|
I never really “got” this show. I gave it every opportunity, too…each time I came across it on TV, I watched it (although I never went out of my way to watch it). Once in a while, I found it to be rather humorous. Sometimes I even thought it was funny. Unfortunately though, I never found Wings to be as hilarious as its sibling program Cheers (or Frasier for that matter).
Since I was never very enthusiastic over the show, I really can’t find very many things to say about Wings…
Other than the slew of TV Actors, that is.
And by TV Actors, I don’t mean Actors We See Regularly On And Recognize From TV (such as Wings co-star Tony Shalhoub, who would find his calling a few years later with Monk).
 No, I mean TV Actors: people that don’t really cut it when it comes to appearing in silver screen motion pictures. Take Steven Weber for example: OK, I loved him Jeffrey, Mel Brooks’ Dracula: Dead And Loving It (which also featured Wings co-star Amy Yasbeck and did not require any acting per se), and I seem to recall him being funny in Sour Grapes…but watching him here again after all these years…mon Dieu, what a terrible actor! And that hair! I used to have quite the mane myself (and it was indeed a mane - or ponytail if you prefer - and most definitely not one of those big poofy white man’s 90s Afros like Weber and Richard Lewis used to have!)
Then there’s Tim Daly. Sure, he’s handsome. But for every handsome actor out there, there’s a rushed TV Movie Of The Week like Ambush In Waco: In The Line Of Duty or a failed remake of a classic television series like “The Fugitive” to help categorize you as a TV Actor. A pity, too…as I kinda like him.
Next up: Crystal Bernard…OH COME ON, PEOPLE: SHE WRITES COUNTRY SONGS, FOR FUCK’S SAKE!!!! WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?!
 Then there’s poor David Schramm. Oliver Norville Hardy II. He was about the only other funny person in the show aside from Shalhoub and Thomas Haden Church (who only appeared in one episode of this season before leaving the show completely and that was just to give his character some closure). Schramm is underrated in my opinion. Wherever you are, David: break a leg.
Back to Amy Yasbeck: the widow of the late John Ritter. Well, she was certainly fun to look at, wasn‘t she? The fact that she didn’t have that slutty Southern feathered 80s hair like Crystal Bernard alone (which Crystal still has!) made her more likeable. I kinda liked her, too.
OK, so that leaves the old lady (Rebecca Schull) and Antonio (Shalhoub) to cap on.
Hmmm.
Nah, I like Monk and I have to respect my elders, so I’m done.
 Presentation
Well, what can I say here except that this particular season hails from the mid-90s so, naturally, the Audio and Video are pretty below most standards. That, or the person in charge of the design and production of this title wasn’t a big fan and didn’t bother having the elements remastered. There aren’t even any subtitles apart from the Closed Captioning.
Extras
OK, now I really get the feeling that whoever was in charge of this DVD was not a big fan of the series: the only Special Features found here are some Promo Previews! And would you take a look at that back cover: not only is the quality of the image captures very poor, but they’re all from the first episode on Disc One!
 Wow, somebody was on the cheap.
Kinda like I was with this review.
You’re welcome.
The Bottom Line
I’m just grateful there wasn’t a bad spin-off for Thomas Haden Church’s simple-minded Lowell character. Oh wait, there was: they called it Spider-Man 3.
|
