I loved watching this show. It was a simpler time: a time before internet, a time before cell phones smaller than a brick, a time before TSA strip searches. Apparently not a time before Moammar Gadhafi--see Season 3 Episode 17. I almost peed my pants over that one.
Anyway, the cast was great, the writing was hilarious, and for the most part it was pretty clean (I definitely got a lot more sexual references then I did watching it as a 9 year old with my Dad in the family room--but then again, my Dad is a chronic channel flipper and I don't think I ever watched more than 7.5 seconds of anything. ADHD anyone?) The saddest episode though was the one where Lowell had to go into witness protection and was actually leaving the show (Lowell was my favorite--if I ever see Thomas Hayden Church in real life I will scream, run up to him, and say "Lowell! You're Lowell!" and not "Hey you were the Sandman!" ...but that's another story). Even sadder still was that after a little internet hunting, Church was actually leaving the show to star in his own sitcom called "Ned and Stacey" opposite Debra Messing (of Will and Grace). I watched a few clips on YouTube. I'm surprised it lasted two seasons. I'm surprised Church didn't slip into an alcoholic downward spiral, finding himself frequently at the local pub blubbering something about how he should've listened to Tim Daly. Tim Daly and his amazing chin line. I mean, look at that chin:
You know who else has a great chin? And better glasses?
Don't be hatin' ladies. It's funny though, I was never into chins--just glasses. I was always a glasses girl.
Another sad part about finishing up Wings was that due to poor observation on my part and poor coding on Netflix's part, I THOUGHT there was one more episode. I went to click next episode and there WASN'T one. There just wasn't. And of course the show ended with a big finale with Joe and Helen leaving to Vienna for a year and Brian taking over Sandpiper Air...what was a girl to do??? To get my Wings fix I resorted to hunting down the episode of Monk (which I never got into because, let's face it, Psych is funnier) where Tim Daly makes a guest appearance. This is funny, because Tony Shalhoub played the defeatist taxi driver Antonio Scarpacci on Wings. In the episode (Season 1 Episode 13) Monk has to get on an airplane or otherwise be left alone without his nurse. We follow Monk through the airport, watching him have near panic attacks as he is cleared at each security stage...which honestly these days, could give anybody a panic attack. I was just glad he didn't have to have a hands on search. That show is more stressful than funny for me. Then Monk gets to the gate, the last stop before boarding the dreaded plane, where he has an interchange with the ticket agent.
Stop. Freeze. I know this face. And that's when it hits me...about the same time that I realize I need to watch less Netflix--the Christmas episode in Season 8 of Wings: the Nun! Antonio (Tony Shalhoub) spends the whole episode driving around a nun who came to the island after she had a dream that she needed to save someone--those someone(s) ended up being Helen, Casey, and Fae who got stuck in the basement of the department store but I won't ruin the episode for you. Anyway, here she is:
In this scene Antonio was quizzing her on the Apostles because he didn't believe she was really a Nun. This shot is after he asked her which one was the cutest apostle (Paul). So who is this lady really? A little hunting on IMDB (surprisingly I found her through the Wings episode, NOT the Monk episode) turns up a Brooke Adams...an actress and WIFE of Tony Shalhoub. Is that jealousy I now sense in the face of Antonio pictured above? She has made appearances in 5 episodes of Monk and was in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978). She also turned down an offer to be one of the original Charlies Angels. You learn things on IMDB.
Here is a picture of the happy couple:
And with that, I should probably go get a life. Although I will close with this: I have a family friend who recently got into The Waltons. I'm assuming this happened through Netflix, but in the few weeks I was visiting home she mentioned the show a few (hundred) times. Last I saw on facebook she had gone to a conference or event where she met some of the cast. Laugh if you must but I can now understand. And you know what? I bet she made there day: a girl in her early 20s, who wasn't even BORN when the show was running and now she is a huge fan. Thank you Netflix for reviving the paychecks of yesterday's silver screen. And if there is ever a cast reunion of Wings anywhere on the eastern seaboard, I will be there. I will be there.
P.S. A shoutout to Meg Morely Walter of I Should Be Deserving to be to Mars as my first follower. An honor, really. Her blog is hilarious. And another shoutout to Missy for making the first comment! Here is a link to HER blog, also awesome (I found some cloth flower tutorials that changed my life). Sorry these weren't big enough deals to mention in separate posts. Deal with it.
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