted, whom Jonathan knows, and they both arrive at their destination. When Ted learns that the subject of his mission is his wife Laura and that it involves pairing her with a guy named Roy; not only does he refuse to do it but he sabotages any chances Roy may have had with her. He then romances her himself but Jonathan steps in and shows what damage he has done and so to fix, he starts acting like a jerk which inspires Roy to tell him to leave Laura alone and their romance begins.

Directors: Michael Landon
Writer: James Kearns
Watch Now:Amazon
A Song of Songs
star
7.73
15 votes

#10 - A Song of Songs

Season 3 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/21/1987

James Earl Jones stars as Gabe Wilson, an old friend of Mark's and down-and-out jazz pianist who tries to re-build his life after suffering a heart attack. Gabe reconnects with an old flame named Ellie, a God-fearing widow who is having problems trying to relate to her daughter, Vanessa, the vocalist in a rock band. When Gabe tries to encourage Vanessa to pursue her dreams, he unwittingly strains the not-so-harmonious mother-daughter relationship even more. After Vanessa runs away without leaving a note, Ellie lashes out at Gabe, telling him that God made him blind to make him pay for his sins (he had become blind after a drunk driver struck his vehicle years earlier). It is up to Jonathan to reunite Ellie and Vanessa and set them both straight.

Directors: Michael Landon
Writer: Dan Gordon
Watch Now:Amazon
Oh Lucky Man
star
7.55
11 votes

#11 - Oh Lucky Man

Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/10/1986

After Mark wins a lot of money he puts Jonathan and Brady out of the picture. Mark falls in love with Nina who is broke but doesn't know it.

Directors: Dan Gordon
Watch Now:Amazon
The Hero
star
7.53
15 votes

#12 - The Hero

Season 3 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/18/1987

Joe Mason is a Vietnam Vet who is trying to get the VA to help him pay expensive dental work but because his condition is not related to his military service, he is denied.

Directors: Michael Landon
Watch Now:Amazon
A Special Love (2)
star
7.50
12 votes

#13 - A Special Love (2)

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/1/1986

Now that Diane and Scotty want to have children they decided to adopt Todd but learn that his natural parents don't want anyone to adopt him. Todd's natural parents were told some years ago that they had to put him out for adoption because he his handicapped.

Directors: Michael Landon
Writer: Dan Gordon
Watch Now:Amazon
Man to Man
star
7.46
13 votes

#14 - Man to Man

Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/26/1986

Jonathan and Mark try to get a father and son to get to know each other again before Gary loses his father due to leukemia. Jonathan tries to make these tycoons live life to the fullest and not work so hard.

Directors: Michael Landon
Watch Now:Amazon
Jonathan Smith Goes to Washington
star
7.36
11 votes

#15 - Jonathan Smith Goes to Washington

Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/3/1986

Jonathan persuades an influential United States senator to restore severe Congressional budget cuts dealing with health-care, but when the senator suffers a fatal heart attack on the Senate floor, the assignment seems doomed to failure.

Directors: Michael Landon
Writer: Dan Gordon
Watch Now:Amazon
Normal People
star
7.36
14 votes

#16 - Normal People

Season 3 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/11/1987

Jonathan and Mark's next assignment takes them to a halfway house for people who were confined to mental facilities but released because they're no longer deemed a danger to society, though not yet fully rehabilitated. The other members of the neighborhood don't want them there because of their past condition, but when they meet each other they begin to realize their humanity.

Directors: Michael Landon
Watch Now:Amazon
Another Kind of War, Another Kind of Peace
star
7.33
12 votes

#17 - Another Kind of War, Another Kind of Peace

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/15/1986

Jonathan informs a man, Mr. Clancy that his son who died in Vietnam fathered a child. Now he is still hurting over losing his son, that he doesn't want them. But nevetheless brings them over. Now the boy is being shook down by some bullies who want his lunch money. Now the man's anger reaches it's boiling point and he throws them out. Jonathan then informs him of what his grandson has been going through. He goes out there to tell them to stop shaking him down. They try to rough them up but Jonathan gives a little bit of power to fight back. Later the man and his grandson finally reconcile.

