https://web.archive.org/web/20070225141752/http://jumptheshark.com/
Other Thoughts:
When Lowell left the show and started his own show they replaced him with a character of the same background. Boring!!! (Thanks to Bill for bringing Wings to Jump The Shark!)
I always enjoyed Wings. It had a good cast, and at least it wasn't another office comedy. But when they had that second house fire I believe it showed that the writers were pushing it a little!
This show ain't no "Cheers." It ain't even "My Mother the Car." It's just bad.
When Lowell left to enter witness protection program. Show was never the same again. No one chose wings?
After Helen and Joe got married...the same humor that the show had seemed to leave. When Lowell left the show..it jumped off the cliff or over the shark as the case may be..though it already started the jump after joe and helen's marriage.
When Brian started dating Alex. Alex was completely useless to the show. Farrah Forke can not act, and her character was one of the most boring ever on tv.
I never got the appeal of the show but someone must have because the show spawned its own network on cable. I think they call it the USA Network.
Never jumped, but I will agree, when I watch reruns, Alex is like a huge dead weight on the story line, much like the original gal who was on Newhart (pre-Julia Duffy).
Okay folks, Brian is married in real life to Alex. As for jumping, I think it was when Helen left to pursue her music career and left Joe standing at the Airport. It was hard to watch her return and have to start all over again with him.
The show starting dying a slow death when Lowell left. Then everyone started acting like brainless idiots. I loved the show and still watch it in syndication, but not the last couple of seasons. Remember when he convinced Antonio to try and join the Polar Bear club? Genius!
When Alex came on everyone started acting stupid, it was like something was in the water. The first few seasons were great but it got worse every season.
I never liked the show since I thought Joe's brother Brian was a snotty loser and the show REALLY Jumped when they played Trivial Pursuit with Roy using stupid timers and 'buzzes'! Actually, Brian was JUST as snotty as Roy but we were supposed to like him and hate Roy but I felt sorry for Roy having to be stuck with these dorks at that game! If anyone pulled that kind 'buzzing' at one of MY Trivial Pursuit sessions, I'd bust their chops in no time flat!
When they lost the mechanic Lol or Lul? The show was unbearable after that. I grit my teeth when I see that it is even on TV
When Helen's sister Casey first made her appearance.
I don't think Wings ever jumped the shark. It went a little downhill after Joe and Helen got married, but I still thought it was one of the greatest shows.
I loved Wings from the beginning to the end. It had its ups and downs like all shows do, but it never officially jumped.
Never! Joe becoming as big a goofball as Brian breaks from the original premise, though. Yet, it was still funny. I jumped shark when I was watching Wings 25 times a week on USA!
NEVER!!! It's the greatest show on TV!
The show could of made it without Lowell. But, it was ruined with Bud Bronsky. (Lowell's replacement). Thank you USA. I start my day with a laugh every weekday.
lowell was stupid but funny and when he left the show never recovered...
When Helen's sister Casey appears, she is one of the worst unfunniest characters in tv history.
Amy Freakin' Yasbeck!!! Please don't make me look at her huge forhead anymore! Any why do the lines of all "ethnic" characters begin with, "In my country...."???
I don't think Wings ever officially JTS.Yes.Lowell was wonderfully funny, but overall they did a prett good job replacing characters.I agree with the previous posters that Alex was Boring.I feel the show got better after she left.One of my favorite episodes is when their high school friend comes back and locks Joe up in the basement,and relives their prom.This show still makes me laugh!
okay, i gotta concur that when joe and helen finally tied the knot, the show **** the bed. but anyone who doesn't get how great the show was, when roy passed out at fenway park, when helen destroyed joe's office TWICE, when lowell experience all the stages of grief within 7 minutes,-anyone who doesn;t get how great that was is a moron.
When Lowell left and they got another dim witted mechanic who wasn't funny I could see the show was on it's last legs and creatively drained.
When Lowell left the show got worse but was still great. I love that USA still shows Wings every weekday. I think that Wings is better than NBC's Friends since Friends can be predictable.
One of the few shows that started out mediocre at best, then got better every season. In other words, it jumped backwards over the shark. But slowly. I can't think of an exact moment when I thought "hey, *now* this is a good show", but by the end, it was one of the best (and most unheralded) sitcoms on TV.
Wings never jumped. Even in the last episode when they were trying to be emotional they hit it and moved on. It was truly a situation comedy from beginning to end and sadly I have only gotten to know through reruns on the USA network.
I don't think Wings ever jumped. It's still one of my all-time favorite shows.
Wings never jumped, although I agree it did come close when Alex joined the cast, but thankfully, the shark jumped out of the water and ate her instead of ruining this otherwise fabulous show.
When Joe and Helen got married, and when Lowell left the show. Sad. This had been a really funny, clever show 'till the series of jumps, resulting in crashing into a block wall.
I watched it all the time on NBC and I still watch it all the time on USA. I still think it's the greatest.
lowell left. he was funny as hell. the new guy was just dumb.
Day One. Actually I'll go one further, and say the day the actress that plays Helen Chapel was born. BLECH. Crystal Bernard never had ONE witty line or delivery in the entire show's run, and thought talking in a chipmunk voice and being a stupid bitch was funny. I'd rather have the inside of my nutsack scraped then watch anything with her in it. That being said though, Wings was a passably good show. The writing was well above average for an American sitcom, and no matter what anyone says, Casey was cute, and she had depth. The comments about Alex were dead on, though. Brian, Joe, Roy, Lole, Antonio... there were some great moments in that show.
I loved this show and it could be on 12 times a day on USA and I would tape them all. Alex couldnt act, but there were some hilarious episodes where Brian tries to win her back. When Casey's sister joined the show, I had a hard time at first, but the chemistry between her and Brian was great and she was very very funny. It did lose a lot of its luster when Lowell left to do Ned and Stacey. The new moron they brought in just didn't cut it.
The last few seasons it was time to plug the plug. But otherwise I thought this show wasn't bad. The relationship between the brothers was done well. Having Helen grow up fat then lose the weight, was a good touch. Besides ,she really looked good in tight jeans.
When Lowell left the show!!! When he went into the "witness protection program".
When Joe and Helen got married and Lowell left, the show got pretty bad, but it was still better than a lot of the other garbage that the networks pass off as TV. This was one of the greatest and most under-rated shows of the 1990's. I'll never understand how NBC gives no respect to wonderful shows like "Wings", "NewsRadio", and "Nurses" while crap like "Freinds", "Frasier", and "3rd Rock from the Sun" get all the attention and stay on year after torturous year. Wings is what a comedy SHOULD be: funny and warm-hearted and having a good storyline, not full of sex-crazed, self-absorbed, and unfunny characters with no plot whatsoever.
Two words: Antonio Scarpacci. The greatest character ive ever seen in a show, because he was that funny, bitter foreign cab driver that picked up where Latka left off. Antonio always had the perfect line written for him, and he is my hero.
When Lowell left the show by "entering the witness protection program." The next season he was replaced by a mechanic named Buzz. Buzz was a Lowell rip off in the fact that he was supposed to be kind of dim witted like Lowell was. He was never as funny as Lowell, and jokes stopped working.
Wings jumped as soon as Helen's sister became a full time character. Alex was great for Brian, Casey was useless.
