Touched by an Angel: Season 3, Vol. 1

The creators of Touched by an Angel were clearly of the philosophy "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The Third Season following squarely and steadfastly in the footsteps of the second, taking emotionally fraught stories--a dedicated teacher gets kidnapped by a troubled student, a drug addict tries to set her life on the right path, a young couple call off their wedding--and brings them to a happy conclusion through the intervention of the Lord, working His mysterious ways through three angels: Monica (Roma Downey, she of the flowing brunette hair and Irish lilt), Tess (Della Reese, she of the white forelock and the gravely voice), and Andrew, an Angel of Death (John Dye, he of the sweeping Fabio-esque mane and full cheeks). It's never quite clear just how much the angels are allowed to interfere with mortal doings. In one episode, Monica gets sent to God's Country--a sort of metaphysical detention--but it's hard to say that her actions were any more out of bounds than usual. Touched by an Angel is a love-it-or-hate-it show; cynics find it smug and didactic, while fans are drawn to its sincere and caring portrayal of Christian values. As ever, the series pulls in a surprising mix of guest stars, ranging from movie stars on the rise (Kirsten Dunst, Bring It On, Spider-Man) and on the wane (Sally Kellerman, the big-screen version of M*A*S*H), TV stars (John Ritter, Three's Company; Delta Burke, Designing Women; Ja'net Dubois, Good Times; Ben Vereen, Roots), and sturdy character actors (Olympia Dukakis, Moonstruck; Harold Gould and Carol Lawrence, guest stars on just about every show imaginable in the 1970s and '80s). The Third Season, Vol. 1 includes the first 16 episodes from the 1996-1997 season, including the episode that launched the spin-off show, Promised Land, with Gerald McRaney and Ossie Davis. There are no extras on the dvds. --Bret Fetzer