Wings - The Complete First and Second Seasons (1990) Review

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(More customer reviews)'Wings' is one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, if not the greatest. Very few shows offer as many constant laughs and endearing, heart warming stories with characters that became comedy legends. Who can forget Joe Hackett, the patriarch of the airport family, or his brother Brian, the casanova ladies' man who always had problems in the game of love. Then there's Helen Chappel, future wife of Joe and proprietor of the airport's snackbar, who was always pulling out hairs due to the crazy antics of her co-workers. Then there's Roy Biggins, the sleazy, slick yet somehow still lovable manager who's constantly scheming new ways to make a buck. Sort of like Roy's arch-nemesis, Fay Cochran is like everyone's grandmother: sweet, caring, funny with a bit of a mischevious side. Next is Lowell Mather, the bumbling, goofy but always well-intentioned plane mechanic who consistently brought golden comedy moments. A character that was introduced later on but who became an invaluable addition to the cast was Antonio Scarpacci, played by Tony Shalhoub who has gone on to further fame with his TV hit series entitled 'Monk'. Antonio's subtle, slightly neurotic portrayal of an insecure immigrant brought a great deal of humor as well as heart to the show, a character who nearly everyone could empathize with. Finally, a character who didn't enter 'Wings' until a few seasons later but added a tremendous amount to the show's comedy was Casey Davenport, actress Amy Yasbeck and widow of the late great John ritter. She played the on again off again girlfriend of Brian Hackett, and together they shared many hilarious episodes as they failed at dating.
Truly a classic sitcom, one that I personally love and never tire of, so I cannot wait to finally get my hands on this wonderful DVD collection after waiting all these years. Here is a brief rundown of all episodes from the first two excellent seasons:
Season 1
1. 'Legacy'- Joe and Brian Hackett reunite after a 6-year separation due to Brian stealing Joe's fiance' and end up making amends, which was their late father's dying wish.
2. 'Around the World In 80 Days'- Fay helps a pilot who's attempting a world-record flight around the globe. Helen auditons for the Cambridge Orchestra as a cellist.
3. 'Return To Nantucket: Part 1'- Brian travels to reunite with his ex-wife Carol, while Joe and Helen try to stop Brian from making a big mistake.
4. 'Return To Nantucket: Part 2'- Drama ensues as Brian wants to bring Carol back with him to Nantucket, despite Joe and Helen urging him not to.
5. 'There Once Was A Girl From Nantucket'- Brian sets Joe up on a blind date with a girl who has a bad reputation.
6. 'All For One and Two For Helen'- Brian, Joe and Helen want to go to Boston to see a Boston Celtics basketball game, but Joe's forced to cancel due to Fay and Roy arguing over the building of a new hangar.
Season 2
7. 'The Puppet Master'- Brian plays a prank on Helen by hiring a guy to pretend to be a pilot for the purpose of Helen falling in love with the pilot, which will break her rule of never dating pilots. Trouble ensues as Joe gets jealous.
8. 'The Story of Joe'- A writer from American Flyer Magazine stops by the Nantucket airport to do a story, which Joe is very enthused about, but his enthusiasm is quickly crushed when the writer is more interested in Brian's wild adventures than in Joe's airport.
9. 'A Little Nightmare Music'- The conductor of the Minneapolis Philharmonic Orchestra comes to Nantucket and Joe and Brian convince Helen to audition for the cello position.
10. 'Sports & Leisure'- Roy is invited to join the rest of the gang to a Trivial Pursuit party. Being teamed up with Lowell for the game, Roy gets frustrated by Lowell's participation.
11. 'A Standup Kind of Guy'- An old high school class mate of Joe asks him to be the best man at his wedding, but there is a problem, Joe does not remember who this class mate is!
12. 'It's Not the Thought, It's the Gift'- Joe and Brian compete with each other over who can buy Helen the best gift.
