Truly this series could be called Touched By An Angel with the arrival of Valerie Bertinelli to assist Roma Downey, Della Reese and John Dye. Bertinelli was America’s angel as she grew up on One Day at a Time. Sure she married the devil in the form of guitar legend Eddie Van Halen. But they were fated to be together since their hair worked so well together. It only made casting sense to bring her to help save this heavenly production. Sadly Touched By An Angel: The Eighth Season represents the penultimate season.
“Holy of Holies” has the series cash in on Raiders of the Lost Ark as they assist a college professor not named Indiana Jones hunt for the Ark of the Covenant. Such a shame they never gave me any help when searching for my father’s lost cable remote. “The Perfect Game” features an overbearing father demanding perfection in his son’s baseball skills. If only these people knew about A-Rod’s secrets of success, dad would have taken time out of practice to inject those performance enhancing drugs. Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters) is at the ballpark. A postman wants to help abused children on his mail route in “The Birthday Present.” Remarkably enough, this guest stars America’s biggest Holy Roller Kirk Cameron. A man convicted of killing his stepfather learns a secret about his mother in “Famous Last Words.” Can he truly repent for his action before he’s strapped to the chair? Toby Keith plays himself in “Most Likely to Succeed.”
“When Sunny Gets Blue” should be known as “Before Spoke Gets Ears” since Zachary Quinto is part of the fun about a rebellious son. “Angels Anonymous” plots to unite a group of estranged friends at a Polynesian restaurant. Hal Linden (Barney Miller) might order up a pu pup platter. “A Winter Carol” might be the first dramatic TV script to incorporate Sept. 11 into the storyline. Barely three months after the attack, a town mourns the death of their music teacher who was in one of the buildings. Blair Brown (Frings and Altered States) is part of those affected. “The Blue Angel” unites Tom Bosley (Father Dowling Mysteries) and Ernest Borgnine (McHale’s Navy). One wants the other to quit smoking so he can live longer.
“The Princeless Bride” opens with Neil Patrick Harris bolting from his wedding. The bride wants to know why this could have happened. Does she really need a hint? She doesn’t need the help of angels. She merely needs to buy a copy of People magazine. “Minute By Minute” has a nun stop a major school violence event. But does she have her own demons wanting to explode? Angela Lansbury must expose a dark secret in “For All the Tea in China.”
The addition of Valerie Bertinelli does help shake up the duties of the angelic trio. She adds without being a major disruption. Maybe it is a bit of a disruption from some viewers who want to see more of her than Roma Downey and Della Reese. She’s like the good version of Heather Locklear. The trouble of those needing assistance do grow over the course of the season. They do need divine intervention. Only one more season to go until their angelic work is done.
The Episodes
“Holy of Holies,” “Words,” “Most Likely To Succeed,” “Heaven’s Portal,” “When Sunny Gets Blue,” “Angels Anonymous,” “A Winter Carol,” “The Last Chapter,” “Ship-In-A-Bottle,” “The Blue Angel,” “Secrets and Lies,” “The Princeless Bride,” “Hello, I Love You,” “Minute by Minute,” “The Bells of St. Peters,” “The Impossible Dream,” “For All The Tea in China” and “Forever Young.”
The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The show looks fine from something shot back in 2001. The audio is Dolby Digital Stereo. It’s a crisp sound so you can enjoy Della Reese’s musical moments. The episodes are subtitled.
No bonus features.
Touched By An Angel: The Eighth Season brings on Valerie Bertinelli to be the newbie angel. Although she’s been a TV angel for decades.
CBS DVD present Touched By An Angel: The Eighth Season. Starring: Roma Downey, Della Reese, John Dye and Valerie Bertinelli. Boxset Content: 22 episodes on 6 DVDs. Released: July 30, 2013.
