Season 1 Overview

Aired: 12/12/1984

Directed by: Michael Landon

Written by: Paul W. Cooper.

It’s a pretty ordinary work for Jonathan and Mark, with some nice anticipations and a little more background for the characters and the series. One thing to notice: unlike other episodes, this one is probably the most sprawling one, in which there isn’t a single, clear assignment nor a big, main task that lead to many secondary, background ones (check out the glossary for more).

Instead, this episode features an ensemble of characters and multiple, disparate assignments that are all unrelated to one another, with the common thread being that they’re all set in the same place. And if part of the assignment sounds like Cinderella, well, it probably is. Also, second episode written by Paul W. Cooper, though it won’t be as dramatic as the previous one.

Finally, there are multiple “elephants in the room” moments, or perhaps more fittingly, “goats in the room”, get ready.

Assignment: Jonathan and Mark are assigned to work at a luxury hotel and help its guests.

At the beginning, Mark is building a card castle in a motel room—apparently, he and Jonathan are still waiting for their assignment.

Mark waits until the exact moment Jonathan walks into the room to place the final card on the castle, so it all crumbles.

Like, you did it on purpose, Mark, so you could blame Jonathan for it.

Here, two things to notice: one, how French tries so hard to sound natural here, although he likely wanted to cuss but was told that it was a family TV show and he had to use a much softer expletive as exclamation.

And second, this part might be a reference to a scene from one episode aired in 1970 in Bonanza, at the beginning of the twelfth season. But, instead of French, there is Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright, the protagonist, and there’s no angel to ruin his work now.

Of course, it was impossible for Lorne Greene to cuss here, either. I mean, they didn’t let French on Highway, and Bonanza aired 14 years before that, just no way.

Actually, that episode of Bonanza was written by Landon, while this Highway was given to someone else, so it might be that the writer of this Highway just wanted to please Landon and show that he had made some research on him. Or maybe they’re similar, but it’s just for a coincidence

Still, it won’t be the last time on Highway that very same Bonanza episode will come back in some way: it’s going to be very soon, for one episode in this first season. And, on that occasion the similarity is not just apparent, like it is here, nor bounded to a single reference, but it will rather come as a direct inspiration — as the episodes share both the same premise, even down to the same lines on some instance.

Anyway, back to this episode now. Jonathan makes up with the Stuff.

Cute, Jonathan. That’s cute.

Then, for no apparent reason, Mark pulls a cigarette out of nowhere and starts smoking to pass the time.

What am I looking at?

Now, first elephant in the room: It’s been over ten episodes, and this is the first time Mark is shown smoking. He never mentioned smoking before (remember, in the pilot he was just drinking), nor has there ever been any indication that he has a problem with cigarettes. Yet now, he pulls a cigarette out of nowhere, which also suggests he must have bought it somewhere.

The moment becomes even more awkward when Jonathan points out that Mark promised he would quit smoking—which then implies he knew his friend was smoking and was trying to quit. Like, when did that happen precisely. It’s as though they either completely forgot to address this earlier and wanted to force the smoking issue into the show because, you know, it’s an important matter. Or as if this episode was originally intended to air earlier in the series, but somehow got misplaced (a bit like the previous one). Still, it feels out of place, and their causal, indifferent reaction just confusing. Like, picture Jonathan walking in and finding somebody like Merlin Olsen instead of Mark and then just carrying on casually talking as if it’s always been like that and there’s nothing different from usual — that would be so puzzling and random, yet it’s the same with Mark smoking here.

Now, Mark dismisses Jonathan’s comment, saying “Everybody dies some time or other“, then pointing at Jonathan as example.

There, Jonathan reveals the truth.

That’s right: Jonathan was once human before becoming an angel after his death. He too, smoked heavily, and eventually died from a lung-related illness caused by his smoking.

Now, what the heck is going on. Jonathan has just revealed part of his backstory in a random prologue of a random episode—just like that. Also, it’s never been mentioned Jonathan used to be a human before being an angel. I mean, it was maybe subtly suggested back at Help wanted: Angel when he met with “Petros Hadiar” (who was Saint Peter, so actually a human) but it was never confirmed ’till now. Further details about his character’s past would be revealed in future seasons, but this is the first time he mentions anything about it (not even in the Pilot did he mention anything other than being an angel).

