Touched by an Angel (1994–2003): Season 6, Episode 11 - Millennium - full transcript

There's only one hour left

until the new millennium!

So come on, let's not waste it!

"When I consider the heavens,

"the work of Your fingers,

"the moon, the stars that you
have established in the sky,

"oh, Lord, what are we

that you should even notice us?"

What's the 20th
century... or the 21st...

When for You, 1,000
years is like a single day?

That's the miracle
and the mystery, baby.



God holds time in his hand

like a ball of string.

Yesterday, today,
tomorrow, now, forever...

so He can look
at it all at once.

But for the rest of us,

He stretches time out,

and He lays it on
a golden thread,

so that humans can imagine it

as a straight line.

And then they
divide it into hours,

and days, and even millennia.

They like that.

It gives them a sense of order.

Still, it must be very
exciting for a human



to live to see a new millennium.

Only if you're willing
to give up the last one,

and Angela doesn't
like that idea at all.

Well, she doesn't
have much choice.

There isn't much time left.

Are you listening to me, baby?

It's God's time.

It's not her time,
it's not our time.

It's God's time.

And He has some important
things He wants us to do with it.

Such as...?

Well, a long time ago,

Angela made a very
important promise...

Sort of like an
appointment with destiny...

And God wants her to
keep that appointment.

But the trouble is, Angela

doesn't remember
anything about it.

And until she remembers,

she won't be entering
the 21st century at all.

♪ When you walk ♪

♪ Down the road ♪

♪ Heavy burden ♪

♪ Heavy load ♪

♪ I will rise ♪

♪ And I will walk with you ♪

♪ I'll walk with you ♪

♪ Till the sun
don't even shine ♪

♪ Walk with you ♪

♪ Every time, I tell you ♪

♪ I'll walk with you ♪

♪ Walk with you ♪

♪ Believe me, I'll
walk with you. ♪

Where'd you go?

I went for a long
walk, it's beautiful.

And there's a lake out there
with swans swimming around.

Very peaceful.

Swans are very
dangerous, you know.

They'll attack you if
you threaten them.

Well, I'm not in the habit
of threatening swans.

Oh, where's your mask?

Ah ha!

Oh, there.

You're the most beautiful
woman in the room.

How much have you had to drink?

Come on.

I'm trying to be romantic here.

- Nick...
- Hey!

I'm... sorry, - I'm so...
- That's okay.

It's all right, it's
not your fault.

Well, I'll just go
to the ladies' room.

No problem.

- I'm sorry.
- It's all right.

There you are.

Thank you.

Goodness gracious.

What happened to you?

Oh, yes.

This is the annual New
Year's Eve dress disaster.

Happens every year.

I think I'm going to wear

a bathing suit next year.

Please, take a seat.

So?

Were you having fun out there,

before this unscheduled baptism?

Oh, yes. Yes.

A wonderful time.

I don't think you were.

I beg your pardon?

I could tell by the way
you walked in here.

Some people just aren't
ready for the millennium.

Isn't there some place
else you'd rather be?

Wow! Look at this.

That's amazing!

It's gone!

Well, thank you so much.

You are a miracle worker.

Well?

I don't think she remembers.

♪♪

Back so soon?

Yes, it's...

it's getting, uh,
towards midnight

and I thought I'd just...
check my make-up.

Look, you were right.

I'm not having a very
good time tonight.

The millennium is a lot more
traumatic than people realize.

It's not just about numbers
rolling over a computer.

It's a state of mind.

I get this feeling...
I don't know, that...

there's something expected of me

that I just cannot live up to.

Ladies and gentlemen!

15 minutes!

Just 15 minutes to
the new millennium!

What is your name?

Monica.

Monica... I'm Angela.

There's a wonderful man

waiting out there for me.

And I know

that he's going to ask
me to marry him tonight.

And I know I ought to say yes.

But...?

I've just never been able...

to go through with it.

Are you flying to
New York on Monday?

Yeah.

Just page me or e-mail me,
or call me on my cell phone.

"To be alive in such an age..."

I know that poem.

"Oh, to be alive
in such an age!"

"When miracles are everywhere,

"and every inch of common air

"throbs a tremendous
prophecy... of..."

"Of greater marvels yet to be."

"Greater marvels... yet to be."

