History Series / HighwayToHeaven

''Highway to Heaven'', spiritual predecessor to ''Series/TouchedByAnAngel'', ran from 1984 to 1989 on NBC, and told the story of a probationary angel named Jonathan (played by Creator/MichaelLandon, who also created the series, was executive producer, and directed most of the episodes in addition to writing several of 'em) and his human companion, a bitter, retired ex-cop named Mark (played by Victor French). Unlike Landon's previous shows, Highway to Heaven takes place in a contemporary setting, as Jonathan and Mark travel the country as itinerant workers, receiving assignments from an entity known as "The Boss", whom only the angel Jonathan can hear, with their mission being to deliver love, understanding, and humility to those they encounter. Typical episodes stressed moral, Christian themes; though many episodes dealt with common human failings, such as egotism, bitterness and greed; some episodes addressed such topics as racism and cancer.

''Highway to Heaven'', [[JustForPun spiritual]] predecessor to ''Series/TouchedByAnAngel'', ran from 1984 to 1989 on NBC, and told the story of a probationary angel named Jonathan (played by Creator/MichaelLandon, who also created the series, was executive producer, and directed most of the episodes in addition to writing several of 'em) and his human companion, a bitter, retired ex-cop named Mark (played by Victor French). Unlike Landon's previous shows, Highway to Heaven takes place in a contemporary setting, as Jonathan and Mark travel the country as itinerant workers, receiving assignments from an entity known as "The Boss", whom only the angel Jonathan can hear, with their mission being to deliver love, understanding, and humility to those they encounter. Typical episodes stressed moral, Christian themes; though many episodes dealt with common human failings, such as egotism, bitterness and greed; some episodes addressed such topics as racism and cancer.

* BatmanGambit: Jonathan sometimes pulls these on people-however, he's always benevolent.

* BittersweetEnding: The final episode "Merry Christmas from Grandpa": Mark and Jonathan have shown each of the men a BadFuture and hopefully scaring them straight, but when Mark asks if it'll do any good, Jonathan says he doesn't know and that all they could do was try.

* ChurchOfSaintGenericus: Downplayed. God, the Christian afterlife, and angels (both good and bad) are all depicted as real and even biblical figures make appearances. The church itself though is rarely involved in the events of the show and specific denominations are almost never mentioned.

* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Angels look just like humans, and sometimes are dead humans as well. They do have supernatural knowledge and are implied to be able to [[PsychicPowers teleport, use telekinesis]], grant wishes, and basically have a broad range of powers.

* ChurchOfSaintGenericus: Even though God, the afterlife, and angels are all depicted as real, it's not quite clear which religion is true in this universe. While occasional nods are given to Christian beliefs in some episodes, other episodes challenge or question traditional Christian dogmas, and with a few exceptions, there are very little Christian-specific elements in how God and the angels are portrayed.

* FriendToAllChildren: Jonathan is always this, and Mark to a lesser extent.

* ChurchOfSaintGenericus: Even though God, the afterlife, and angels are all depicted as real, it's not quite clear which religion is true in this universe. While occasional nods are given to Christian beliefs in some episodes, other episodes challenge or question traditional Christian dogmas.

* LimitedWardrobe: Both Jonathan and Mark maintain pretty much the same clothes throughout the show, unless they're on a job that requires specific clothing, such as bellhops.

* NiceCharacterMeanActor: Subverted in one episode where a man (Creator/NedBeatty) who portrays a beloved television father act cold and distant towards an orphaned child who looks up to him. Turns out, his persona was [[FreudianExcuse due to his own troubled upbringing;]] after his beloved father died when he was a young boy, he was shuffled between foster homes and orphanges and soon developed his current-day attitude in order to NeverBeHurtAgain. Thanfully, he eventually takes a liking to the child and formally adopts him.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: played realistically, with plenty of cynics, but they're usually proven wrong. Jonathan himself is very idealistic, with Mark slightly less so.

** Take his word for it when a loved-one is sick or missing. Most people are satisfied with, "I think I know where to find him," or "You're just going to have to trust me." Never mind that Johnathan is a drifter with no ID and a new job in every episode.

* WalkingTheEarth

* MultipleGunshotDeath: In an episode notably devoid of violence (unlike Michael Landon's other series), there were a couple of instances. The most notable of this very rarely invoked trope comes in Season 2'S "The Torch," an episode where a Holocaust survivor's son is killed when he is shot by a Neo-Nazi. Later, the instigator of the attack and his right-hand henchman are killed in the former's basement when his son accidentally sets off a Gatling gun (which the Neo-Nazis were planning to use at a peace rally).

* MultipleGunshotDeath: In an episode notably devoid of violence (unlike Michael Landon's other series), there were a couple of instances. The most notable of this very-rarely invoked trope comes in Season 2'S "The Torch," an episode where a Holocaust survivor's son is killed when he is shot by a Neo-Nazi. Later, the instigator of the attack and his right-hand henchman are killed in the former's basement when his son accidentally sets off a Gatling gun (which the Neo-Nazis were planning to use at a peace rally).

* DeadAllAlong: A stray dog named Boomer follows Jonathan and Mark around and is trying to get them to rescue his Humans who were in a car accident. Once they find them and credit Boomer for alerting them they find Boomer dead in the wreckage.

* CallBack: "I Was a Middle-Aged Werewolf" has a call-back to the previous Halloween episode, and even has a Cameo appearance of the Devil.

* BittersweetEnding: The final episode "Merry Christmas from Grandpa": Mark and Jonathan have shown each of the men a BadFuture and hopefully scaring them straight, but when Mark asks if it'll do any good, Johnathan says he doesn't know and that all they could do was try.