History Series / TouchedByAnAngel

* HateSink: While the majority of the show's characters manage to avoid being this trope due to being flawed but sympathetic or simply being too tragic to be detestable, especially with the show's WoobieOfTheWeek formula (even if some are more questionable than others), there are still a handful of characters who never see the light and don't deserve to be loved by God. (More coming soon...)
** Marshall from "Fallen Angela" is Angela Evans' former pimp who blackmails her into being his lover using incriminating information from her past against her such as photos, knowing that her husband was running to be US Senator and would have his reputation damaged. He would also beat Angela up, and she nearly commits suicide because of him.
** Grace Willis from "The Driver" is the controlling mother of Debra Willis, who plays a major role in shaping Debra into who she is. She's a total perfectionist who's never satisfied with Debra's strong efforts, and whose voice haunts her even when absent. She even gave her a scar on her arm when she was 16 over a minor flaw. When Debra meets up with Grace at her house for advice, she shows no sympathy for her daughter's plight and calls it "disappointing". It got to the point where Debra nearly commits suicide due to feeling so ashamed and unrespected. Plus, unlike most of the controlling parents featured in the show, Grace never sees the error of her ways or tries to reconcile with her daughter, which pretty much cements her as this.
** Tim Porter's unnamed father from "In the Name of God" appears exclusively in flashbacks, but within his limited screentime [[AbusiveParents was shown to be both abusive and emotionally distant from his son, mainly when Tim's mother was absent/dead]]. Due to this Tess had to serve as a substitute parental figure for Tim, but when his father finds out about Tess being a friend of his, [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain he'd call Tess a "n*gg*r" just for being black]], slap Tim in the face for hugging her, and send him to the closet until he told him to come out while kicking Tess out of his house, but not before the latter conformed him telling him he'd be a great leader. He'd also play an indirect role in Tim's decision to follow Frank Littleton's corrupt party due to Tim being unable to make his own decisions and used to being controlled by abusive men.
** Susan Duplain from "The One That Got Away" is Mark Monfort's girlfriend who was once a close companion of his back in law school. After getting jealous of Doug managing to get a job as a state attorney, she takes advantage of Mark to have him give her access to the computer system claiming she was testing, but really she framed Doug for plagiarism using Doug's account, so she could steal Doug's job. Doug would even commit suicide out of shame later afterward, which depressed his widowed wife beyond belief. Susan would then part ways with Mark only to reconnect and nearly get married in the present day. Upon learning the truth, Mark confronts Susan who pretends to feel guilty for her actions. Then it's revealed Susan framed a top-class lawyer for a scandal, ruining his reputation and having him nearly commit suicide too, meaning Susan wasn't even the first choice. Then when Mark finally stands his ground against her, she tries to push Mark off the train.
** Steve Bell's father and paternal grandmother from "Out of the Darkness", unseen ancestors who repeatedly mistreated their sons in the past, beating them up with a wooden spoon that would be passed down generations, along with their abusive tendencies -- with Steve's father in particular beating up Steve in a child, leading to Steve wanting to take his pain out on someone else, and becoming the AbusiveDad he is in the present.
** Sandy from "Dear God" is the addict girlfriend of Mr. Brenner who beats up and mistreats his 7-year-old daughter Tanya on a regular basis and is completely apathetic to Tanya's father being fatally sick and at the risk of dying. It got to the point where Tanya wrote letters to God wanting to be brought to heaven with her father just to get away from Sandy.
** Lucas Tremaine from "Random Acts" is portrayed as little more than a rude, loud, violent juvenile delinquent, in stark contrast to his sympathetic partner-in-crime Danielle Dawson. Lucas had apparently helped Danielle out of a difficult situation, but his time onscreen shows Lucas having a very unhealthy partnership with her, viewing her as dumb, and getting angry over minor things. He's also not very bright, as he threatens schoolteacher Mr. O'Connor for his car, makes him drive to his place, and gets furious over him not having a lot of "the good stuff". When O'Connor reminds Danielle of her accomplishments as his student, making Danielle have guilt for her actions, Lucas forces O’Connor into his back trunk despite his partner's feelings, and after being led to a location without boats he furiously grabs O'Connor out of the trunk, and shoots him in an isolated forest with no remorse.