13. 'Hell Hath No Fury Like A Police Woman Scorned'- Joe gets arrested for Brian's unpaid parking tickets, so Brian tries to bail Joe out by wooing the police woman. Unfortunately for Brian, the police woman falls hard for him, and so he struggles with trying to break it off.
14. 'High Anxiety'- A doctor grounds Joe from flying due to his high blood pressure, and out of frustration he takes it out on his brother, which leads to Brian wanting to leave and join up with TWA airlines instead.
15. 'Friends or Lovers?'- Joe and Helen go out on a date while Brian spies on them with a faulty radio.
16. 'There's Always Room For Cello'- Roy has his boy RJ sign up with Helen for cello lessons.
17. 'A Terminal Christmas'- The airport crew goes over to Fay to celebrate Christmas, but find it hard to get into the holiday spirit with Fay all depressed over the loss of her late husband.
18. 'Airport '90'- Encouraged by Helen's support, Joe creates a flight school.
19. 'Love Is Like Pulling Teeth'- A dilemma forces Joe to choose between helping Helen out after her visit to the dentist or going to the big basketball game between Providence and Boston College.
20. 'The Tennis Bum'- Joe and Roy accidentally destroy Lowell's RC airplane model that he was going to enter into a contest. Meanwhile, Brian attemps to cheer up Fay by letting her beat him in a game of tennis. Unfortunately for Brian, word gets around of his loss and everyone gives him a hard time. Helen confronts Roy over sex discrimination in the hiring process.
21. 'My Brother's Back- And There's Going To Be Trouble'- Joe's back is injured which forces him to stay at the hospital, so Brian takes over management of the airport. Brian has lots of creative ideas on how to improve business but they are less than successful.
22. 'Plane 9 From Nantucket'- Joe and Brian see a UFO during a routine flight, and after reporting it to the FAA, UFO observers arrive at the airport to study the phenomenon. Helen accuses Fay of not paying her lunch bill, and they end up settling it with an arm-wrestling contest.
23. 'Looking For Love In All the Wrong Places'- Joe and Helen plan a special day together on Valentine's Day. Roy strikes gold with a blind date with the woman beating all his low expectations, which convinces him that there must be something wrong with her.
24. 'Love Means Never Having To Say Geronimo'- Brian is kicked out of the house as Joe and Helen wants some time alone. The next day Brian brings his own girlfriend back to the house, and after a few passionate days they decide to get married in an airplane. With Joe and Helen as the best man and bridesmaid, they get caught up in the excitement and decide to get married at the same time.
25. 'All In the Family'- Brian is dating a new woman, but the woman's son is not too happy about their relationship. At the same time, Helen and Joe fight over their right to privacy.
26. 'Mother Wore Stripes'- Brian and Joe get a surprise visit by their long-lost mother who left their family many years ago, which leads to many buried emotions rising to the surface.
27. 'Murder She Roast'- Joe and Brian's house is fumigated, so Brian has to stay with Fay after Joe refuses Brian from staying with him and Helen. While staying at Fay's, Brian suspects Fay of being a murderer after seeing her doppelganger on TV.
28. 'Due For Plane and Cello'- Helen auditions for the Maine State Symphony and is hired, which catches Joe off guard. They fight over her new job and it ends up with Helen leaving for NYC. Back at the airport, Fay and Roy argue over a seemingly lost passenger who does not speak English. Fay wants to help her but Roy wants the woman to leave.
The first two seasons do not have Antonio Scarpacci, unfortunately, but we can all look forward to him in the third season at which point he becomes a regular. This is such a wonderful show and I'm glad that all its fans finally get to enjoy it on DVD!

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Brothers Brian and Joe Hackett (Steven Weber and Timothy Daly) attempt to run a Nantucket-based airline while surrounded by their various wacky friends and employees. Series featured an outstanding supporting cast, including Crystal Bernard, Thomas Haden Church (Sideways), Tony Shalhoub (Monk) and Amy Yasbeck. Solidly funny sitcom that ran for several years.

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