Victor Lobl Movies
Lo Bianco worked as a stage actor before breaking into films as a character actor in the early '70s. His TV work includes Jesus of Nazareth. ~ All Movie Guide- 2003
For their 200th assignment together, Monica (Roma Downey) and Tess (Della Reese) were supposed to bring hope and faith into the heart of embitteredt DMV instructor Kelly (Lesley Warren). But when Tess is "disqualified", angel-in-training Gloria (Valerie Bertinelli) takes over. On surface, Kelly is a standard-issue assignment, a woman who has soured on life after spending 14 years caring for a streetwise orphan named Jessie (Edwin Hodge) in a crime-ridden Chicago neighborhood. But there is a whole different dimension to this case: Kelly is herself an angel, who since going AWOL from Heaven has evolved into a human being...with far more than her share of human failings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
Dying from an inoperable brain tumor, impoverished single mother Lorena (Stacey Edwards) is determined to find a loving home for her 12-year-old daughter--and to make just enough money to pay for her own funeral. Tackling the second problem first, Lorena goes to work for Sidney Alcott (Bob Gunton, an embittered, hard-drinking funeral home director. Regarding Lorena as a nuisance, Sidney's first instinct is to turn her over to his assistant Monica (Roma Downey), who angelic presence in the proceedings is not immediately explained. Ultimately, it becomes crystal clear that Lorena was fated to link up with Sidney all along...and that Sidney truly needs Lorena in a way that he never could have imagined. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
Life has been Hell on Earth for Don and Stacey Costello (Gregory Harrison, Donna Bullock) since their own daughter Kimmie (Bethany Richards) was murdered. Especially affected by the tragedy is Don's career as a motivational speaker, which is rapidly going down the tubes. Worse still, the Costellos' bitterness has trickled down to their son Justin (Myles Jeffrey), who is now in big trouble at school. Posing as a child therapist, Gloria (Valerie Bertinelli) tries to smooth things out for Justin, but her efforts may be sabotaged by her own curiously misfire efforts to help Don get his act together. Ultimately, Justin makes a startling revelation to explain why that he, even more than her murderer, feels responsible for Kimmie's death. And at the close of this eighth-season Touched by an Angel finale, life goes on in a mysterious but wonderful way...thanks to Kimmie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
The Angels arrive in a small New York community just before Christmas, where town mayor Victoria (Blair Brown) is having trouble summoning up any kind of genuine Yuletide spirit. Only recently have the townsfolk discovered that beloved music teacher Bill Harper was killed in the 9/11 attacks in Manhattan (the reason that he happened to be at Ground Zero on that tragic day is mystery that remains unsolved until the final scene). While Bill's student Benny Lewis (J.B. Gaynor) takes the news harder than most, Victoria grimly refuses to allow herself the luxury of mourning. It is up to Victoria's son Patrick to help Benny and his mom find closure and move on with the lives...but first he must perform an act of profound selflessness as an example to everyone else. The song "Winter Carol" is performed offscreen by Steven Curtis Chapman. One of the series' highest-rated episodes, this one is also known as "I'll Be Home for Christmas". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Tess (Della Reese) brings her fellow angels along on a visit to one of her former assignments, ebullient tavern owner Betty Poplovich (Debbie Reynolds). Before long, everyone on the premises--including Betty's partner Lew (Billy Barnes)--is conspiring to help a lonely lass named Zoe (Sarah Paulson) discover the true meaning of love. Will she find that meaning with equally lonely delivery guy Billy (Chris Wiehl)--or can it be that Jeff (Christopher Jacobs), the man who has broken her heart, will come back into her life? The answers, of course, are not immediately forthcoming...and it will take a devastating tragedy for Zoe to finally discover what love really means. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Geneticist Sarah Conover (Annabella Sciorra) hopes to make medical history by being the first to clone a human being. When Monica (Roma Downey) tries to warn her of the ethical and spiritual ramifications of this undertaking, Sarah insists that her idol, Albert Einstein (Harold Gould), would have heartily approved--and indeed, she plans to use Einstein's DNA for her first experiment. A lengthy flashback to the moment that Monica's fellow angel Tess (Della Reese) touched base with the dying Einstein considerably alters the outcome of the story. Valerie Bertinelli makes her first series appearance as novice angel Gloria. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
