Recap / Highway to Heaven

Highway to Heaven ran on NBC from 1984 to 1989 and was the third and final series closely associated with Michael Landon in his lifetime. Although not as widely distributed as his previous series Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie the show remains a favorite among fans today.

The series ran four full seasons before being cancelled in the summer of 1988 due to faltering ratings during the 1987-1988 season. Several episodes, however, were filmed in the summer of 1988 in anticipation of a fifth season, but these aired only sporadically during the 1988-1989 season until the summer rerun season, when 10 episodes that had yet to air were shown. The last episodes were completed in the late fall of 1988, shortly before series star Victor French was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died in June 1989, not long after his illness was revealed, and several of the episodes aired after his death. It was never clear whether a sixth season (likely with a new sidekick for Jonathan) was planned, but not long after production wrapped on the fifth season, Landon himself was diagnosed with cancer and would pass away in 1991.

This page is a work in progress, with episode descriptions to be added. Note that all multi-part episodes are being compressed into one, under the title; all tropes for the entire story should be included under that title.

Season 1 - 1984- 1985

1. 'Highway To Heaven':
2. 'To Touch The Moon':
3. 'Return Of The Masked Rider':
4. 'Song Of The Wild West':
5. 'One Fresh Batch Of Lemonade':
6. "A Divine Madness":
7. "Catch A Falling Star":
8. 'Help Wanted: Angel':
9. "Dust Child":
10. "Hotel Of Dreams":
11. "Another Song For Christmas":
12. 'Plane Death':
13. 'One-Winged Angels':
14. 'Going Home, Going Home':
15. "As Difficult As ABC":
16. 'A Child Of God':
17. "A Match Made In Heaven":
18. "The Banker And The Bum":
19. "The Brightest Star":
20. 'An Investment In Caring':
21. 'The Right Thing':
22. 'Thoroughbreds':

Season 2 - 1985- 1986

1. 'A Song For Jason':
2. 'Bless The Boys In Blue':
3. 'Cindy':
4. "The Devil And Jonathan Smith":
5. 'Birds Of A Feather':
6. 'Popcorn Peanuts And Crackerjacks':
7. "The Smile In The Third Row":
8. 'The Secret':
9. "The Monster":
10. 'The Good Doctor':
11. 'Alone':
12. 'Close Encounters Of The Heavenly Kind':
13. 'Change Of Life':
14. 'Keep Smiling':
15. 'The Last Assignment':
16. 'To Bind The Wounds':
17. "Heaven On Earth":
18. 'Summit':
19. "The Torch":
20. 'Sail Away':
21. "Children's Children":
22. "Friends":

Season 3 - 1986- 1987

1. 'A Special Love':
2. 'For The Love Of Larry':
3. 'Another Kind Of War, Another Kind Of Peace':
4. "That's Our Dad":
5. 'Love At Second Sight':
6. 'Love And Marriage':
7. 'Code Name: FREAK':
8. 'Man To Man':
9. 'Jonathan Smith Goes To Washington':
10. 'Oh Lucky Man':
11. 'Basinger's New York':
12. 'All That Glitters':
13. 'Wally':
14. 'A Song Of Songs':
15. 'A Night To Remember':
16. 'A Mother And A Daughter':
17. 'Normal People':
18. 'The Hero':
19. 'Parents' Day':
20. 'A Father's Faith':
21. 'Heavy Date':
22. 'Ghost Rier':
23. 'The Gift Of Life':

Season 4 - 1987- 1988

1. 'Man's Best Friend':
2. 'Fighting For Your Life':
3. 'The People Next Door':
4. "I Was A Middle-Aged Werewolf":
5. 'Playing For Keeps':
6. 'Amazing Man':
7. 'All The Colors Of The Heart':
8. 'Why Punish The Children?':
9. 'A Dream Of Wild Horses':
10. 'In With The 'In' Crowd':
11. 'With Love, The Claus':
12. 'A Mother's Love':
13. 'Country Doctor':
14. 'Time In A Bottle':
15. "Back To Oakland":
16. 'We Have Forever':
17. 'The Correspondent':
18. "Aloha":
19. 'A Dolphin Song For Lee':
20. 'Heaven Nose, Mister Smith':
21. 'The Whole Nine Yards':

Season 5 - 1988- 1989

1. 'Whose Trash Is It Anyway':
2. 'Hello And Farewell':
3. 'The Silent Bell':
4. 'The Reunion':
5. 'The Source':
6. 'The Squeaky Wheel':
7. 'Goodbye, Mr. Zelinka':
8. 'Choices':
9. 'Summer Camp':
10. 'The Inner Limits':
11. 'It's A Dog's Life':
12. 'Merry Christmas From Grandpa':