編按/譯者劉鴻輝表示:「這一集翻譯起來有些困難,劇中有多處莎士比亞戲劇對白,正規洗練,時而鏗鏘有力,時而華麗的詞藻造成翻譯上很大的挑戰。原文劇名The Quality of Mercy出自莎翁戲劇<威尼斯商人>(The Merchant of Venice)。此集中有出自<殉情記>(即<羅密歐與茱麗葉>)、<馬克白>、<亨利五世>、<暴風雨>、<哈姆雷特>等經典莎翁名劇的對白,編導將這些對白插入適切的情境中,用心與巧思清楚可見。蒙妮卡在劇末現身開導人時,所說的第一段話也是<威尼斯商人>的對白。為了與充滿莎翁氣息的內容對應,我也以他知名喜劇為本集命名,即你所見的<皆大歡喜>(All’s Well That Ends Well)。黛絲在劇末也引用這劇名,形容美好的結局。」
Joel Redding is a former soap-opera star who is coming to terms with middle age and life after television. He, his wife, Sally and son, Marshall have moved to a small town trying to regain a semblance of normal family life. While helping with a college theatre's fund raiser, Monica, Tess, and Andrew witness tension between Joel, the play's director and Marshall, the play's star. Matters are further complicated when the aging actor initiates an affair with one of his teenage ingenues. During one of Joel's extracurricular trysts, Sally slips while hanging a picture and seriously injures herself. Marshall finds his mother, calls for help, and gets her to the hospital. After authorizing the doctor to perform a risky surgical procedure, the teen rails at Joel when he finally returns from his rendezvous. Tess reveals herself to the guilt-ridden husband, admonishing him to be faithful to his wife and son. Back at the theatre, Joel tries to apologize to his son and admits he didn't quit the soap opera but was fired because of his age. Marshall is still reluctant to forgive until Monica's revelation that he must see his father as a man, rather than as a hero to be worshipped. Sally's surgery is successful, the production is a triumph, and the family is reunited.
Joel Redding is a former soap-opera star who is coming to terms with middle age and life after television. He, his wife, Sally and son, Marshall have moved to a small town trying to regain a semblance of normal family life. While helping with a college theatre's fund raiser, Monica, Tess, and Andrew witness tension between Joel, the play's director and Marshall, the play's star. Matters are further complicated when the aging actor initiates an affair with one of his teenage ingenues. During one of Joel's extracurricular trysts, Sally slips while hanging a picture and seriously injures herself. Marshall finds his mother, calls for help, and gets her to the hospital. After authorizing the doctor to perform a risky surgical procedure, the teen rails at Joel when he finally returns from his rendezvous. Tess reveals herself to the guilt-ridden husband,
admonishing him to be faithful to his wife and son. Back at the theatre, Joel tries to apologize to his son and admits he didn't quit the soap opera but was fired because of his age. Marshall is still reluctant to forgive until Monica's revelation that he must see his father as a man, rather than as a hero to be worshipped. Sally's surgery is successful, the production is a triumph, and the family is reunited.
Note: John Dye became a series lead starting with this episode.
While working at the post office, Monica meets Max, who is responsible for handling "dead" letters addressed to Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and God. A Holocaust survivor, Max answers children's letters to God by telling them there is no God and not to place their faith in a fantasy. One little girl, Tanya Brenner, continues sending God letters, even though Max only answered the first one and ignored the rest. Andrew, who has met the child, and Monica entice Tess to ask God if they can read the letters. After receiving permission, they learn that Tanya's father is very ill and that his girlfriend, Sandy has been abusing the girl. Monica is outraged and wants to help, but Tess reminds her that Max, not Tanya is her assignment. Taking matters into her own hands, Monica arranges for Max to see a drunken Sandy hit the girl. Following this encounter, Max follows her home, where her dying father beseeches the postal worker to find Tanya a new home. Shaken, Max runs away. When he doesn't show up for work the next day, Monica goes to visit him. Tanya has disappeared and Max is wracked with guilt.
