User reviews

A "Cheers" spin-off that started off mediocre (buried in a Friday, 9 o clock time slot) but soon found its wheels to become a truly sharp, perfectly written sitcom. If you catch the reruns on USA you might get lucky and see the show in the middle of its run. Then when you see the early, not so hot episodes you wont be so hard on it. Basically the premise was two brothers, reunited after years of bickering, decide to run an airline together. Tim Daly and Steven Weber were Joe and Brian Hackett, one straight laced, the other an outgoing goofball. Their daily life consisted of gabbing with their longtime friend Helen who worked at the lunch counter, played by the gorgeous Crystal Bernard, plus fending off insults and competition from David Schramms Roy Biggins, owner of the airline one counter away. Others featured were Thomas Haden Church's dummy mechanic Lowell, and sweet-tempered Fay, the brothers ticket agent. After the first season Tony Shalhoub was added as cabby Antonio, and in season 4 the lovely Farrah Forke was brought on for a couple of years as Brians love interest. Most of the time Joe found himself on again off again with Helen, with the rest of the cast dating a myriad of visiting characters. Must see episodes include "Joe Blows," when Daly deals with an unbearable amount of the casts problems, the one where Helen tries to get ready for a date as each of the cast keeps dropping by, and definitely the one where Brian and Joe lose the body of a bitchy rich lady's father. The final episode has some of the gang coming into money, but like its sister show "Cheers" does not give its characters big send-offs. But that last show is still decently written and provides fans with a decent payoff. So if you have the chance, hop on board "Wings," one of the more underrated sitcoms ever. (Biggest sign of that: not one Emmy that I know of to anyone involved with the show. Hissssss.)

I think that serial "Wings" is the best and the funniest show I have ever seen. Most of series are funny only for the first seasons and this show was funny for all 8 seasons. I like all characters especially Joe, Brian and Helen. At the end of last 8th season Joe and Helen said that they would come back from Vienna in one year (that means that "Wings" should have been continued in one year too). Now it is 3 years, but I still hope that the show will be continued. I am so glad that polish television also give us the chance to watch the reruns. I am still waiting for new episodes of this great show....

Edit 06 May 2022: Passed another 22 years (OMG I'm getting old) since I wrote this short review and we know now "Wings" have been never continued. Taking into consideration other shows which had their (rather weak) revivals I am sure that was a good decision. After so many years "Wings" still make me laugh and luckily we have reruns on Fox here in Poland. Really recommend it.

It's a shame Wings kind of got lost amidst the 90s sitcoms because it was a gentle comedy that deserved more than its due.

Maybe Wings can be rebooted now that more people are flying.

I am so glad that USA Network continues to rerun the episodes of this great show. With one exception I found this to be among those shows with a once in a lifetime cast. The only exception was Farah Forke, an absolutely terrible actress, who has dragged down every series that she has been a part of. Her character Alex was contentious, had a constant chip on her shoulder, and constantly felt that she had to show everyone how tough she was. BUT, when the shows' producers saw the light and bounced her they hit a home run with the casting of Amy Yasbeck in the role of Helen's sister. IMHO this show was as well written as any sitcom ever was. I hated to see the character of Lowell leave but I can't blame Thomas Hayden Church for trying to make it as the star of his own series (sadly, the series was a dud). And, while I would never want to associate professionally or socially with Roy, he was played perfectly by David Schramm. The final two part episode did a superb job of wrapping things up. It was a real bittersweet moment for me as I imagined what life would be like for Brian who so abruptly gave up his dream life in the islands to keep Sandpiper going while Joe was in Europe with Helen. Who knows if he really got to fulfill that dream one year later. So many things can change in that time frame. This was a show that people like me could get involved in and it all seemed so real. I hoe that USA continues the reruns for many, many years.

I wonder if it's still playing now? On USA network, I remember it still. But I remember it, clear as day, watching just about each and every episode. It was such a great TV show series, and I loved spending every night, watching that after we'd been good and finished dinner. Ah, those wonderful growing up years with the family. Helen, Brian, Joe, Antonio, Lowell, Roy, and Faye... oh, so funny...

