Touched by an Angel Season 8, Episode 8: Heaven's Portal

1

Holy of Holies

Andrew pays a visit to Catherine, an 88-year-old woman who lost her husband in WWII. She has since lost her youth as well as her faith in her children and grandchildren. All except for one that is, her grandson, Paul. She shows Andrew a copy of the Memoirs of Nehemiah, an ancient document pointing out the hiding place of the Ark of the Convenant. After this revelation, she secures his promise to take it to the post office and ship it to Paul, who is away at school. Meanwhile, Tess, Monica, and Gloria are floating around Paul's campus and eager to get started on their next assignment. Andrew arrives and tells them what he saw. Gloria masquerades as a student to infiltrate Paul's history class. Here, she meets Thomas, a history professor with a zeal for Arklore. Later on Paul stops by Thomas' office with the Memoirs of Nehemiah. He thinks it might ""be something important"", because his grandfather traveled extensively in the Middle East during the war. Thomas assures him that i

48 min

2

The Perfect Game

Ben McCloud, ace pitcher for the AAA Richmond Braves, is on his way to the Major Leagues. His biggest obstacle is his father, Norm. Norm is constantly critical of Ben's performance, including a two-hit shut-out. He wants so much for his son to make it to the Majors that he will except nothing short of perfection. He wants Ben to succeed where he failed though he is, in effect, pushing his son down the same path that ended his career. He is constantly embarrassing his son in front of the other players, and Ben is approaching a breaking point. Monica comes on board as the team's new trainer, allowing Ben to vent some of his frustrations, something he desperately needs. His father will not listen to him, and if he knew, would prevent him from visiting his grandfather, Candy, a great ballplayer in his own time. Norm's drive is all encompassing, he treats his son as little more than an avenue to success, and his own father as a pathetic liar. He is unable to accept his own father's

48 min

3

The Birthday Present

When a cancer patient is taken by Andrew, Gloria's curiosity about death is piqued. Monica suggests she take a ""ride-along"" with Andrew. Meanwhile Robbie McGregor locks his sister Sarah in a bomb shelter to protect her from their abusive father. He then returns the key to his father's hey-chain. Later on, mailman Chuck Parker comes upon the McGregor house. Robbie answers Chuck's ""easy"" baseball trivia question, then asks about a special package he is expecting. Chuck hasn't seen it, but assures Robbie that he'll keep an eye out. Robbie father, Gary, hollers for him to ""Get in here!"". Robby does, and Chuck gets back in his truck, only to discover the package. Chuck hurries up to the door, but before he can knock, he hears an argument. At the sound of a slap, and Robbie's ""Ow!"", Chuck rings the doorbell. When Gary answers, Chuck presents the package and insists that Robbie sign for it himself. Gary refuses, so Chuck leaves. Gary demands to know what's in the package, Robbie

48 min

4

Manhunt

The Angels go to a Happy Hour at the Monte Carlo, a bar run by one of Tess's former assignments. It is here that Monica learns that Zoe, a girl she saw earlier in the park, is her assignment. Zoe is lonely, heartbroken, and trying to come to terms with the end of a relationship with a great guy, Jeff. Her friends, Patty, Penny, and Maggie, try to cheer her up and help her ""Get over him."" The next day at work, Monica is hired to take over for Patty, who quit her job to get married. As the day progresses, Gloria arrives to fix all of the office computers, and Billy, an RDS delivery guy shows up with some packages. During his time in the office, his attention is solely focused on Zoe. Monica immediately notices the attraction, though Zoe is oblivious. Billy leaves and the girls go about their day eagerly awaiting Happy Hour. The clock strikes six, and they all hurry off to the Ladies room to get dolled up. Billy arrives with some apple strudel for Zoe. When he is unable to find

48 min

5

Chutzpah

After Monica leaves Gloria alone at a Portland bus stop, Gloria learns about the Jewish people...from 3 skinheads. A short time after that, Gloria meets Sam Silverstein. Sam is a sofer, a Jewish man who hand-makes the Torah, the holy scripture. Sam is amazed that Gloria does not know the truth about the holocaust and encourages her to learn about it. Monica gets a job at the Portland Daily News as an editorial writer, where she works with Sam's daughter, Rachel ""Silver."" Rachel is the paper's editorial cartoonist but her job is in jeopardy because it isn't edgy enough. Monica also notices Rachel's extensive ""personal collection"" of cartoons depiciting her father and the Jewish faith in unflattering light. When Rachel invites Monica over to the family dinner to be her ""human shield"" Monica quickly learns how deep the wounds are between Sam and Rachel. The next day, Rachel puts one of the ""personal jabs"" in the paper and immediately her panel, ""Chutzpah!"" is the hit of Portland.