The angel reveals herself and gently persuades him to do something. He decides to look for the girl, finding her at her late father's apartment. While treating Tanya to a meal at the diner, Max is spotted by policemen and arrested for suspicion of kidnapping. Monica visits a despondent Max in jail, informing him that men, not God were responsible for the Holocaust. When Andrew emerges on the scene, Max remembers seeing him at the Auschwitz barracks in 1944. The Angel of Death reminds Max of his father's faith, revealing that he died on his feet praising God and asking Him to walk with his son. Overcome by memories, the postal worker weeps. Meanwhile, Tess persuades the diner owner to tell the police Max did not abduct Tanya but was trying to help her. Once that matter is cleared up, Max applies to be her foster father, so the two of them can become a family. As Monica, Tess, and Andrew watch unseen, Max opens a mysterious package that contains a pair of children's shoes--his own--with the carved inscription "Lieber Gott," German for "Dear God."
Monica and Tess are assigned to Detective BOB CHAMPNESS (Bill Nunn) at the Center for Missing Children. Champness is very good at this job, but is haunted by his failures: the children who have died or have simply never been found. Andrew, the Angel-of-Death, is also taking his shift at the center. Andrew is intrigued by computers, and shows Monica how computer simulated age progression works.
Monica discovers that KATHLEEN (Jasmine Guy), a Dark Angel, is Bob's new girl friend, and is pushing Bob to the breaking point. She distracts him from his cases and undermines all the good he has done for missing children, pushing him close to quitting his job. In a dueling revelation scene, Monica defeats Kathleen and brings Bob back from the influence of evil. Then, with the help of Andrew's age progression expertise, Monica helps Bob solve a 15 year old missing child case.
What happens if you go into a coma, wake up five years later and discover you've lost everything that mattered to you? When we open STEVE (Brad Whitford) is celebrating the opening of he and his partner MATTHEW's (David Morin) architectural firm. Then his son falls off the roof, but is miraculously unhurt. Monica caught him, and unseen to the family, she also examines an angel key chain. This causes Steve to take his second car, a dumpy little model, and he's thrown out in an accident.
When Steve wakes up, five years have passed, and we learn that his wife BONNIE (Jane Kaczmarek) has fallen in love with Matthew. Thinking he was a permanent vegetable, she's divorced Steve. Steve's house looks completely different, even his dog doesn't remember him. Steve reacts in rage, he breaks up Bonnie and Matthew's impending nuptials. Monica meanwhile feels so badly about causing all this trouble that she steps away from her assignment. AL (Brenda Vaccaro) is dispatched to talk sense into her. What is revealed is that Steve had carried on a legacy of abuse: there was a wooden spoon that he had been beaten with and he had been beating his son with. When he finally confronts this secret, he's able to forgive himself, let go of his rage and let Bonnie get on with her life.
As Monica studies a sleeping man in a run-down apartment, Tess appears and informs her she's in the wrong place--801 Cedar in Jacksonville, Florida rather than Jacksonville, Illinois. After using her angelic powers to tidy the apartment, Monica stoops to pick up a bag under the bed when the police burst in. The bag she's holding is full of cocaine, and the police arrest her. During interrogation, her claim that she's an angel makes her a candidate for a mental hospital. At her arraignment, Monica alone can see Sam, the angel from special services. He tells her the simple mistake of going to the wrong address has set events in motion that have to play out, but no matter what happens God will never leave nor forsake her. Monica is assigned a court-appointed attorney, Jake Stone, a Vietnam veteran and hardened cynic. He tries to convince her to plead guilty but mentally ill. She refuses, however, and insists on a competency hearing. In the meantime, Monica is remanded to a psychiatric hospital where she shares a room with Claire, who also claims to be an angel but keeps repeating the phrase, "May Day." At the hearing, Jake produces Terry Hayman, the woman from Jacksonville, Illinois that Monica was supposed to help. Terry describes her encounter with Tess, which corroborates Monica's story. The judge declares her competent to stand trial, but anxious to avoid placing angels on trial is ready to dismiss charges based on a legal technicality. A skeptical Jake tells her a real angel would resemble Claire, whom he met in Vietnam. During the fall of Saigon, Jake attempted to rescue a little girl, May Ling, nicknamed "May Day." As he helicoptered away, the girl fell from his grasp but was rescued by Claire. Realizing that Claire is indeed an angel, Monica asks to return to the mental hospital. There, Monica helps Claire remember who she is. In turn, the newly restored angel helps Jake resolve his anger toward God. Returning to 801 Cedar Street, Monica and Tess learn that the building is going to become a home for orphans and child survivors of trauma and run by Executive Director May Ling Gustafson.
Written by: Glenn Berenbeim & R.J. Colleary Directed by: Jon Andersen Produced by: Martha Williamson, Jon Andersen, and Robert J. Visciglia, Jr.
