Airdate: 02/05/1986

Directed By: Michael Landon

This episode is revealing for one of the character. And if the title sounds familiar, it’s because it comes from The Banker And The Bum; again, just like Change Of Life, an episode taking something from that. Although now the premise is different.

Complete show available here.

Assignment: Jonathan and Mark are assigned to help Jonathan’s wife get through her loneliness.

This episode has something important for the characters: a lonely, elderly woman is gradually losing her will to live, as most of her friends are gone and her daughter’s family never stops by. So, Jonathan and Mark need to help her find a way to deal with her age.

It’s the premise of the many elderly folks assignments (like The Right Thing, about a man feeling lonely after being put to an elderly care facility by his son’s family).

However, the peculiar part is that now the subject of the assignment.

She’s Jonathan’s wife (by the time he was a man, not an angel).

In the first season episode Hotel Of Dreams, it was implied that Jonathan wasn’t always an angel, but it has never been implied that he was married, nor that he had a family.

So, this episode is the fourth times in the series in which Jonathan and Mark personally knows the subject of the assignment: the first was Plane Death, the second A Match Made In Heaven, the third The Secret (there would also be Going Home, Going Home, but that episode was too peculiar, and it was unclear whether the assignment was just a dream or something, nor who was the subject).

But, for the first time in the series, Jonathan knows the subject. It could be argued that the assignment is somehow about him, as a way to sort of cope with the impending death of his wife, or to compensate the 40 years he has spent away from her while helping people as an angel on probation. However, Mark’s punchlines in the episode One Winged Angels reassuring Jonathan that every assignment is partly about them too can apply here. In that way, maybe the episode is not that different from other assignments just because Jonathan knows the subject of the assignment (even during One Winged Angels Jonathan fell in love with a woman, and that episode isn’t any less personal than this).

Also, one important detail to remember from Season one: when a man becomes an angel, he walks in a different body (as revealed in Help Wanted: Angel), in order to avoid being recognized by those they knew when they were alive. So, Jane won’t recognize Jonathan (or that man with Landon’s appearance) as her late husband. Unless he tells her.

But he won’t. Or he’d also have to inform her that he fell in love with someone else during season one, while Jane has always remained faithful.

• Background

The episode takes place in Monrovia, California, where Jonathan used to live as a human with his wife. The timespan is about one week as usual: the first day is when Jonathan and Mark settle in at Jane’s house, the second day is spent with Jane while Mark visits Jonathan’s daughter; on the third day, Jonathan visits his daughter himself, he comes back to Jane the fourth day (which they spend at the beach), and the assignment is completed on the following day.

In terms of the date, it’s a bit unclear. It’s definitely set in 1985, as indicated by the gravestone of Jane’s friend who passes away at the start of the episode. However, the exact time of year isn’t specified. It could be assumed that it takes place around Christmas, considering that Jonathan’s son-in-law refuses to visit Jane because he only gets two weeks of vacation per year. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to think that those two weeks fall during the Christmas holiday season.

Also, both the preceding episode Change Of Life and the following episode The Last Assignment take place around Christmas, which could further support this theory. However, it is important to point out that the airing of the episodes doesn’t follow the chronological order of the events in the series (as outlined here), so it isn’t of any help.

• Characters

This episode is much revealing for Jonathan’s background. Until now, information about Jonathan’s biography was scattered and revealed mostly on random episodes of season 1, especially in single lines: he was once a man who died of a lung illness attributed to his smoking before turning into an angel (as revealed in Hotel Of Dreams), and he has been an angel on probation for “almost 40 years” (in A Child Of God); beyond that, little was known about him. Now, a complete breakdown of his biography is poured in a single episode: apparently, Jonathan’s real name (as a human, at least) is Arthur Thompson, born in September 1917 and he died in March 1948, at the age of 30, due to a lung illness (this last detail is not mentioned here, but it was revealed in season 1). At some point in his life, he was married to a woman named Jane, and they had a daughter, Mandy, who now has her own family.

He spent most of his life with Jane in Monrovia, California, until his death.

And he could play the piano (apparently without The Stuff).

Though it’s likely that Landon got some help for this.