** Margaret "Marty" Dillard's father from "Secret Service" -- another flashback-exclusive character -- [[AbusiveParents was shown to not have even wanted his daughter Marty.]] [[ParentalNeglect Neglecting and ignoring her]] solely because she was a girl and he wanted a son to carry on his legacy, this would lead to Marty getting an overly competitive side and an inability to enjoy life [[WellDoneDaughterGirl due to wanting to be the best and prove herself to her father.]]
** Jimmy the Pimp from the first half of "Homecoming" who demands his cut from Fran -- a poor homeless female prostitute -- and ruthlessly beats her up when she comes up short, forcing Julia to pay her stolen $1,500 she was going to return to Chuck the pawn shop owner
** J.D. Sinclair from "Smokescreen" is the president of the Fairchild Tobacco Company, who hires scientists and lawyers and bribes them with wealth and large fees, in exchange for them ensuring the people don't learn the truth about his tobacco products being deadly. He does the same with Marc Hamilton, even if it meant Marc repeatedly delaying his case. In 1964, the Fairchild Tobacco company tried to bribe the government not to release its report linking cigarette smoking with cancer, and Sinclair's father bribed Harold Hamilton (Marc's father, and Esther's wife) into keeping the information hidden, which J.D. proudly continued to follow, not caring about if anyone's harmed. When the information was at risk of being made public in the case, J.D. threatens to cut him off from the house and car he was provided. And when Marc officially turns on Sinclair and exposes how he (Sinclair) knew the truth all along about his products' harmful effect, Sinclair states he'll have Marc disbarred.
** Eric Weiss' father from "Angel of Death", is an unseen posthumous character who's revealed to have kidnapped Eric's twin brother Petey in the refrigerator he was hiding in during a game of hide-and-seek, just because he was unhappy, leading Eric to think that he had gotten Petey killed, and fearfully not telling his mother about what happened, tearing the family apart, messing up Eric, Petey, and Mrs. Weiss' lives. Despite being long dead, Mr. Weiss' actions were shown to have long-term effects for his family, including Eric thinking Petey had died and panicking whenever he sees Petey as he'd think he's a ghost, and leading Eric's mother to be taken to a psychiatric hospital.
** Linda and Holly Craig's father from "The Trigger" is yet another unseen character, he was stated to have been an abusive, unloving father. Once after beating his wife (again), a 6/7-year old Linda would try to get to him stop, only her father to turn around and grab her -- causing Linda (and her mother) to scream, and Holly ran out the door -- and repeatedly kick her. Then Holly would come back with a rock and throw it in her father's face on Linda's command, but the two girls were nervous about potentially going to juvie. This would leave the two girls nervous and traumatized all the way into their adulthoods, with them still being nervous about the closet and the rock, and Linda even having a gun in the closet.
** Brother Jim from "Seek and Ye Shall Find", a bible salesman who sells overpriced bibles, steals Effie's money, placing it within Monica's bible, and frames her for supposedly stealing Effie's money and nearly gets her arrested for false theft. [[KarmaHoudini And he never gets exposed or caught for his actions.]]
** Jesse Archer from "Fool For Love" is Sarah Parker's [[BitchInSheepsClothing seemingly friendly]] ex-boyfriend. When Sarah was 17, Jesse charmed Sarah with generosity and charisma while also being a ToxicFriendInfluence, convincing her to go to California with her [[DatingWhatDaddyHates against her mother's wishes.]] But then he'd quickly reveal his true nature. [[MoneyDumb He recklessly spends his money despite Sarah's warnings]]; gets upset when Sarah gets pregnant; [[NeverMyFault refuses to take any responsibly for his screw-ups]]; yells at Sarah over minor things; begins to lose patience when the duo gets broke (even though it was his fault to begin with); robs a convenience store; proved to be an uncaring/neglectful father to Sarah's newborn baby, Abby; tries to sell Abby to a baby broker for $10,000 without Sarah's consent, as he felt like they couldn't afford for their baby; and when Sarah takes Abby and leaves her in a nearby church sanctuary, only to return and notice Abby was gone, Jesse punches Sarah in a fit of rage and abandons her. 10 years later, Sarah absolutely fears Jesse --who had been arrested for grand theft auto and burglary-- wanting nothing to do with him. After getting over her fear, she cuts him out of her life for good, stating she was over him.

