The final touch of an ‘Angel’

Nine seasons is an eternity for a television series, an improbable run that requires rolling with the ever-changing tastes of audiences, surviving relentless network tinkering and avoiding star defections. “Touched by an Angel” has managed that and more since debuting in September 1994, narrowly avoiding cancellation after a ratings-challenged first season only after executive producer Martha Williamson pleaded her case to CBS brass.

Williamson was convinced that even in a medium where sex, crime and crassness often rule supreme, there was a place for an hourlong drama that championed morality, goodness and, most incredible of all for prime-time TV, a belief in God.

“Angel,” featuring Roma Downey as angel-in-training Monica and Della Reese as her celestial supervisor Tess, went on to validate Williamson’s confidence, earning 11 Emmy nominations and rising to top 10 status for several years in the late ‘90s while attracting guest stars as diverse as Muhammad Ali, Kirk Douglas and Colin Powell.

But with the jolting realities of the new millennium came a softening in the ratings. New angels Andrew (John Dye) and Gloria (Valerie Bertinelli) had been added to the mix along the way, but the slide continued, leading to the tearful yet warmly satisfying two-part series finale airing tonight and Sunday at 8 p.m.

The formula hasn’t changed much over the years. Case-working angel Monica is dispatched each week to help troubled people find peace and redemption, as Tess, who cannot be seen by mere mortals, looks on to gauge Monica’s progress toward wingshood.

But tonight’s case is special because it is Monica’s last, with a career review and possible promotion to supervisor due at its conclusion. Her efforts come full circle with a return to the town of Ascension, where she first met Tess, lo, those many years ago. Much has changed in the interim. The residents were dealt an unspeakable tragedy a year earlier when eight teachers and nearly all the students were killed in a boiler explosion at the area’s lone schoolhouse.

On Monica’s long bus ride into town, she strikes up a conversation with Zack, an amiable young drifter hoping to pick up some work as a handyman. But they arrive to find the townspeople still paralyzed by the pain of their collective loss, and a smattering of bikes, backpacks and toys have been left strewn across frontyards and sidewalks as mute testament to the way things used to be.

Monica attempts to renew some of the friendships she made during her first trip to Ascension, but when one of the residents remembers seeing Zack near the school grounds on the day of the boiler explosion, the town’s morose lethargy ignites into a rage that does not bode well for the visitors.

Randy Travis, Patty Duke, Cloris Leachman, Paul Winfield and Marion Ross return as guest stars, and Patrick Duffy and David Ogden Stiers also have roles.

In the final scenes Sunday, Tess and Monica share a moment that resonates not only with their characters, but also as a tribute to the series, which was a favorite target of the more cynical. But in a TV landscape that makes room for “Are You Hot?,” it’s a trifle sad to think there’s no longer a place for angels.

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‘Touched by

an Angel’

When: Tonight, 8 (Part 1); Sunday, 8 p.m. (Part 2)

Where: CBS

Rating: The network has rated it TV-PG (may be inappropriate for young children)