Truly enjoy this show, good humor mixed with a little real life drama. Great 90s sitcom

I have discovered Wings to be one of the most underrated and under-appreciated of comedy series that I have ever watched. The writing is crisp, witty and often warm. The main setting is a small Nantuckett airport, wherein a madcap cast of characters attempt to cope with a hilarity of usually self-created misadventures. The chemistry between the major characters, Helen Chapel (played by Crystal Bernard,who gives a flawless delivery of her punch lines) and Joe Hackett, is superb, and gets even better as the show has more seasons. Brian Hackett, as Joe's immature, misbehaving younger brother, adds by often creating the plot dilemma and simultaneously provoking his serious, overly fastidious older brother. Add to this an exquisite supporting cast, consisting of: an aging female flight announcer who's been through the deceased husbands; a wisecracking self-centered rival airline owner; a luck-deprived Italian taxicab driver; and a lunk-headed airplane mechanic, (played by a wonderfully deadpan Thomas Haden Church). In later shows, Amy Yasbeck appears as Helen's neurotically shallow older sister, and teams unwittingly with Brian to create more madcap, particularly in an episode where she and Brian give a surprise gone awry.

The comedy is only enhanced by several repeat guests, including a whiny senior citizen named Carlton; an old flame of Joe named Sandy, who forces him to reenact a "missed" high school prom; and even few characters who reprise their same roles from the Comedy "Cheers". Throughout the series, there remains a well-grounded sense of love and admiration among this cast of characters, which sometimes surfaces to provide unexpected, and often very touching moments. Wings is a series not to be missed by any true fan of comedy!

It makes me made that this show is so underrated and never got the credit it deserved. It's one of best comedies ever. The characters are funny and keep you coming back each episode. The storylines are funny. I like how most of the show takes place in the airport just like cheers did with the bar. The comedy is smart just like Frasier but it's more silly like cheers so it's a good mix between the 2 shows and maybe that's why the show is forgotten. In my opinion the show is one of the best comedies ever and if anyone gets a chance you should watch this gem of a show.

A lot of this show was really funny and well-written. Brian, Lowell, Faye, Joe, Roy and even Antonio are fairly solid, funny characters. The worst character on the show, unfortunately, is Helen. It's not Crystal Bernard's fault; it's the way the character is written. She's neurotic, psychotic, selfish and obnoxious. Brian is a womanizing jerk but he's likable. Roy is selfish and uncaring but he's likable. Helen is so unreasonably self-centered that she just isn't likable. This show would have been a million times better if they had toned down her character. She over-reacts to everything, always plays the victim and always gets away with everything, even when she's in the wrong, and it just gets really tiresome and un-funny.

Wings has always been a great show with a wonderful cast of colorful actors like the Hackett brothers, the Chappel sisters, Lowell, Antonio, Fay, & Roy but I am probably leaving somebody out. Unlike most sitcoms, the show is set in Nantucket, far from the Los Angeles or New York City which is another reason to watch alone. Set in a small airport, Fay and Roy are always a pleasure to watch. Lowell is a unique character. The fact that the Hacketts, Lowell, and the Chappel sisters have a history in Nantucket is also useful for creating great plots around their history. I have plenty of favorite episodes like the psycho Valerie Mahaffey's character in recreating their senior prom, honeymoon, wedding etc. I also liked Farrah Forke's character but she left one season. These actors appear to have a good time on screen and off-screen which makes it another reason to watch. I just watched the Christmas episode where Antonio's girlfriend is the wife of his kidnapper, the new air traffic controller, who takes him hostage when he takes his donut. Sure the absurdity sometimes is half the fun of this show.

This is part of the Taxi/Cheers/Tracy Ullman/Simpsons family and for how little I had heard of it compared to the others, I wasn't sure if it would do as well. It's actually got some fantastic lines. The only issue is Helen who is self-obsessed to the point of putting other people in danger or in debt, and those are her "friends" on the show. Without her, the show would be a triumph.

This show started off okay, but it ended up being all about sex like the rest of them. Very lazy writing. Very annoying. So, I stopped watching.

