Down To Earth (TV Series) - Premise

Premise

The series revolved around Ethel MacDoogan, a free-spirited gal from the roarin' 1920s. Unfortunately (as told in the lyrics to the show's theme song), that would all come to an end for Ethel in 1925 when "...she was struck down by a trolley, golly." Ethel waits in Heaven for 60 years for a chance to earn her wings, until finally she is sent to earth in the 1980s to help the Preston family.

The Prestons are a typical modern-day family with modern-day situations: widowed father Richard is a realtor; older son Duane is very class-conscious; daughter Lissy is very opinionated; Jay Jay, the youngest, just wants someone who can fill their late mother's void. It's Jay Jay's prayer that an angel would come into their lives that summons Ethel, and he is the only one who knows her true identity.

Infiltrating the household as housekeeper/maid, Ethel is clueless about even the simplest conveniences of modern-day life. Jay Jay helps cover for her when it comes to adapting to the newfangled inventions of the past 60 years, and she eventually wins over the Prestons by helping them deal with their problems.

Popping in from time to time is their ditzy (and attractive) next door neighbor Candy Carlysle, who became a regular character in 1985.

In addition to her earthly employer, Ethel is under the constant eye of her heavenly boss (and their successors), who watch her every move—and her every mistake. Her first overseer, Mr. Divine, kept a close eye on her. He was later replaced by the very concerned Lester Luster, followed by her ex-fiance/con-man Jake, with the outrageous Stanley McCloud (played by Rip Taylor) taking over in the show's final years.