17-year-old Miguel (Renoly Santiago) is torn between loyalty to his fellow street-gang members and love for his girlfriend Anna (Crystle Lightning) and their baby. Making things worse for Miguel is Anna's hardhearted father (Jesse Borego), who absolutely refuses to let his daughter marry a "thug", child or no child. With Monica (Roma Downey), Tess (Della Reese) and Rafael (Alexis Cruz) on the scene, the situation may soon be remedied--but "soon" isn't soon enough for Miguel, who has been ordered to assassinate a rival gang member...or else. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
In this sequel to the previous season's episode "Psalm 151", Wynonna Judd and Mika Boreem make return appearances, respectively cast as grieving mother Audrey and ebullient youngster Celine. Audrey has still not gotten over the death of her son Petey, and resents Heavenly caseworker Monica (Roma Downey) for talking her into "letting go." Sensing this, Celine makes a beeline to the boy's grave and says a special prayer. In a twinkling, who should arrive but "special guest angel" Emma (Jean Stapleton), assigned to help Audrey overcome not only her bitterness, but also her addiction to alcohol. Crucial to Audrey's salvation is an acerbic radio personality named Liz, played by Wynonna Judd's real-life mother Naomi Judd. The episode's highlight is the Judds' musical duet "That's What Makes You Young" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Even though her brother died of a drug overdose, a young, angry black girl named Charnelle (Kenya Williams) is on the brink of becoming a hopeless addict herself. Fortunately, Monica (Roma Downey) has shown up to help Charnelle write a school essay about finding "a piece of yourself in history." With the help of her fellow angels, Monica tells Charnelle the cautionary story of famed blues singer Billie Holliday, who likewise nearly allowed drugs to overwhelm her as she prepared her first public performance of the anti-lynching anthem "Strange Fruit". But in the end, Monica is not nearly as effective with Charnelle as the girl's own grandmother Georgia (Mary Alice), who has a story of her own to tell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
In this sequel to the second-season Touched by an Angel episode "Flesh and Blood", the prayers of Monica's former "client" Kate Prescott (Valerie Harper) have been answered, and her wayward son Tom (Anthony Michael Hall) has returned home after seven years. But though innocent of the murder charges that had compelled him to run away from home so long ago, the troublesome Tom has still not completely reformed, and continues to abuse drugs. Even worse, Tom's bad habits are imperiling the future of his own son Dylan (Justin Cooper). With Monica's help, Kate hopes to atone for past wrongs done to Dylan by trying to do put Dylan on the right track--but it takes a serious medical crisis to bring closure to the situation, for better or worse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
When Angela McCannell incurs irreversible brain damage, her husband Dan (Travis Tritt) refuses to accept the fact that his beloved wife is, for all intents and purposes, a dead woman. Dan blocks all efforts to donate his wife's heart to Ilena (Christina Vidal), a 16-year-old on the threshold of death. Meanwhile, Monica (Roma Downey) tries to make brighten Ilena's gloomy existence by introducing her to young Casey (Jena Malone), the daughter of heart surgeon Dr. Sandra Pena (Maria Conchita Alonso). Sandra warns Casey not to get too close to Ilena, whose chances for survival are fading with each passing day. Refusing to accept this, Casey boards a bus all by herself and travels to Idaho, in hopes of talking sense to Dan. Ultimately, tragedy strikes again--and it looks as though Casey, and not Angela, will end up as the heart donor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Slipping on the ice outside a bus station, Monica (Roma Downey) suffers a severe concussion--and a complete loss of memory. Not only does she not realize that she is an angel, but she also fails to recognize Tess (Della Reese), Andrew (John Dye). . .or God. Falsely arrested for theft, Monica must be taught how to pray by a mortal, and is able to recover only after being the beneficiary of someone else's forgiveness. Once she has figured out who she is and what she's supposed to be doing in this episode, Monica tackles her latest assignment--persuading an embittered doctor (Michael Moriarty) to forgive the man who murdered his wife--with a new and somewhat overpowering zeal! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Widow Nancy (Patty Duke) has never seen eye to eye with Stephanie (Hillary Danner), the fiancee of Nancy's son Michael (Mark Kiely). In fact, Nancy and Stephanie have just finished a bitter argument over what sort of wedding to have when word comes that Michael has been seriously injured in a car accident. Hovering over her comatose son, Nancy insists that Michael be taken off life support, while Stephanie pleads with the doctors to save him--and somewhere in Limbo, Angel of Death Andrew (John Dye) gently informs Michael that even if he survives surgery, he will be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of life. In a lighter moment, Heavenly caseworker Monica (Roma Downey) shows up at Michael's bachelor party...popping out of a cake! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