To the poster who said that Brian and Alex are married in real life: That may or may not have been true, but Steven Weber is now married to an Englishwoman; their wedding was held in Britain several years ago. He said so on Letterman!
Wings jumped the shark in only two different parts in my eyes. The first was when the got rid of the dimwitted mechanic. What was his name? anyway The second part was when Davis lynch came back from being under house arrest in some other country. What a stupid plot line. Come on! everyone would have been happy without having him back. You could tell the writers were desperate to get some action on the show.
greatest sitcom of all time, threatened jumping with the replacement of Lowell, but all the other characters, especially Antonio, saved it and propelled it to the greatest ever.
Joe & Helen marry. The two most whiniest, neediest, sniveling characters had the show focused on them.
When everything the brothers did went wrong, starting with the wedding. Up till then, they had bad times but they always bounced back. After the wedding of Helen and Joe, it seemed as if the brothers always ended up on the short end of the stick. The second fire was way too much! And the guys losing money and needing some capital. Come on! One of the reasons I liked the show was the way that these two small-time pilots made a go of it. And I liked the relationship between the brothers. They fought, they argued, they still were family and cared about each other. Although, at the end, I liked the way it went out--that was more in the original spirit of the show. Joe and Helen going off together and Brian minding the shop. I like to pretend that he is there, waiting for the two to come back, where life on that 'quirky' little island is still waiting.
Anyone who can sit through an entire episode of Wings and not laugh has got to be in a coma. The shows make me laugh everyday on USA, come on people, the Psycho from high school with the prom story, the time Helen got hit on the head and had to stay up all night, when Helen had her wisdom teeth out, when Psycho came back and pretended to marry Joe in Helen's living room, on the foggy day when Roy had the gang dig the hole for his hot tub, my personal favorite, when Helen is getting ready for a big date with Davis and gets the hives. Hysterical! Alex's shows are my last favorite, except for that one. I dare you to watch it and not crack up. Thank you USA for giving me something to watch on Saturday afternoons (I tape Wings during the week). Anyway, they never had a stupid "very special episode", and I loved them for that. Everyone on it was terrific together.
Sure, Wings had its bad episodes like most TV, but the adventures of Joe, Helen, Brian, Faye, Roy, Casey, Lowell and the ab fab Antonio (I love him!) were endearing and quite hilarious most of the time! The cast was great!! Thank goodness USA has the brains to rerun this show--I tape it every time it's on and laugh out loud. That's more than I can say for the horrific shows on TV today!!!
Actually, for the most part this show was good up til the end. But when Joe and Helen got engaged it seems that Joe turned into a bit of a dork. The Casey character was ok, but her first season she was snooty and uptight, and the next season she was down to Earth and a little slutty. She was a totally different character.
Wings never jumped! I will never tire of this show. Like the Simpsons and the Drew Carey Show, I laugh at all the reruns. Antonio Scarpacci (Tony Schalub) is funny as hell as a cab driver. The cast is great. And, if USA ever takes this show away, I swear, I will wear meat underwear and dance around hungry dogs.
Within a couple of episodes, Lowell left and Joe & Helen got married; that eliminated a ton of funny situations (and the house burning down was just stupid). The show left the water when the wedding ring fell in the toilet; it hit the peak of its arch over the shark when Lowell left; and it crashed back into the water with a thud when Joe tried to buy a vacuum- possibly the worst episode of television ever (and I LIKE the show!). Anyone ever notice, though, that Budd Bronski's character (the 'new' mechanic that replaced Lowell) is completely interchangeable with Lowell in most episodes? Come in, say something stupid, walk away. And then he disappeared after about 8 episodes with no explanation (but was still in the credits). You think he was just brought in to "play Lowell" so they could burn some pre-written scripts? I mean, he wasn't really "bad" as far as acting goes. But find more than 2 episodes with a like that wouldn't have made sense if Lowell had said it (the 2 being when they introduce Budd, and where he talks about his 'incident').
When Joe proposed to Helen in the elevator when she was on her way to see Davis. After waiting a couple of seasons for the two of them to get back together, this was the high point of the show. Anyone who didn't cry at Joe's speech must have a heart of stone! When he convinced her that they were meant to be together, it just made waiting for that moment worth it. After that, the show was still good, but like on any show where the couple finally gets together, it lost a little something.
I agree that Lowell leaving was bad, and Bud coming was worse, but Wings really jumped the shark with the guest spot by Jenny McCarthy. The writers managed to write in some great spots for Jonathan Frakes, Gilbert Gottfried, William Hickey, etc., but the McCarthy episode always makes me ill. And to think she got her own show.
This show jumped in the episode where Antonio had to get married to stay in the country. The entire half-hour was a direct rip-off of a Taxi episode from years earlier where Rev Jim must marry Latka to the prostitute. It's bad enough to rehash your own plot lines in a series but not to rip off other shows.
Although I don't think Wings ever officially "jumped", I felt it just wasn't the same after Helen and Joe got married and Lowell left. The show was still enjoyable, though. And Tim Daly and Steven Webber? Growl! ;-)
I just want to say that I absolutly love Wings and watch the re-runs, and I believe it never jumped. But I do agree that Alex was a boring character that did nothing for the show and I do think Joe and Helen's wedding was stupid. Who would get married having your hand stuck in the toilet! But I do think the vacuum episode was the best one, and so was the one where Steward comes back for Casey. Those were my favorite episodes. Wings was always funny, and I think the end of the series was funnier that the beginning.
The show did lose some of its charm after Joe and Helen married and Lowell left, but it never got bad enough for me to stop watching it. A bad Wings episode is still a lot funnier than the crap that's on TV nowadays. I still enjoy the reruns.
It's hard for me to pinpoint the exact moment when Wings jumped. If "Jump the Shark" means when one stops watching a show altogether, then Wings never jumped the shark for me because it never got bad enough for me to stop watching it. I do think that the quality of the show went down after Joe and Helen married and Lowell left in the 7th season, but there were also some really funny episodes in Season 7. I think it was the last season that jumped. It just wasn't very great compared to the first 6 seasons of the show. Overall, I think Wings was a very fine, funny, well-written, well-acted show from the beginning to almost the very end.
I think this is one of the greatest shows on TV. This is one of the only shows I'll actually clear my schedule to watch. Lowell, Brian, Roy and Antonio always make me laugh. The intricate plotlines and the way the show came full circle from where it began make it really fun. I admit the show was never the same after Lowell left, but I wouldn't say that it jumped. P.S. Did anyone else notice that it was a Taxi ripoff. Look closely, there are many similarities.
Great show with great, diverse characters...however the show jumped when Joe and Helen finally got married. After that it felt like they all got too comfortable, especially the writing. The "star" factor took over, when they all exuded "success" as actors...much like Friends did after the second season, and Seinfeld did around 1996-97.
Lowell leaves Wings for a horrible sitcom on FOX, Ned and Stacey. They replace him with a dunderhead ex-marine who was neither fun nor funny.
I'd have to say that this show is and always will be one of my favorites though when Lowell left the show I cried because I knew it was the end of what I knew to be the closest representation of me on TV. Now I walk lonely in the world being subjected to the horrors of current sitcoms that just aren't funny. So with utter despair I must say that Wings jumped on that dark and stormy night that Lowell left for the last time.
