My Problem with the "Ten Months Later" - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Adamantium · 01-28-2004, 08:10 PM

It's too darn long. Helen's away for 2 months shy of a year. So much must have happened during that time and we didn't see any of it. I'm guessing since Antonio spoke normally to Joe in episode 30, that Joe must be aware that Antonio no longer works in the restaurant. I wanted to see Antonio first come into the airport and say "Hey gang, I'm a cabbie now."

In a later episode, Brian says Helen was gone for 8 months. So either they forgot or realized that 10 months was too long.

I tell you, it's a good thing the show is so funny and well written, or this would drive me LOOOOONEY!!!!!

Does anyone else get bothered by the 10 Months Later, or is it just me?

pilotguy · 01-28-2004, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TVAdam
It's too darn long. Helen's away for 2 months shy of a year. So much must have happened during that time and we didn't see any of it. I'm guessing since Antonio spoke normally to Joe in episode 30, that Joe must be aware that Antonio no longer works in the restaurant. I wanted to see Antonio first come into the airport and say "Hey gang, I'm a cabbie now."

In a later episode, Brian says Helen was gone for 8 months. So either they forgot or realized that 10 months was too long.

I tell you, it's a good thing the show is so funny and well written, or this would drive me LOOOOONEY!!!!!

Does anyone else get bothered by the 10 Months Later, or is it just me?

Oh BROTHER, Adam, don't get me going on THIS subject!

Being a diehard "Wings" fan, I HATE to criticize the series, but that whole "Helen Going To New York" thing was handled VERY sloppily.
You're right, too much happened during Helen's absence, and NONE of it was shown to the viewers....just the after-effects.

We're told everything second-hand and after the fact, and it's simply just too much for a viewer to process and believe!

It would have been nice to "stop in" on the characters DURING the ten-month period to see just what they were going through.

Personally, I would have liked to have seen Helen debating about whether to answer Joe's letters and phone calls, and I really would have liked to have seen what Joe was going through when he met Gail and wanted to ask her out....He HAD to be feeling some big-time guilt, and it would have been interesting to see if and how he discussed his dilemma with any of the airport gang.

Yes, I think that the "Wings" writers could have given us some glimpses of the actual events and character thoughts/feelings that were happening during Helen's absence. It would have made the story line much more believable and interesting.

Janice · 01-28-2004, 10:34 PM

I agree that 10 months is too long. The summer hiatus is maybe half that long, so a few months would have been sufficient.
Things and people were just THERE. Gail was just there, same with Antonio.

With intelligently written sitcoms, and Wings certainly was that, viewers are expected to do so some thinking on their own and not be spoonfed everything. However, there were simply too many blanks to fill in on this one.

I have another issue with Helen's return. I didn't hear Joe ask her to come home because he loved her and wanted to resume his relationship with her. I watched the show twice. I don't get Helen morphing into Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction. She really slugged Joe in the gut in his office.
Driving into his office, not once, but twice, is off the charts, in my opinion.

I love the character of Helen, and I love her fiery nature, but this violent side to her didn't appeal to me. It was the first time I felt sort of turned off by the show, but it gets a pass because it's still 99.9% great. A few missteps here and there are bound to happen.

losthighway · 01-29-2004, 12:51 AM

The 10 month break really didn't bother me at all. Maybe part of why is because I watched the show when it initially aired on NBC. So with the cliff hanger ending of season two with Helen getting on a plane to NY I wanted answers!

When the 3rd season kicked off a couple months later I wanted to know what was going to happen with Joe and Helen and it would have bothered me if I had to wait 2 or 3 or 4 episodes into the season to find out. I suppose they could have tried to incorporate some of the story elements explaining how Antonio became a cabbie etc....but at the time Joe and Helen really drove the show so I understood why the writers focused on that.

Personally, I always liked Helen's spunk. I can understand how her actions would turn some people off, but to me it fit the character and Crystal did a great job with it. I still think the character "Helen" was way out of line leaving Joe and not making any efforts to communicate with him for 10 months and then be angry when he hooked up with someone else....but hey, I forgive her.

Krista2882 · 01-29-2004, 01:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by losthighway
I still think the character "Helen" was way out of line leaving Joe and not making any efforts to communicate with him for 10 months and then be angry when he hooked up with someone else....

I agree!

pilotguy · 01-29-2004, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by losthighway
I still think the character "Helen" was way out of line leaving Joe and not making any efforts to communicate with him for 10 months and then be angry when he hooked up with someone else....but hey, I forgive her.

I would say that Helen more than paid for her bad behavior by having to get married in a bathroom with her new husband's hand stuck down a toilet....

Yes, what goes around comes around!

wingshock · 01-29-2004, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by losthighway
I still think the character "Helen" was way out of line leaving Joe and not making any efforts to communicate with him for 10 months and then be angry when he hooked up with someone else....but hey, I forgive her.

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. I agree that the writers could have gotten many good eps from writing about the things that happened while Helen was in New York, but they had a problem in that she left in the season finale and they didn't want the fans hanging on too long to see what was going to happen between Helen & Joe... so they felt they had to get right back to that.