Guest Cast: Andrew John Dye Sam Brown Hal Linden Zach Brown Geoffrey Nauffts Al Jarreau as himself B.B. King as himself Dr. John as himself Al Hirt as himself
Club Indigo, once St. Louis' premier blues and jazz club, has fallen hard times. Its owner, SAM (Hal Linden), is getting on and his grandson ZACH (Geoffrey Nauffts) arrives to convince his grandfather to sell the club and move into a nursing home. Sam resists. He's always told Zach that "The Countess" told him "do nothing, 'til you hear from me" and he's sticking to those words. Zach assumes that Sam has embroidered the past greatness of the club, and that he's made up stories of all the jazz greats who played there and were friends. Especially that story about "The Countess"--the mysterious singer who arrived in the sixties and put the club back on the map.
Whether these stories are true or not, it's apparent that Sam should really be in a nursing home--he's losing his memory as well as his physical well-being. But Sam has always had an open-mic night on Mondays, and despite his grandson's protests, proceeds to hire Monica to M.C. Monday's open-mic performance. When we see that Andrew, the Angel-of-Death, is a border in Sam's basement, we sense that Monday's open-mic night might be his last. Zach tricks Sam into signing a power of attorney agreement so that he can do what he thinks is best for his grandfather. But then, to Zach's astonishment, the singer Al Jarreau shows up--Sam's stories were all true, including the one about "The Countess".
We see in a flashback that "The Countess" was actually Tess. The final open-mic night is a triumph: a packed house gets to hear music and tributes to Sam from B.B. King, Dr. John, and Al Hirt. And then "The Countess" makes a return appearance. She brings down the house, as Sam passes away. Zach reconsiders selling Club Indigo; instead he'll transform it to The Sam Brown Blues Museum.
Directed by: Tim Van PattenWritten by: Andrew Smith
Produced by: Martha Williamson, Jon Andersen, and Robert J. Visciglia, Jr.
Guest Cast:
AndrewJohn Dye
Jon MateosA Martinez
MurrayRichard Roundtree
Evie MateosRosalind Allen
Samantha MateosIvey Lloyd
Dylan MateosSpencer Klein
Kathleen Sullivan
Rock'n'Roll star JON BORDERS (A Martinez) has it all: a loving wife, EVIE (Rosalind Allen), a devoted teenage daughter SAMANTHA, and a wiseass son, DYLAN. He relies on Evie for support and she responds by trying to be everywhere and do everything for him. Borders' comfortable world is turned upside down when Evie, rushing from her daughter's concert to a TV appearance by Jon, is killed in a car accident. Faced with actually having to raise his children, and deal with their emotional trauma, Borders rereats into work and then rapidly descends into drink and drug use.
Monica, who is Jon's driver, watches as his attempts to record a new son, "Nowhere", disappear down the bottle and up his nose. Tess is the kids' nanny; Samantha slips around her to go out with friends to a concert. But en route they stop at a motel to party. Samantha didn't plan on this and runs out. She pages her Dad, but he's too stoned to pick up her page. Eventually Sam hitches a ride with a trucker. When the driver points out they're right at the spot where Evie died, Sam insists on getting out and staying there alone. she looks down the ravine where her mother died--then slips and falls into it herself. At the bottom, Sam finds her mother 's purse, with a notation of a song Evie was writing for Jon. Andrew, the Angel-of-Death, sppears, but then Tess appears also to comfort Samantha. Back in the recording studio, Monica reveals herself to Jon, pointing out to him that the word NOWHERE may also be read as NOW HERE. She leads him to his daughter, and the show ends with Jon and Samantha on TV, singing the song that Evie wrote.
本集為第一季第10集『榮光奏鳴曲』續集。平安夜經歷奇蹟後,聖誕節當日會眾議論紛紛,對於奇蹟代表的意義眾說紛紜,莫衷一是。有人認為是上帝的恩賜,有人認為神的審判將至。與哥哥韋恩共同見證奇蹟的喬伊,拾得天使身邊的白鴿掉落的羽毛,不慎被一名自稱牧師的陌生人查理拿走。看似道貌岸然,一副「牧師本色」的查理,很快贏得會眾的心,即將正式就任牧師。但查理究竟是誰?其真面目為何?黛絲與蒙妮卡要如何幫助會眾了解聖誕奇蹟真正的意義?