"Wings" is one of the few shows that never jumped . . . it changed when Lowell left, and lord knows it changed again when Casey appeared (by the way, to the poster who's confused . . . it's John Ritter who's married to Amy Yasbeck in real life) . . . but at least Joe and Helen (the best couple EVER after Sam and Diane) didn't have a baby, though i fear that's where they were heading.... I wouldn't have minded seeing this gem go on for another few years (anyone catch "Frasier" lately? Almost makes you yearn for "The Single Guy" or "Suddenly Susan"!) Someone said this earlier, and i heartily agree . . . this was a sitcom head and shoulders above the rest -- with lovable characters you cared about; excellent writing, and a touch of pathos here and there that even elicited a tear or two. The trash that's on now only makes "Wings" more of a cherished memory. And thank goodness for the smart folks at USA!
It was never the same after Lloyd left, that crew-cut guy just wasn't funny. However, I couldn't resist tuning in just for Amy Yasbeck; I mean, how can you not like a leggy redhead who's always walking around in short skirts?
Probably the most underrated sitcom of all time. Sure its not on a par with Seinfeld or Cheers but Wings did its own thing and did it well. The time capsule episode is a classic!
I don't think Wings ever truly jumped, but the guy who replaced Lowell was pretty gay. I must agree with the vast majority of people who think that Alex is boring and unfunny. Overall, one of my fave sitcoms ever-all the characters are likable and funny in their own way. I would've enjoyed hanging out with this group, maybe working at the airport or something. Antonio is one of the single funniest characters on TV in a long time. Remember when he was relating having to drive the rich guy around the island all day, and said the guy made him feel like a piece of dirt. Oh no, you're exaggerating, they tell him. No, he insists, the guy said, "Piece of dirt, let me off here" or something to that effect. How about when he's trying to steal his cousin's girl, and tells him he needs to wear more leather, and see her less ("You're smothering her!") Classic! Bring back our hour block of Wings, USA Network! I miss it!
Wings never jumped. It was such a wonderful joy to watch. The cast was talented. The jokes and writing were funny. The plots were interesting. The characters had depth and distinct personalities and each character added something to the show and they complemented each other very well. It's a shame that this fine piece of art never received any attention or respect from the TV critics and awards shows, but then again, 99% of them are morons anyway. Wings forever!!!
Lowell Leaving coinciding with Joe and Helen getting back together (bye bye Davis) signified the end to a very very funny show. Also switching Farrah Forke for Amy Yasbeck was another mistake.
When the creators added Casey permanently. I still watched it but it was never the same. It's not on anywhere here now so I haven't seen it for along time but two of the funniest episodes were (1) where the men went on a golfing or retreat weekend out of town and all of them stayed in the same suite. Brian picking bugs off of Lowell was priceless. Roy in his pajamas....I can only remember it was hilarious and (2) Joe and Helen's wedding (even if Casey was there). Previous poster asks who would get married with their hand stuck down a toilet. Well of course not...that's why comedy shows are so funny. What a wonderful ensemble cast. Long live Wings in syndication.
Amy Yasbeck. If Hell exists and I have to go there, I will be forced to watch all the "Casey" episodes. Thinking about this is what keeps me up at night. She's the female David Schwimmer.
When Lowell left. You could sort of see it coming when FOX started advertising its new show _Ned & Stacey_ -- and there was T.H. Church. (Whatever happened to his red-haired co-star?) The show just wasn't the same after that. They did replace his character, but he only lasted the rest of the season (and he was never in the opening credits).
This show jumped from day one. Don't get me wrong, it was and remains a nice "vanilla" flavored show with typical characters and predictable jokes that the many brain deads seem to enjoy. But that was just it- there was no clever writing or dialogue or anything. You'd think after seven years(!) the characters would have developed something more than the paper thin personalities that they were given.
This show jumped when Amy Yasbeck joined the cast because by that time not much could have saved it. Lowell was gone,Joe and Helen were married and Brian was a mope. Earlier this show was just plain funny. The episode where they took turns hypnotizing each other and Roy started singing show tunes and dancing...funny as Hell!
I don't think Wings ever jumped. It was one of the most underrated TV shows ever, with great plots and writing and characters that I could really care about and relate to. Those TV critics and other people who always bashed it are a bunch of tasteless morons who don't know good TV!!!
This show wasn't bad but its a great example of how bad writing can make you think less of an actor. I couldn't stand Tony Shalhoub's portrait of Antonio. I thought it wasn't funny and way too derivative of other previous foreign sitcom characters on TV. However take Tony Shalhoub out of Wings and it turns out he's one of the BEST characters actors working in films today. Another example is how bad great the little blond girl Heather O'Rourke was in Poltergeist and how absolutely God-awful she was in Happy Days.
I just watched 20 years of Must See TV, they showed a small bit of wings, and then Eric McCormack mentioned how it stayed on the air for 8 years - despite - having 16 time slots and having been on 5 different nights. I believe that was because of the writing and acting, the 7 main characters were so fun to watch. The reason I liked it so much, was because I love comedies. I never, ever, had to worry about a "very special episode", even if they had some quiet moments, someone made a joke and got me laughing, that's what makes a good comedy, no crying except tears of laughter. I thank David Angell for that. He helped with Cheers, Frazier and Wings, but died in one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center. I'll miss his comic sense, making comedies funny, not sad and depressing, like MASH became.
"Talk to me, Pizza-man!!" still cracks me up to this day. A good comedy, great timing and physical comedy at times too. Lowell leaving was a bad move. Ended when it should though. One of the best ever and never slumped (i.e.: MASH, Happy Days, etc.). Rates up there in ensemble comedies with Andy Griffith show, Dick Van Dyke Show.
In the beginning the show was a light, fluffy, charming diversion. But when Helen and Joe became engaged, the whole feel of the show changed, the pleasant breeziness was gone, and its relaxed pace moved to one of panic and frenzied desperation. The characters were altered. Joe the upright, button-collared Eagle-scout and anal retentive control-freak, with a passion for his flying and his air-line, became a whiny, sex-obsessed slob, who seemed to care little for the it. Brian began as a lazy, unreliable, foolishly daring, wise-cracker and a womanizer; a lovable rogue who we couldn't help but be charmed by. But when Alex left, she must have taken his testicles with her, because he became a pathetic loser. Antonio the naive, wide-eyed immigrant, who at the beginning was sensitive, good-natured, and well adjusted became a miserable, despairing, angry, self-hating wretch, whom the writers took joy in inflicting new sufferings on each week. Fay the innocent, sweet-tempered old woman, with just a hint of slyness, did such things as steal lipstick, and act horribly to Casey when she worked with her. This wasn't the Fay we knew and loved. The show worked best as an assemble piece, yet in the final seasons the stories shifted to the individual characters. We didn't care about Roy's rocky relationship with his mother and son. It's appealing airiness left as they focused less on the airport, and assemble, and relied more on guest-stars, and unfamiliar sets, and also physical comedy and outlandish plots. The two fires, Lowell's exit, and the last show were the height of absurdity. In the last seasons, the to damage to the internal consistency, let alone the pleasure of watching, was enormous.
Another 1990 debut show shared the same opening theme as Wings. Anyone remember? I remember it was a bit surreal .. .ending with one of the main character's son --- a child raised by wolves -- falling down a well.