And he reveals this, not because it’s relevant to the assignment, but just out of nowhere.

It almost feels like the show’s creators didn’t initially plan to explore Jonathan’s backstory and wanted to leave him as a mysterious figure, allowing his character to serve as a vehicle for telling other people’s stories. After all, he’s an angel, and nobody knows anything about angels. And the series doesn’t focus on Jonathan’s backstory: the show it’s nothing like a mystery that keeps audience hooked as it gradually unveils over time. However, it seems the creators changed their minds about it, or just didn’t think through Jonathan’s character much in the first season, because in the second season (especially in the episode Keep Smiling), they begin to provide more details. But for now, that’s all we get.

Also, I’ll put something here but just once, because I think it’s quite a sterile point: as it’s been pointed out by some comments around, Jonathan’s warning about smoking and dying of lung illness oddly reflected both French and Landon’s own deaths, as they were actually smokers; and French even died of the same lung problem Jonathan mentioned in the show. Instead, Landon died apparently for a problem related to his drinking, but his smoking probably contributed as well. Again, I think it’s not such an uncanny coincidence as what occurred to French in the episode with Stella; it’s rather a dull point, but anybody pointed it out nonetheless.

Anyway, Mark, probably as shocked as the audience, awkwardly and puzzled observes Jonathan and puts out his cigarette.

But the elephants in the rooms are not over, as he tells Jonathan he wants to work on something.

From trying to quit his job any moment to desperately seeking an assignment—that love story with Stella really changed him.

But, notice something here: Mark says they have been waiting three days for the next assignment. However, the last episode concluded with Jonathan saying Mark they couldn’t remain for Nguyen’s birthday because they had a new assignment to work on.

So, maybe this episode or the previous one are misplaced (which would corroborate the idea not all the episodes actually follow a chronological order). Another possible way to explain it would be that actually the series doesn’t go over all the assignments Jonathan and Mark work on during this 5 years run, and there are some assignments taking place in the time gaps between the conclusion of an episode and the beginning of the next one. Or, maybe, their waiting for three days was part of the assignment itself.

Or maybe, all these possibilities are correct. Or maybe they’re all wrong. Who knows.

Anyway, Mark later clarifies that, if they’re gonna wait that long for a new assignment, at least they could go to a better hotel “Instead of a dump like this“. But he probably forgot they also have to pay for that. I mean, you can’t go to a luxury hotel if you can’t afford it, unless you work there.

And that’s what Jonathan must intend, as the moment Mark finishes the sentence Jonathan uses the “Stuff” to telepathically open a wardrobe, and two bellboy suits appear before him.

So, they’re apparently going to be working at a luxury hotel somewhere in the mountains.

Of course, they didn’t actually build a hotel for the production: that is the Langham Huntington, in Pasadena. Apparently, the hotel shut down in 1985, roughly one year after this episode was produced there, due to an earthquake. And it seems like a curse: if you remember, a couple of assignments ago, there was an episode produced in the famous Malibu Castle, which also closed down some years after the production of the show due to a fire.

Anyway, in 1987 the hotel was demolished and it was built again in 1991, so that’s why it looks different now.

Meanwhile, a lumberjack straight out from Little House is rescuing some goats when some helicopter approaches him, and he’s summoned by his father. The lumberjack is Barry and he agrees to go but only if he can take a lost goat with him. Let’s not comment further on that.

Yet, he’s no Victor French imitator, but rather Brian Kerwin, who is notable for the TV show One life To Live of the early 2000s.

At the hotel, it’s revealed that Barry is the owner’s son, and his father plans to retire soon, and he has the daunting task to find somebody to take over.

To somebody qualified, isn’t that obvious.

Well, apparently it’s not.

Are you kidding? I mean, his son has been working on a farm for years and probably doesn’t know much about running hotels.

But maybe the man follows Jonathan’s punchline: experience is just like references.

That was probably the most influential of Jonathan’s punchlines.

His son is actually worried about it.

But his father doesn’t want to hear more from it.

You know, the father founded the hotel, so it has to stay within the family. That’s how politics went in the 80s.

Also, nobody mentions there’s a goat in room, the one Barry brought from his farm. Except the father’s wife.

Excuse me, where did she come from?