Anyway, it’s quite a shift—after spending over a year and a half keeping his identity a mystery, or scattering information in a single, dismissive line (when Jonathan revealed he died of lung illness, the purpose was getting Mark to quit smoking, not revealing Jonathan’s background), now, everything is detailed in a single episode. That suggests that maybe Landon might not have planned to explore Jonathan’s backstory. Initially, Jonathan seemed to be written solely as a vehicle for the assignments: the subject of the show is not him, but rather the people he helps along the way. So, his background is unimportant (just as much as the definition of “probation” or “The Stuff“) , as it only served the purpose to get to the assignment’s story.

However, with the second season, they chose a different direction, weaving Jonathan’s personal story into the broader assignment. It is much likely that, by the time they revealed that information about him in the first season, they didn’t even consider making it “official”, but rather something of secondary importance (and they probably regretted that, as they do not make any reference about his death in this episode).

But the revelations aren’t limited to Jonathan and his human life: there’s a detail about Mark too. When Jonathan tells Mark to go visit Mandy to Illinois, Mark complains that he hates planes.

Now, that’s the first time in the series Mark reveals that. And it is quite odd it hasn’t been brought up before: considering there was the episode The Smile In the Third Row set in New York (and it started when they were already there), maybe it implies that they didn’t take the airplane to go there. Or that Jonathan used his power to vanish and instantly appears there.

Also, this detail isn’t just a random one made for this episode: it will be confirmed in the fifth season too.

• Angels and probation

The episode makes many revelations about Jonathan as a man, but also as an angels. So, if his real name was Arthur, then it’s unclear how he got his new name of Jonathan, and the very same name choice is quite weird (if angels do not retain the same appearance they had when they were alive in order to avoid being recognized, then why would they have to change their name too). It could be that Jonathan chose it, but it could also be that it was given to him. If that were the case, then it might be possible that angels’ names are somehow always the same, and that once an angel concludes the probation, another angel comes on Earth on probation with the same name as the angel that is not on probation anymore. So, considering that in the first season of Little House there was an episode with a mysterious “Jonathan” (that has been much speculated being an angel), it is possible that the Jonathan from this series actually takes his name from the Little House’s Jonathan, who concluded his probation in 1948 (by the time Jonathan of Highway began it).

Or maybe Jonathan from this series is only intended to make reference to the Little House one with his name, and not being the same angel (or having the same angel identity). Or maybe Landon just wanted to use the name Jonathan on Little House for his religious meaning, and then he recycled the same idea for the new Jonathan on Highway (as explained during Help Wanted: Angel), without considering them two as the same character. Or maybe it’s just a coincidence, and Jonathan’s name in Little House was completely random.

Actually, it’s unclear whether Arthur began his probation right after his death, or whether angels get to spend some time in Heaven before the probation (like training or something), but the idea is the same.

Instead, another thing to point out for Jonathan’s probation is the way he reassures his friend.

Now, this line alone might be an encouragement to face Mark’s fear, but it’s what he adds next to be puzzling, to say the least.

This brings up two notable points: he’s never shown flying in the series—he usually just vanishes or reappears in different places; and considering that he died in 1948, it is improbable he ever took an airplane when he was alive. So, the only possible explanation might be that Jonathan is making reference to his wings, and that he got used to flying thanks to them. Of course, that raises some issues, because the only time he has ever made reference to his wings is in the Halloween Special, and he said he didn’t have them yet.

To complicate matter further, it’s unclear whether the wings are parts of his probation or not, as he never mentioned them in the Pilot (when he confessed his identity) nor in any episode of the series (more details about Jonathan’s wings at the entry “Wing’s Mystery” here). So, it’s unclear what Jonathan means here; maybe that angels can fly even without wings (but that would make wings comoletely unnecessary in the first place), or maybe that Heaven is in the sky, and you have to fly to ascend there (even though, again, taht was refuted in the episode The Secret, when Jonathan went to Heaven by just walking the street until he vanishes from the world).

The only sure thing is that he got used to flying after his death, and by telling Mark to get used to it, basically he’s implying (or anticipating) that Mark is going to become and angel too.

He’s not eager to become an angel that soon, though.

And then, there’s something odd about Jonathan’s attitude: when he visits his daughter disguised as a drummer, he invites her to dinner (although angels don’t eat), and he orders something that is not really angelic.

But it’s very like Landon’s, though.