I love Wings ... it was a real sweet piece of sitcom work ... Tony Shaloub was a stitch and the writing was top shelf ... the show managed to get it done without touching a lot of sensitive issues which can be a crutch for many modern sitcoms ... I liked the interplay between the brothers with their very different personalities ... Kaye, the employee, who ran the company ... Lowell, the good-natured knucklehead whose lone talent was the ability to fix airplanes and be a loving friend and family man ... Roy, the ruthless competitor and Helen, the ever self-effacing one who stepped up to the plate when the chips were down time after time ... I also like the adjustments over the years, Helen and Joe go from pals to lovers and marry ... Shaloub was so good as the maitre d' that he had to change careers so it was much easier to write him into the scripts ... he was my favorite character with his passionate Italian solilioquies

The initial response to this show is that it was a spin-off from the sitcom, "Cheers"; "Wings" was not easy to identify with, and maybe, it would last two seasons, three tops!! Much to the pleasant surprise of everyone, the superb character portrayals, and the exceptional writing to this series, made it one of the most popular shows in recent times!! The show focused on the Hackett brothers, Joe and Brian, and their unexplainable disappointments in life... The other characters followed suit!!! Joe, (Played by Tim Daly) was the super jock of yesteryear who tried to be perfect, he was only recognized in the small, one horse, town of Nantucket, and slowly but surely, even that fame began to quickly erode!! Brian, (Steven Weber) was the hapless Casanova who burdened his brother with his grotesque lack of responsibility in dealing with even the slightest matter!! Helen (Crystal Bernard) was the former childhood chub, now fit and trim, yet, she was still very non-motivated about her life!! Roy (David Schramm) was the biggest jerk in the world, having a halfway decent mind made this situation all that much more nauseating to stomach!! Faye (Rebecca Schull) was the conscientious and faithful worker who was an emotional Mardi-Grass! Lowell (Thomas Hayden Church) was the goof ball with a surprising succinct accuracy about certain issues!!(I had a friend, Ian, who was just like this) Those were the intricacies to being just the mechanic!! Antonio, (Tony Shaloub) he was the taxi driver who's life always went from bad to worse... Also on the show, were both Casie and Alex who were love interests of Brian's, they were attractive women whose lives were on the decline in one way or another!! When describing everyone's life in this series, it is tantamount to preaching apocalyptic doom!! These were lives which were besieged with unadulterated boredom, and, it nestled a kindred spirit with much of the television audience (unfortunately)... It is the element of monumental failure in everyone's lives that created wonderful cannon fodder for this situation comedy!! This show articulates copious aspects of lackluster behavior from always being defeated with the ill fated endeavors in these character's lives, and, the television show's witty dialog was written commensurately!!! The one episode which illustrated a domino effect scene, with regard to Lowell wanting a Kodak moment ,and missing the perfect one, because he was looking the other way, kind of summed this whole series up!! I love the T.V. Show "Wings" Tim Daly is one of my favorite television actors, and Steven Weber is so incredibly funny!! The writing was fabulous on this show, and the character portrayals on "Wings" are some of the best I have ever seen on television!! I rate this show 10 out of 10!!

I've binge watched the entire series and laughed a total of 5 times in my entire watch. The show was not funny at all, not even remotely but it made me feel good and it made me smile many times. This is one of those "feel good" shows that give you a warm cozy feeling but don't expect it to make you laugh because the show absolutely lacks humor and its jokes are extremely dry and unfunny.

The only truly funny episode of this show was when Frasier visited. I recommend that episode if you have to watch an episode of this show at all but you won't miss out much if you skip this show.

Also it's super annoying how they overuse laughing tracks. Literally every time a character finishes a sentence, there is a laughing track even though 99% of the sentences used in this show are nowhere near funny.

I'm a tail-end Baby Boomer-meaning that I was born between 1954, and 1964. My segment of the Boomers, were always over-shadowed in the media, by both our older Boomer brethren, and Gen-Xers. So, it was great to finally find a sitcom like "Wings", with tail-end Boomers as the main focus of the show. I could identify with these guys, since we hailed from the same generational zeitgeist, so-to-speak.

The series revolved around two very different brothers, named Joe and Brian Hackett. Joe was the elder, responsible, and straight-arrow one. Brian was his younger, much more free-spirited sibling (Brian could be a real screw-up, but somehow always came out okay in the end). Because of their radically different approach to life, their conflicts were the main source of laughs for the show.