But you have to actually

leave the ladies'
room to see them.

Yeah.

Thank you.

I haven't heard
that poem in years.

Hey. It looks great.

Good as new.

We ought to tell that
waiter, you know?

I don't want him to lose his job

- over this...
- Nick, we have to talk.

Hey, Andrew!

Hey.

How's the dress?

I had a little help from the
lady in the powder room.

Oh, yes, yes. The
amazing Monica.

- Oh, you know her?
- I do. Very, very well.

Well, I hope she gets a break

so she can celebrate a little.

Hey, you know, you
ought to take a break.

You've been going all night.

On, I'm-I'm fine.

Listen, do me a
favor and dance with

the most gorgeous woman
in the room, will you?

She loves to dance. Right?

I'm stepping all
over her feet. Please.

Nick... he doesn't want to.

Oh no, no, no, no.

I... I would be honored.

See?

- Give me that tray.
- Okay.

Just have her back
before midnight, would you?

Yes, sir.

Now wouldn't you
rather be spending

these last ten
minutes of the century

dancing with someone
your own age?

I don't know.

Every hundred years
or so, I like to break out

and do something very crazy.

- That often?
- Yes.

Ah.

Hey, tell me something.

What?

If you were going
to do something, um,

very spontaneous, I
mean absolutely crazy,

and you knew that you weren't
going to have to explain it,

or-or apologize for
it, what would that be?

You sound just like my dad.

I think he invented spontaneity.

- He was always...
- Miss Britten?

Hi! It's me!

Candy Koppelman.

I was in your seventh grade
English class at Stedman.

Well, yes, of course!

How are you?

I'm... I'm okay.

And what are you doing now?

Well, I'm taking night
school here in Eugene,

and I'm also working at this

telemarketing
computer place thing

with my soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend.

Tommy, the jerk.

Did you ever get married?

I-I beg your pardon?

You were engaged to Mr. Lamado,

the music teacher, right?

Yes. But no, I'm not married.

Oh. Oh.

This is my friend, Andrew.

And we're just dancing.

Hi, Andrew.

Hi.

It's very nice to see you again.

You, too.

And it is so
weird, Miss Britten,

'cause I was just thinking
about you the other day.

I was thinking about how we
used to not have the Internet,

and I would actually go
to the library and stuff,

and you made us learn
that poem, something...

"To live in such an age..."

Something.

Something like that. I
don't really remember.

Oh. You know what,

I'm going to let you
get back to dancing.

I'm going to go.
It's good to see you.

Happy New Year.

I haven't heard that
poem in ten years...

and then twice in five minutes.

Well, stranger things
have happened.

I have fond
memories of my father

climbing a tree or
leaning out of the window

shouting poems to the
universe at the top of his lungs.

"To be alive in such an age!"

Wow, he sounds like a great guy.

He was. He's long gone.

But I wish he were here to
see in the new century with me.

We always promised...

Oh, my goodness.

What?

I just remembered something

I made a promise
about 40-45 years ago,

I made a promise to somebody...

and now's the time.

Now's the time to
keep that promise.

My father loved poetry.

He used to read poems to me

the way other parents
read nursery rhymes.

I adored him.

Sounds like you
made him a promise.

Yes.

Excuse me.

Oh, yes!

I can't believe I'm
losing everything tonight.

Thank you so much.

You're welcome.

You know that, that poem
you were quoting earlier

"To Be Alive in Such an Age"?

Yes.

Well, my father and I
put that on top of a box

and buried it in our
yard next to a tree

when I was about ten.

And, uh, we stuffed
it with a bunch of toys

and newspaper clippings
and souvenirs from 1955.

And you know, I've never
even thought of that until now.

Just tonight.

And you never went
back to dig it up?

No. You see, Dad and I...
I always call him Daddy...

We made a pact that
we would meet at that tree

on January first
in the year 2000,

and we would dig
up our time capsule.

So you're going
home tomorrow then.

No. No, I have some
wonderful memories of my father,

and I don't need to go back
to Idaho to remember him.

Why not? That sounds like fun.

Well, what am I supposed
to do, just knock on the door

and say, "Hi, I
used to live here,

and I want to dig up your lawn"?

It sounds terribly sentimental
and romantic to me.

But Daddy won't be there

and it will be like
losing him all over again.

I don't know you very well,
but I think that you need to go.

I can't.

You know, we could drive you.

Takes like six, seven hours.

We could be there
in the morning.

I can't just walk out on Nick.

Oh, well, you could
always get engaged first.

And then go.

This is crazy.

Yep, it's crazy.
And it's spontaneous

and it sounds
just like your dad.

I guess I could call Nick
from the road and explain it.

Okay, everybody, let's get ready

for the countdown to
the new millennium!

Okay.

Ladies and gentlemen,
would you join me now

as we count down
the final seconds?

Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five,

four, three, two...
Angela? Angela?!

What do they dream about?

Who?

Humans. What do
they dream about?

Being awake.

I heard they try
to fix in dreams

what went wrong
in their awakeness.

Awakeness?

Well, you know what I mean.

I think that when
they're dreaming,

that's the only
time that people are

really completely
honest with themselves.

That's why they hardly
ever remember them.

You hear it,
Angela? It's the train.

It's whistling for us;

Angela...!

Let's go, Angela...!

Let's go to Paris!
Let's go to China!

Let's go see the pyramids!
It's time for a great adventure.

Oh, to be alive in such an age!

Good morning.

Good morning.

Where are we?

Your home.

Oh, look, there's
the old library.

Um... and that's the old
monument to something or other.

I never can remember.

And look, Mr. Miller's
vacuum store.

Oh, he must be gone by now.

So where to?

All right, turn right here
and it's just on the corner.

♪♪

Yes?

My name is Angela Britten and...

Yes, we do.

You do what?

We have room.

Oh, no, no, we don't
want to have a room.

We just wanted...

You standing here
at 8:00 in the morning

in high heels and
an evening dress.

I think you need
a room and a bath

and some breakfast.

And I'm not gonna
stand here in the doorway

discussing it with
you. Come on in.

All right. Thank you.

Did you put gas in
the car like I told you?

- Yeah.
- Give me my keys.

You can find the bathroom.
The towel's on the sink.

Thank you.

Well... Nick isn't answering.

I don't blame him.

I must have been crazy.

I hope these clothes fit
you. I found them in the attic.

In the attic?

You're welcome to scrounge
around up there if you want to.

There's a lot of old stuff up
there you might recognize.

Thank you. I'd like that.

Looks like you're recognizing
something on the floor.

Yeah. You know when
you're a two-year-old

and you're crawling
all over the place,

the floor makes a
big impression on you.

Would you like some tea, Monica?

Do you have coffee?

No, I thought tea was
more bed-and-breakfasty.

I'd like some.

How long have
you had this place?

Oh, not long.

I understand you got some
buried treasure out there.

I wouldn't say that.

Buried memories.

Well, if you came all
the way from Oregon,

they must be worth digging up.

It's tea time.

Aren't you bothered by the
noise of the train at night?

What train?

Well, there used

to be a train that went by here.

I could swear that
I heard... Nope.

- No?
- No train.

Well, who is this
beautiful little princess?

I'm not a princess, Daddy.

I'm a bride.

Oh, a bride.

And to whom are
you getting married?

I'm marrying you, Daddy.

There you are.

Are you ready to dig?

It's almost noon,

and it's not gonna
get any warmer today.

I really would like

to wait a little
longer if it's okay.

You want to wait for Tess?

No... I want to
wait for my father.

When archeologists
discover this someday,

they'll know what we were like.

Daddy, that's your
favorite poem book.

Well, somebody might need
these a few hundred years from now.

You ready?

I have a better idea.

Ideas are the
engines of progress.

Maybe we should check
on it every once in a while

to make sure the worms
don't eat everything.

Good thinking.

Okay, then, New Year's
Day, the year 2000,

I promise to meet
you right here,

and we will dig up
this old box together

and make sure everything

is A-okay. Promise?

Promise.

Maybe we should just stay here.

No.

The ship is safer in
harbor, but that is not

what ships are for.

You must go seek out the scent

of the Carthaginian rose.

You must rise and go where

the golden apples grow.

My heart is warm,
for the friends I make,

and better friends
I'll not be knowing

if there isn't a
train I wouldn't take,

no matter where it's going.

Going somewhere, Mr. Britten?

Yes, Angela and I

are going on
the invisible train.

It has silver wings.

