Touched by an Angel - The Complete First Season
by Helaine Head
from Paramount
Touched by an Angel wasn't the first TV show with a heavenly theme, but it set a new standard for a compassionate portrayal of Christian themes on television. Roma Downey, with flowing brunette locks and a soft Irish lilt, plays Monica, a divine case-worker sent from town to town to lend an angelic hand. Sometimes it's as simple as helping a dying man reach out to those he loves before it's too late; sometimes she has to face the Devil himself--in the closing episode of the first season, Monica is sent to make sure an AIDS hospice opens despite the opposition of white supremacists being led by Satan (played by John Schneider, formerly of The Dukes of Hazzard). Earthy Della Reese plays Tess, Monica's supervisor, who takes an active role in quite a few cases. Touched by an Angel is unlikely to persuade dubious viewers to join the faith, but though all episodes resolve themselves through the intervention of God and his divine messengers, the show's view of humanity has hope and dignity.
Touched by an Angel also features an impressive array of guest stars, ranging from country music star Randy Travis to Academy Award winner Cloris Leachman (The Last Picture Show) to Marion Ross (Happy Days); one episode, about a radio talk-show host fighting with her teenage daughter, features Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), James Marsden (X-Men), and Jack Black (School of Rock), all before their careers took off. Touched by an Angel: The Complete First Season has the first 13 episodes from 1994-95 and, as a bonus, the two-part series finale from 2003. --Bret Fetzer
TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL - THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON delivers inspiration in the form of Monica (Downey), Tess (Reese) and Andrew (Dye), three angels dispatched from heaven to inspire people who are at a crossroads in their lives. Features notable guest appearances by Randy Travis, Phylicia Rashad and Malcolm-Jamal Warner,
Touched by an Angel - The Second Season
by Helaine Head
from Paramount
Touched by an Angel swiftly amassed a devout following, drawn to the TV series' clear Christian values and the warm performances of Roma Downey (she of the creamy complexion and lush pre-Raphaelite hair) and Della Reese as Monica and Tess, two angels sent to help troubled human beings. The first season had the additional virtue of exploring the ordinary yet complex emotional problems of troubled marriages, rebellious teens, and coping with the death of a loved one, in stories that were (with a few exceptions) cleanly written and down-to-earth--though, of course, everything was resolved by divine intervention. The second season, regrettably, dives into melodrama: A pregnant woman is trapped in a bank vault after her husband tries to rob the bank; a lawyer meets up with an old girlfriend, not knowing that her wicked ambitions caused his best friend to commit suicide; a postal worker sends atheistic replies to children's letters to God--and it turns out that he's an Auschwitz survivor. Even episodes grappling with what could be compelling material, like a stripper who feels responsible for her daughter's birth defect, get pushed over the top when Tess saves the day by creating a hot air balloon out of thin air. Certainly, God can accomplish miracles, but the second season of Touched by an Angel loses sight of his subtlety and mysterious ways. Nonetheless, fans will continue to take comfort in the show's message about divine love.
Episodes feature a wide range of guest stars: Movie actors like Elliott Gould (M*A*S*H) and Stacy Keach (Fat City); old television hands like Hal Linden (Barney Miller) and Cindy Williams (Laverne & Shirley); non-actors like poet Maya Angelou and singer Natalie Cole; and such, well, lesser celebrities as Kathie Lee Gifford (Live with Regis and Kathie Lee.) John Dye joins the series in this season as Andrew, a handsome angel of death. --Bret Fetzer
TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL - THE SECOND SEASON delivers inspiration in the form of Monica (Downey), Tess (Reese) and Andrew (Dye), three angels dispatched from heaven to inspire people who are at a crossroads in their lives. Features notable guest appearances by Randy Travis, Phylicia Rashad and Malcolm-Jamal Warner.
Touched by an Angel - The Third Season (Vol. 1 & 2)
by Helaine Head
from Paramount
This Giftset includes both volumes 1 & 2 of Season 3.