Out of nowhere, apparently. The father even tells his son they got married after three weeks.

Anyway, the father orders Barry to go with Sealy, the manager, who will show him around.

First, they meet Roberto, aspiring manager.

Or rather, Anthony Penya, who retired from acting in the 1990s and lastly appeared in a short subject in 2012.

Moving on, they find Mark — who doesn’t recognize Sealy.

That was admittedly witty, Mark.

But there is a problem here: notice that Sealy has to introduce himself to Mark before scolding him. Now, I get that Mark has probably been working there for like a day, but it’s hard to believe nobody told him who his manager was. Like, I suppose that’s the first thing to do when somebody’s hired. That Roberto who did the hiring isn’t much qualified. But neither must be Sealy, if he didn’t introduce himself to his staff members.

Probably they were all hired without references.

So, Barry interrupts them and takes Mark’s defense.

Certainly better than yours, Barry. And standing before Mr. Edwards himself, you ought to be ashamed of wearing that phony beard.

However, they’re interrupted by a kid who comes running in and shoves Sealy.

Then, Sealy orders Mark to stop the kid. Though, not sure what they’re gonna do about it. Like, can they expel him from the hotel?

So, the first assignment begins now, and it’s for Mark: he chases the kid, who ends up in the pool shouting for help.

Then, Mark dives in after him.

And the kid is standing at the edge of the pool, laughing at him.

Wait just a second: how was the kid able to get out of the pool so quickly when he was in the middle of it when Mark jumped in? Maybe he’s an angel himself with the “Stuff”.

Also, is it so hilarious to see people getting drenched, just for no reason? I think it’s like slipping on a banana. It’s that kind of hilarious, the one adults think would make children laugh but it doesn’t, and it actually just results in making the adults look ridiculous. But, apparently, the producers have a weird obsession with people getting drenched, because it won’t be the last time that happens in the series, unfortunately.

And it’s not even the last time it happens in this episode: the kid activates the fire alarm just because.

And of course Mark is soaked again.

The kid must have a liking for him, as he’s the only victim. Perhaps the kid likes Mark’s beard — but who wouldn’t like it.

Except Sealy, of course.

Now, after soaking him again, Jonathan tells Mark that he needs to confront the kid, so Mark enters the room where the boy is staying. And the kid receives him with a black helmet. Just because.

But, hold on there—how did Mark know the kid was in that room? I mean, if anyone in the hotel knew where he was, why didn’t they do anything about it earlier? It’s not like the kid’s hiding or anything; he’s just there.

Anyway, Mark asks the boy to meet with his parents, and the kid replies that he doesn’t have a mother, and his father is often away on business, so he basically lives in that hotel room alone.

This is just ridiculous. I mean, does the father work at the hotel? Is he employed by the hotel, or what? Does the father have a real home somewhere else, or does he just leave his kid there because it’s cheaper than paying someone to look after him? This episode is not the hotel of dreams anymore, rather “Hotel of Mystery” indeed.

Anyway, Mark takes a look around at the room to see all the material stuff the kid’s father bought for his son.

So, he realizes the kid is just one of those spoiled doozy with absent parents. Nothing new for Mark, anyway.

Now, the boy then asks Mark if he wants to play with him, but Mark replies that he has to work. So, the kid gets upset and just goes around playing more tricks, like using green dye on a woman’s hair.

First, Mark and Jonathan laugh at them.

Then Mark has a sudden pang of conscience fearing of what might happen to the hairdresser.

So, he orders the kid to apologize to the guest.

Then, Mark promises to take the kid to the park to play with a boat he has to put together.

No idea when or how Mark bought that. Probably during the three days waiting for the next assignment.

Anyway, while they’re building a model boat, Mark confesses that when he was younger, he sometimes felt lonely so he used to play tricks to everybody just to draw the attention of his folks.

This helps the kid opens up and admits Mark he’s mischievous for the same reason, and that all the material gifts his father gives him can’t make up for the man’s negligence towards him.

Jonathan, of course, secretly takes the boy’s father to the park and lets him overhear what his son has to say about him.

The father calls off his business plans and reconciles with his son.

So, one assignment is completed.

Good job, Mark.

On to the next.

Back at the hotel, Helen, an older actress, is watching one of her old movies on TV with Elena, a younger woman, possibly her granddaughter.