It picks you up
right at your door,

and takes you
anywhere you want to go.

You wait right
there, you'll see.

I think he took
the invisible train.

Your father?

I always tell people that, uh,

my father's long gone,

and they, of course,
assume that he's dead,

but the truth is
he's just long gone.

It's hard to be reminded

that the father that
you worshipped

abandoned me.

Do you know why?

I just woke up one
day, and he was gone.

He didn't even say good-bye.

I just couldn't understand

how someone who loved me so much

could just throw that love away.

What did your mother tell you?

My mom said to me

that she would explain
the whole thing to me

when I was old
enough to understand.

And then we lost the
house and we moved.

We moved.

We moved away.

I remember now.

I... I left him a
note on the door.

I said, "Daddy, we're
going to Oregon."

He left us.

He left me for some woman.

Is that what your
mother told you?

I never got the whole story.

She died in a car
accident when I was 18.

What am I doing here?

This isn't romantic.

This isn't spontaneous.

This is painful.

I loved him.

I really loved him.

He taught me how to
dream and then took it away.

There's... I could kill him.

But wouldn't it be
great if he came back?

Could you forgive him

after all that's happened?

Andrew, he's been
gone for 45 years,

and look at me.

Nothing's happened.

And if the man that
I loved and trusted

most in the world
could leave me...

Then how could you
ever trust another man?

I guess that's why
I never got married.

And that's why I'm
going to wait for Daddy

just a little longer.

Okay.

♪♪

He's not gonna
come back, you know.

This is not about
him coming back.

This about her moving on.

What is that?

Coffee.

What did I tell you about that?

There's no coffee now.

This is not a coffee
assignment, Miss Wings.

Coffee would ruin everything.

Now, put that down and
let's get this show on the road.

This is a tea thing.

How you doing, baby?

Oh, a little miserable.

This morning when you showed up,

you were looking
for a box under a tree,

but the whole day, you've
been recognizing everything else

right down to the kitchen floor.

It's time you stopped
messing around

and dig up the only memory

you actually came for,

even if you have
to do it by yourself.

It's just a bunch of junk now.

Yeah, but it's your junk, baby.

♪♪

Oh.

Well, here it is.

Put it down, baby.

We're used to a
little dirt around here.

What is it?

The padlock has been broken.

Somebody's been in here.

What is it?

Letters.

From my father.

"Angela, 1956."

"Angela, 1957."

"Angela, 1958."

He did come back for me.

But I wasn't there.

It only takes one
trip to find that out,

but he made a
lot more than that.

I know, isn't that strange.

Would you like us
to leave you alone?

No, no, no, no.

Good, 'cause I want to
hear what he has to say.

All right, "Angela, 1956."

"I came to see you
today on your birthday,

"but I found out that you
and Mommy had moved away.

"I'm very sad, but
I understand why.

"I don't know
where to send this,

"so I'll just leave it
here under the tree,

"and maybe someday,

"you'll remember our promise

"and you'll find this and
all my love waiting for you.

"I love you.

Happy birthday, Daddy."

"Angela, 1957."

"Dear Angela,

"I'm delivering this
card a little late this year.

"Daddy has been very,
very sad for a long time.

"It's hard to live

"in this world sometimes,

"but knowing you
are in it, somewhere,

"keeps me from
giving up all together.

"Don't forget that I
love you, Daddy."

1961.

"Walt Whitman travels in
my back pocket these days.

"'Afoot and lighthearted,
I take to the open road.

"'Henceforth, I ask
not good fortune...

I myself am good fortune.”

"'I am the master of my fate.

I am the captain of my soul.”

"The truth is," life
is meaningless.

"There is no God,

"and there are no
happy birthdays

"for the ones who
see life as it truly is."

"Today you are 16.
Glorious, miraculous.

Oh, to be alive in such an age."

"Every time I dig this hole,
I leave myself here, too.

"And someday,
they will dig my grave

and find nothing left to bury."

"Today you are 21, and
somewhere your mother's telling you...

"the truth about me.

"Perhaps you can forgive me
for trying to take you with me

on the invisible train."

What was the invisible train?

Just a game we played.

It's time to make some more tea.

Keep reading.

Let's try 1979.

