Awesome / Touched by an Angel

• The Christmas Miracle of the episode with Wayne Machulis and his disabled brother features Monica taking the place of the resident Littlest Cancer Patient as the angel in the church Christmas play, to fulfill The Promise that her teddy bear would get to fly. The mechanism is weak and the rope can't hold her weight, so it breaks—and so to keep from having to 'kill' her current human form, Monica is forced to reveal herself in all her angelic glory. The end result, with the animals in the stable and the gifts of the Magi (and their costumes) becoming real, and the less-than-stellar organ and choir being augmented into full heavenly glory as they perform the Alleluia Chorus from Handel's "Messiah", is truly stunning. (The teddy bear? It turns into the iconic dove.)
• The show manages to please both sides of the abortion issue in an episode where a woman learns that her unborn child will be afflicted with Down's Syndrome. Her husband practically browbeats her into having an abortion, as he doesn't want a mentally disabled baby. While sitting in the doctor's office she comes to the realization that she wants the baby no matter what and walks out. When her husband tries to make her feel like a hypocrite, citing all the work she's done for abortion rights, she declares, "I'm still pro-choice. And I just made one. I'm having this baby."