Highway to Heaven

August 4, 1989, the final episode of Highway to Heaven aired. It ran on NBC from September 19, 1984 to to August 4, 1989. The series aired for five seasons, running a total of 111 episodes. It was shot entirely in California. The series starred Michael Landon as Jonathan Smith and Victor French—Landon's co-star from Little House on the Prairie—as Mark Gordon.

Jonathan Smith (Landon) is an angel sent down to earth "on probation". He meets, and pairs up with, his human partner and friend, Mark Gordon (French). Jonathan and Mark are given assignments by "The Boss" (God), where they are required to use their humanity (and sometimes a bit of "The Stuff" when needed) to help various troubled souls overcome their problems. These problems include families dealing with sick loved ones; "all-around losers" who are encouraged to find their self-worth; people coping with loss of family such as war widows; parsons who are struggling to lead their flocks; greedy businessmen being encouraged to use their wealth for good; charlatans who used civil rights for personal gain; and discouraging prejudice in regard to people of different ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and disabilities.

Each episode typically begins with Jonathan and Mark arriving in a new city and assuming the identities of business employees or civil service workers. Due to Jonathan's angelic nature, the two are able to adopt positions such as police officers, medical personnel, teachers, social workers, or other skilled employees without any check of their background or verification of their employment history. This allows for a variety of identities and scenarios into which the two find themselves inserted.

While dealing sensitively with these situations, the show also uses humor, particularly between Jonathan and Mark. Their personalities often clash (Jonathan being more sensible and compassionate but naive, and Mark being more pragmatic and cynical), but they always support each other. Jonathan's mission on Earth is to do enough good in order to regain his wings and, presumably, ascend to heaven. As Jonathan and Mark develop a close relationship, Mark does not want to lose his friend, so he sometimes tries to impede Jonathan's progress.

In June 1988, NBC decided that season five would be the last, since the show was falling in the ratings. The show was removed from the 1988 fall schedule and used as a mid-season replacement in 1989. Michael Landon made an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in early 1989 and explained this as the reason why episodes that were originally filmed in the fall of 1988 did not air until the late spring and summer of 1989. The series finale aired on August 1, 1989. Series co-star Victor French died in June 1989 from lung cancer, but this was not the reason for the cancellation.