** Jesse Archer from "Fool For Love" is Sarah Parker's [[FauxAffablyEvil seemingly friendly]] ex-boyfriend. When Sarah was 17, Jesse charmed Sarah with generosity and charisma while also being a ToxicFriendInfluence, convincing her to go to California with her [[DatingWhatDaddyHates against her mother's wishes.]] But then he'd quickly reveal his true nature. [[MoneyDumb He recklessly spends his money despite Sarah's warnings]]; gets upset when Sarah gets pregnant; [[NeverMyFault refuses to take any responsibly for his screw-ups]]; yells at Sarah over minor things; begins to lose patience when the duo gets broke (even though it was his fault to begin with); robs a convenience store; proved to be an uncaring/neglectful father to Sarah's newborn baby, Abby; tries to sell Abby to a baby broker for $10,000 without Sarah's consent, as he felt like they couldn't afford for their baby; and when Sarah takes Abby and leaves her in a nearby church sanctuary, only to return and notice Abby was gone, Jesse punches Sarah in a fit of rage and abandons her. 10 years later, Sarah absolutely fears Jesse --who had been arrested for grand theft auto and burglary-- wanting nothing to do with him. After getting over her fear, she cuts him out of her life for good, stating she was over him.

This show has been mocked for its insistently heartwarming, [[TearJerker tearjerking nature]], but its nine-year run is proof it has plenty of fans, and one can't fault its good intentions and wholesomeness.

%% ** Steve Bell's father and paternal grandmother from "Out of the Darkness"

%%** Linda and Holly Craig's father from "The Trigger" is yet another unseen character, he was stated to have been an abusive, unloving father. Once after beating his wife (again), a 6/7-year old Linda would try to get to him stop, only her father to turn around and grab her, causing her to scream.

This would leave the two girls nervous and traumatized all the way into their adulthoods, with them still being nervous about the closet, and Linda even having a gun in the closet

* AgainWithFeeling: One episode stars two high-school sweethearts who were tragically separated because the boy's father didn't approve. They ironically end up living on the same street in their elderly years. The two are bitter towards one another and near the episode's end, the woman opens up about how he simply forgot about her after she moved away and never so much as wrote her a letter. The man denounces her as a liar and insists that he wrote her every single day. The woman retorts that she never got any letters, prompting the man to shout " How couldn't you have gotten any letters?! My own father was the mailman!" The two of them pause and realizing what obviously happened he repeats "My own father was the mailman..." in a saddened tone.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent:
** "Clipped Wings" strays away from the usual WoobieOfTheWeek formula, and instead of Monica and Tess helping out a lost soul, the episode's premise is a clip show about Monica having to attend an appointment to review her past assignments, and then temporarily being BroughtDownToNormal after FallenAngel Kathleen tricked Monica into missing her appointment by posing as a woman named Jodi with insecurities.
** "Last Call" also ditches the typical formula for a BottleEpisode where Monica's assignment is to provide one person of her choice a miracle in a tavern -- where the entire episode takes place-- except Monica's unsure who to give it to as nearly everyone was miserable or troubled in some way. There's no one singular person or group of people whom Monica directly told to help out, it's an ensemble piece where all of the episode's characters have their own troubles. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Plus Monica reveals her angel identity a lot earlier than she usually does]].

