Do You Remember How ‘Highway to Heaven’ Ended?
Highway to Heaven, the hit show about an angel named Jonathan Smith (Michael Landon) who travels the world performing good deeds, and Mark Gordon (Victor French), the earthly man who helps him, ran for five seasons. The show’s incredible run from Sept. 19, 1984, to Aug. 4, 1989, featured a fabulous array of guest stars including Bob Hope, Ernest Borgnine, Barry Williams and Shannen Doherty. But while you might remember the show, do you remember the final episode? Did angel Jonathan Smith end up going to heaven in the end?
In honor of Victor French’s birthday (the actor, who died in 1989, would have been 90 today), let’s look back at the final episode of Highway to Heaven, “Merry Christmas From Grandpa.”
Curt Gunther / TV Guide /© NBC /courtesy Everett Collection
The first thing that might strike you is that an episode entitled “Merry Christmas From Grandpa” aired in August. That’s because waning ratings and the 1988 Writer’s Guild strike led the network to decide that show’s fifth season would be its last. They scheduled the fifth season episodes inconsistently — the first episode of the season premiered in the fall, a handful of other episodes aired in December 1988 and March 1989, and the remaining season five episodes aired during the summer, with the series concluding on Aug. 4. The episode was originally planned to air during the Christmas season in 1988.
What Happened in the Episode?
NBC/Courtesy: Everett Collection
“Merry Christmas From Grandpa” pays homage to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. In the episode, Jonathan and Mark spend Christmas Eve teaching an environmentally themed lesson to a wealthy business tycoon, who wants to open a new nuclear power plant. Jonathan takes the businessman on a trip to the year 2018, where he sees that his nuclear power plant will have an accident that will kill many people, including his own son.
Jonathan and Mark then visit a farmer who is using dangerous pesticides. Jonathan transports him to a future where his beloved farmland has been ruined by over-farming, and he and his wife are both dead from pesticide contamination in their well water. His daughter is prematurely aged and his grandson is ill; in the era they live in, clean water is a scarce and precious commodity.
Finally, the angelic duo visit the president and issue a dire warning about the toll pollution will take on future generations. A choir of angelic children serenade the president and first lady with a rendition of “Silent Night” — Jonathan explains that they are the future generations of his family who will never exist if the world becomes too polluted for people to live healthily.
The episode ends leaving open the question of whether the men will change their polluting ways. Jonathan and Mark decide to go watch a Christmas movie.
Did Jonathan Get to Heaven at the End?
Over the course of the series, it’s established that Jonathan was once a mortal man living on Earth, but is now an angel. However, the show does not conclude with Jonathan returning to heaven, or any resolution as to his situation on Earth. Since the episode wasn’t planned to be the series finale, it doesn’t tie up any loose plot ends and leaves the door open to another season.
However, another season would prove to be impossible, as French died of lung cancer in March 1989, six months before the final episode.
You can watch the episode for free on YouTube Movies & TV.
Hollywood Heaven
April 2021
Take the high road to Hollywood Heaven with feel-good TV shows, movies, music and more!
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