Before watching this latest batch of 7th season episodes (where the new mechanic Bud Bronsky first appears), I had read the various fan comments about how bad and unfunny the character of Bud was.

After watching a few of Bud's "Wings" appearances, I have to give a lot of credit to the actor who played Bud...Brian Haley.

Replacing Thomas Haden Church's "Lowell Mather" character was not an easy task to begin with, and Brian was saddled with the additional burden of having to play a replacement character who was uninispired.

I don't blame Brian for the weakness of Bud, I blame the writers....actually, Brian didn't do a bad job considering what he had to work with.
I could do without that Marine "Yes SIR! No SIR!" stuff, but there are moments where Brian will do some genuinely funny double-takes or facial expressions.

Being the "new kid on the block", Brian really couldn't walk on the "Wings" set, pick up the script and say, "OK guys, I know what the script says, but this is how I'M going to play it!" (like how Crystal did that when the whole "Wings" show was still in the development stage).

Frankly, the writers and producers let Brian Haley down with their "Bud" character...but ANYONE would have had trouble making that "Lowell Mather LITE" character a solid part of the "Wings" gang.
I think that Brian Haley gave his "Bud" portrayal a good effort, and it's apparent that he tried very hard at it....but the character itself was just too weak and rehashed to become a success.

I agree again Pilotguy.:D

My problem with the Bud character wasn't the actor, it was the writing and the decisions by the creators, namely Lee, Angell and Casey. I just thought overall that the character was too much of an attempt at ripping off the Lowell character. Bud may not have been quite as dense as Lowell, but he was close enough. I still feel they should have tried to go in a COMPLETELY opposite direction and make the new mechanic an extremely bright and attractive woman...(if that sounded too much like Alex) then make him a smart good looking guy that upset Brian and Joe because he became an attention getter, or an older man who was semi-retired who could bring his own style and worldly experience to the show....I don't know what, just something different. Plus, I just didn't think most of the writing for the Bud character was very good.

OK, :guitar: I'm posting "me too" like some brain-dead AOLer.

:D

The actor was good. He did a great job of playing "stressed out Marine." The problem is that stressed-out gets old fast. I actually thought he was funny and quite different from Lowell in the first ep... but after that he seemed to slip back more into Lowell-type behavior.

If the writers had picked someone TOTALLY different, then I think it would've been easier for that character to be its own person, and easier to stay in character, too.

I still vote for the not-so-pretty woman mechanic to love Antonio!!

Love,

Wing<><

Originally posted by wingshock


I still vote for the not-so-pretty woman mechanic to love Antonio!!



Same here. Antonio needed to finally find true love. I hated how they made him the last two seasons.

I wasn't too crazy about Bud either. He seemed like a Lowell rip-off.

When Alex left, they replaced her with Casey. Someone completely different.

When Lowell left, they replaced him with Budd. Someone, slightly different, but basically the same.

Anyone else notice that Budd really isn't part of the group. He just sort of walk into the room, does a joke, and then walks out. Maybe if they tried to make him "one of the gang" Budd would have worked better.

I'd still rather have Budd there, than no one. Which happens in the last season, after Budd leaves (with no explanation)

And I saw that scene where Budd has a cigarette in his mouth done by Rebecca on Cheers.

Originally posted by TVAdam
Anyone else notice that Budd really isn't part of the group. He just sort of walk into the room, does a joke, and then walks out. Maybe if they tried to make him "one of the gang" Budd would have worked better.


The only "Bud" episode that I've seen so far where he seems like part of the gang is "Twas The Heist Before Christmas"....but his bit of wanting to bring a pet to Helen and Joe's party sounded like it had been written for Lowell...or at least Cousin Beevo!

Did the writers ever do an episode focused on Bud? I don't recall one. Yes, the 'Sir, yes, sir' bit got old, but I think I the writers could've take his character in a different direction. I can remember in the earliest episodes, Lowell was portrayed as an idiot, if you ask me. Just watch the very first episode. He sounds alot different then than in later episodes and his personality changed a bit. He was still a bit daft, but he wasn't stupid. He did make some good(and funny) points, when in conversation with the rest of the gang, even if they were quirky.Then, as everybody knows, there were quite a few episodes focused on Lowell, or if he was sharing a scene with somebody, he still was a big part of that scene. I really think the writers could've included Bud in a few more eps and maybe HE could've done something more with his character. But they wouldn't give him a chance. They literally wrote him off.:( :( :( :(

Originally posted by phoebe7165
I can remember in the earliest episodes, Lowell was portrayed as an idiot, if you ask me. Just watch the very first episode. He sounds alot different then than in later episodes and his personality changed a bit. He was still a bit daft, but he wasn't stupid. He did make some good(and funny) points, when in conversation with the rest of the gang, even if they were quirky.

Yes, in the earliest "Wings" episodes, it's almost as if Lowell was mentally ******** (and I'm NOT making fun of mentally ********/challenged people when I say that). As the series progressed, Lowell became more "strange" than "slow", and at times he showed signs of a "Rain Man" type of brilliance and knowledge.

I think of ALL of the "Wings" characters, Lowell had the most dramatic and positive character development.

Yeah, I would say that even though Lowell was very "different" ... he was also very endearing. And I think that looking at the earlier Lowell eps compared with the later ones... the difference is that even though everyone knew he wasn't the smartest person in the bunch, they also knew that he had many qualities to be admired and they all truly respected him.

Bud never had the same chance.

Love,

Wing<><