** Clive Hathaway from "Charades" was previously a close friend of Budd Glaser, and Vera King's co-star during the 1950s and the era of the Hollywood Blacklist, he's also revealed to be Libby's true father, rather than Budd. His friendship with Budd came to an abrupt end after Clive framed Budd for being a communist -- despite him being a loyal, noble American -- and revealed from increminating photos that Libby wasn't his true daughter, which in turn would lead to Budd being placed on the blacklist, mostly fading into obsecurity, and eventually committing suicide (via speeding) out of depression. Budd's placement on the Blacklist would play a large role in shaping Vera and her daughter Libby into the pessimists they are in the present. Upon learning the truth from Vera, Libby's absolutely disgusted to be his daughter.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: "Clipped Wings" strays away from the usual WoobieOfTheWeek formula, and instead of Monica and Tess helping out a lost soul, the episode's premise is a clip show about Monica having to attend an appointment to review her past assignments, and then temporarily being BroughtDownToNormal after FallenAngel Kathleen tricked Monica into missing her appointment by posing as a woman named Jodi with insecurities.

** J.D. Sinclair from "Smokescreen" is the president of the Fairchild Tobacco Company, who hires scientists and lawyers and bribes him with wealth and large fees, in exchange for them ensuring the people don't learn the truth about his tobacco products being deadly. He does the same with Marc Hamilton, even if it meant Marc repeatedly delaying his case. In 1964, the Fairchild Tobacco company tried to bribe the government not to release its report linking cigarette smoking with cancer, and Sinclair's father bribed Harold Hamilton (Marc's father, and Esther's wife) into keeping the information hidden, which J.D. proudly continued to follow, not caring about if anyone's harmed. When the information was at risk of being made public in the case, J.D. threatens to cut him off from the house and car he was provided. And when Marc officially turns on Sinclair and exposes how he (Sinclair) knew the truth all along about his products' harmful effect, Sinclair states he'll have Marc disbarred.

* CourtroomEpisode: Several episodes have a jury trial or court hearing central to the plot, such as "Reasonable Doubt" (Season 2), "Smokescreen" (Season 3), "A House Divided" (Season 6), and "Virtual Reality" (Season 9). At least one of the angels usually serves as legal counsel; Tess has served as legal counsel too, but usually takes the judge's role.

* AmbiguousDisorder:
** Aaron Gibson from Season 4's "How Do You Spell Faith." He constantly spells and defines words, is socially awkward, and is poorly coordinated. All signs point to Asperger's Syndrome, but this is not defined or explored.
** Joey, a ManChild character who appears in a handful of episodes, clearly has cognitive disabilities, but how he obtained them, or if they are connected to a particular disorder such as autism, is never explained.
** [[AvertedTrope Averted]] in Season 5 Episode 4, "Only Connect"; one of the [[CharacterOfTheDay episode's characters]], Ferdie, is outright called autistic and the ep focuses on the issues being aneurotypical have caused him growing up.

This Creator/{{CBS}} drama, which ran from 1994 to 2003, follows the adventures of angel Monica (Creator/{{Roma Downey}}). Under the tutelage of supervisor [[MagicalNegro Tess]] (Creator/{{Della Reese}}), and with the frequent assistance of an angel of death named Andrew (Creator/{{John Dye}}), she's a "caseworker" who [[WalkingTheEarth goes from place to place]] to help various people overcome their problems by steering them towards Main/{{God}}. Late in the seventh season, a fourth main character, Gloria (Valerie Bertinelli), is introduced. As she is a newly created angel, she tags along with the others to learn how to help people.

* IllGirl: Several episodes have a dying kid central to the plot, including the 100th episode "Psalm 151", where little Petey is definitely TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth and the angels have to help him fulfill his list of last wishes, many of which are for others.

* BillyNeedsAnOrgan: One episode focused on a young girl who needed a new heart, while her friend tries to convince a man to donate his brain-dead wife's. [[spoiler: Unusually for this both this trope and this show, the girl DIES. On the plus side, the grieving husband finally accepts his wife's death, allowing her organs to be used to save others]].

* HateSink: While the majority of the show's characters manage to avoid being this trope due to being flawed but sympathetic or simply being tragic to be detestable, especially with the show's WoobieOfTheWeek formula (even if some are more questionable than others), there are still a handful of characters who never see the light and don't deserve to be loved by God. (More coming soon...)