Wings: The Seventh Season – DVD Review

Wings is one of those television series that kind of came out of nowhere and stayed on the air a lot longer then anyone imagined it would have. That held especially true after the debacle that was season five in which everything just seemed to turn upside down. The focus of the show had completely shifted from a lot of comedy to that of a dramatic relationship type format, and let me just tell you that it sucked. Season six rebounded meaning the creators had to see just what they had done wrong the year before, but the biggest test of Wings was yet to come. The seventh season would see the loss of one of the main characters on the show and quite possibly the most popular cast member overall. Success was in reach, but there was a big void that needed to be filled.

Joe and Brian Hackett are brothers that own a small company called Sandpiper Airlines in Nantucket, Massachusetts. They only have one plane and operate out of a very tiny airport inhabited by other small airlines and businesses. Together they are some of the most well known pilots in the area, but also some of the nuttiest. Well, Brian is a bit nutty and carefree while Joe is more business-oriented and serious. Still, in order to deal with the people around them, they’d have to be a little nutty.

An older woman named Fay Cochran runs their front counter and takes reservations. She has a way with words and a smart-aleck wit to match. Roy Biggins runs another small airline and is ready to insult anyone that walks by. Helen Chapel stands behind the lunch counter and takes care of the food orders all day. Antonio Scarpacci is an Italian cab driver that is usually found sitting at Helen’s lunch counter more often then driving passengers. Then there was Lowell Mather who is the bumbling mechanic/maintenance man that is extremely lovable but dumb as a rock, but he left after season six which took a lot of comedy away. These are the people that you would see in nearly episode although there are a few others who stopped in from time to time.

Speaking of Lowell’s departure, it really takes a toll on Wings and it is evident after his final appearance in “The Person Formerly Known As Lowell.” He may not have been one of the center characters such as Joe, Brian, or Helen, but Lowell encompassed the Nantucket airport and everything that is funny about this series. It was Thomas Haden Church’s subtle humor that could make you crack up at this pitiful little handyman. Still it worked a lot and therefore he made everyone he was ever on screen with that much more amusing. Taking away Lowell means that the show only had one really funny character left in Antonio, and sadly he has always been even less of a side character then Lowell was.

Wings bounced back in the sixth season from a horrible showing in the fifth, and then started off really well here, but then just lost it. Again they tried to veer from what has made the sitcom so enjoyable for so long and it doesn’t work whatsoever. Season five saw the focus shift to relationships and love giving the series a much more dramatic and romantic feel to it. It seemed a lot more soap opera-ish to be exact. The problem here is that after Lowell was gone things got a lot less funny. Oddly, it’s almost as if humor took second fiddle to much more serious storylines such as crime, death, and obsession. I just don’t get why they insisted of going off course and not moving on with what worked for five of the first six years on the air.

Episodes

Disc One:

Burnin’ Down The House (Part 1): Brian and Casey accidentally burn down Helen’s home while she and Joe are in Jamaica on their honeymoon. So Joe orders Brian out of his life for good.

Burnin’ Down The House (Part 2): Joe hires a lawyer to dissolve his business partnership with Brian, but has second thoughts after he is visited by the ghost of their mentally unstable father.

This two-parter really seems like the type of thing that would end a season or end one and begin the next, but here it is right at the beginning. Mind you it is a really good two-part episode, but just seems kind of out of place.

Death Becomes Him: A rich woman charters a plane and has Joe and Brian fly her later father’s body up from Miami. But then they bring the wrong corpse.

The Person Formerly Known As Lowell: After Lowell witness a mob hit, he is threatened by a gangster’s lawyer. So he decides to join the Witness Protection Program and leave Nantucket.

Hooker, Line And Sinker: After a bad breakup, Antonio gets set up with a woman who turns out to be a high-priced hooker. Roy hopes to get Casey to illustrate his children’s book.

She’s Gotta Have It: A meeting with a home insurance adjuster produces a big check for Joe and Helen, which Helen promptly spends. Brian and Casey look for something in common.

So Long, Frank Lloyd Wrong: A world-famous architect volunteers to build Joe and Helen’s dream house, but the whole enterprise turns into a nightmare. A new mechanic, Budd Bronski, is hired.

Disc Two:

When A Man Loves A Donut: Brian is in denial about all the weight he has gained since his brother got married. Meanwhile, Casey interviews with the island’s tourism board.

The Big Sleep: Joe scoffs at his dream where he and Helen are killed in a plane crash. But Brian warns him not to fly, since everything else in the dream is coming true.

