Later Episodes' Problem - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

pilotguy · 07-15-2003, 12:13 PM

Many people have commented on how the last two seasons of "Wings" weren't "funny". Well, I've only started watching the 7th season "Viewer Appreciation" block that I taped last week, but frankly, I don't like what I'm seeing....

Sure, the shows themselves are funny enough (at least most of the time), but I don't like what I've been seeing happen to some of my "old friend" characters.

The main thing that attracted me to "Wings" was that I actually LIKED the characters.....they seemed like nice people.
However, these later shows seem to show an uglier side to them.

As I mentioned in an earlier thread, Joe has become super-stingy to the point of short-changing his wife on things, Antonio is treating Edna "the big-face girl" like garbage (heating leftovers and having her watch him pay bills?)....and Brian (who was pretty much self-centered to begin with) has gotten COMPLETELY out of control!
Casey (who is SUPPOSED to be the selfish, self-centered one) is literally BEGGING Brian to go out on an actual date, and he's treating her like DIRT! When I actually start feeling SORRY for CASEY, something's WRONG!

While I still am going to watch these later episodes, the whole show seems to have acquired a certain "ugliness" about it.
It reminds of "Seinfeld"....Sure, you may laugh at the episodes...most of them are very funny...but do you actually LIKE or CARE about Jerry and his self-centered friends? I think not...and I think THAT'S what has soured a lot of people on the last two seasons of "WINGS".

Maybe things get better with the series and characters later in the 7th season...I certainly hope so!

Krista2882 · 07-15-2003, 12:54 PM

Yeah, I have noticed that too. I noticed it mostly with Antonio though. He has changed a lot- in some episodes more than others, but he has. In the others, it's less of a change, but I've noticed there has been a little change in all of the characters.
Personally, I don't think they've all changed too much all the time. I think for me, it's just the fact that the show has sort of a different feeling in the 7th season than it had in previous. I don't know if it's a bad thing all the time, but it's just different, and i think that's what made me take a little while to adjust to it. So far, there were definately some episodes that I didn't like, but for me, there were a bunch of good ones in between. Like, when they showed the first couple of episodes of season 7 before they started the whole viewer appreciation thing, i liked those episodes... and then in last wednesday's block of episodes, the ones i've seen (i still have 3 more to watch), i didn't like the first two... i liked the next 3, and then didn't really like the next one after that. and the ones that were on over the weekend- the one where Fay almost got married until she found out the guy's name is George- that one was just boring. and then the one that was on the next night, I think i liked that one... (I don't remember which one it was. ha! but I don't remember disliking it)
and now that I think of it, it seems like the characters are kind of inconsistent this season. the episodes I didn't like, the characters were different than the characters we know, and that was one reason why I didn't like those episodes. And then some of the other ones, the characters were the same people we've known all along. That's how it seemed to me anyway.
It's just a strange thing. I don't know why the writing changed so much for the last 2 years of the show.
For the most part, I'm enjoying season 7. there were a few episodes so far that I didn't like, and it is a change from what the show had been before, but I still like it- so far.

~Krista

Chocoholic · 07-15-2003, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pilotguy

While I still am going to watch these later episodes, the whole show seems to have acquired a certain "ugliness" about it.
It reminds of "Seinfeld"....Sure, you may laugh at the episodes...most of them are very funny...but do you actually LIKE or CARE about Jerry and his self-centered friends? I think not...and I think THAT'S what has soured a lot of people on the last two seasons of "WINGS".

I noticed that the show got more "ugly" in the last two seasons too. It's like the writers really were trying to make it more like Seinfeld or Friends or something. The thing I loved most about Wings was that the characters were basically good people that I would actually want to hang out with. The characters on Seinfeld and Friends are like the people I go out of my way try to avoid. (Probably why I can't stand either show.)

Krista2882 · 07-15-2003, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Snoopy
The characters on Seinfeld and Friends are like the people I go out of my way try to avoid. (Probably why I can't stand either show.)

hey, I never thought about that before! I mean, I do watch Friends sometimes and it can be pretty funny, but you're right- the characters on that show are the type of people I usually avoid. Well, except for Phoebe. she's pretty cool. lol! She's different than the others. The rest of them are jackasses.
and Seinfeld too. I never really got into that show at all. The characters on that show are basically jerks.

But one of the things that really made me want to keep watching Wings was the characters. I could totally see myself being friends with almost all of them. I always say that I wish there were more people like them where I work. then I'd actually have fun at work like they do. lol.

pilotguy · 07-16-2003, 06:25 AM

OK, I give up trying to make general judgments about "Wings"....

Last night I watched two more 7th season episodes that I taped from last week's Wednesday night block....

The show about Joe's dream and the one about the Hacketts' Christmas Party...and found myself laughing out loud at both episodes! They were both good-natured comedies, and the characters were actually LIKEABLE again, with none of that "ugliness" that crept into the previous episodes.

I realize that the NEXT two episodes that I watch on the tape could be total losers, but at least it's nice to know that it's not a constant downward spiral from this point on!

Krista2882 · 07-16-2003, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by pilotguy
OK, I give up trying to make general judgments about "Wings"....

Last night I watched two more 7th season episodes that I taped from last week's Wednesday night block....

The show about Joe's dream and the one about the Hacketts' Christmas Party...and found myself laughing out loud at both episodes! They were both good-natured comedies, and the characters were actually LIKEABLE again, with none of that "ugliness" that crept into the previous episodes.

I realize that the NEXT two episodes that I watch on the tape could be total losers, but at least it's nice to know that it's not a constant downward spiral from this point on!

hehe yeah! that's the same thing that happened to me! After the first couple of episodes, i was like, "ok guys, you're right. season 7 is kind of annoying." and then I saw those two episodes, and I loved them, and I was like, "ok, nevermind." hehe. so yeah- that's what i'm saying. there are some bad episodes, but there are some really good ones too.