This show easily rates with "cheers", "simpsons" and "seinfeld" as the best comedy in the last 20 years. Later on in the show, Joe and Helen's character became kind of annoying, but I think everyone who watched this show felt as though they truly knew Antonio, Roy, Brian, Lowell, and the rest. Just wished the "Alex" era never happened. Here's hoping USA brings Wings back!!!
I liked this show very much although I detest the presence of Crystal Bernard, I think she's a moderately attractive midget who should never be allowed to do anything in a TV show except to look pretty which can be a stretch for her. If she arrived on the island at the age of ten how come she still had the Texas/Trailer park accent. Frankly I think her acting was atrocious. However this show was still bearable because of the other cast members and the writing. There were early signs of jumping; the water skis was strapped on when Helen came back to the island and boat started revving when Brian ended up with Alex. But it head down the runway when they introduced that Davis guy and ultimately jumped when Joe and Helen got married. Whereas the early episodes were done in and around the airport the latter episodes were more of a domestic comedy. Those people who said "Cheers" jumped when Shelly Long left should watch the post nuptial episodes of "Wings" because they were made by the same producers odd are "Cheers" would have suffered the same fate as "Wings". Instead of eleven great seasons of "Cheers" there would have been Five great season and three anemic post Sam and Diane nuptial episodes.
This show never jumped the shark. From beginning to end, the show did change in terms of characters and writing, but no matter what they did i still found hilarious. every once in a while there would be a scene so funny i found myself not being able to breath. although i was sad to see Lowell go, I found Bud to be a suitable replacement and he didn't really take away from the show because he didn't do much, and the scenes he was in were always funny. I am disappointed USA does not show the repeats in the morning anymore, mostly because i do not have enough taped episodes. This is one of the great TV shows of all time, and every week i would always looking forward to seeing it. that is the mark of a truly great show.
I think that the show JTS when Joe and Helen became a bona-fide couple and then subsequently married... and their repeated attempts to get hitched without a hitch - too much "Keystone Cops" for me. I also think that Farrah Forke's character, although not incredibly funny, was much less offensive than Amy Yasbeck's character! Adding Casey was another JTS moment.
Wings never jumped. It was one of the finest TV shows in recent history. Antonio is the funniest TV character since Reverend Jim from Taxi.
I think this was a good show, I liked most of the characters, and especially Roy. I watched it when I was 10 years old, but now as I watch it, it seems like any other stupid comedy show. It lost all steam when Alex showed up, and became a dead weight. I also thing the episode where the plane crashes, and Joe and Helen are talking about going to some tropical island and swimming with dolphins, and then Lole gets the plane back! I mean, it was good then, why continue it? Put it down, thats all I got to say. It jumped them.
Never jumped. Wings had all the elements of a classic sitcom: intelligent writing, interesting plots, a great cast, and characters that you could relate to and feel sympathy for. It was a funny, warm-hearted sitcom that just made you laugh, week after week. I'll never understand why most of the TV critics, the entertainment magazines, and NBC hated the show, while at the same time, they shove unfunny garbage like Friends down our throats. I guess they're just not smart enough to know great comedy. I will admit that Wings lost a lot of its spark in its last year or two, but I think a bad Wings episode is still a heck of a lot funnier than all the unfunny s*itcoms that have come out in recent years. Long live Wings!
Wings jumped when the writers didn't realize that Antonio and Casey would make a great couple. Antonio pined for Casey for a whole season, and they dropped the storyline suddenly, pairing Brian off with Casey (one of the worst couples in TV history, almost as bad as Ross and Rachel) and turning Antonio into a whiny, self-hating loser who faced suffering and torture each week. No wonder he eventually developed severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, moved out to San Fransico, and became a homicide detective.
It was never that great anyway, but it truly went in the toilet when Lowell departed. He was nearly the only bright spot. (tony shaloub was funny, but repetitive.) Of course, the actor who played lowell has unbearable in everything he has done since. So, there you go. Don't mess with a mediocre thing is the lesson here.
I have always loved Wings and felt that it never got the recognition it deserved. I watched every episode from the first to the last one and I still watch it in reruns. Looking back at all the episodes, I think the point that Wings jumped the shark was the 6th season Christmas episode when Antonio was taken hostage in the control tower because he ate the air-traffic controller's doughnut. IMHO, that is the point when Wings went from being a funny, intelligent, well-written ensemble comedy to being silly, goofy, poorly written, and even absurd. The characters, especially Joe and Antonio, really changed for the worse. The wedding and the house fires were just stupid. I think seasons one through six of Wings is classic comedy TV, but the final two seasons are just forgettable.
Helen's pathetic sister Casey was the downfall of this awesome show.
The only thing that kept this going was the sexual tension. When Tim Daly's Joe married Crystal Bernard's Helen, the show, which was never more than marginally funny, stopped being even that.
It simply never jumped. There were a few times, granted, wherein its ass was scraping on a shark fin, but consistently managed to land comfortably on the Safe Side of the Shark (SSS, for future reference). It mirrored Taxi (Christopher Lloyd's involved with both, Louie=Roy, Alex=Joe, Wheeler=Brian, Latka=Antonio, Rev. Jim=Lowell, etc.) without BEING Taxi. And it mirrored Cheers(crossover characters notwithstanding), in that plot lines could have nothing to do with the original premise while at the same time leaving it intact. The "Hypnosis" episode is an example, as making Roy sing show tunes and digging up his yard had nothing to do with an airport, while the characters did these things because the airport was fogged in. I'll grant that Casey was annoying, but it was a gamble in which the show at least broke even. After a few years, a new character has to be introduced once in a while to throw a new angle on things, and to make new plot lines possible. If Lowell (Lul? duh) had never left, Casey hadn't shown up, etc etc etc the series would have run out of gas by Season 4. It's a necessary evil. The Series Finale was well done as well, tying in neatly with the Premiere. Ranks up there with the best series finales (Newhart 1990, MTM, etc). This show never seemed to get the attention it deserved, though I think that if it had, it would have resorted to the cheap joke, and a jump would probably have happened by Season 3 or 4. Changes like marriages and moves are a part of life. True, most of those that take place in TV land don't work at all, but when a series such as this manages to pull it off without seeming desperate, It's all good.
Never. I remember when it first came on I thought it was kind of weak but entertaining at the same time. I continued to watch it and every year it got more crazy. I hated for it to end but it gave me 8 great years. Also to the people dissin' Amy Yasbeck, up yours! She was and still is hot as hell. Hopefully, she'll pop up on 8 Simple Rules soon.
This show was too bad to ever jump. I watched some of it in the 90s, some on USA, and some on Nick. Bad, Bad and more Bad! The idea was great but it just laid there. The dumb guy, Loel, was too stupid to be funny. The older lady had a voice that grated the nerves. Both brothers were totally unlikable. The cab driver guy was depressing and made you want to cut his throat to put him out of his misery. Throw in the fat guy and Chrystal Barnard and you just hoped someone would set fire to the whole place. It makes me sad to even write about it. I'm gonna lay down now.
I'm happy to see that others think it is one of the best and underrated shows ever. Clearly, it jumped when Lowell left. The strange part is I never thought he was one of the best characters, but it was one of those things where you didn't realize how good he was until he left (kind of like breaking up with your girlfriend). I do have to say that I'm shocked at how many people didn't like Alex - I thought she was terrific. Her purpose was to put Brian the womanizer in his place and see how he would react to not wearing the pants in a relationship...I thought Alex played this role brilliantly because she didn't do it in your typical "annoying masculine feminist" kind of way - she did it by just being witty and pretty - I really don't understand what was wrong with her character. Casey didn't add much to the show but didn't ruin it either. Roy and Brian were hilarious, and even the "boring" Joe and Helen were funny at times. Props to Fay for mentioning Syracuse in a few shows - 2003 national champs baby!