Don’t worry, they didn’t actually pay the rights to show a real picture. It’s a fictional one, and you can tell by two things: first, they never say the title. Second, the score you hear in the background is actually a rearrangement of Highway’s introduction.

Which, remember, can be traced back to Little House.

It’s already been mentioned on the second episode. Though what they are watching on TV doesn’t look like Little House, for that matter.

Maybe it’s all just a reference to this show’s own introduction, which possibly implies the characters actually know they are in a TV series about an angel with a cop helping them out: maybe the whole journey of Highway To Heaven is just being dreamed by someone inside the series. Or maybe it’s just a recycle from the introduction. Just like one of the recurring background noise that dates back to Little House, such as the thunder. I mean, all thunders from Little House sound the same, and so they do here as well.

You mean, when you hear David Rose’s strings. It’s always the same.

The actress reminisces about her past and tells Elena about a lover she had and hasn’t seen in a long time, while Elena confesses that she dreams of living like a princess in a fairy tale—possibly a subtle reference to Cinderella.

As they chat, it turns out they’re not related, and Elena is actually a maid at the hotel.

Then, she is called back to work.

In the meantime, Sealy and Barry are wandering around near an elevator, where Sealy finally realizes that he shouldn’t be taking Barry in the hotel if that man is dressed up like a lumberjack from Little House. Well, he doesn’t say that precisely, but that’s the point. So, he asks Barry if the young fella ever considered the idea of changing his look.

Of course, he wants to be like Mr. Edwards and sticking to the same clothes for nine years. He’s very committed, you should give him credit for that.

However, Barry is then stunned by a girl walking there.

Sealy reveals she’s Allison, a famous person (even though it’s unclear who she is), and she’s come to the hotel for her high school reunion. This gives us a little more information about the hotel’s mysterious setting: Sealy mentions she studied at James Madison High School.

At the time this episode is set (1984 presumably), there were 8 high schools with that name in the U.S., and one of them is, you name it, in San Diego, California. So, let’s skip the rests of the school and just assume they’re referring to that one, because, you know, why move the series somewhere else other than Cali? They never stated the show was set in any other part of the U.S., ever.

Then, Barry seems to recognize her but doesn’t say anything.

Now, Elena is asked to take some milk to Barry’s room. She doesn’t seem at all shocked to see a goat in the room.

Actually, she’s happy to give it some milk.

Later, Barry realizes his beard is fake—or maybe not as good as Mark’s—so he shaves it off.

Adn now he looks more like the Prince from Cinderella.

Then he introduces himself to Allison, who is flattered to meet the soon-to-be owner of the place. That night, Barry’s goat feels unwell, so he cancels his dinner plans with Allison and instead asks Elena to help him tend to the animal.

The next day, Allison confronts Barry after discovering he left her for a maid. He explains that Elena was just helping him with the goat.

So, Barry attended the same high school as Allison. He didn’t tell her sooner because he was waiting for her to recognize him. She looks puzzled, so she tries to impress him with a punchline.

Sure.

But he knows where she’s getting at. And he has a punchline as well.

Ouch.

So, Barry realizes she was only interested in him for his wealth and tells her to leave, saying he’ll be attending the ball with Elena instead.

Because, apparently, anyone can go to the ball, even though it was supposed to be for the high school class of 1970. Allison feels humiliated, so she sneaks into the employee dressing room, opens the maid’s locker, and plants her ring inside it.

Now, that’s a bit far-fetched: why was the employee room open? It’s a luxury hotel, it should be safer than that. I mean, there aren’t even security cameras. So, basically anyone, guests included, could walk in the employees room and take whatever they wanted. Hard to believe.

Also, she didn’t even have to force the locker to open it, which means it was unlocked. And that leads to another problem: why didn’t Elena lock it with a key or something. I mean, you work there, surely you’d noticed the security system has something wrong if anyone can just walk into the employee area like that, and you still leave your locker open. The only reasonable explanation is that she must have thought something like: “It’s a luxury hotel, it’s a classy environment, not like high school or something, so guests have no reason to get in only-employees area” but it still hard to believe in any kind of environment people leave their things unsupervised like that.

This series has some problems with security systems on the whole.

