Wings Review (DVD)
Created by David Angell, Peter Casey and David Lee, all producers of the critically acclaimed Cheers and writers of its hit spin-off Frasier, Wings shares many of the same attributes of the popular “everyone knows your name” bar. Just as each episode of Cheers took place primarily at the Beacon Street pub, each episode of Wings takes place at the Nantucket airport. Cheers has a friendly rivalry with Gary’s Old Towne Tavern, while Sandpiper Air has a friendly rivalry with Aeromass owner Roy Biggins. And just like Cheers, Wings’ strength lies in great writing and well-developed, eccentric characters. From the moment you hear Schubert’s memorable and relaxing theme song, you’ll want to be transported to this tranquil island of lovable and hilarious characters…
Wings centers on the lives of two brothers, Joe (Tim Daly) and Brian Hackett (Steven Weber), who run a fledgling airline on the northeastern vacation island of Nantucket. The two are assisted by sarcastic flight attendant Faye Cochran (Rebecca Schull) and eccentric mechanic Lowell Mather (Thomas Haden Church). Responsible and dependable, Joe tries to keep the struggling business afloat in the face of fierce competition from main rival Aeromass and its sleazy owner Roy Biggins (David Schramm). But compounding Joe’s problems is the unreliability of his younger brother, Brian, who is more of a free spirit and spontaneous adventurer. The terminal’s lunch counter is owned by Hackett’s childhood friend Helen Chapel (Crystal Bernard), an aspiring cellist with a quick wit. Superbly written, Wings is sometimes wacky and absurd, but it’s always fun and the characters will quickly win a place in your heart. It is by far one of the best sitcoms of its time…
The Wings (Season 1) DVD features several hilarious episodes, including the season premiere “Legacy,” in which Joe Hackett, owner of a small, one-plane airline known as Sandpiper Air, receives a letter from his recently deceased father. . The letter asks him to open a package in the presence of his brother Brian, from whom he is estranged. After going through a series of obstacles, the two brothers realize how important they are to each other, and Brian (himself a pilot) agrees to stay on Nantucket and help Joe run the airline… Other notable first season episodes include “All For One and Two for Helen,” in which Joe becomes jealous of what he perceives to be a romantic relationship between Helen and Brian, and “A Terminal Christmas,” in which the gang from the Nantucket airport unexpectedly arrives at Fay’s house for Christmas, only to find her mourning her dead husband and preparing to scatter his ashes…
Below is a list of episodes included on the Wings (Season 1) DVD:
Episode 1 (Legacy) Air Date: 04-19-1990
Episode 2 (Around the World in Eighty Days) Air Date: 04-26-1990
Episode 3 (Return to Nantucket: Part 1) Air Date: 05-03-1990
Episode 4 (Return to Nantucket: Part 2) Air Date: 05-10-1990
Episode 5 (Once Upon a Girl from Nantucket) Air Date: 05-17-1990
Episode 6 (All for One and Two for Helen) Air Date: 05-24-1990
Episode 7 (The Puppeteer) Air Date: 09-28-1990
Episode 8 (Joe’s Story) Air Date: 05-10-1990
Episode 9 (A Little Nightmare Music) Air Date: 10-12-1990
Episode 10 (Sports and Leisure) Air Date: 10-19-1990
Episode 11 (A Standup Kind of Guy) Air Date: 10/26/1990
Episode 12 (It’s Not the Thought, It’s the Gift) Air Date: 09-11-1990
Episode 13 (Hell Has No Fury Like A Scorned Policewoman) Air Date: 11-16-1990
Episode 14 (Great Anxiety) Air Date: 11/23/1990
Episode 15 (Friends or Lovers?) Air Date: 07-12-1990
Episode 16 (There’s Always Room for the Cello) Air Date: 12-14-1990
Episode 17 (A Terminal Christmas) Air Date: 12-21-1990
Episode 18 (Airport ’90) Air Date: 01-03-1991
Episode 19 (Love Is Like Pulling Teeth) Air Date: 01-10-1991
Episode 20 (The Tennis Bum) Air Date: 01/24/1991
Episode 21 (My Brother Is Back and There Will Be Trouble) Air Date: 01/31/1991
Episode 22 (Plane Nine from Nantucket) Air Date: 07-02-1991
Episode 23 (Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places) Air Date: 02-14-1991
Episode 24 (Love Means Never Having to Say Geronimo) Air Date: 02-21-1991
Episode 25 (All in the Family) Air Date: 07-03-1991
Episode 26 (Mother Wore Stripes) Air Date: 03-14-1991
Episode 27 (Murder She Roast) Air Date: 03-21-1991
Episode 28 (Duet for airplane and cello) Air date: 03-28-1991