When Joe and Helen became engaged. I admit at the time I saw that episode, I wanted to see that happen. With distance and time, I see that changed everything. Episodes started to revolve around the newly married Hackett couple especially the one where Joe buys the best vacuum on the market only to have it break and then having to pay $1700 to get it back from a shady repair shop. Others include the burglar alarm installed by Antonio and when they had weird neighbors (played by Chris Elliott and In Living Color's Kelly Coffield) who were stalking them.
Lowell left and Bud, while a good character, did not fill the gap. I think the writers realized this and did not try to hide it too much. Lowell was awesome and his exit was graceful.
When Alex joined the cast. Beautiful body with ugly face. Best actor on the show was Roy Biggins. He could portray perversion, vulnerability, and compassion all in his blowhard character. He was a theater actor in a sea of no-talent pretty faces (except Lowell of course).
Things definitely went down hill after Lowell left. The original ensemble was really tight, each person filling a role so integral you didn't notice how much they did until they were gone. Faye or Brian's exit would have killed it in the same way. Joe and Helen's marriage wasn't terrible in itself, but the writers felt that afterwards they had to make the characters totally boring. I actually liked Alex. I thought she was a good foil for Brian. I HATED Casey. She may not have been the downfall of the show, but she was the worst symptom of its decline. All in all, it may not have been quite Cheers of Seinfeld, but Wings was right up there with one of the best, and most underrated comedies from NBC's 90's sitcom glory days.
It's hard to believe that people actually like Brian, Joe, Helen and everybody else minus Lowell. It was true that Lowell was the brains of the outfit (except for his odd hobbies, with that he needs a little therapy) and to make up for the intelligence that the rest of the characters had, they made fun of Lowell and called him dumb. If he's so dumb, then why can he fix airplanes? These people act like they are still in high school. Brian and Joe were obsessed with sex, too. There really wasn't anything to do on that dumb island. "Frasier" was FAR better.
One of the quirkiest, funniest, underrated comedies ever... The best part of this show are the quotes. After a kiss - Helen: "What just happened?" Joe: "I don't know - one minute we were spanking each other with meat, and then it got weird." Other funny stuff: Lowell's freaky wife Bunny (Dr. Kerry Weaver from ER), "Blimp killer! Blimp killer!", "You sank my boat!", "Mooooon river... hey Roy, there's another car that looks just like yours..." Fay as the "serial killer" with the murderous leg of lamb... "Phantom of the Oprah" - "We stink on ice"... Helen's date with Davis "Dinner - not ready!" "Stall him!", and the old guy, Carlton Blanchard (I think) - "If the moon hit your eye like a big pizza pie, what do you think a doorknob would feel like?" "Maybe it WAS Las Cruces!" and last but not least, the time Brian broke his nose and needed a nose job: "Did you hear that Joe? It's going to THRAAAAAB." Maybe this show will take on cult status. Can we buy it on DVD or video yet?
My heaven is Brian, in his outlandish, brightly colored wardrobe stretched out causally, rolling his eyes and thinking of his latest conquests while Joe, frustrated, explains once again his perfectly logical filing system, alphabetized, color-coded and sorted by date and importance. Wings will go down is history with Newsradio as one of the most underrated shows of the nineties, but it is also the only show with a clearer demarcation of decline than MASH (Henry Blake's death.) When Joe and Helen were engaged, the show changed from witty, underrated gem to typical sitcom trash, down on all fours with Third Rock From The Sun. The characters completely homogenized, losing all individuality. The major theme of the show was the relationship between Brian the oversexed layabout (played brilliantly by Steven Webber) and Joe, who was in his own mother's words, "a tight-ass even in the womb." (Brian: "I bet you don't even remove that stupid tag from the mattress." Joe: "It says: 'DO NOT REMOVE!'") They had a yin and yang, hammer and anvil relationship, and though they were complete opposites, there was still tenderness and genuine love between them. When Joe became as wacky as Brian, there was no longer a source of conflict. Joe was the moral center and voice of reason in contrast to Brian’s foolish spontaneity and libertinism and without him, it become another "Stupid Wacky Gang Adventures [tm] like the rest of the garbage-sitcoms. When are writers going to learn that less is more? A throwaway exchange like this one: Joe: “The last time you had project, I wound up naked on I-95 trying to wave down oncoming traffic.” Brian: “But, who pulled over for you?” is funnier than any of the later episodes’ efforts to actually depict ridicules situations. But enough of that; let’s talk about the classic years. The universal hatred for this show was just snobbery. I even remember a Simpsons gag about it, though I wouldn't give one early Wings episode for the awful last three seasons of the Simpsons in their entirety. The brilliant David Schramm as Roy is a classic character up their with greats like Louis De Palma. Who can forget Black-Out Buggins? Or when Brian, Joe, Lowell and Roy spend a weekend at a golf-resort. Roy gets into the only bed much to the annoyance of the others, so he stretches out his arms and says “You’re right. I’m being selfish. Anyone want to share with me?” and when the room fills with smoke setting off the alarm, he gets up, knocks it off the wall with a golf club and gets back in bed. Wings! thou should’st be living at this hour: Television hath need of thee! (The early seasons at least.) In some television Valhalla, dotty, old Fay will forever tell absurd anecdotes about George I, George II, and George III and Joe's unused draws will forever have a little sign that says, "empty"
This show never jumped the shark in my opinion. It was a hilarious show with a great ensemble of characters that all worked together to make it funny. But I do have to admit, when Lowell left and that Buzz character came on to replace him, it sort of lost some of its spark, and you knew it wasn't going to be staying on the air much longer.
I totally agree with many of the posters here. Wings was a very funny sitcom with intelligent writing, lovable characters who seemed like real human beings that you could meet on the street, and a talented and very under-rated cast. Wings was a thinking person's TV show, which is probably why all those idiot TV critics were always bashing it. (Yet, they're always praising Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond. TV critics are not very smart people.) Some of my favorite Wings moments are: Roy sings the National Anthem, Brian thinks Fay is a serial killer, Antonio thinks he's being stalked by a robber, the guys go on a golfing trip, Antonio is held hostage by the angry air-traffic controller, Helen tries to get ready for a dinner with Davis but disasters keep happening, Helen keeps driving her Jeep through Joe's office, Joe and Helen slap each other with meat, and Joe proposes to Helen. I could go on and on. While the show did decline a bit after Joe and Helen's wedding, I still think it's one of the best sitcoms in TV history. I think that anyone who can sit through an entire episode of Wings without laughing either has a lousy sense of humor or is just not an intelligent person.
When Stuttering John was on...00000H!!!, he was like nails on a blackboard. It's bad enough he is a moron on Howard's show, but he was an ever bigger moron on Wings.
This was truly an unappreciated show. NBC moved it repeatedly but it always performed well (ironically so did ABC'S Mr Belvidere). Antonio was not funny. He ruined this show for me. Joe had a great ass though
The most beautiful opening sequence in TV history. Jumped with Joe and Helen's engagement, but the early years are classics. Why do I love Wings?: "Sorry, I'm late, I was watching The Nutty Professor on the Spanish channel, Que Loco... (mangled Spanish)" The Purple El Camino. "Do not go gentle into that good night . . . rage, rage, for the times, they are a-changin'." Brian's ties. "YOU'VE BEEN IN THE PLANE!" "If the moon hit your eye like a big pizza pie, what do you think a doorknob would feel like?" The three Georges. "Waiting for a fare." Ann Margaret. "Up on a hill was a lonely goat-herd, A-la-he-hoo, A-la-he-hoo, A-la-HE-HOO!" Blackout Buggins. "Fay the sweetest person I've ever met in my life!" "Oh, that's what every homicidal maniac's neighbor says about them. 'He was very quiet. Always said "Hello." Helped me build a dog pen.' Just once I would like to hear them say: 'He was a raving lunatic. I feared for my life. I WAS JUST WAITING FOR THE CHAIN-SAW TO COME RIPPING THROUGH THE WALL!!!' " The early episodes had a heart and soul to them that the later ones lacked. Favorite tender moments: Brian and Joe talking in the plane when Joe finds out he's been banned from flying. Visiting their childhood home. Joe and Brian deciding on co-partnership of the airline. "You're rich." God bless the fine cast and writers!
I'm surprised no one has mentioned this, it drove me crazy the whole time I watched Wings (and still watch the reruns). Why does Helen, supposedly a Nantucket native, have a Southern accent?! They even had an episode about it, Helen is dating the guy with the really annoying laugh, and he ends up dumping her because he can't stand her accent. Does Crystal Bernard know that Nantucket does not lie off the coast of Georgia? I'm not knocking Wings as great slapstick comedy ("Get in the box, Joe..."), but sharks have gotta get a laugh every now and then too.
“Wings” jumped after they started adding those extra female characters. However, it did not jump very far, because it never soared very high. Although I watched it, I was never drawn to it. The previous poster who described it as “vanilla” was correct, except to be more specific, it is the local grocery store brand vanilla—it’s okay when it’s there, but you never set out to buy it. W was not a horrible show--and I do not have the urge to punish myself in a grotesque manner for having watched it--but it is far from one of the greatest shows ever made, as some posters have anointed it. To answer the previous poster’s question about the other show sharing the theme song, I think it might have been “Grand.” I am not sure about this and will not bet money on this, but I think this is the show. It was about a small town whose main employer was a piano manufacturer (again, I think this is what the show was about).
This is an easy one...maybe the easiest of any show ever: It jumped when Lowell left. In fact, I don't recall a single funny episode after his departure. The "comedy," if you want to call it that, suddenly became unbearable. What was up with Joe? He went from being the straight-laced brother to the lunatic, goof-ball brother at the snap of a finger. There must have been a hidden subplot that the audience wasn't shown...you know, kind of like how sleeping and going to the bathroom are cut out of TV shows? In this case, I think they left out the part where Joe got hooked on LSD.
I'm casting my vote for "Never Jumped". I've always been surprised that Wings lasted as long as it did. The critics hated it, NBC never showed too much faith in it, it was never a big hit ratings-wise, and it was always more popular to make fun of it and bash it. Personally, I never understood the hatred for Wings. I wouldn't go so far to call it one of the best sitcoms in TV history, but it certainly wasn't as bad as it was made out to be. I've always enjoyed watching it and I still love watching it in reruns, which is a lot more that I can say for a lot of the trash that has come out in the past 10 years or so.(I totally agree with a recent poster about Everybody Loves Raymond. Why is that show so popular? It's a horrible show! I can't believe it gets so much praise and so many awards when a good show like Wings is criticized and ignored.)
This show has had some slow moments and has come close to jumping several times, but generally speaking, the writing is too sharp to keep it from getting to the top of the ramp. I'm amazed at how sensitive some people are to the personalities of the characters, particularly Will and Jack. We all know that Will is obsessive-compulsive, and that Jack is flamingly flamboyant. We know that these are exaggerations, but I don't think too many people are taking exception to the obviously exaggerated characters of George and Kramer on Seinfeld. Again, these are characters, not real people. Not many of us know a gay man as over-the-top as Jack, but because his character is gay, this suddenly needs to be interpreted as a statement or an insulting generalization. I'd be willing to bet that most of us don't know people as neurotic as Grace or as narcissistic as Karen either, but because they are straight, nobody sees these characters as moral imperatives. Some people need to understand that we have to be able to laugh at some demographic group other than old, straight, white males. In the end, that's what this show does: takes a fair number of shots at every character. And for those who miss the character development, that's the key point- all of the characters are too self-involved to have found happiness, and are struggling to grow. I will grant that the sheer number of gay jokes sometimes holds the show back (OK, we got it- Will and Jack are gay; nobody goes through life announcing their sexual preference every 30 seconds...) and the punchlines often sound plotted, rather than a result of the natural course of conversation, but this is easily one of the best shows on TV right now.
Never Jumped. Wings is right up with Cheers, Taxi, The Simpsons, and WKRP in Cincinatti on my list of best sitcoms of all time. Shame on those idiotic TV critics and awards shows people for recognizing how great this show is. Brian and Antonio are two of the funniest characters I've ever seen on a TV show. Joe and Helen are my favorite TV couple, after Homer and Marge Simpson. The situations these lovable characters got themselves into were always humorous and interesting. This is the type of show I want to see more of on TV. The only bad thing I can say about Wings is they ditched the origional theme song during the third season and used a cold opening instead.
OMG, talk about seeing the past through rose tinted glasses. There is a simple answer to why the critics usually ignored this show or didn't give it the awards or raves so many of you feel it deserved and that is because it usually didn't deserve them. To me, this show was always a pleasant diversion; nothing more, nothing less (well maybe in its final year it was less). A perfect example of the by-the-numbers style of sitcom development & writing the creative team of Angell-Casey-Lee brought with them from Cheers, the best thing this show had going for it was an attractive, likeable cast and a half-way decent premise. And every once-in-a-while an above-average episode would even make me laugh out loud. For me, this show jumped when Alex joined the cast full-time in the 5th season. Honestly, this actress never felt like she fit on this show and half the time she looked uncomfortable in the role. Therefore, I never bought Brian's interest in her. Hands down this shows best character was Roy. He was the only one who could make me laugh out loud.
When Lowell left the show was never the same, but still funny. Overall it was great. I liked all of the characters. Adding Antonio as the depressed taxi driver was genius. I remember he dated a woman who never actually appeared, but was only referred to in stories as "Edna the big-faced girl" Hilarious! Other great episodes: Bryan and Joe have to fly Carlton anywhere in the country, Roy gets picked to sing the National Anthem and passes out, Lowell inherits a boatload of money (on his 31st birthday, per family tradition) and uses it to build his own celebrity wax museum. This really was a great sitcom.
I've thought about this, and I've always liked this show, from when it was on the air primetime, and the reruns on USA and now the ones I watch every night on nickatnite, and I wish it never jumped - but it happened. Midway through season seven. I'll have to pinpoint it down to when Lowell left. I can't remember if Bud came in right away, but he was horrible. Like I couldn't believe they let the show go that way. Why Bud? Ugh. I liked Casey, I thought she was a great character. And, yes, Wings followed most sitcoms' character's descent into stupidity and predictibility, but that was okay for a bit. It was still funny. Until Lowell left. They should've pulled the plug at the end of that season. That last season was pointless and painful to watch. Like I said I wish it never jumped the shark because it is a great show. And while I'm here - I Love Antonio. But they were all great. But no way to anyone who says Wings never jumped the shark. Sorry dudes.