The Sum of Us
by Kevin Dowling
from MGM (Video & DVD)
Jack Thompson (Star Wars Episode II) and Oscar winner Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind) star in this "fresh spin [on an] old heart-tugging plot" (Los Angeles Times)-the over protective parent's well-intended interference with an adult child's life. "Extraordinarily funny [and] startlingly effective" (The San Francisco Examiner) this award-winning film is mandatory viewing for anyone who's ever been a parent...or had one!Harry Mitchell (Thompson) has a problem with his gay son Jeff (Crowe): Harry thinks he needs to find a mate! With a loving push out of the nest-and into the gay bars of Sydney-he becomes his son's biggest cheerleader. But it's Harry's secret romance with an attractive but judgmental divorcee that puts father and son at odds...and prompts them to discover that acceptance is a two-way street!System Requirements:Starring: Russell Crowe Jack Thompson Deborah Kennedy and John Polson. Directed By: Geoff Burton and Kevin Dowling. Running Time: 100 Min. Color. This film is presented in both "Widescreen" and "Standard" formats. Copyright 2003 MGM Studios.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 027616878960 Manufacturer No: M102935
Australia has no shortage of he-man actors. Tops on anybody's list would be Russell Crowe and bluff, burly Jack Thompson, neither of whom looks completely at ease without a pint of lager in his hand. Thus it's a brilliant touch to cast them together in a gay comedy--Crowe as an uncloseted young man looking for love, Thompson as his open-minded straight father, who's so eager to help his son find Mr. Right, he's actually a bit of an annoyance. The 1995 movie betrays its stage origins, especially when the characters turn to the camera to deliver conversational asides. And the one-joke premise of Thompson's unflagging enthusiasm for his son's sex life becomes almost as tiresome for the viewer as it does for the son. But it's an innocuous enough little movie, and the two actors bring their gruff likability into every scene. In retrospect, Crowe's future stardom looks blindingly obvious. --Robert Horton
Touched By an Angel - The Third Season, Vol. 2
by Helaine Head
from Paramount
A trio of angels Monica (Roma Downey) Tess (Della Reese) and Andrew (John Dye) are dispatched from heaven with a special mission: to inspire people facing sometimes unseen crossroads in their lives. Monica an angel who at times still needs some guidance with her earthly assignments reports to Tess her tough wise and always loving supervisor. Also on hand is Andrew who in addition to his duties as the Angel of Death now helps out as a caseworker on carious assignments. Gloria an angel for the 21st century continues to seek guidance from Monica performing her angelic duties. While the angels may not bring solutions to every problem they always deliver a message of hope.System Requirements:Run Time: 780 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097368508743 Manufacturer No: 850874
Roma Downey, with her apple cheeks, cascading brunette hair, and Irish lilt, has the kind of warm benevolence that has been the bedrock of television from its inception. Starring as Monica, an angel "caseworker" who walks among mortal humanity to help them solve their problems, Downey glows beatifically as she dispenses homilies about God's enduring love. The cantankerous authority of Della Reese as Tess, Monica's immediate superior, and the bland manliness of John Dye as Andrew, the Angel of Death (though by this season, he'd became pretty much all-purpose) gave Touched by an Angel its own holy trinity. By the third season, the trio had settled into a comfortable blend of earnest empathy and vaudevillian banter.
While fans of the show praise its moral values, the scripts vary erratically, slipping all to often into melodrama and hamfisted dialogue. Even viewers comfortable with problems being solved by the Lord's direct intervention will probably scoff at the ending of, for example, the episode about an escape artist who feels guilty over his brother's death--not only is the resolution farfetched, the execution is clumsy. Still, the show pulls in an impressive array of guest stars; The Third Season, Vol. 2 features James Earl Jones, Bill Cosby, Cloris Leachman, Abe Vigoda, Esther Rolle, Edward James Olmos, Camryn Mannheim, Chris Noth, and many, many more. Jasmine Guy returns as Monica's diabolical nemesis, and Hudson Leick (Xena: Warrior Princess) appears twice as a sweet fledgling angel. This four-disc set features 14 episodes with no extra features. --Bret Fetzer
Law & Order - Criminal Intent - The Premiere Episode
from Universal Studios
Touched by an Angel - The Fourth Season, Vol. 1
by Helaine Head
from Paramount