So, here’s a brief history of that: in the season 1 episode One Winged Angels, Jonathan refused to give Mark some nighcrawlers when they went fishing because he didn’t want to kill animals; then, in the episode Birds Of A Feather, he was shown tending for animals and crying over dead birds (actually, on that occasion the assignment stemmed from his own initiative to put a stop to the industry killing birds, and he defied his superior to work on it). So, those episodes seemed to suggest that Jonathan was all for animals. But in the season 2 episode The Smile In The Third Row, he ordered shrimps for dinner, and in The Monster, he urged Diane to take a lobster for dinner (which could have implied sea animals are not as important as earthly ones).

And now, he’s eating snails (and drinking alcohol too). Definitely not for animals.

In his angelic belly.

Perhaps he’s willing to bend his own values for the sake of the assignment. Even though, at this point, the instances of Jonathan eating or supporting animal food are too many to be unnoticed, and maybe it’s because the episode of One Winged Angels was written by a Highwayman who reasonably assumed Jonathan didn’t eat animals (because he’s an angel, and he doesn’t have to eat), or that Jonathan was all for animals; but Landon had other plans for his character.

• Production and Setting

As for the production timeline, this episode was filmed between late November and the first week of December 1985, for 10 days (one of the longest episode to produce of the season). It was originally produced before Change of Life, but for some reason, this aired later. Maybe they originally set to air this episode later, but produced it earlier because of the actors’ schedule, or maybe they were supposed to air it earlier, but then reshuffled it.

Instead the setting is Monrovia, where Arthur lived with Jane. In particular, their house is the famous Idlewild mansio, a protected, historical 1887 building that remained open to the public for some years.

Eventually, it was sold, and it’s not open anymore.

At least it wasn’t destroyed some years after this episode (unlike many other historical setting that were torn down, such as the Ambassador Hotel in Cindy or the Malibu Castle in A Divine Madness, to name some).

Instead, the Live Oak Memorial Park in Monrovia is where Arthur is buried alongside Jane’s friend.

Instead, the beach where Jonathan and Jane build a bonfire in is Westward Beach, and that should ring a bell.

That’s the same beach used at the beginning of The Secret, where Mark lets it on to his colleague’s daughter that she was adopted, leading to the events of that episode.

And, before that, it is also the beach where Mark and Stella fell in love during Help Wanted: Angel in season 1.

And now, Jonathan and Jane make a bonfire and sit on the same spot as Mark and Stella and as the daughter of Mark’s colleague. Actually, in all three occasions, they sat on the same rock.

It seems like the beach curse is looming over them (when two characters fall in love by a beach, something dramatic is bound to happen soon).

Beware the curse, Jonathan.

Actually, nothing is going to happen to them here. But just here.

Glossary

Bag: at the conclusion of the episode, Mark is shown carrying both his bag and Jonathan’s convicted felony one.

So, that reveals that the bag on his left is Jonathan’s, the one shown in the opening of each episode (as he walks down the highway), and occasionally in the series (as in The Monster Part 1), while the bag on his right should is more of a mystery: in the episode One Winged Angels, Jonathan was shown packing it up. Yet, in The Monster Part 1 it was carried by Mark. So, maybe in One Winged Angels, Jonathan was such a friend he was packing it up for Mark, or maybe it is Jonathan’s second bag, and Mark has none. Of course, that doesn’t explain why an angel who never eats nor sleep and who has powers would carry a bag around — and what it’s kept in there will never be revealed in the series.

Highway actor: the episode introduces the character of Jane, who is going to come back in the future.

She’s played by experienced actress Dorothy McGuire, and she will come back in another episode of the fourth season, playing the same character. That makes McGuire part of the Highway Actors, and Jane one of the few recurring character of Highway (so far, the only recurring characters already introduced in the series are Jonathan and Mark’s friend Scotty, his wife and Mark’s cousin Diane, and then Mark’s sister Leslie, who is coming back in the third season). Now, there’s also Jonathan’s (or Arthur’s) wife.

Landon’s sunglasses: when Jonathan pretends to be a drummer to convince his daughter go visit her mother, part of the act his putting on some glasses.

That’s the fourth time in the series Jonathan wears glasses (here the episodes before this) although it’s the first time he has those specific ones. It’s likely that his usual, oversized, Malibu actor sunglasses were too intimidating now.