Directors: Dan Gordon
Writer: Dan Gordon
Watch Now:Amazon
A Special Love (1)
star
7.27
11 votes

#18 - A Special Love (1)

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/24/1986

Jonathan and Mark taken interest in Todd who has no desire to be in Special Olympics because he feels he can't do anything. Tries to convince Todd to get into Special Olympics to prove to himself that he can do things. Scotty and Diane learn whether they can have children or if they will have to adopt children. Diane learns her fate and it decides to adopt children but Scotty is against adoption because he wants to have a baby that looks like him and can run and play.

Directors: Michael Landon
Writer: Dan Gordon
Watch Now:Amazon
All That Glitters
star
7.27
11 votes

#19 - All That Glitters

Season 3 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/7/1987

When a major fire threatens a neighborhood, Jonathan and Mark (in the guise of priests) re-open an abandoned church as a shelter, and one of the people who take shelter there is a hustler also disguised as a priest who has found a briefcase containing $1 million and needs a place to hide from the hoods who lost it

Directors: Michael Landon
Writer: Dan Gordon
Watch Now:Amazon
Love and Marriage (2)
star
7.23
13 votes

#20 - Love and Marriage (2)

Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/12/1986

Directors: Michael Landon
Writer: Dan Gordon
Watch Now:Amazon
That's Our Dad
star
7.13
15 votes

#21 - That's Our Dad

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/29/1986

Bill Cassidy is a model TV dad of the hit series, ""That's Our Dad, a show known for its closing (where he ""adopts"" two orphaned children at the end of each show). At least on-screen Cassidy is the model TV dad. Off the set is a little different story. Bill is an egotistical jerk who verbally abuses his co-stars and crew members ... and even the children he was said to have adopted. His off-screen attitude is put to the test when two orphans, who happen to be fans of ""That's Our Dad,"" and especially Bill Cassidy. The two track down Bill and ask if he'd consider adopting them ... especially because they have taken the closing segments to heart. When Bill refuses to speak to them, and later tells them to get lost, the children enlist Jonathan and Mark's help in talking with Bill and setting his attitude straight.

Directors: Victor French
Watch Now:Amazon
Love and Marriage (1)
star
7.06
16 votes

#22 - Love and Marriage (1)

Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/12/1986

Jonathan and Mark taken a couple back in time to help them understand what life would of been like had they not met each other 49 years earlier. Clarence and rose are about to divorce each other because they have fallen out of love.

Directors: Michael Landon
Writer: Dan Gordon
Watch Now:Amazon
A Night to Remember
star
6.86
14 votes

#23 - A Night to Remember

Season 3 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/28/1987

Mark and Jonathan help Danny and Kate overcome their height issues as they get ready for prom.

Directors: Michael Landon
Watch Now:Amazon
Ghost Rider
star
6.82
11 votes

#24 - Ghost Rider

Season 3 - Episode 24 - Aired 4/1/1987

Birdy Belker a mystery writer gets to meet the man of her dreams. She meets Roger bolt who was slain in 1968. Jonathan grants birdy's wish to actually meet the man she writes about. She learns that meeting the man she writes about isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Directors: Michael Landon
Writer: Dan Gordon
Watch Now:Amazon
Code Name: FREAK
star
6.67
12 votes

#25 - Code Name: FREAK

Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/19/1986

Jonathan is working as a teacher at a college. And the focus of his assignment is a young boy genius who's accepted to college. The boy feels like an outcast. His roommate is a guy who's on an athletic scholarship. When his roommate has trouble in a class, he's asked to help get him a copy of a test. But when it's found out what happened, things get out of hand.

Directors: Michael Landon