48 min

6

Famous Last Words

Monica and Gloria breeze into Carlisle, Arizona in search of a cup of coffee, and the Famous LAst Words of a death row inmate. Posing as an author, Monica steps into the Oasis diner, where she meets Shirlee, a waitress with a nice smile and a strange fascination with the families that come to see their relatives die by lethal injection. Meanwhile, across the street, convicted killer Daniel Lee Corbitt is trying to stay tough on the eve of his own execution. He brags about the fame that will come with his death, and about the ""book writer"" who's coming to see him. What Daniel didn't count on was the arrival of Andrew, his own personal Angel of Death, who has come to see him th rough the final 36 hours of his life. When Monica arrives in the prison with her assistant, Gloria, Daniel is only too eager to ignore Andrew and continue upon his request for immortality through a tell-all biography. He happily relates his history and the events that led up to him returning home, after year

48 min

7

Most Likely To Succeed

Dennis Loggins is a young multi-billionaire. He's become a success, he's gotten in shape, he's spent years improving himself, and he's done it all for the love of a good woman. Or so he tells himself. The fact is that Dennis has engineered this facade of confidence and importance solely as a means for revenge. In high school Dennis was a nerd with a crush on the head cheerleader, Melissa. Due to her kindness and attention, Dennis's crush transformed into unrequited love. To make matters worse, he was constantly tormented and humiliated by Ricky, Melissa's boyfriend. On one memorable occasion, Ricky tricked Dennis into admitting his love for Melissa over a live microphone at the football game. Dennis never got over the humiliation, despite Melissa's assurance that he needn't worry. Now years later, Dennis is a success, and is eager to return Ricky's slights ten-fold. He hires Gloria on as an assistant specifically to find out what football team Ricky is playing for, and to hel

48 min

8

Heaven's Portal

A rebellious teen convinces Gloria to go to a rave with him where they both end up getting high.

48 min

9

When Sunny Gets Blue

A young man tries to help his mentally ill father, in rebellion against his mother's apparent indifference.

48 min

10

Angels Anonymous

Andrew, acting as a marriage counselor, sends Yvette and Peter there when they have trouble talking anything but work. Monica catches the eye of Michael, a lonely paramedic, and leads him on a wild goose chase ending at Bubba's. Tess sends Leigh and her ""I'm the Boss"" husband Jimmy to the dive in order to squeeze lunch into their thoroughly planned outing. And Karen, a lawyer who has lost her sense of purpose, is stranded in the Polynesian nightmare when a bad client, a flat tire, and returning angel Rafael combine to alter her day. As they become aware of each other and gravitate toward a single table, they catch up on the years gone by, and make the startling discover that their former teacher Dave Price is bussing their table. Dave denies his identity at first, hating what he's become, and despising what he is about to do. He has agreed to help Bubba, the owner, burn the place down in exchange for a chunk of the insurance money. He figures if he can dodge his students and for

48 min

11

A Winter Carol

In a small New York town, just a short commute from NYC, a lone Volkswagen Beetle sits abandoned in the train station parking lot. It hasn't moved in months, not since its owner, Bill Harper, took the 6:15 train into the city on the morning of September 11th. No one knows why he went to New York that day, and no one knows what became of him. It just makes it that much more difficult for his friends and neighbors to accept that Bill Harper will NOT be home for Christmas. This year Mr. Harper will not be around to plan the Christmas Pageant, or to give drum lessons to Benny Lewis. Benny however, refuses to give up hope, everyday checking to see if Mr. Harper's car has moved, or if anyone has gotten word from him. But the Benny's fear for Mr. Harper is nothing compared to the fear that has consumed his mother, Victoria, since that awful day. She, as mayor, refuses to have the Volkswagen towed despite the persistence of Charlie, the town sheriff. She is reluctant to let someone els

48 min

12

The Last Chapter

Monica revisits the home of Elizabeth Jessup, a retired reporter who she once helped cope with alcoholism. Tess insists that Monica is there as the answer to someone's prayer. Monica hurries up the steps to offer Elizabeth whatever help she needs, only to discover that her help is not only unwanted, but resented. Elizabeth wants nothing to do with the angel that once helped her out. Monica shows up at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, where Elizabeth is celebrating seven years of sobriety. In the midst of her speech, she begins to slur her words, insisting that she hasn't been drinking, it's just a headache. After the meeting, Monica meets up with her and her daughter, Sydney and granddaughter, Beth. Monica expresses her concern and Elizabeth says that she's developed a tendency for transient cognitive episodes of undetermined origin. Sydney explains that the doctors suspect a brain tumor. Later on, Monica reads Elizabeth's memoirs, and asks why there is no mention of the fire