Anyway, Allison reports the ring as missing and accuses Helen of stealing it. Sealy, who believes Allison’s version of events, orders the inspection of Helen’s locker, with Jonathan and Barry as witnesses. Everyone assumes Helen will be grounded or worse.

Eventually, Jonathan helps Allison to find her missing ring — on her finger.

Of course, an angel is never wrong.

Apparently, Jonathan used the “Stuff” to remove the ring from her locker and place it back on Allison without anyone noticing. So, there’s another power of the “Stuff”—it can teleport random objects.

However, Allison’s devilshly childish plan continues the next day, when she interrupts Elena ironing a dress bought specifically for the ball with Barry, and orders her to take some towels to her room.

So, Elena lends some.

Because, you know, she’s too snobbish to do that herself.

As Elena complies, Allison remains in the employees’ room and burns the dress.

I mean, Elena, she asks you to do something, and you leave her unsupervised in the employee area? Again. You really must be Cinderella.

At least she acknowledges that. I mean, it feels like the producers were afraid they could be sued for plagiarism or something, so they just admitted it. Whenever they make a story that resembles some other works, they won’t credit the original material as “based on”, instead they would just throw in the title during the episode.

Anyway, Elena keeps on complaining about it.

You really asked that? Because you left your stuff unattended, that’s why.

But, of course, if this wwere really Cinderella, there has to be some guardian angel to look after her.

And right that moment, Jonathan burts into the room.

So, he bought Helen a new, better dress. Because using the “Stuff” to mend the burned one was too edgy.

Also, if she is Cinderella, that means Jonathan is her godmother. I mean, him, an angel. That’s progressive. And it predates the so-called modern version of some 36 years. Learn from this.

But Jonathan doesn’t take credits and tells her it’s on behalf of Barry, which is a dangerous lie. I mean, just think about it: Helen arrives at the ball in the best dress, and Barry compliments her. He asks how she bought it, and she must be confused because Jonathan told her Barry bought it. So she tells him that, and Barry goes, “You used my money to buy the dress?” They argue, and break up. End of the assignment.

Anyway, at the ball, Elena arrives in the best dress of them all, and Barry dances with her.

While Allison looks jealous and takes a drink alone.

Not sure what’s supposed to mean. Probabl that she’ll become an alcoholic and Jonathan will have to deal with her as new assignment. In that case, I’m not sure Jonathan’s actions were succesfull this time.

Still, the assignment is completed.

And then Helen’s lost lover—whom she hasn’t seen in years — arrives at the party.

So random, isn’t it.

Wasn’t it supposed to be the dance for the high school class 1970? Or are we gonna pretend they graduated from the high school as well.

Also, no reason to say who is that mysterious driver that brought him to her.

Of course.

Finally, Jonathan exposes Sealy’s corruption to Barry, revealing that Sealy had been taking payments from guests to secure the best rooms.

And Sealy clumsily admits it while denying it.

Sealy the silly.

Of course, Sealy actually burned the letters, but Jonathan used the Stuff to get a copy of them. Anyway, he’s fired and Berto will take his place.

So, assignment complete — and that was the last one.

The next day, Barry’s father returns and his son informs him that he’s gotten married and doesn’t want to stay at the hotel anymore. So, he’s leaving with his wife to pursue their dreams of rescuuing endangered animals.

Of course, his father is shocked, but he got married with a woman after three weeks, so where’s the problem.

Anyway, Barry’s leaving with his wife to pursue their dreams of rescuing endangered animals.

Now, if it were all a Cinderella story, it means that Elena marries the “prince,” but he gives up his royalty, and eventually they go out into the world together. That’s a modern Cinderella ending—at least more than the musical version.

Admittedly, this episode was one-of-a-kind and weird one: it had some very odd moments, emphasized by unexpected reactions, and featured a lot of random stories, like the old actress and her lost love. It’s probably safe to say that Landon liked Cinderella so much that he even referenced it again, straightforwardly, in a future episode. But he also liked other classic stories. Like the pone of the upcoming episode.

This episode originally aired on December 1984, two weeks after the previous one (apparently they skipped one week to make room for the special S.O.S.), but it still managed to get a similar audience to the previous one.

Also, when it aired a second time on April of 1985, shortly before the conclusion of the first season, it earned more than one point in ratings compared to the first air the previous year.

So, a good accomplishment.