The sequel to the first season's Christmas episode "Fear Not", "The Feather" continues the story of a little church's congregation now that they've seen Monica reveal herself in all her glory. Awed, trying to figure out what it all means, the congregation is susceptible to CHARLES, a con artist posing as a preacher. He seizes a feather which fell from Monica's dove and holds it up to the congregation as physical proof of the miracle. He's diverting piles of donation offerings into his own pockets when he's confronted by WAYNE (Randy Travis)--who turns out to be his brother. Years ago, Charles and Wayne ran the preacher scam together; Wayne is now a reformed man and he's determined to stop Charles. The issue is brought to a head when Joey, who's been ministering to a crack baby that was left in the church, brings the infant to Charles for a healing. Charles can't do it, of course, but Monica reveals herself again and reminds the congregation that they worshipped a feather instead of a King and their need for fame deafened them to the cries of a little baby. Charles is humbled and the congregation is once again put on the right track.
播出時間:11/23(三).2011
頻道:GOOD TV (ch15)
感動指數★★★★★
情節指數★★★☆
思索指數★★★★★
年過80的喬卡本特久病不癒,即將與世長辭。長女凱特、次子克里斯與么女晶柏莉都先後回來見父親最後一面。喬在初次發病時即透過醫師立了生前遺囑,不進行任何搶救,並希望能在自宅和家人圍繞下辭世。克里斯與晶柏莉皆接受父親將死的事實,凱特若不肯放棄希望。然而,這個家庭隱藏著一個秘密,一旦曝光,喬奉獻一生的家庭恐將分崩離析。這個秘密究竟是什麼?化身為家訪護士的蒙妮卡與室內設計師的黛絲,會如何在秘密曝光後幫助這家人,使喬平靜無憂地離世?
The Carpenter family gathers as their father, Joe prepares to die at home. Although grown, the siblings demonstrate the roles they have become accustomed to. Kate, the eldest, takes charge like their mother, Elizabeth but is not quite as overbearing. Chris, the middle child, stuns his sisters with the news that he is estranged from his wife. And Kim, the youngest, is the creative one who never seemed to fit in with the rest of the family . Monica and Tess, as the home-care nurse and interior decorator (respectively), get caught in the crossfire as Chris and Kim resist Kate's domineering behavior. The angels' mission is to help expose a family secret before Joe dies. Andrew, the Angel of Death, informs his comrades that that time is rapidly approaching. Amidst a heated argument, Kate exposes the secret--Kim is not Joe's biological daughter. Upon returning from a brief trip, Elizabeth convenes a family meeting to discuss the matter. Years ago, she had a torrid affair with her husband's business partner. Joe forgave his wife and raised Kim as his own daughter. Though this disclosure threatens to tear the family apart, Andrew arranges for Joe to receive a special dispensation: the bed-ridden father is able to walk downstairs, play the hymn, "'Til We Meet Again," on the piano and converse lucidly with his family. Monica and Tess urge them to follow his attitude of love and forgiveness. Joe dies with his family gathered around him, singing "'Til We Meet Again" in four-part harmony.
播出時間:11/17(四).2011 頻道:GOOD TV (ch15) 感動指數★★★ 情節指數★★★★☆ 思索指數★★★★★
曾是法學院同學的葛亞、馬可、蘇珊與莉莎,因受邀出席另一名同學溫蒂的婚禮而久別重逢。馬可在學時曾與蘇珊短暫交往,畢業後數年間在歐洲旅行、工作。與老友見面時才驚聞同學德克自殺,留下未婚妻莉莎。德克在校成績優異,前程似錦,原可望一路升至最高法院,成為法官。他究竟為何走上絕路?這其中有何不為人知的隱情?真相一旦揭露,將令人無比錯愕…
En route to a wedding in a picturesque mountain meadow, Monica meets an uninvited guest--Andrew, an Angel of Death whom Tess is well acquainted with. The angels' new assignment focuses on former law school classmates traveling via train to the nuptials. Mark Monfort and Susan Duplain rekindle their passion, having ended their relationship just before graduation. However, their friend, Lisa Magdaleno is still reeling from the suicide of her fiancé, Doug who was expelled from law school for cheating on an exam. Mark had been unaware of his best friend's death and more importantly of his own involvement. Jealous that Doug received a clerkship she wanted, Susan tricked Mark into helping her change Doug's exam to make it look like he plagiarized. With Andrew's assistance, Monica shows Mark that Susan's quest for power and prestige is out of control. After an intense confrontation with her, he turns to Lisa for comfort and support.
