Touched by an Angel - The Complete First Season
by Bethany Rooney
from Paramount
Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 03/20/2007
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 Fourth Season (Vols. 1-2)
from Paramount
Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 12/04/2007
Touched by an Angel - The Second Season
by Bethany Rooney
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
Watch as monica continues to mature as a caseworker but still needs the firm-but-loving supervision of tess. Also watch as new angels join the ensemble: gloria an angel for the 21st century & andrew the angel of death. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 03/20/2007 Starring: Roma Downey Valerie Bertinelli Rating: Nr
Touched by an Angel - The Third Season (Vol. 1 & 2)
by Bethany Rooney
from Paramount
Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 03/20/2007
Touched by an Angel: Inspiration Collection - Faith
from Paramount
Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 01/26/2010 Run time: 181 minutes
Touched by an Angel: Inspiration Collection - Hope
from Paramount
No description available for this title.
Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: NR
Street Date: 11/10/09
Wide Screen: no
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
Language: ENGLISH
Foreign Film: noSubtitles: no
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: yes
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve
Touched by an Angel: Inspiration Collection - Love
from Paramount
Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 01/26/2010 Run time: 184 minutes
Touched by an Angel: Inspiration Collection - Holiday
from Paramount
No description available for this title.
Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: NR
Street Date: 11/10/09
Wide Screen: no
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
Language: ENGLISH
Foreign Film: noSubtitles: no
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: yes
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve
Touched By An Angel (Season 1, Season 2, and Season 3: Volume 1)
by Bethany Rooney
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. 2
by Bethany Rooney
from Paramount
A trio of angels work on Earth to help the troubled and to give them hope. This volume contains the last thirteen episodes of the third season.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: NR
Release Date: 27-FEB-2007
Media Type: DVD
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
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