Wings (DVD) Review

By Britt Gillette

Created by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee, all producers of the critically acclaimed Cheers and writers for its hit spin-off Frasier, Wings shares many of the same attributes of the popular bar “where everybody knows your name”. Just as each episode of Cheers mostly took place in the Beacon Street pub, each episode of Wings takes place in Nantucket airport. Cheers maintains 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, the strength of Wings is built upon great writing and eccentric, well-developed characters. From the moment you hear the memorable and soothing Schubert theme song, you’ll want to be transported away to this quiet island of lovable and hilarious characters…

Wings centers around the lives of two brothers, Joe (Tim Daly) and Brian Hackett (Steven Weber), who run a fledgling airline on the northeast vacation island of Nantucket. The two are assisted by sarcastic stewardess Faye Cochran (Rebecca Schull) and oddball mechanic Lowell Mather (Thomas Haden Church). Responsible and dependable, Joe attempts to keep the struggling business afloat in the face of fierce competition from chief rival Aeromass and its seedy 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 lunch counter is owned by the Hackett’s childhood friend Helen Chapel (Crystal Bernard), an aspiring cellist with a quick wit. Superbly written, Wings is at times nutty and absurd, but it’s always funny and the characters will quickly earn a place in your heart. It’s by far one of the best situation comedies of its era…

The Wings (Season 1) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere “Legacy” in which Joe Hackett, owner of a small single-plane airline known as Sandpiper Air receives a letter from his recently deceased father. The letter calls for him to open a package in the presence of his estranged brother Brian. After jumping through a number of hoops, the two brothers realize how important they are to one another, and Brian (a pilot himself) agrees to stay in Nantucket and help Joe run the airline… Other notable episodes from season one include “All For One and Two for Helen” in which Joe grows 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 drops into Fay’s house for Christmas, only to find her grieving her dead husband and preparing to spread 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 (There Once was 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 Puppet Master) Air Date: 09-28-1990
Episode 8 (The Story of Joe) Air Date: 10-05-1990
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: 11-09-1990
Episode 13 (Hell Hath No Fury like a Policewoman Scorned) Air Date: 11-16-1990
Episode 14 (High Anxiety) Air Date: 11-23-1990
Episode 15 (Friends or Lovers?) Air Date: 12-07-1990
Episode 16 (There’s Always Room for 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’s Back and There’s Gonna Be Trouble) Air Date: 01-31-1991
Episode 22 (Plane Nine from Nantucket) Air Date: 02-07-1991
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: 03-07-1991
Episode 26 (Mother Wore Stripes) Air Date: 03-14-1991
Episode 27 (Murder She Roast) Air Date: 03-21-1991
Episode 28 (Duet for Plane and Cello) Air Date: 03-28-1991

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a movie review site where you can find more reviews like this one of the Wings (DVD) Review.

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