48 min

13

Ship-In-A-Bottle

Tevis Lockwood is starting a new life with his daughters, Ashley and Jasmine. Leaving behind the sun and heat of Los Angeles, they move to the cold rainy Seattle suburbs so Tevis can take control of a large shipping company. His daughters are not overly enthused about the move, particulary Jasmine who fears that the cold and rain will bring illness with it. As they set about unpacking and arranging the new house, Jasmine in increasingly worried about the weather and the effects it might have on she and Ashley. Monica arrives as part of the transition team for the shipping company and with Gloria's help, looks after the girls while Tevis gets situated at work. Tevis arrives at the office pleased with his new station in life and eager to make an impression on the world. When he finds the reception desk empty, Tess shows up with a resume and answers the phone for him. Impressed by her initiative, Tevis hires her on the spot, not a moment before Joaquin, the real receptionist arrive

48 min

14

The Blue Angel

From being televised at the 1939 World's Fair, to finishing out his days as the director of a community acess station in South Bend, Indiana; Max Blandish has run the spectrum of television's growth. Once he had ideals and dreams, now all he jas is a lump of bitterness and emphysema. His failure to make the right choices has brought him to the bottom of the entertainment barrel, his cigarettes have brought him to the end of his days. Now, he tries to hide his ailment, while filling the airwaves with: singing cowboys, Elvis impersonators, chicken farmers, and the pinnacle of bad taste ""the Blue Angel"". Gloria arrives with a respirator, as a representative of ""Life Support"". Max has a fit and insists that he ordered no such thing, his longtime friend and cameraman, Elmer, admits that he did. Max storms off, and Monica appears to tell Gloria all about him. When she first met Max, he made the right choice to put a young Japanese girl on the air, and was fired for it. That was the

48 min

15

Secrets and Lies

Allen Lowry is having a great at the gym with his wife, Suzanne and their 17-year old daughter, Erica. Things couldn't be better. Unfortunately they could get a lot worse, and they do. In the middle of a one-on-one basketball game, Erica collapses. When Allen and Suzanne rush to her side, they discover a series of dark bruises across her back. The next day, at the hospital, the family waits for Erica's test results. When Dr. Nathans arroves he is accompanied by, Monica, a counselor from the organ donor department. The news is grim. Erica has leukemia and if she doesn't get a bone marrow transplant she is going to die. Allen heads downstairs to get tested for bone marrow compatibility while Suzanne comforts Erica. While Gloria draws blood for the test, she explains to Allen the odds of finding a match. Since Erica is a mix of the genetic material of both Allen and Suzanne, chances are that neither of them will be acceptable donors. She says that a brother or sister would stan

48 min

16

The Princeless Bride

Liz and Jonas are in love, it's the day before their wedding and everything is perfect. The on;y thing that could go wrong is an act of nature. And the only thing that can make it right will be an Act of God. The wedding is to be held at the Peery Hotel in Washington D.C., the very spot that Jonas and Liz met. Liz arrives in a great mood only to be met with a new staff, a loitering homeless man, and an unwanted guest, Aunt Meg. All of this she can handle, just as long as Jonas makes his flight into town. Unfortunately Jonas decides to squeeze in one last meeting, and must take a later flight. Even more unfortunately, all later flights are canceled as a monster blizzard sweeps across the eastern seaborn. Forced to seek alternate transportation, Jonas catches a ride from a helpful cabbie, Andrew. Back at the hotel, Liz is shatteres as she receives phone call after phone call from guests unable to make it to town. Her wedding is ruined, her parents won't be there, the groom may

48 min

17

Hello, I Love You

In the small town of Wells, Nevada good news travels fast, almost as fast as gossip. Danni Blake has been plagued by the latter for all of her short life. The shame of not having a father has kept her down. What's is that her school is planning a father-daughter. After a few scornful comments from her classmates. Danni storms home, upset. Her mother Nicole, tries to comfort her, but in the end, the only comfort that Danni will accept is in the form of information about her father. Nicole relents and gives Danni a card that he sent her on her first birthday. Danni cheers up considerably. Nicole goes off to work, leaving her in the capable hands of Monica. That night, Danni wakes up to a roomful of people. There was an accident at the factory and her mother was hurt. The next day, after visiting her still unconscious mother in the hospital, Danni uses the address from the birthday card. She hops on a bus and heads to Silver Springs in search of her father. With only last na