This is the first episode of a two-part story, which originally concluded on the Touched by an Angel spinoff series Promised Land. Monica (Roma Downey) and her fellow angels once again pay a visit to the family of Russell Greene (Gerald McRaney), on the one-year anniversary of the traffic accident in which Russell's ne'er-do-well brother Joe (Richard Thomas) killed two people. Though Joe has ostensibly reformed, he is still not quite out of the woods: Sandra Mills (Karen Silas), whose husband and son were killed in the accident, has sworn to put Joe in his grave. In a curiously parallel development, Russell's wife Claire, who teaches reading to Death Row inmates, tries to help condemned prisoner Darlene (Tracy Gold) reconcile with her family. The episode ends in a cliffhanger, with two lives (and maybe more!) in the balance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Kenneth Marshall guest stars as Michael Eddington, a former Starfleet Security Officer who has betrayed the Federation and joined the Maquis. Bent on capturing Eddington, Sisko chases after the traitor in the Defiant, only to be stopped in his tracks by a computer meltdown. This "glitch" could not have happened at a worse time; having gotten his hands on some lethal biogenic weapons, Eddington plans to unleash them on defenseless Cardassian planets. Originally broadcast Februrary 3, 1997, "For the Uniform" was written by Peter Allan Fields. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Hollywood agent Libby Glaser (Swoosie Kurtz) is surprised when her movie-star mother Vera King (Janet Leigh) refuses to appear at an awards dinner honoring former Hollywood Blacklist victim Clive Hathaway (Joseph Campanella)--especially since Hathaway had been the best friend of Libby's late father, fellow blacklistee Budd Glaser. In confidence, Vera reveals to Libby that Hathaway was the one who'd named her father as a Communist before the HUAC, and that her dad had committed suicide as a result. Now driven by hatred, Libby intends to expose Hathaway as an informer during the ceremony, using an FBI file supplied by none other than Heavenly caseworker Monica (Roma Downey)--who, despite the odds against her, must somehow persuade Libby to forgive the man who betrayed her father. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
While vacationing at the beach, Monica (Roma Downey) and Rafael (Alexis Cruz) are swept up in a search for a boy named Scooter Fisher, who has left an ominous and rather desperate message in a bottle. Complicating matters is the fact that no one seems to have ever heard of Scooter Fisher, and that several others in the vicinity are in more immediate need of the angels' help. The plot takes an unexpected twist when, after Rafael reveals himself as an angel, a media circus ensues and prominent TV anchorman Benjamin Parker (William Devane) shows up to cover the "angel invasion" of Pacific Falls! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Streetwise angel Rafael (Alexis Cruz) joins the "regular" Heavenly team of Monica (Roma Downey), Tess (Della Reese) and Andrew (John Dye) to help a quintet of homeless teens living under assumed names in a disease-ridden junkyard. Things aren't going so well for the wayard kids: "Ally" (Madeline Zima) has turned to panhandling, "China" (Azura Skye) is selling her body on the streets, and "Fish" ( is mortally ill. It is up to "Doc" (Chris Masterson) , the group's unofficial leader, to get everyone back on the right track--but he may not be able to do it without the help of Monica, who is on the verge of giving up the assignment out of despair! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
E.Z. Mony (Charles Malik Whitfield), the nasty, avaricious star player of the Salt Lake Saints basketball team, is idolized by 14-year-old Darnell (Jamil Walker Smith), who not only wants to emulate E.Z.'s athletic skill, but also his antisocial behavior. Special Agent Angel Sam (Paul Winfield) is so determined to prevent Darnell from being led down the wrong path that he assigns four Heavenly troubleshooters--Monica (Roma Downey), Tess (Della Reese), Andrew (John Dye) and Ruth (Cloris Leachman)--to this one case. Ultimately, the root cause of E.Z.'s hostile attitude is revealed...and it's quite a surprise for everyone. Real-life NBA stars Alonzo Mourning and Greg Ostertag appear as themselve in this episode, which also serves to introduce Alexis Cruz in the recurring role of streetwise angel Rafael. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Youthful lawbreaker Jason DeLee (Vicelllous Reon Shannon) is "volunteered" by Monica (Roma Downey) to participate in a program sponsored by Denver Juvenile Services, wherein at-risk teenagers help out with physically disabled youngsters at the Linwood Children's Academy. Despite his initial resistance, Jason manages to form a bond with cerebral palsy victim Kelly (Marisa Velez). Unfortunately, Kelly's mom Anita (a pre-The Practice Camryn Manheim) has a deep and abiding hatred for all "gang-bangers," and she is convinced that Jason is beyond redemption. When originally telecast on April 27, 1997, this episode was introduced by General Colin Powell, who at the time was General Chairman of the President's Summit on America's Future. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