I loved Wings! But it jumped when Lowell left. I still enjoyed the show, but it just wasn't the same without Lowell. And the replacement for Lowell (Bud?) wasn't even close. He wasn't funny. If Lowell was going to leave it would have been better not to replace him at all than to bring in the guy they did.
When the original cast started breaking up (Lowell, Helen, etc.) it was gone. I still love the earlier shows, however, and can frequently be heard singing "My goat knows the bowling score, Hallelujah..."
There seem to be three main points when people see this show jumping: the marriage of Joe and Helen, the arrival of Casey and the exit of Lowell. I go with the "I Do", because it changed the whole dynamic of the show. All these episodes centered around Joe and Helen, who were, in truth, a pretty boring couple, and the rest of the cast was mostly relegated to the sidelines. It was like the writers were doing "The Joe and Helen Show" and lost interest in everyone else. Brian went froma hip swinger to a pathetic loser, not much above Antonio on the evolutionary scale. Speaking of whom, Antonio became more and more pathetic, so that he just got ludicrous and sad. Roy and Fay were largely relegated to the sidelines and Roy actually became nice (big mistake!). Lowell's leaving hurt too, because he was a great character--so many great one-liners he had. Classic case of the supporting actor getting the big head and leaving for his own show, which totally bombs. Big mistake, dude! Casey was okay, but irritating. I never felt like they had a handle on her character and knew how to fit her in. Another problem was that they started doing these serious special-type episodes, like with Helen being angry at her mom (Debbie Reynolds) or Joe being accused of fathering the child or the second episode with Roy's gay son (too heavyhanded). These episodes weren't funny, they just sucked. Seeing Crystal Bernard try to get dramatic with Debbie Reynolds--ugh, don't go there! And some episodes were just incredibly awful, like that episode where Brian and Caesar attend the singles' party. That was just sad and dpressing--what were the wrtiers thinking?! After Joe and Helen got married, the show got worse and worse. That last season--was there a single funny episode? Dreadful! Still, this show had some great years, beginning with Antonio joining the cast and lasting till about up to the marriage. Episodes like the one where Joe and Brian dress up their old coach in drag or Brian thinking Faye is a black widow murderess or the first two Psycho Sandy ones are just brilliant down to the last detail. It was a really great show for three or four years, which is more than you can say for most. And, yeah, Antonio was a great character, before he became such a grotesque caricature. Glad to see Shalhoub getting so much praise now. And theme music by Schubert--cool!
I am torn as to whether to call the jump at the point of Lowell leaving or Joe and Helen getting married. But the jump definitely happened.
When Alex dumped Brian on a TV show. I liked Alex's character, though she didn't really contribute a lot to the mix...until she sets up Brian to be humiliated on a sleazy Jenny Jones-style talk show in order to make his pain even more severe. A NASTY turn of events from an otherwise very enjoyable show.
Wings was a pretty good show, but the second fire was ridiculous. Two brothers burn each other's houses down a year apart both because they were too busy having sex to notice a house fire, come on!
Wings is one of the best shows ever on Television...it should still be on and it should be available on video or DVD..why isn't it? I don't understand that. It was very funny, well-written..the Hackett brothers were (and still are) 2 of the handsome-est & funniest guys on TV, and the rest of the characters were funny as hell also..they all had chemistry. Anyone who didn't like this show has no taste. BRING IT ON DVD!!!
Like others have mentioned, this show definitely jumped when Joe and Helen got married (followed closely by Lowell's departure). However, up till then it was a surprisingly fun show. Decent writing and nice interplay among the ensemble. Loved Lowell and Antonio. Classic Lowell moment: When the immigration guy comes to the airport looking for Antonio (who's sitting right in front of him) and asks loudly "I'm looking for an Antonio Scarpacci. Has anyone here seen Antonio Scarpacci?!" Brian: "Not me. (turns to Joe) Howabout you, Joe?" Joe: "Not me. (turns to Lowell) Howabout you, Lowell?" Lowell: "Not me. (turns to Antonio) Howabout you, Antonio?"
This show never jumped, in my humble opinion. I loved the entire cast and was saddened when Lowell, a hilarious member left for "Ned and Stacey". When Joe and Helen got married it lost a little something.(Although I was happy and wanted them to end up together.) I also agree with many of the posters that Alex was dead weight to the show. Still "Wings" remains one of my most favorite shows and is among the most unpraised of our time.I was too young when it originally aired and found gret pleasure in watching in syndication on USA. It has since left the station and can be found from 2am to 6am on Nick at Nite.
This show JTS when most other romantic comedies do... when Helen and Joe got married. No sexual tension anymore. It wasn't as good after they were married. I mean the whole Casey and Brian relationship was interesting, but it didn't hold up the on again off again Helen and Joe relationship. I also agree that the show was never the same after the lovable Lowell left. Still, i love to watch re runs of this show and the character of Antonio is and was one of the best t.v. characters ever!!!
I agree with several posters here. Glad to see all the criticism of the Alex character because I feel she dragged the show down a bit with her extremely snotty and bitchy personality. I must say that when Lowell left it was the biggest jumping moment, even though there were some funny episodes after. Nothing compared to the shows while Lowell was there. As for Casey, I think she was mostly a good thing providing some funny moments with Brian, but her whiny and pathetic behavior was grating at times. Antonio was turned into a real bitter loser, which was unfair since he provided many laughs himself. Roy & Faye were solid as well. Brian & Joe had several funny moments in the beginning but as time went on they were both dumbed down, especially Joe. Helen was always kind of hit and miss for me, when she would run around with rich men and whine about her dreams of playing the cello, oh man, shut up! Even better, when she just up and leaves to NY to chase her cello dream leaving Joe standing in the airport entrance...nice! Back to Alex though. I realize there has been a lot of bashing of the character here, but it's for good reason and I was actually refreshed to see it. Alex came off mostly as a bitch. She constantly had to remind everyone that she flew helicopters for the military...who cares? Her insecurities became ugly, but hit their lowest on an episode where she "returns" for some stupid reason by setting Brian up on the daytime talk show where the topic is "men bashing" basically. A pretty unfunny episode that has Brian & Alex jumping each other in the end, even after she did something totally low and ugly by attacking him on national TV for not committing to her. Who would want to? She's mostly to blame for that relationship failing. Wings was a darn funny show that was written into dummyland and I feel it officially jumped when Lowell joined Witness Protection to go make that wretched thing "Ned & Stacey" with possibly one of the blandest female sitcom stars ever - Debra Messing, who played Stacey. Now she's on Will & Grace playing Stacey. Get it?
With all the women Brian has used and discarded, the one woman Joe ever treated truly shabbily comes after him--three times. He finally throws Brian out of his life, but does he relent because of himself? No. He relents because the ghost of crazy dead Dad guilts him. When their deadbeat jailbird Mom comes back, she cracks wise about how Joe has always been uptight. When Joe explains that he had to stay that way to take care of Brian and their Dad, she shrugs and gives a standard sitcom excuse that she's not much of a mother. So its alright to mock him for a condition you helped set up, but you get a pass? Give me ten of those passes. Its not even that Joe tolerated too much crap--he did. But it started to turn into a later Tom and Jerry cartoon. Towards the end, they toned this aspect down, just a bit, and the ending was superior. But the doormat syndrome, when the show goes from spreading the grief around to heaping it all on the main character (Dear John, Married With.., very late pre-finale Newhart) will almost always drive me away.
When Lowell left. He was half of the comedy and the character Antonio and he really played off one another.
The show was still pretty good after Lowell left, and thankfully Buzz didn't get as many lines as Lowell did...but to be honest looking back at that show, I really appreciate how Lowell's character was brought to life, every idiotically clever thing he said, he looked like he actually believed it, I don't think there is any other character out there that was boneheaded but clever and realistic at the same time, the chemistry seemed a little different after he left, especially knowing now that he left a good show for a career that went nowhere...if only he would of stayed longer, maybe he could of have the success Steven Weber had, its sad...now we're left wondering what ever happened to the Mechanic with the big wrenches?...I love that show, one of my favorites, but Lowell's departure messed the chemistry of the actors up, since he seemed to be able to make everyone else shine...that my friends, is why Wings jumped the shark (with exception to the fact that its been off the air for years now and no show lasts for 15 years anyways)
Wings never jumped the shark. I record the episodes on Nick at Nite and watch them every day. I didn't even mind Lowell's replacement, Bud. The Alex years were a little slow, but not as bad as some shows get.
Duh. Watch the series. It takes a serious dump all over itself after Lowell leaves. That character made the whole series multi-dimensional (I never knew the exact point until I watched the reruns). RIP Wings..in its hey day it was one of the funniest shows out there.
In it's prime, Wings was one of the best and most underrated shows on TV. It jumped when Joe and Helen became engaged/got married and Casey was brought in as a foil for Brian. That's when it moved away from it's original focus on the two brothers. The chemistry between Tim Daly and Steven Weber was just wonderful, and I really missed that when the show became about Joe and Helen and Brian and Casey instead of Joe and Brian.
Did a network ever miss a greater opportunity then when Lowell left the show and the crap show he went to bombed, NBC cold have brought him back with his own show about Lowell being in the witness protection program. NBC screwed the pooch on that one.
When Lowell left, When the second fire occurred although it annoyed me to have them all living together after the first fire, When the plane was lost and they became another typical out of work group after working so hard it seemed too far fetched.
When Lowell left, the show was never the same. He was one of my favorite charaters. The last 2 seasons were ok and there were still a couple of classic episodes in the 7th season, but Lowell's departure really hurt the show.
I used to watch this show all the time. But it went downhill from the point where Lowell got dumber...then smarter...then left. Especially when Roy got hypnotized had the revealed his secret about "treasure" buried in his backyard...comedic gold. Antonio was one of my favorites, but the episode where he was taken hostage...the series fell off a cliff at that point, over a stupid guy and his jelly donut.
This show was MUCH more entertaining than the more heavily lauded "Cheers"! I never knew why "Wings" got a bad rap. It's the only thing Steven Weber has done that I can tolerate watching, and Tim Daly showed a nice comedy flair (and a nice ass). This show was never as mean-spirited as "Cheers" (yes, I'm the poster who complained about that in the "Cheers" postings)--even characters like Roy Biggins (the funny David Schramm) were likeable. My favorites were Roy, Helen (Rebecca Schull was priceless), and the peerless Tony Shaloub as Antonio. In fact, I liked everyone, and had a crush on Crystal Bernard, who was a doll! The first season was wobbly but when they changed the opening music (and Timothy Daly became Tim Daly in the credits) it found its rhythm and for a few seasons was great. But that all was shot to hell when Amy Yasbeck was brought in as Helen's sister, Casey. The chaacter was annoying and out of place and when Weber fell in love with her and then Daly and Crystal hooked up it became a show about two couples and the focus on the airport was lost. BIG mistake! But those few middle seasons are still delightful and I could watch them anytime!
It would be one thing if Casey was not Helen's sister and hooked up w/ Bryan, but it bugs me that there is the whole convenience of the two sisters and the two brothers hooking up... gee, that was just dumb.... instead, they should have waited till the final episode for Helen and Joe to end up together and not even go as far as a wedding and left it at that.... and maybe had Joe and Helen do more game playing for a little while longer... I think Joe and Casey should have hooked up before Joe realizes he loves Helen.... much more romantic, sexy, and edgy... forget Brian... let him be 80 years old and jacking off forever ... he deserves it after the way he treats women
Wings did take a big nosedive (no pun intended) after Joe and Helen got married, but other than that, I could never understand why this show wasn't more popular and well-loved. I think it ranks right up there with MASH, Mary Tyler Moore, The Cosby Show, The Simpsons, and other award-winning favorites. It had such great writing and chemistry and deserved a lot more positive recognition instead of being called "that lame Cheers knockoff". (Personally, I agree with the poster a couple of posts ago. Wings is much more enjoyable to me than Cheers, which I never thought was all that funny.) I just hope this wonderful and criminally unappreciated sitcom comes to DVD soon.
I don't think Wings ever jumped. I am searching for the DVD so I can clear our my Tivo of taped episodes. My husband things Crystal Bernard is hot--and many people think I look like her, so that is a good thing! Sure there were some silly things, but isn't that why we watch TV--to get away from the reality of it all. I want to laugh or cry tears of joy--real life is hard enough. Give me COMEDY!
Wings got off to a great start, but then they had to add that obnoxious cab driver Antonio to the show. I never found that guy funny and never could understand why Joe, Brian, and company would want that whiny loser around as a friend. The only thing more irritating than watching Antonio is watching him on that stupid new show of his on USA network.
Oh, there is no way this show ever jumped. I am a very, almost sickenly huge, Wings fan and have been from the very beginning. Ask anything about Wings and I'll know it .. not to brag or anything. One voter said Steven Weber (Brian) was married to Farrah Forke (Alex) in real life. No no no. He's actually married to Juliette Hohnen, an actress/TV exec. Also, someone complained about Helen's accent, stating "Why does Helen, supposedly a Nantucket native, have a Southern accent?! ...Does Crystal Bernard know that Nantucket does not lie off the coast of Georgia?" Obviously, this person has not watched every episode, or they would know that Helen actually hailed from Texas and that her family moved to Nantucket when she was young. Anyway, back to my vote ... the show did lose something when Lowell went into the witness protection program ("Maui?? Cool!!"). And I'll never understand why Joe lost brain cells when he married Helen. But overall, I can't see that it ever jumped the shark. Thank you, TVLand! LONG LIVE WINGS!!!
This show was not the same after Lowell left. In fact, I don't believe I watched an entire show after his departure.
It was the best comedy ever. It had a few rough spots with cast changes but it replaced them with actors who played great characters. I thought Antonio and Casey were funny as all get out. Casey with the flu trying to go out on a date with long-johns on was a hoot!
Wings was a brilliant sitcom its first three seasons. Then, the original production team of Angell, Casey, and Lee along with some writers went on to create Frasier. (I shouldn't complain about that since Frasier is also one of my all-time favorites.) Wings gradually got worse each season after that. I stopped watching for good after the second house fire. It was still pretty funny, but not as great as the first three years. I still love the reruns.