‘Twas The Heist Before Christmas: Joe wants to go skiing for Christmas, but Helen longs for a traditional house party. But when guests’ wallets disappear, the finger-pointing starts.

Honey, We Broke The Kid: A macho star hired to do a commercial excites Casey, but only has eyes for Antonio. Joe and Helen agree to babysit, but frustrate a little girl with their rules.

B.S., I Love You: Joe and Brian’s grandfather returns to the island, but Helen is convinced that he is an imposter. Antonio ignores a chain letter and suffers for it.

Sons And Lovers: Roy’s son R.J. attends his father’s birthday party, but angers Roy when he brings his new boyfriend. Meanwhile, Antonio trains Brian to drive his cab.

Bye George: Faye gets a visit from the elderly gentleman she met on her cruise, and after a whirlwind romance decides to get married. But then she learns his real name.

Disc Three:

The Team Player: After Antonio refuses to allow him to board a Sandpiper flight, an abrasive goalie misses an important Bruins’ game and irate fans descend upon the island.

Love At First Flight: Brian hates Valentine’s Day, but then meets a cute passenger on his flight. The trouble is, she’s flying to Nantucket to get married.

Lynch Party: Helen never told Davis Lynch that she married Joe. Now Davis, a political prisoner, has been released and flies to Nantucket to pick up where they left off.

One Flew Over The Cooper’s Nest: Crazy Sandy Cooper is back on the island and is now dating Brian! But Joe is still convinced she’s obsessed with him, so Helen forces Joe to seek therapy.

Driving Mr. Decarlo: Antonio is offered a high-paying job with an Italian businessman who may be in the mob. And Helen tries to impress her old English teacher.

A Tale Of Two Sister Cities: It looks like Casey’s idea of Nantucket having a sister city is going to save her job. But then the passenger Brian just slept with turns out to be the sister city’s visiting princess.

Disc Four:

What About Larry?: Joe and Helen hire the perfect contractor. But when his wife leaves him, he ends up on their couch. And Brian starts stalking actor George Kennedy.

The Lady Vanishes: Antonio meets a woman without getting her name. So he scours the island looking for clues, involving everyone in his desperate search for love.

Life Could Be A Dream: Joe digs up an old time capsule buried years ago. So he and Brian, Casey, and Helen reflect on what kind of future they envisioned for themselves.

The Lyin’ King: Joe feels guilty lying to Helen about going to a strip club with Brian, until he comes up with an honest alibi. Faye and Antonio white their own eulogies.

Love Overboard: Casey’s husband Stuart arrives, desperate and broke, and asks her to give him another chance. Meanwhile, Antonio and Roy trip the light fantastic.

Grouses, House, And Bickering Spouses: Joe and Helen are at their wits’ end sharing a house with Brian and Casey, but then discover the perfect home. Only they’ll need to sell their empty lot to afford it.

The episodes are shown in 1.33:1 Full Screen format and look good for the most part considering they are close to fifteen years old. Colors are bright when they need to be and the picture is sharp except for a few moments now and then where slight grainy effects are evident.

The episodes are heard in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Sound and considering you are going to hear virtually all dialogue here, then it does a-ok.

None

As much as I loved the show back then, it’s hard to stay interested in it today. Seasons one through four are phenomenal and then the series took a hard step back with season five. Season six did a dramatic turnaround and went right back into what worked making Wings incredibly enjoyable again. Sadly they didn’t learn form their mistakes and took a nose dive in season seven. The departure of Thomas Haden Church didn’t help either, and is probably one of the biggest reasons that Wings lasted only one more season after this. Too much focus is put on Joe and Helen, and Brian and Casey while Antonio is thrown by the wayside and Roy and Faye are almost totally ignored. What happened to the great comedy this series used to produce? I’ll tell you what happened; one guy quit for bigger and better things and the writers decided to ignore the other funniest cast members. I’m sorry if I sound bitter here, but this was a damn fine comedy series and it dragged on for about three seasons too long, and went off the air before even really hitting its prime. If you are a fan of Wings, then you understand what I mean by that. And it’s really only the hardcore fans that are going to want to pick up this season, and even they (like me) will be disappointed.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Paramount presents Wings: The Seventh Season. Created by: David Angell, Peter Casey, & David Lee. Starring: Tim Daly, Steven Weber, Crystal Bernard, Tony Shalhoub, Amy Yasbeck, Rebecca Schull, David Schramm, Thomas Haden Church. Running time: 582 minutes on 4 discs. Rating: Not Rated. Released on DVD: September 9, 2008. Available at Amazon.com