Touched by an Angel

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Episode 513: “The Medium and the Message”

Episode 513: “The Medium and the Message”
Original Air Date: January 10,1999
Written by: R.J. Colleary
Directed by: Noel Nosseck
Produced by:

Martha Williamson
Jon Andersen
R.J. Visciglia, Jr.

Guest Cast:
 
T.K. McKenna Alan Rosenberg
Irene Conchata Ferrell
Network Executive Kathy Molter
Writer #1 Cary Odes
Writer #3 Del Hunter-White
Writer #6 Jim Anzide

Tess and Monica arrive at the offices of NNT Television to pay a visit to T.K. McKenna, a network executive who once dreamed of “being the best” and now only wants “to be first.” As T.K. is bragging about the ratings on a show featuring a hijacked bus which explodes, Monica arrives in T.K.’s office. But T.K. is not surprised, telling Monica that people drop in to tell him things all the time and that he has no idea who they are. Monica then tries to sell him on the idea of a show about angels in which the angels are sent by God who loves us all. McKenna wants to know more and Monica tells him that like some of his visitors, angels are often undercover.

We then see a series of clips from previous episodes where the angels play a variety of roles. T.K. then dismisses Monica and the idea. As Monica leaves, T.K. is told by another executive that 76% of people believe in angels. Outside, Tess tells Monica to change the heart of the man in order to change the network. T.K. finds Monica outside of the building and convinces her to “pitch” her idea to another group of executives who immediately start to tear apart her angel premise. When they say they need a more “edgy” show, we see clips of previous episodes where Monica experiences shootings, bombings, car crashes and assassination attempts. Monica then tells them about how the angel of death, Andrew, takes people home to Heaven rather than killing them. The executives don’t seem to understand and Monica leaves the room in disgust. Monica runs into Irene, T.K. ‘s secretary as she is leaving to catch a bus. Irene tells her that T.K. once dreamed of being a writer and wrote a very good script.

Later, as Monica ruminates on how to approach T.K., Tess tells her to comfort him, that a bus was hi-jacked and blown up. T.K. responds to the tragedy by trying to cover his responsibility to the Board of Directors. Hoping to change the image of the network, he asks Monica to pitch him the angel show again. When he says the angels don’t have enough attitude, we see clips of Tess in action. When T.K. begins to complain about the whereabouts of Irene, Monica informs him that she was on the bus that was blown up. Crushed, T.K. throws everyone out of his office. Andrew hands Monica T.K. ‘s original script and tells her that Irene wanted T.K. to have it. When T.K. asks where the angels were for Irene, Monica tells him there are angels for everyone. We then see a series of guest angels. Monica tells T.K. that God exists, hands him his script and asks him to take a leap of faith and follow his dream of writing. T.K. then pitches his simple show about a family trying to live well to his fellow executives, refusing to take no for an answer.

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