"Dear Mr. Britten,

"You have been my
patient these six months

"at Idaho Regional Psychiatric

"and as you have certainly
observed over the years,

"your severe manic
depression takes extreme forms,

"from episodes of mania,
euphoria and hallucination

"to profound, even
suicidal depression."

"The new drug treatment has
brought you to a stable place

"however, I'm not yet
comfortable approving

"your release
from this institution.

"Nevertheless, you
have chosen to leave.

"Therefore, I must
stress the importance

"of you taking your
medication regularly.

"Manic-depressives often
resist maintaining the new peace

"that they have found
between the highs and the lows,

"So your vigilance is crucial.

Sincerely, Dr. Kenneth Nichols."

"Dear Angela,

"See what kind of
crackpots I have to deal with?

"Don't they get it?

"If you take the drugs,
you can't take the train.

"Hope you're having
a wonderful life.

"Live, love, marry
and have babies.

"Remember the poetry.

Embrace the future and don't..."

1979. That's when
the letters stopped.

He's dead.

Somebody please get the tea!

Angela and I are going
on the invisible train.

Why the...? Oh!

Can you hear it,
Angela? It's the train.

It's whistling for us;

Angela...!

Let's go, Angela...!

Let's go to Paris.
Let's go to China.

Let's go see the pyramids.

It's time for a great adventure.

Oh, to be alive in such an age!

Yes!

Here it comes. Can you hear it?

Can you hear it? Here it comes.

Angela... Oh, Daddy.

Your father was a
very sick man, Angela.

I must have just
blocked it all out.

We were up on the roof,

and he let go of my hand...

because he, he had to...

Catch the invisible train.

He must have realized
how sick he was.

And he left because... he...

he wanted to
protect me from him.

He loved me.

You have to believe that.

I do.

My heart is shaking.

Oh God, what are...

I can't stand, I
just can't... stand it.

Daddy, I want to die.

I want to die, too.

Angela, look at me.

Happy new year, and
happy all the years ahead,

now that you can live in truth.

What's happening?

I am an angel, an
angel from God.

No.

We all are... Tess,
Andrew, and I.

Listen to me.

God Himself,

the one who holds
all time in His hand,

wants you to know
that your years

of asking "why" are over.

There's no more time
to waste asking why

your father left you.

You have an answer.

It may not be complete,

but it's enough to know

that someone loved you deeply,

and simply wanted
to protect you.

Life is a mystery that
we can only understand

in part because...

we live on only one
side of the mirror.

It's not until life is over,

and the mirror is taken away

that it all becomes clear.

But right now, Angela,

you must accept the blessings

that you can understand
and rejoice in them.

Thank God you had a
father who loved you.

Thank God that you survived

a dangerous fall.

Thank God that you grew up

with beautiful memories.

And that the love
of poetry, and beauty

that your father
placed in your heart

has become a
part of who you are,

and who he was to you.

Oh, yes, I'll always have that.

Always.

And you have
something else, too.

You have a second chance.

God loves you so much, Angela.

He wants you to take
only what you need

into the new century,

and leave what you
don't in the old one.

Take the good memories.

Take the joy of
your earthly father,

and the faithfulness of
your Heavenly Father,

and share them with
someone who loves you.

For now that you know the truth,

you mustn't be afraid
of love anymore.

But, Nick... It's
too late for Nick.

Only God can
decide what's too late.

And you, Angela,
are right on time.

Three, two, one...
happy new year!

Oh.

- Oh, I love you.
- Will you marry me?

Yes! Yes, I will.

- When?
- Tomorrow.

Oh, you're on, but
there's something

I have to do first, okay?

- Right now.
- Let's go.

Okay.

Oh, turn right here.

It's just around the corner.

So you grew up in
a... office building?

What?

♪♪

"This time capsule,
"buried in 1955

"by an anonymous
little girl and her father,

"was discovered on this spot

"when ground was
broken for this building."

1979.

That's why the letters stopped.

Is this you?

Yes.

A long time ago.

Daddy?

Daddy.

Angela?

To be alive... in such an age.

I know a poem.

I recite it every millennium.

You want to hear it?

Yeah, go for it.

"When we've been
there 10,000 years,

"bright, shinning as the sun,

"we've no less days
"to sing God's praise

than when we first begun."

Oh, that's a good
one, angel girl.

I like that a lot.