Either way, that’s the last time in the series Jonathan will wear Landon’s sunglasses (or any sunglasses, for that matter).

Punchline: the episode has many punchlines addressed to Jane, but they are mostly recycles from other assignments, by either Jonathan or someone else too. For instance, the very same title of the episode is a punchline that Jonathan offers Jane when they first see each other.

That should sound familiar: it’s the same punchline Willy the bum told anybody in The Banker And The Bum, especially after offering everyone a raise when he became the banker.

That’s curious, because Jane attributes that punchline to her late husband, and she tells Jonathan she changed her mind about letting them stay because she was impressed by his line. So, now she must be thinking that Jonathan is an angel. But, more likely, that Jonathan watched the TV live campaign of Willy, when he dropped that.

And he wasn’t the only one.

Then, another recycled punchline is right at the beginning, when Jane turns Jonathan and Mark when they ask to be her boarders, and Jonathan decides to randomly express his annoyed opinion at that.

It’s extremely random and unnecessary to the purpose of the assignment. But it’s also nothing new: that’s basically the same things he told Leslie in the Pilot, when he said that people stopped trusting each other.

Instead, at the conclusion, during the poignant confrontation where Jonathan warmly teaches Jane to be patient and reassures her that they’ll be seeing each other again, someday.

So, two things to point out here: one, it sounds like the heartfelt conclusion of Help Wanted: Angel, when Mark pronounced a similar sentence following his wife’s funeral; maybe Jonathan learnt this line by his friend on that episode, or maybe Jonathan taught Mark that line at some point before that episode — either way, it’s an old line, again (but an ever effective one). Second, if Jonathan had remembered this by the fourth season, maybe he would have spared himself an episode. But again, if he said he wouldn’t kill animals and then he eats snails, that goes to show he doesn’t stick to his own values.

Recycle: excluding basically all the punchlines of the episode that Jonathan recycled from the first season, and the setting of Westward Beach there’s another instance of recycle, and this time is From Little House too. As Jonathan and Jane spend a lovely afternoon at the zoo, David Rose tries to delight the audience with a playful composition.

Now, besides the very 1980s setting (characters randomly laughing without saying a word) that the audience should be used to by now, and besides that unsettling Landon’s imitation of a baboon, the score might strike as familiar to the Little House audience: it’s the same gleeful composition of the episode Remember Me (the one where Mr. Edwards gets married and adopts three orphans), in the second season of Little House (the one nobody watched, but whatever). It played when Mrs. Sanderson reveals that her children are going to be orphans soon, and then they all have a picnic by the park where Charles and Mr. Edwards cheerfully play with the three kids.

That’s the third time in Highway that David Rose quietly recycled a piece from Little House; the first time was in Another Song From Christmas, and the second time is the very same opening of Highway that comes from a season nine episode of Little House (more about the opening here). Additional Rose’s recycles from Little House will come later.

Curiously, this was also the second recycle from that specific Little House episode: there was already a line in the Highway show A Child Of God that was taken directly from Remember Me, although on that occasion both episodes come from a Bonanza one (more details about it here). It seems like Landon wasn’t the only person that worked hard on that Little House episode — and got rather annoyed that nobody watched it — so he just thought he might continuously recycle from it until a vast audience can watch it and appreciate it.

Because, why creating a new composition from the scratch, when Rose can recycle a 10 year old one from an episode likely nobody watched; also, Rose was 75 by the time he scored Highway, so he probably didn’t feel like working much.

The “Stuff” Power: in the episode, Jonathan seemingly uses the Stuff on multiple occasions. For instance, when he spots some flowers in the patio.

And decides to make them blossom instantly.

That’s actually one of the oldest trick of the series, as he did the same thing in the Pilot.

Then, he uses the power to give the vacuum cleaner to life and clean the house.

And he enslaves it.

Only Jonathan could enslave an object.

And there’s the power of vanishing to move quickly between places (to explain how he could get from California to Illinois). Unless Jonathan wanted to know what it feels like to go on an airplane.

Ratings: 38 million, 6th weekly TV programs, 2nd TV genre show.

This episode aired on February 1986, one week after Change Of Life (the most watched episode of the whole series), and it probably benefited from that: it dropped just of one single rating point, and ranked as the fourth most watched episode of the series. That’s really an impressive success, which will be carried out in the following weeks too. The series was now more popular than ever.