48 min

18

Minute by Minute

The angels stand outside of Our Lady of Hope Senior High, watching as Sister Theodore enters the school. It's nearly, 6:00am, and all is not well. Punk Rock music blares from an old car as it pulls into the parking lot. John and Cory sit inside, both are seventeen and they're about to do something terrible. In the backseat of the car sits a box, and in the box are ten homemade bombs. They plan to blow up the school at seven o'clock, while everyone is next door at mass. Bobby is also seventeen, and he's the one responsible for building the bombs. When he arrives at the school to meet John and Cory, he realizes that he can't go through with it. Instead he heads down the street to Millie's, the greasy spoon diner where he works. He apologizes to Tess. the new manager, for being late, and starts his shift teaching Gloria how to work the register. They getalong well. Inside the school, Monica appears to Sister Theodore, telling her about the boy's plan. She tells her that God wi

48 min

19

The Bells of St. Peters

Rose is the loving mother of Maggie, an oncologist. She is also her office manager, a meddler in her personal affairs, and a collector of various superstitions and faiths. In an attempt to ease tension in Maggie and her husband Brian's marriage, Rose has planned a trip to Rome. She is counting on her son-in-law and daughter to insist on accompanying her. She thinks that if they make the trip to Vatican Square on Easter Sunday to hear the bells of St. Peter's Cathedral, the miracle they need will happen. She has even gone so far as to hire Monica to temp in the office while they are away. Unfortunately things don't go according to plan. When a patient named Annie dies, Maggie is devastated, closing herself off to Brian, and canceling their plans for Rome. Rose tries to persuade her, but Maggie erupts in anger at her mother's meddling. She even takes Rose's fatigue to be nothing more than a sympathy ploy, her blood-work however tells another story. Rose has leukemmia. Maggie

48 min

20

The Impossible Dream

Reggie Hunter has the voice of an angel and the love of his family. Unfortunately, he hasn't had the courage to sing in over 25 years. Instead he works as a janitor at his former high school, even though he was once good enough to audition for Berry Gordy of Motown Records. Every Sunday, he, his Aunt Charlotte, his brother Martin, and his sister Eleanor sit down to supper with the rest of their family. It is a family tradition that they have kept throughout their lives, missing only once for thier parents funeral. On this particular Sunday, news of Aunt Charlotte's impending retirement makes its way around the table, distressing Reggie. The only reason he can even tolerate his job is because Aunt Charlotte teaches choir at the school. The thought of her leaving upsets him so much, that he leaves the table. On Monday, Reggie goes unhappily back to work at the school, breaking in a new janitor, Andrew. Meanwhile at Detroit Metro Bank, Martin hires Monica as a new loan officer, c

48 min

21

For All The Tea in China

Sarah and James Berrington are unable to conceive a child. They have tried everything, including in-vetro fertilization. Nothing works. When their final pregnancy test comes out negative, Sarah weeps, devastated. On the other side of the world, a Chinese woman staggers down a dark road with a small bundle in her arms. Finally she comes to the gate of a building and lays her bundled baby against it. As snow starts to fall, and the woman walks away from her child, she cries out in anguish. Back at the gate, Gloria cuddles the baby in her arms, waiting for morning. In New York, at the home they share with his grandmother, Lady Penelope Berrington, James and his wife consider adoption. Though they that Penelope will react poorly to decision, they decide to visit an adoption counselor. Everything seems to be in order, but they will need to be evaluated in home by a case worker. They take a series of pamphlets about adopting from various corners of the globe and return home to loo

48 min

22

Forever Young

One year ago the Costello's were a happy family. Now, Don is losing his touch at work, his wife Stacey is wandering to the park at all hours of the day, and their son Justin has been suspended from school pending therapy. The root of the problem is the murder of Kimmie, their daughter and Justin's sister. Stacey shows up at one of Don's moivational speeches so they can drop Justin off at the office of his new therapist, Gloria. Don agrees and apologizes to Monica, the coompany evaluator, saying that he will meet with her later at his home office. At the therapy session, Gloria tries to discover the reason for Justin's fights at school, but he refuses to answer her questions. Later on, Monica tells Don of the negative feedback that he's been getting from his audiences. It seems that no one appreciates the mention of his dead daughter, it makes them feel manipulated. Before he can respond, Justin enters, telling him that his mom never came to get him at. Monica offers to cintinu

48 min