This episode, with Joe and Brian's mother returning, years after deserting them, was extremely touching.

The scene in Joe's kitchen after dinner was sad. Joe consumed by bitterness, their mother consumed by guilt, and Brian's desperate and failed attempts to break the tension with comic relief -- this made for one emotionally charged glimpse into the lives of three people in intense emotional pain.

The final act between Joe and his mother in the airport hangar wiped me out. The weather analogies that Joe made and how he told her what he went through after she left was positively heartbreaking.

"You could have switched to paper plates."

Tim Daly is a very good actor. He brought tears to my eyes.

I have mixed emotions about their mother. I don't understand how she could leave her sons, yet there was a part of me that felt sympathy for her.

This episode certainly builds on the character development of the Hackett brothers. Of the emotional episodes so far -- this one is my favorite.

Originally posted by Janice
This episode, with Joe and Brian's mother returning, years after deserting them, was extremely touching.


I was watching it this morning and called it "The story of how Joe got that stick up his butt". :)
My favorite part is when Lowell talks to Mother Hackett.

So, you're the Mather kid. Didn't you become trapped in ice and get stuck in the lake?
Yes! They even published an article about me in 'TIME' magazine!

Yes, this was one powerful episode!

True, Tim Daly did a heck of an acting job in this one, but I also thought that Steven Weber gave us one of the most heart-breaking moments in the story.....

At the beginning, Brian's all excited and happy that his mother's back...He's kidding and joking around and talking a mile-a-minute....and then he suddenly becomes serious and sad-looking as he quietly asks, "Why'd you leave us, Mom?". You realize that even happy, carefree Brian has some real issues with the whole situation!

As for Joe, he was the rudest that I have ever seen him be to anyone (except maybe Davis Lynch...but we all know what THAT was about, don't we?). Like at the end of dinner with Mom, when he says that there's no more food: "I wasn't expecting COMPANY!"...OUCH! You could cut Joe's bitterness with a knife!

We should also applaud guest Barbara Babcock who played Mae Hackett. Her acting talent was in keeping with the series' fine blend of comedy and heartfelt drama....As Janice has mentioned, part of me HATED Mae for deserting the boys, but there was also a part of me who felt sorry for her. It's an excellent actress who can make you feel such a mix of emotions toward a character.

While this episode will never go down in history as one of "Wings" funniest (although Brian's "blind man" bit was hilarious), I still think that it's an excellent episode.

I completely agree with you, Janice!
I like this episode a lot.

Originally posted by Krista2882
I completely agree with you, Janice!
I like this episode a lot.

Oh SURE, Krista....You can agree with JANICE, but it would absolutely KILL you to agree with ME, wouldn't it? :lol:

Originally posted by pilotguy
Oh SURE, Krista....You can agree with JANICE, but it would absolutely KILL you to agree with ME, wouldn't it? :lol:

lol! it's a hence thing! I agree with Janice, HENCE, I agree with you, since you agreed with her. hehe. It's transitive. If a=c, and b=c, then a=b. hahaha
We agreed on something else the other day though too... i forgot what it was...

Great episode. The best quote was from the mother. "Joe was tight assed, even in the womb" It's too bad the mother never appeared on Wings again.

Originally posted by jpnoyes
Great episode. The best quote was from the mother. "Joe was tight assed, even in the womb"

Yes, and it struck me how Brian was VERY much like his mother...That "tight-assed in the womb" crack was just like something that Brian would say. Mae was great with the flip wisecracks, but she was also irresponsible, unreliable and somewhat unstable....but there was also a certain something there that MADE you like her (even if just a little bit) and even feel sorry for her at times....just like the "early" Brian!

You really have to feel sorry for Joe...between his absent mother and his mentally unstable father (who was in mental hospitals for much of their youth), Joe was forced into the role of responsible "man of the house" at a very young age....Is it any wonder that he turned out the way that he did?

Gracious, I cried just reading these posts!

I totally agree with Janice AND Pilotguy! ;)

I felt a little sorry for Mae, but she is hard to understand. Because I am a mom of 2 boys and sometimes I've felt like she says she did. Like too many problems and I get overwhelmed. So the only reason I feel sorry for her is because I realize she was lacking things... things that would have helped her to stay with her family... and that's the reason why I feel sorry for her.

It's really cool the way you see where Brian gets some of his personality... and why Joe is like he is. Although Joe did run away that one time... when he got overwhelmed and couldn't take it, remember?

I think that's why Joe has always been my "hero" in the story... because just think of what Brian would have been if Joe had also taken a permanent vacation? Brian would have had no one.

There is one thing that makes me think, "reality check!" ... that the guys turned out as well as they did. I mean, Joe - the high school baseball star, and Brian so smart and working for NASA. I think in real life, boys whose mothers desert them and whose fathers are insane would most likely be at the juvenile detention center.

Great ep!

Love,

Wing<><

Hey, just getting around to reading these posts.

This episode gets to me, too. The part at the end when Joe tells his mom that he thought she left because he broke her pitcher, and he made another one for her. So heartbreaking.

On the flipside, I thought another funny Brian moment(and I don't condone this), was when their mom told Joe she used to put booze in Brian's milk at night to get him to sleep, and the next day, Brian was telling Joe how mom made him a glass of warm milk and he "slept like a baby".:sleep2: