"WINGS"....Not Just Another Sitcom! - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

pilotguy · 05-02-2003, 10:08 AM

I'm 47 years old, and some might say that sometimes I "live in the past"....I love to collect old comedy films from the 1930's and 40's, and I also collect and enjoy recordings of old radio comedy shows from the 1930's, 40's and early 50's, as well as films and videos of early TV comedy shows (both sitcoms and comedy-variety hours) from the 1950's and early 60's.

I am a big fan of "classic" comedy, and I love the "old masters" like Jack Benny, George Burns, Groucho Marx, Jackie Gleason, Lucille Ball, Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, etc.

I never watched "Wings" when it was first run because I thought that it was just another one of those silly, unfunny sitcoms which were so prevalent on TV during the 1990's....HOW WRONG I WAS!

In recently discovering "Wings", I discovered, and was impressed by, how much in the "classic" style of comedy the series is!

You have great writing, great acting and well-defined, multi-dimensional and likeable characters (even "nasty guy" Roy is sort of likeable in his own strange way).

I don't just watch and laugh at "Wings"....I truly appreciate and admire the quality work that went into this series....both behind and in front of the camera. And this is coming from a guy who enjoys and studies the work of truly CLASSIC comedians and comedy shows!

pilotguy · 05-04-2003, 04:14 PM

A great example of the "classic" style of comedy in "Wings" can be seen in an opening "teaser" which was shown just a few nights ago....

There was an Aeromass passenger sitting at Helen's counter, waiting to board an outgoing flight and ready to eat a SUPER-HUGE breakfast plate (high stacks of pancakes, big pile of eggs, etc.).
Roy's standing at the Aeromass counter and announces over the loudspeaker, "Aeromass Flight now leaving...This is POSITIVELY the FINAL boarding! All passengers MUST board NOW!".

The passenger hears this announcement, gets mad and throws some money on the counter without touching his breakfast...and as he's walking to the airplane he mutters, "This ALWAYS happens!".

After the passenger leaves, Roy eyes the untouched plate of food on the counter (Helen is nowhere in sight)....then he saunters over to the counter, and not only picks up the plate of food to bring over to his counter (of course to eat HIMSELF), but he thinks for a second and picks up the MONEY ON THE COUNTER! Then he walks away fast with a big grin on his face. He doesn't say a word while he does this, but it's played out so beautifully!

This bit reminds me of a gag that Jack Benny did on his old TV show. He was grocery shopping in a supermarket and saw a display sign that said "FREE SAMPLES"....and there was a whole cake, with some plates, a knife and silverware forks set up on an unattended table which was covered with a tablecloth . Cheapo Jack silently took a piece of cake and put it in his shopping cart....then he methodically loaded the rest of the cake, the plates, the knife and silverware and tablecloth into the cart and wheeled the whole thing away without saying a word! (The studio audience HOWLED at this!)

The "Roy Stealing The Guy's Breakfast And Helen's Money" routine didn't COPY the Jack Benny "Supermarket" routine, but it was certainly done in the great old style of it.

That Roy can be a real HOOT!

Chocoholic · 05-04-2003, 05:24 PM

Wings, NewsRadio, and Frasier are definitely better than most of the sitcoms that came out in the 1990's, IMHO. I think many of the 90's sitcoms relied heavily on cynical and mean-spirited humor, sexual innuendo, bathroom humor, and dysfunctional families. They just aren'very funny to me. I wish the TV writers of today would take a few lessons from early TV and radio and make sitcoms funny again.

05-02-2003, 10:08 AM	#1
pilotguy Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 09, 2003 Posts: 1,305	"WINGS"....Not Just Another Sitcom! I'm 47 years old, and some might say that sometimes I "live in the past"....I love to collect old comedy films from the 1930's and 40's, and I also collect and enjoy recordings of old radio comedy shows from the 1930's, 40's and early 50's, as well as films and videos of early TV comedy shows (both sitcoms and comedy-variety hours) from the 1950's and early 60's. I am a big fan of "classic" comedy, and I love the "old masters" like Jack Benny, George Burns, Groucho Marx, Jackie Gleason, Lucille Ball, Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, etc. I never watched "Wings" when it was first run because I thought that it was just another one of those silly, unfunny sitcoms which were so prevalent on TV during the 1990's....HOW WRONG I WAS! In recently discovering "Wings", I discovered, and was impressed by, how much in the "classic" style of comedy the series is! You have great writing, great acting and well-defined, multi-dimensional and likeable characters (even "nasty guy" Roy is sort of likeable in his own strange way). I don't just watch and laugh at "Wings"....I truly appreciate and admire the quality work that went into this series....both behind and in front of the camera. And this is coming from a guy who enjoys and studies the work of truly CLASSIC comedians and comedy shows!

05-04-2003, 04:14 PM	#2
pilotguy Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 09, 2003 Posts: 1,305	A great example of the "classic" style of comedy in "Wings" can be seen in an opening "teaser" which was shown just a few nights ago.... There was an Aeromass passenger sitting at Helen's counter, waiting to board an outgoing flight and ready to eat a SUPER-HUGE breakfast plate (high stacks of pancakes, big pile of eggs, etc.). Roy's standing at the Aeromass counter and announces over the loudspeaker, "Aeromass Flight now leaving...This is POSITIVELY the FINAL boarding! All passengers MUST board NOW!". The passenger hears this announcement, gets mad and throws some money on the counter without touching his breakfast...and as he's walking to the airplane he mutters, "This ALWAYS happens!". After the passenger leaves, Roy eyes the untouched plate of food on the counter (Helen is nowhere in sight)....then he saunters over to the counter, and not only picks up the plate of food to bring over to his counter (of course to eat HIMSELF), but he thinks for a second and picks up the MONEY ON THE COUNTER! Then he walks away fast with a big grin on his face. He doesn't say a word while he does this, but it's played out so beautifully! This bit reminds me of a gag that Jack Benny did on his old TV show. He was grocery shopping in a supermarket and saw a display sign that said "FREE SAMPLES"....and there was a whole cake, with some plates, a knife and silverware forks set up on an unattended table which was covered with a tablecloth . Cheapo Jack silently took a piece of cake and put it in his shopping cart....then he methodically loaded the rest of the cake, the plates, the knife and silverware and tablecloth into the cart and wheeled the whole thing away without saying a word! (The studio audience HOWLED at this!) The "Roy Stealing The Guy's Breakfast And Helen's Money" routine didn't COPY the Jack Benny "Supermarket" routine, but it was certainly done in the great old style of it. That Roy can be a real HOOT!

05-04-2003, 05:24 PM	#3
Chocoholic Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 01, 2000 Location: Between a rock and a hard place. Posts: 11,235	Wings, NewsRadio, and Frasier are definitely better than most of the sitcoms that came out in the 1990's, IMHO. I think many of the 90's sitcoms relied heavily on cynical and mean-spirited humor, sexual innuendo, bathroom humor, and dysfunctional families. They just aren'very funny to me. I wish the TV writers of today would take a few lessons from early TV and radio and make sitcoms funny again.