因著老友桃蒂辭世,詩詞教授柯萊莉密契爾家中滿是前來致哀的親友,柯萊莉的獨生子山姆與桃蒂的獨生女瑪歌因此重逢。高中時曾交往過的兩人,後來各奔東西,斷了聯繫。如今重逢,人事已非。瑪歌已失去母親,丈夫死於愛滋病,她也染有愛滋病毒。桃蒂生前已中遺書中告知柯萊莉。山姆對瑪歌舊情復燃,不顧一切向她求婚。柯萊莉是否會認同兩人婚事?他們的感情又會有何進展? Returning home for her mother's funeral, Megan Brooks arrives with a Dixieland band playing "When the Saints Go Marching in." This incident raises the ire of her godmother, Clarice Mitchell, a renowned poet. Clarice's son, Sam and Megan had been high school sweethearts, but their lives drifted apart. Now that she is recently widowed, Sam is interested in rekindling a relationship and spontaneously proposes to Megan. Clarice, however, is horrified to discover that Megan is HIV positive. The mother urges her son to retract his proposal, and at first Sam literally drives away. But realizing his selfishness, he returns and pledges to stand by Megan through their coming years together. Now Megan has reservations about the marriage leaving Sam completely confused. Revealing that she has been the conduit through which Clarice received divine inspiration, Tess urges the poet to give her blessing to the nuptials because this is Sam and Megan's time to live and love. The wedding proceeds apace after the bride and groom also receive separate revelations, and Clarice composes a new poem for the ceremony.
因獨生女愛蜜莉顏面殘缺,單親媽媽晶潔在酒吧當脫衣舞孃以籌措手術費。受派擔任愛蜜莉保姆的蒙妮卡,某日在報上看見一名為「微笑手術」的醫療團體將至田納西州納什維爾舉行一日義診,將消息告知鄰家男孩小傑。小傑將消息告知晶潔,卻遭晶潔趕出門。亟欲愛蜜莉接受手術的小傑,趁晶潔午睡時帶著愛蜜莉上了鄰居亞伯的貨車,期盼及時到達納什維爾。晶潔為何隴倱接受義診?小傑與愛蜜至納什維爾途中會有何波折?愛蜜莉顏面的殘缺是否能得醫治? GINGER (Terumi Matthews) works as an exotic dancer, in which unlikely venue she meets Monica. Ginger hires Monica to babysit her little daughter EMILY, who was born with a disfiguring cleft palate. Ginger fears other kids in her trailer park will taunt Emily, but Monica invites JEREMY, who befriends the little girl. When Jeremy learns about Operation Smile, an organization of doctors who perform pro bono plastic surgery, he suggests Emily as a candidate. Ginger has taken Emily's affliction as a punishment from God for past transgressions, and refuses to accept the charity offer. Jeremy leads Emily off to Nashville (and Operation Smile) anyway by stowing away on ALBERT's (Tone Loc) pick-up. Albert is actually transporting stolen goods elsewhere, when Tess intercepts the entire crew. She confronts Albert and redirects their journey across state via a balloon. When Monica reveals herself to Ginger, she is angry that Ginger assumes her daughter is a punishment from God; she should know that Emily is a great gift. In the end, Ginger gratefully allows Emily to receive treatment.
曾受槍擊而長期休養的刑警柴克柏奈,復職後仍飽受此夢魘糾纏,時常靠大量藥物維持鎮靜,但也對身體造成問題,更影響到工作。某次柴克在街上逮捕到一名竊盜嫌疑犯,也因大意而未出席法院偵訊,造成案件無法進行審理,嫌犯逍遙法外,明目張膽持續犯案。受派與柴克搭檔的蒙妮卡,見狀心急如焚。她會如何幫助柴克,使他從危機邊緣回歸正軌? Monica “O’Dooley” is a rookie cop assigned to Zack Bennett, who returns to the force following rehabilitation from a gunshot wound. Zack’s request for a new partner upsets his former one, Ben Rivera. Monica soon learns why Zack has been avoiding Ben: he’s become addicted to pain killers. This condition becomes overt when he steals a stash from Mason, a drug dealer that he and Monica apprehend. His erratic behavior causes him to miss Mason’s hearing, allowing the thug to assault a teenage girl. Realizing that Zack has lived in fear with recurring memories of being shot, Monica reveals herself. Informing him that faith is the only armor that bullets can never pierce, she helps him capture Mason. Armed with renewed faith, the policeman faces his addiction head-on and grows closer to his wife.
Monica is the new producer for high-powered television reporter Debra Willis. Although her signature tag line is "As my mother always said..." in reality Grace Willis is an icy perfectionist whom Debra could never please while growing up. After hitting a teenager in her car, Debra flees the scene of the accident. Her old buddy, Leo is the detective assigned to investigate the hit-and-run case. When the victim is identified as high school baseball star Bobby Garcia, Debra ends up reporting on her own crime because Mrs. Garcia admires the reporter's respect for her mother. While donating blood for Bobby, Debra's arms reveal the scars from a teenage suicide attempt. As evidence starts to point in her direction, Debra turns to her mother for help but is instead criticized. Feeling she has no other choice, she again considers suicide until Monica reveals herself. Learning that she has the right to be less than perfect, Debra turns herself in to the police and will survive the ordeal with the love and support of her boyfriend, George.
紐約「每週一刊」編緝馬汀小姐徵詢大眾關於天使的經歷,收到不少誇大不實的回應文章,但都因缺乏證據而不蒙採用。蒙妮卡看了廣告後,以天使的真實身分前往回應,引起馬汀小姐極大的好奇心,兩人遂至某餐廳進行專訪。這段特殊的天使專訪會有何內容?蒙妮卡會如何說服凡事講求證據的馬汀小姐相信上帝與天使確實存在?Tess is in an uncharacteristically grumpy mood as she gives Monica her new assignment: to be interviewed by Callie Martin, a cynical reporter writing an expose' on angelic encounters. Explaining that she is an angelic experience, Monica recounts the story of a recent case. Heart transplant surgeon Dr. Joe Patcherik is assigned to operate on Ethan Parker, the drunk driver who killed Joe's five children. Since that incident, Joe and his artist wife, Lisa have drifted apart. She has immersed herself in a sculpture that will stand in the children's wing of the hospital as a dedication to her kids. During a heated, emotional conversation, Lisa urges her husband to forgive her, Ethan, and God for their children's deaths. Later, in the middle of the surgery, Monica, the transplant coordinator, stops time and reveals herself to Joe. She tells him that he is holding his own life in his hands and that no one except God has the right to determine whether another human should live or die. After successfully completing the surgery, Joe is shown the sculpture Lisa has been crafting: it is a statue of their children sledding--the activity they were en route to when the accident occurred.
Outraged that the killer lived, Callie tosses the interview tape away and walks out on to the street. She is nearly hit by a bus but is rescued by none other than Ethan Parker. Scrambling to recover the tape, Callie sees Monica, Tess, and Henry (an Angel of Death) wave to her as they ride on the back of the garbage truck containing the tape.
Matt Duncan books a rodeo into an arena he manages not realizing that his estranged father is one of the feature attractions. Ty Duncan is a grizzled veteran of the rodeo circuit and wants to reconcile with his son before he dies. Monica, who's acting as Matt's bookkeeper, is horrified to learn that the midway's fortune teller is Kathleen--a former friend and fallen angel--who is determined to keep father and son apart. She decides to focus on little Daniel Duncan, who had previously been told his grandfather was dead. Kathleen makes sure that Ty meets Danny, which infuriates Matt who is led to believe Monica is at fault. The "dark angel" also makes a pass at him, since his wife is out of town. After the youngster slips into the corral of a dangerous bull, Monica rescues him and then intercedes in the resulting fight between Matt and Ty. She reveals she was sent to end the cycle of hatred between father and son and to uncover Kathleen as a force of evil. Ty makes a memorable final bull ride, which his son and grandson watch, and then dies.
Monica serves as a legal assistant to a young lawyer, CHARLES HIBBERT (Peter Scolari). Charles mistakenly gives an inheritance to an eccentric young woman, ROBIN (Wendy McKenna) and must convince her to give it back. Charles is a hypochondriac with an imagined heart condition. Monica helps him to open his heart and he falls in love with Robin.
Monica serves as the personal assistant to Elizabeth Jessup, a prominent journalist, and the angel soon learns that her new assignment has a serious drinking problem. At a birthday dinner for her granddaughter Beth, Liz has too much to drink, which prompts her own daughter Sydney to take the child home. Soon afterwards, the newswoman makes a spectacle of herself while giving a speech at the Mayor's Centennial kick-off. This incident causes Sydney to stage an intervention for her mother with the help of Anita, a counselor at the New Hope Center. But this action backfires and an enraged Liz orders her guests to leave. The next day, Monica returns to work and learns that the journalist started drinking to fit in with her male counterparts. The angel convinces her employer to visit the New Hope Center. However, upon seeing Anita, Liz loses her temper and storms out of the building. Although Sydney refuses to let Beth have contact with her grandmother, the child sneaks out to see Liz anyway. While Beth is playing, Liz accidentally sets the house on fire with a cigarette. Monica rescues the little girl, whose grandmother was too drunk to comprehend what happened. At the hospital, an irate Sydney confronts her mother for leaving Beth inside the house to die. Returning to the wreckage to find a music box her granddaughter cherishes, Liz encounters Monica, realizing the angel was the one who saved Beth. Encouraged by Monica's revelation, Liz returns to the New Hope Center and attends a counseling session where she learns that Sydney herself is a recovering alcoholic.
Monica is assigned to Earl Rowley, a crusty baseball coach. Bitter because his Vietnam War injury prevented him from pursuing a major league career, he pushes his high school players hard, especially Peter Enloe, the star player whose own father is dead. Earl is less than thrilled to have a female assistant coach but is told that Monica was the only substitute teacher who had strong credentials in both history and baseball. Tess, in the meantime, accepts a position working in a sports bar run by Peter's mother, Laura. A few days before a crucial game, Earl appoints the young man team captain and tells him a college scout will be watching the game to see if Peter is worthy of a baseball scholarship. However, the coach also expects Peter to lead the team with his authoritarian leadership style. Prompted by Monica's history lesson that sometimes a person must stand up to a bully, the team captain takes a stance against Earl, which results in a fistfight and Peter's suspension from the team. While walking away, the coach collapses on the field and is rushed to the hospital. There Monica learns from Adam, the Angel of Death, that Earl is dying from pancreatic cancer. As he confides in Monica that the one time he let his guard down, a Vietnamese soldier shot him, he remembers that she was the one who had saved him during the heat of battle. He laments being spared since his life didn't turn out the way he had planned; she chides him for failing to take advantage of the numerous opportunities he had to positively influence the lives of his students. Although Monica reinstates Peter on the team, Laura realizes that what her son really needs is Earl's approval. She visits the coach in the hospital, to the to talk to the boy and is followed by Monica. But while the angel states her case, Earl's life signs diminish and Adam appears to escort him to the hereafter. Monica prays for him to have a second chance--a request that is granted. During the big game, the team is three runs down with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Peter is on the verge of striking out when Earl appears and loans him the wooden bat his own father gave him. The teen hits a home run , winning the game and the scholarship. Afterwards, Adam arrives to take Earl, who requests that Monica hold his hand as they walk into the light.
Tess guides Monica on her first assignment as a case worker after being promoted from search and rescue. On the southbound bus, she befriends David Morrow, a young boy who tells her that his mother and sister died in a car accident. After helping David fend off some bullies, Monica escorts him home. There she meets his father, Nick, a police detective who is looking for a live-in nanny. Monica is hired for the position, but soon has a chance encounter with Adam, the Angel of Death, who informs her that although David's sister, Katie died of crib death, his mother is very alive. Confronting the child with his untruth, Monica learns that his guilt-wracked mother left home afterwards and hasn't returned. She promises to bring his mother home and sets out to find her in Hewitt, leaving David in Tess' care. In a seedy café there, Monica befriends two waitresses, and mistakes one of them for David's mother. She arranges a meeting between Ruth Ann and Nick, which backfires when the police officer recognizes the waitress as a wanted fugitive. The angel appeals for Ruth Ann to stop running, but she refuses to turn herself in. Returning to the cafe', Monica discovers the other waitress, Christine, is actually David's mother and reveals herself in an effort to persuade the woman to return to her family. But Christine blames herself for Katie's death and refuses. In anguish, Monica prays for guidance and returns to David and Nick to deliver the bad news. The child is crushed, and Tess admonishes Monica for her mishandling of the assignment. While Nick is outside comforting his son, Christine drives up in her red Cadillac; Monica's revelation convinced her to return home, thus reuniting the family. In gratitude, Christine gives the angels her Cadillac, which Tess gladly accepts.