But I've always thought that Helen had some kind of nerve. The only thing Joe did wrong was not flat-out telling her about Gail (but I understand why he didn't.) Helen, IMO did tons of things wrong... one of which was blaming Joe, accusing him of "two-timing" her, etc.

Even though I love (and cry at) the "best friend" talk Helen & Joe have... I think we should have also had a point where Helen apologized to Joe! She treated him just as badly (or worse) but he was the one who got blamed & had to repent of being "a jerk." Hmmmph!!!

Love,

Wing<><

Chocoholic · 01-29-2004, 11:33 AM

I think 10 months was a little too long too. The series jumped forward almost a whole year.

Janice · 01-29-2004, 03:48 PM

I'm backing up here a little bit, but I don't want to create a thread just for one observation. The Season 2 finale, Duet for Plane and Cello, was great -- both funny and sad.

When Joe and Helen are having the grease-gun and fire extinguisher fight, there's a point towards the end of the scene where we can see that Tim Daly, the actor, is holding back laughter. If you blink you miss it, and he puts his head down to conceal it, but it's there.

I watch Wings as I tape it, and then I watch it again with my husband after dinner that evening. I replayed that shot a few times, and he agreed that Tim was suppressing laughter.

I can only imagine how hard it must be to film these hilarious scenes and contain your laughter. The out-takes must be great.

01-28-2004, 08:10 PM	#1
Adamantium TVAdam No More Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 11, 2002 Location: Springfield, Ohio Posts: 7,840	My Problem with the "Ten Months Later" It's too darn long. Helen's away for 2 months shy of a year. So much must have happened during that time and we didn't see any of it. I'm guessing since Antonio spoke normally to Joe in episode 30, that Joe must be aware that Antonio no longer works in the restaurant. I wanted to see Antonio first come into the airport and say "Hey gang, I'm a cabbie now." In a later episode, Brian says Helen was gone for 8 months. So either they forgot or realized that 10 months was too long. I tell you, it's a good thing the show is so funny and well written, or this would drive me LOOOOONEY!!!!! Does anyone else get bothered by the 10 Months Later, or is it just me?

01-28-2004, 10:34 PM	#3
Janice Retired Admin - Hollywood Swingin' Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 03, 2001 Location: Beantown Posts: 36,388	I agree that 10 months is too long. The summer hiatus is maybe half that long, so a few months would have been sufficient. Things and people were just THERE. Gail was just there, same with Antonio. With intelligently written sitcoms, and Wings certainly was that, viewers are expected to do so some thinking on their own and not be spoonfed everything. However, there were simply too many blanks to fill in on this one. I have another issue with Helen's return. I didn't hear Joe ask her to come home because he loved her and wanted to resume his relationship with her. I watched the show twice. I don't get Helen morphing into Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction. She really slugged Joe in the gut in his office. Driving into his office, not once, but twice, is off the charts, in my opinion. I love the character of Helen, and I love her fiery nature, but this violent side to her didn't appeal to me. It was the first time I felt sort of turned off by the show, but it gets a pass because it's still 99.9% great. A few missteps here and there are bound to happen.

01-29-2004, 12:51 AM	#4
losthighway Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 14, 2003 Posts: 370	The 10 month break really didn't bother me at all. Maybe part of why is because I watched the show when it initially aired on NBC. So with the cliff hanger ending of season two with Helen getting on a plane to NY I wanted answers! When the 3rd season kicked off a couple months later I wanted to know what was going to happen with Joe and Helen and it would have bothered me if I had to wait 2 or 3 or 4 episodes into the season to find out. I suppose they could have tried to incorporate some of the story elements explaining how Antonio became a cabbie etc....but at the time Joe and Helen really drove the show so I understood why the writers focused on that. Personally, I always liked Helen's spunk. I can understand how her actions would turn some people off, but to me it fit the character and Crystal did a great job with it. I still think the character "Helen" was way out of line leaving Joe and not making any efforts to communicate with him for 10 months and then be angry when he hooked up with someone else....but hey, I forgive her.

01-29-2004, 11:33 AM	#8
Chocoholic Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 01, 2000 Location: Between a rock and a hard place. Posts: 11,235	I think 10 months was a little too long too. The series jumped forward almost a whole year.

01-29-2004, 03:48 PM	#9
Janice Retired Admin - Hollywood Swingin' Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 03, 2001 Location: Beantown Posts: 36,388	I'm backing up here a little bit, but I don't want to create a thread just for one observation. The Season 2 finale, Duet for Plane and Cello, was great -- both funny and sad. When Joe and Helen are having the grease-gun and fire extinguisher fight, there's a point towards the end of the scene where we can see that Tim Daly, the actor, is holding back laughter. If you blink you miss it, and he puts his head down to conceal it, but it's there. I watch Wings as I tape it, and then I watch it again with my husband after dinner that evening. I replayed that shot a few times, and he agreed that Tim was suppressing laughter. I can only imagine how hard it must be to film these hilarious scenes and contain your laughter. The out-takes must be great.