Highway to Heaven

Infobox television
show_name = Highway to Heaven


caption =
format = Family Drama
runtime = 60 minutes
creator =
starring = Michael Landon
Victor French
country = USA
network = NBC
first_aired = September 19, 1984
last_aired = August 4, 1989
num_seasons = 5
num_episodes = 111

"Highway to Heaven" is an American television drama series which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1989.

It starred Michael Landon as Jonathan Smith, an angel sent down to earth, and his human companion Mark Gordon, played by Victor French. The third popular Michael Landon television vehicle (after "Bonanza" and "Little House on the Prairie") consisted of 111 episodes produced over five seasons.

The theme song for Highway to Heaven was written and performed by Ted Neeley.

Cancellation

The show was removed from the 1988 fall schedule and used as a mid-season replacement in 1989. This change was explained by Michael Landon on an appearance he made "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" in early 1989 and is why the episodes, which were originally filmed in the fall of 1988, did not air until the late spring and into the summer of 1989 (the last episode aired on August 4, 1989). The series ending was due to it being canceled by the network and may not have been the sole consequence of Victor French's death in June 1989 from lung cancer.

Filming locations

. In addition, the pilot episode from 1984 was partially filmed along Dawn Road, South of Tucson, AZ. The footage of Jonathan walking before being picked up by Mark was filmed in Tucson and along Soledad Canyon Road near Acton, CA.

Guest stars

Guest stars Devon Odessa, Alyson Croft, and Joshua John Miller all won Young Artist Awards for their appearances. Landon's "Bonanza" co-star Lorne Greene also earned critical acclaim for his own appearance in a 1985 episode.

DVD releases

A&E Home Video has released the first 3 seasons on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time. It is not known if the remaining 2 seasons will be released at some point. The episodes contained on these releases are edited, syndicated versions and not the original ones.

ee also

* "Touched By an Angel", a later series with the same premise.

External links

*imdb title|id=0086730|title=Highway to Heaven
* [http://www.tvland.com/shows/highwaytoheaven/ "Highway to Heaven" on TVLand.com]
* [http://landonlegacy.com/ Michael Landon Remembrance Project Site]
* [http://bonanzabrand.net/forums/index.php?act=idx H2H Forum at BonanzaBrand]
* [http://www.moviekids.org/code/mov_page.php?mo=3707 Moviekids - Highway to Heaven Page]