Viewers who complain that every story on Touched by an Angel resolves in the exact same way--the divine intervention of angels--are missing the point. This show's fans aren't interested in psychology or clever plot twists; they want to know that rosy-cheeked angels, with caring eyes and soothing voices, will be there for them when their lives seem hopeless. Touched by an Angel gives shape to that wish in the form of beatific Roma Downey, prickly but loving Della Reese, and staunch John Dye as a trio of angels sent all over America to remind troubled souls of God's love. Though the message is consistent, the writing is not. Episodes are sometimes earnest but silly (a painfully sanitized portrait of homeless teens) or outright absurd (a farmer plagued by a drought decides to sue God). But at its best (as in an episode about HIV-positive girls at a summer camp who decide to form a suicide pact), Touched by an Angel can be thoughtful and warm. As in previous years, the fourth season pulls in guest stars of all stripes, including young stars on the rise like Thora Birch (American Beauty), Mandy Moore (A Walk to Remember), Meagan Good (Waist Deep), and Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous); actors well into their careers, like Janet Leigh (Psycho), Stephanie Zimbalist (Remington Steele), Swoosie Kurtz (Citizen Ruth), Robert Guillaume (Benson); and genuine old-hand superstars like Carol Burnett and Rita Moreno. The Fourth Season, Vol. 1 has no extras. --Bret Fetzer
A trio of angels Monica (Roma Downey) Tess (Della Reese) and Andrew (John Dye) are dispatched from heaven with a special mission: to inspire people facing sometimes unseen crossroads in their lives. Monica an angel who at times still needs some guidance with her earthly assignments reports to Tess her tough wise and always loving supervisor. Also on hand is Andrew who in addition to his duties as the Angel of Death now helps out as a caseworker on carious assignments. Gloria an angel for the 21st century continues to seek guidance from Monica performing her angelic duties. While the angels may not bring solutions to every problem they always deliver a message of hope.System Requirements:Run Time: 540 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097368513549 Manufacturer No: 851354
Mojave Moon
by Kevin Dowling
from Lions Gate
Danny Aiello stars as al Mc card a nice guy who stumbles into a weekend of wacky intrigue when he impulsively gives Ellie (Angelinga Jolie) a ride from Los Angeles to the Mojave Desert. Al never expects Ellie to fall in love with hism nor does he expect to fall far her mother Julie (Anne Archer)! When Julie s lunatic boyfriend Boyd (Michael Biehn) shows up Al gets more action than he ever counted on. Caught in a hilarious web of bizarre events that can only be explained by the bewitching way of the Mojave moon Al s life and loves will never be the same.System Requirements: Running Time 95 Min Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 031398170525 Manufacturer No: 17052
Touched By An Angel (Season 1, Season 2, and Season 3: Volume 1)
by Helaine Head
from Paramount
A trio of angels Monica (Roma Downey), Tess (Della Reese), and Andrew (John Dye) are dispatched from heaven with a special mission: to inspire people facing sometimes unseen crossroads in their lives. Monica, an angel who at times still needs some guidance with her earthly assignments, reports to Tess, her tough, wise and always loving supervisor. Also on hand is Andrew, who, in addition to his duties as the Angel of Death, now helps out as a caseworker on carious assignments. Gloria, an angel for the 21st century, continues to seek guidance from Monica performing her angelic duties. While the angels may not bring solutions to every problem, they always deliver a message of hope.
Touched by an Angel - The Third Season, Vol. 1
by Helaine Head
from Paramount
The creators of Touched by an Angel were clearly of the philosophy "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The Third Season following squarely and steadfastly in the footsteps of the second, taking emotionally fraught stories--a dedicated teacher gets kidnapped by a troubled student, a drug addict tries to set her life on the right path, a young couple call off their wedding--and brings them to a happy conclusion through the intervention of the Lord, working His mysterious ways through three angels: Monica (Roma Downey, she of the flowing brunette hair and Irish lilt), Tess (Della Reese, she of the white forelock and the gravely voice), and Andrew, an Angel of Death (John Dye, he of the sweeping Fabio-esque mane and full cheeks). It's never quite clear just how much the angels are allowed to interfere with mortal doings. In one episode, Monica gets sent to God's Country--a sort of metaphysical detention--but it's hard to say that her actions were any more out of bounds than usual. Touched by an Angel is a love-it-or-hate-it show; cynics find it smug and didactic, while fans are drawn to its sincere and caring portrayal of Christian values. As ever, the series pulls in a surprising mix of guest stars, ranging from movie stars on the rise (Kirsten Dunst, Bring It On, Spider-Man) and on the wane (Sally Kellerman, the big-screen version of M*A*S*H), TV stars (John Ritter, Three's Company; Delta Burke, Designing Women; Ja'net Dubois, Good Times; Ben Vereen, Roots), and sturdy character actors (Olympia Dukakis, Moonstruck; Harold Gould and Carol Lawrence, guest stars on just about every show imaginable in the 1970s and '80s). The Third Season, Vol. 1 includes the first 16 episodes from the 1996-1997 season, including the episode that launched the spin-off show, Promised Land, with Gerald McRaney and Ossie Davis. There are no extras on the dvds. --Bret Fetzer
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