PROMISED LAND: CHRISTMAS (TV)
Summary
One in this drama series, a spin-off of "Touched By an Angel," about the divinely inspired cross-country travels of the Greene family.
In this episode, the family prepares to spend Christmas in California, but when Claire receives news that her beloved fourth-grade teacher, Warren Dempsey, is terminally ill with cancer, the Greenes head for her hometown of Moorpark instead. On Christmas Eve, the family selects their "Secret Santas," and Russell and Claire dole out $20 apiece before heading to the hospital. As Josh heads off to buy a present for Dinah, he encounters an irascible homeless man, Martin Woolridge, who is annoyed by Josh's offer of hot soup. When Martin suddenly collapses in pain, Josh uses his Secret Santa money to rush him to the doctor in a cab. Back at the trailer, Hattie instructs Nathaniel to collect pine cones, and Claire and Russell fight their way through a nurses' strike at the hospital and visit Warren, with Claire telling him that she became a teacher because of his kindness to her. Warren, however, asks for her forgiveness, revealing that he had an affair with Claire's mother many years ago.
Dinah, tasked with getting a present for Nathaniel, puts up a sign and attempts to track down the missing Joseph. Josh brings an ailing Martin to the hospital, though he has no insurance, and Claire refuses to accept Warren's admission as she takes Russell on a tour of her childhood town. Josh waits with Martin in the overcrowded hospital as Nathaniel brings back the requested pine cones and then heads to the shops to find Hattie's present. Claire takes Russell to her former home, now occupied by a new family, and she begins to experience long-buried memories of her parents' fights and understand the truth of Warren's words. Nathaniel has second thoughts about Hattie's gift but finds that he cannot return or exchange it, and Martin seemingly improves as he tells Josh that the homeless are frequently demeaned and underestimated. He collapses again outside the hospital, however; when the staff searches him, they find that the chief of staff, Lionel Woolridge, is in fact his brother. Dinah encounters a woman, Denise, who offers to help in her search for Joseph, and when Claire takes Russell to her elementary school, where her mother and Warren were colleagues, the janitor comments that Claire's mother "got a raw deal." Claire finally realizes that her mother was ostracized in her community after falling in love with Warren, which prompted their sudden mid-school year move.
Josh meets Lionel, who reveals that his brother has a bleeding ulcer, and Martin sincerely thanks Josh for his help, admitting that he has made himself ill with excessive drinking and now intends to get better with his brother's help. Josh thanks Martin for giving him "a different kind of Christmas," and Claire returns to Warren's bedside and asks why the affair ended so abruptly. Warren explains that Claire's father, a powerful judge, threatened to have Claire taken away if they did not cease the relationship entirely, and an emotional Claire expresses her understanding. The Greenes, overwhelmed by the day's events and disappointed not to have found presents for one another, are pleased to see that Hattie and Nathaniel have decorated the trailer for the holiday. An embarrassed Nathaniel gives Hattie a plastic "grenade launcher" toy, to which she expresses great delight, and Denise arrives at the trailer just in time to tell Dinah that she has managed to track down Joseph. Everyone is touched when Nathaniel is able to chat with his father on the phone, and the news reports that the hospital strike has ended, thanks to Lionel's "eye-opening experience." Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: November 30, 1999 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:00:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 121368
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Religion; Christmas
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1996-1999
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Martha Williamson … Executive Producer, Created by
- E.F. Wallengren … Supervising Producer, Writer
- Jon Andersen … Supervising Producer
- Robert J. Visciglia Jr. … Producer
- Norman Morrill … Co-Producer
- Marilyn Osborn … Consulting Producer
- Michael Rhodes … Director
- Ray Colcord … Music by
- Marc Lichtman … Theme Music by
- Gerald McRaney … Cast, Russell Greene
- Wendy Phillips … Cast, Claire Greene
- Austin O'Brien … Cast, Josh Greene
- Sarah Schaub … Cast, Dinah Greene
- Eddie Karr … Cast, Nathaniel Greene
- Celeste Holm … Cast, Hattie Greene
- James Callahan … Cast, Warren Dempsey
- Karen Ludwig … Cast, Denise
- Spencer Garrett … Cast, Young Warren Dempsey
- Frantz Turner … Cast, Lionel Woolridge
- Robert Guillaume … Cast, Martin Woolridge
- Mary McDonough … Cast, Claire's Mother