The Hackett brothers ran a tiny, one-plane commuter airline, on the island of Nantucket. They were surrounded by a menagerie of other colorful characters on the show. Their lifelong friend, Helen, ran the lunch-counter at their little airline. Roy Bigguns was their ever-egocentric competitor. Roy always loved to crow that his airline, Aeromass, was bigger and better than the Hacketts' puny operation. Lowell was their ding-bat mechanic. And Faye was their receptionist/flight announcer, who was always hilariously cheerful.

In later seasons of the show, Lowell left. Then Antonio, the sad-sack airport cabdriver, joined the cast. The Antonio character was only mildly funny to me. I thought Lowell was much funnier. On occasion, actress Farrah Fork appeared on the show, as Brian's no-nonsense, military pilot girlfriend, Alex. She could never tame Brian's free-spirited ways, no matter how hard she tried (and it was always fun to watch her keep trying). Helen's klutzy sister, Casey, became a regular cast member late in the series. These extra characters added their own comedic dash to the overall ensemble of the show.

"Wings" was never one of NBC's main comedy attractions, like "Seinfeld", or "Cheers" were. But for 10 seasons, it managed to generate a loyal viewer-ship. In my opinion, I think this was due to the fact that many viewers (myself included), liked to watch the Hackett brothers live-out their dreams. After all, they owned their own business, doing what they loved (flying). They had comfortable, solidly middle-class life-styles, even owning their own gorgeous house. They lived on a scenic island, far from any crime-ridden, major urban areas. All-in-all, the Hackett brothers were tail-end Boomers, who also managed to win the proverbial game-of-life. Many of us other tail-end Boomers could be inspired in our own lives, by watching the Hacketts every week on TV!

I discovered this show on Antenna TV a while back and the more I watch it the more I like it. It's funny and unique.

I love Tim Daly, but Steven Weber will always be my favorite. Brian Hacket is the best! Not that crazy about Crystal Bernard as Helen Chapel, but she's cute.

Wings has some great characters and fun storylines. It's fun to see how the show progresses over the years and I think they did that realistically.

As mentioned before, Steven Weber and Tim Daly have great chemistry as the Hackett brothers and they are my favorite characters to watch.

Lowell was absolutely hilarious and Antonio is pretty funny as well. I love Tony Shalhoub in "Monk" and I love seeing him in a completely different role.

"WINGS," in my opinion, is a pure definition of must-see TV! Despite the fact that I've never seen every episode, I still enjoyed it. My favorite one is the one with the Christmas party. You'll have to have seen it for yourself if you want to know how any why. Everyone always gave a good performance, the production design was spectacular, the costumes were well-designed, and the writing was always very strong. Before I wrap this up, I hope that all you die-hard fans of the show will always have it live on in syndication. In conclusion, even though it can be seen in syndication now, I strongly recommend you catch it before it goes off the air for good.

The secondary characters are the funniest! Not all the story lines are compelling but the characters make it work. It's also a unique setting instead of a medical, lawyer, or cop environment.

I was living abroad when this aired. I didn't miss much.

This show had me from the start when Steve Weber in the first episode complimented the owner of the rival flight company for getting rid of the life jackets to save money and hiring a novice pilot right out of flight school. Just when I think I've caught my breath, a voluptous brunette walks past and he blurts out, "Major Hooters," only to save himself from her wrath by introducing himself as his alter-ego, "Major Bob Hooters." This was the kind of writing and creativity that made this under-appreciated series a hit for almost ten years as NBC floated it all over it's schedule. Yet, the fans continued to follow it. The other thing that made this show was sexpot Crystal Bernard, a survivor from the last season of Happy Days. The show had an incredible ensemble of talent including Bernard, Weber, Tim Daly, David Scramm, Rebecca Schull and Thomas Haden Church who played the slightly annoying mechanic Lowell Mather. Replaced by the dynamic Tony Shalhoub as the haplessly unlucky Antonio Scarpacci, the series even became a cousin to the equally successful Cheers with crossovers with its best talents. Underrated for its time on TV, this incredibly funny and relentless series lasted an enjoyable seven years until Amy Yasbeck joined the cast as Helen's jinxed sister, Casey, possibly named after Bernard's Happy Days character, K.C. Cunningham. Yasbeck's arrival signified the sign that the series had run out of ideas as Daly and Bernard's characters got married for the marriage jokes and millions of Crystal Bernard fans lost their hearts.