~Krista

losthighway · 07-18-2003, 04:12 AM

Yea Krista and Pilotguy, you're giving them a chance.

Season 7 and even 8 did have their moments....I'm glad you are both discovering that. I still think the show was at its best and most consistent between seasons 3 and 5 but I still liked the show all the way to the end. I really never noticed the "mean spirited" nature of the characters. They of course evolved as the years went on, but they all were still the same loveable characters to me. But I know people can perceive things differently and I'm obviously in the minority here, but I liked Antonio even more towards the end of the show, then when he first joined the cast. For example the cut/sequence in the first episode of season 7 when you see Joe and Helen enjoying their honeymoon and Helen says, "Life is great" and then they cut to an unshaven, down on the dumps Antonio sitting at the lunch counter and he says, "Life sucks".....I laughed and laughed....but humor works on people in a varitey of different ways for sure.

07-15-2003, 12:13 PM	#1
pilotguy Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 09, 2003 Posts: 1,305	Later Episodes' Problem Many people have commented on how the last two seasons of "Wings" weren't "funny". Well, I've only started watching the 7th season "Viewer Appreciation" block that I taped last week, but frankly, I don't like what I'm seeing.... Sure, the shows themselves are funny enough (at least most of the time), but I don't like what I've been seeing happen to some of my "old friend" characters. The main thing that attracted me to "Wings" was that I actually LIKED the characters.....they seemed like nice people. However, these later shows seem to show an uglier side to them. As I mentioned in an earlier thread, Joe has become super-stingy to the point of short-changing his wife on things, Antonio is treating Edna "the big-face girl" like garbage (heating leftovers and having her watch him pay bills?)....and Brian (who was pretty much self-centered to begin with) has gotten COMPLETELY out of control! Casey (who is SUPPOSED to be the selfish, self-centered one) is literally BEGGING Brian to go out on an actual date, and he's treating her like DIRT! When I actually start feeling SORRY for CASEY, something's WRONG! While I still am going to watch these later episodes, the whole show seems to have acquired a certain "ugliness" about it. It reminds of "Seinfeld"....Sure, you may laugh at the episodes...most of them are very funny...but do you actually LIKE or CARE about Jerry and his self-centered friends? I think not...and I think THAT'S what has soured a lot of people on the last two seasons of "WINGS". Maybe things get better with the series and characters later in the 7th season...I certainly hope so!

07-15-2003, 12:54 PM	#2
Krista2882 Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 10, 2003 Location: CT Posts: 1,370	Yeah, I have noticed that too. I noticed it mostly with Antonio though. He has changed a lot- in some episodes more than others, but he has. In the others, it's less of a change, but I've noticed there has been a little change in all of the characters. Personally, I don't think they've all changed too much all the time. I think for me, it's just the fact that the show has sort of a different feeling in the 7th season than it had in previous. I don't know if it's a bad thing all the time, but it's just different, and i think that's what made me take a little while to adjust to it. So far, there were definately some episodes that I didn't like, but for me, there were a bunch of good ones in between. Like, when they showed the first couple of episodes of season 7 before they started the whole viewer appreciation thing, i liked those episodes... and then in last wednesday's block of episodes, the ones i've seen (i still have 3 more to watch), i didn't like the first two... i liked the next 3, and then didn't really like the next one after that. and the ones that were on over the weekend- the one where Fay almost got married until she found out the guy's name is George- that one was just boring. and then the one that was on the next night, I think i liked that one... (I don't remember which one it was. ha! but I don't remember disliking it) and now that I think of it, it seems like the characters are kind of inconsistent this season. the episodes I didn't like, the characters were different than the characters we know, and that was one reason why I didn't like those episodes. And then some of the other ones, the characters were the same people we've known all along. That's how it seemed to me anyway. It's just a strange thing. I don't know why the writing changed so much for the last 2 years of the show. For the most part, I'm enjoying season 7. there were a few episodes so far that I didn't like, and it is a change from what the show had been before, but I still like it- so far. ~Krista

07-16-2003, 06:25 AM	#5
pilotguy Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 09, 2003 Posts: 1,305	OK, I give up trying to make general judgments about "Wings".... Last night I watched two more 7th season episodes that I taped from last week's Wednesday night block.... The show about Joe's dream and the one about the Hacketts' Christmas Party...and found myself laughing out loud at both episodes! They were both good-natured comedies, and the characters were actually LIKEABLE again, with none of that "ugliness" that crept into the previous episodes. I realize that the NEXT two episodes that I watch on the tape could be total losers, but at least it's nice to know that it's not a constant downward spiral from this point on!

07-18-2003, 04:12 AM	#7
losthighway Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 14, 2003 Posts: 370	Yea Krista and Pilotguy, you're giving them a chance. Season 7 and even 8 did have their moments....I'm glad you are both discovering that. I still think the show was at its best and most consistent between seasons 3 and 5 but I still liked the show all the way to the end. I really never noticed the "mean spirited" nature of the characters. They of course evolved as the years went on, but they all were still the same loveable characters to me. But I know people can perceive things differently and I'm obviously in the minority here, but I liked Antonio even more towards the end of the show, then when he first joined the cast. For example the cut/sequence in the first episode of season 7 when you see Joe and Helen enjoying their honeymoon and Helen says, "Life is great" and then they cut to an unshaven, down on the dumps Antonio sitting at the lunch counter and he says, "Life sucks".....I laughed and laughed....but humor works on people in a varitey of different ways for sure.