Yes, get those VCRs and/or alarm clocks synchronized for tonight's double-dose of "Wings".....both parts of the "Final Approach" season finale.

I've never seen the finale before, and I'm VERY anxious to tape and watch it!

I'm taping this one too. I've learned that N@N hasn't aired the finale since Wings started on N@N in Mar. 2003.

I really liked the way that they handled the finale.....It was kind of sad, but not too mawkish or sappy. In fact, there were hearty laughs right up to the end (I loved how Casey wondered what she would do for a job, Helen pointing her to the vacant lunch counter and Casey breaking down with an "Oh, GOD!".

As I say, the series ended on a bittersweet note.... a nice, well-balanced mix of sadness that Joe and Helen were leaving, and upbeat optimism....Optimism because Sandpiper was back in business, Helen was off to pursue her dream, and MOST importantly....Brian had FINALLY proven himself as an honorable and mature man by foresaking his Caribbean trip so that he could run Sandpiper while Joe and Helen were in Vienna.

I also think that it's interesting that the "Wings" series ended with exactly the same type of scene that opened the pilot episode 8 years earlier....an overhead "pan" shot of the airport's waiting area (overhead "pan" shots were extremely rare on "Wings") and Fay announcing flights over the loudspeaker.

I think that the series finale was worthy of the fine entertainment that "Wings" had given it's viewers for eight seasons.

I liked the finale. They ended the show in a really satisfactory way in that nothing was really left up in the air, nothing was sad, etc.
I liked how Joe went with Helen so that she could persue her dream. and it wasn't like they were going forever. They were planning on coming back in a year. And I liked how Brian gave up his trip so that he could keep Sandpiper running until Joe and Helen came back in a year. And Antonio was even happy at the end of the episode because Brian helped him out by giving him some money to fix his problems that were going on during both parts of the episode. And Fay got to stay on and work for Sandpiper, and Casey got Helen's old job at the lunch counter...
So nothing was really sad. It ended on a positive note, and made you feel like everyone would still be working there together at the airport, and even Joe and Helen when they come back from Vienna after a year. It gave you an ending feeling, but not a sad ending. A happy ending. Like things will change for a little while, but they'll be back to normal after not too long.
and I noticed that too, pilotguy, about the overhead pan shot of the airport while Fay was announcing the reopening of Sandpier. It reminded me of the first episode also.

Great episode, and great finale.

Great episode. The scene where Helen is playing the cello and the rest of the gang is searching for the money was brilliant. Antonio going deaf was the funniest part of the episode (imo). I'm glad I finally get to see Wings from the beginning though as I havent seen much of the first 3 seasons.

Originally posted by jpnoyes
Great episode. The scene where Helen is playing the cello and the rest of the gang is searching for the money was brilliant. Antonio going deaf was the funniest part of the episode (imo). I'm glad I finally get to see Wings from the beginning though as I havent seen much of the first 3 seasons.

haha yeah! Antonio going deaf was really funny. lol

I'm sad now that 'the Casey episodes' are over. :(

I agree with you, Krista, about the feeling the show left us with. The finale doesn't seem like an end to something. It makes you feel like the story continues, like the gang is still there going about their business.

Yay...Antonio finally caught a break. :lol: Tough luck for Casey, though. Imagine having to stay on the island after telling everybody off.

Originally posted by Mariel
I'm sad now that 'the Casey episodes' are over. :(

Yay...Antonio finally caught a break. :lol: Tough luck for Casey, though. Imagine having to stay on the island after telling everybody off.

And I don't imagine that Miss "Oh Gee, I Broke A Nail" did so great scraping crusted-on grease off of the grill, either!

Originally posted by pilotguy

I also think that it's interesting that the "Wings" series ended with exactly the same type of scene that opened the pilot episode 8 years earlier....an overhead "pan" shot of the airport's waiting area (overhead "pan" shots were extremely rare on "Wings") and Fay announcing flights over the loudspeaker.

I think that the series finale was worthy of the fine entertainment that "Wings" had given it's viewers for eight seasons.

Very good Pilotguy!:)

I'm glad you picked up on that. I told Krista before she saw the episode that I really liked the closing shot of the series, and that's why....I thought it was a brilliant touch to close the series exactly as it opened.

I hadn't seen the final since it originally ran on NBC and there were many things I had forgotten about it. But I really enjoyed it again. I especially enjoyed the interaction between Joe and Helen and the love Joe demonstrated for Helen. I know some have complained on this message board that Joe didn't do enough romantic things or show enough care towards Helen during the married years. That he was too tight etc....but I think it was a more realistic protrayal of the character and the fact that all guys aren't openly romantic. But when things are important, they show their heart and how they feel. Joe showed how important Helen and her dreams were to him. His explanation to Roy as to why he was leaving was a great scene.

Having seen it again I guess my only complaint is I would have rather seen more emotion between Brian and Joe since they weren't going to see each other for a year. Plus, they had built such a "little family" on that Island that if Joe and Helen had been leaving for year they would have thrown them a wonderful going away party, and it would have been nice to have the characters get more time to say good-bye to them.

But, you can only squeeze in so much material in an hour. And as Krista said I liked being left with the feeling that I'm going to get to see these characters again in a year. I remember hoping that NBC would do a one hour Wings special episode a year later when they retuned, just to see how it all turned out. But of course I knew that wasn't going to happen.;)

I've only been recently watching Wings on Nick at Nite for about a year now.

I saw the final episode(s) last night. I was wondering if anyone knew this.

Brian's plan to move to the Carribean included a guy who lived on a boat. Was this possibly a reference o Lowell?

Originally posted by spock
Brian's plan to move to the Carribean included a guy who lived on a boat. Was this possibly a reference o Lowell?

I don't think it was, but I don't know for sure. They should have mentioned him in the final episode. In the first episode, when Joe and Brian and running all over the place finding keys and they end up back at the airport, it's Lowell who opens up the locker and throws down the suitcase which they had in the finale. Plus, Thomas Hadan Church was in the audience, so it would have been nice for him.

come on people, Lowell supposively joined witness relocation program. There would have been no way for Brian to know where he would be, so no, that was not a reference to Lowell. And he could not make a return for the final episode to find the suitcase in the locker.

Witness relocation is very serious, the government strips you of your identity and of all relationships with people you have known previously, then they give you a new identity. If Lowell were to contact Brian again, then it would be very easy for the mob boss to find him.

trust me, I've seen what happens when the people in witness relocation are "found" and it is not a pretty picture

Originally posted by txplates
And he could not make a return for the final episode to find the suitcase in the locker.


I was saying that he threw down the suitcase in the pilot. I didn't say he should have come back to do that. Plus, I said they should have mentioned him. He wouldn't need to leave the witness protection program to be mentioned.

And what's wrong with dreaming about Lowell returning? He was a great character, who was sorely missed.