Brian is on the tarmac at Boston's Logan Airport awaiting the arrival of two passengers who are holding up Sandpiper Air Flight 48's return to Nantucket. The would-be sport fishermen finally arrive, and boy, do they look familiar. The heavy-set fellow, Norm, seems to have an inordinate love of beer, and his mustachioed friend, Cliff, is a know-it-all who frowns at mailman jokes. (More on them later!)
Back at the terminal of Tom Nevers Field, Joe is nervously anticipating being interviewed by American Flyer magazine. The good publicity, he feels, could put Sandpiper Air on the map. Ted Cobb, the reporter, arrives aboard Brian's flight. It quickly becomes obvious, however, that Ted isn't enamored with idea of writing up three pages about Joe and his little one-plane operation. It seems that he'd rather be back at his old post at Mercenary Monthly, spinning wild yarns about even wilder men. Men like Brian, who is a big fan of Ted's work. The two hit it off, then go off leaving Joe behind.
Will Joe ever see his name in print? Will Brian ever tell Joe how he feels about him? Will Norm and Cliff ever go fishing before they have to go back to Boston?
Some housekeeping first: your computer and internet connection are working just fine. You didn't miss my blog post on Season Two, Episode One, "The Puppetmaster." And, no, that episode is not an adaptation of a Robert Heinlein story.
I am watching this series on Hulu. Streaming services, as well as DVD/Blu-ray releases, are notorious for leaving out certain episodes. Why does this happen? Mainly it's because of music rights issues. Obtaining the rights to use music is very expensive, and many are the TV shows and movies that have not been (legally) released to the public because the distribution companies and rights holders could not come to an agreement. WKRP in Cincinnati is a perfect example of this problem. For years, it was nigh impossible to get your hands on the original episodes as they were broadcast because of music licensing issues. It wasn't until 2014 that you could get your hands on a complete DVD set with around 90% of the original music cleared for use.
Unfortunately, Wings is no different. There are about twenty-three episodes over the entire series that are unavailable for (legal) streaming because of this issue. So, instead of discussing how Brian hires an actor to pretend to be a pilot in order to get Helen to break her promise never to date pilots (which is what "The Puppetmaster" is all about), we are here to talk about the first Cheers/Wings crossover. Not a bad trade off, if I do say so myself.
If you haven't guessed it already (And if you haven't -- what's up? Are you feeling all right?), the "Norm and Cliff" mentioned above is that Norm and Cliff. Wings was created and produced by veterans of the Cheers writers' room: David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee. These three would also create Frasier. Not too shabby a career, says I.
The inclusion of Norm and Cliff is great way to broaden the horizons of the show, as well as drawing in new viewers. Cheers was wildly popular, and the shenanigans of Norm and Cliff, were in a large part responsible for that show becoming the ratings juggernaut that it was. Here, the episode isn't about the two-man brew crew from Boston, which is nice. The main storyline is still about Joe and Brian, but every so often they bump into Norm and Cliff during their surf-n-turf bar crawl. The Cheers regulars are the jimmies on the Wings cupcake, so to speak.
Mmmm...cupcakes...
Fans of body horror will recognize the man who plays the journalist Ted Cobb. That's actor Charles Callahan, and he was "Norris" in John Carpenter's The Thing. He was a well-travelled actor on TV. He appeared on episodes of The Rockford Files, Hawaii Five-O, Soap, The Paper Chase, and Hill Street Blues. I like to think that this isn't just Ted Cobb who's visiting Nantucket Island, it's Ted Cobb-Thing! How long was he alone with those passengers during the flight from Boston? Did he ever get Brian alone somewhere when they hit the town together? I think we can assume that Norm and Cliff have been assimilated and Sam and Diane are soon to join the collective!
There's a lot going on here, so Lowell and Fay have to make the most of their screen time. They partake in some pretty good gags throughout, especially my man Lowell. We get another mention of the Hackett Bros. handyman's life on a house boat when Norm and Cliff say they are looking to do some deep sea fishing:
Norm: Cliffy, let's go down to the wharf and charter a boat.
Lowell: I've a boat for charter. She's a beauty, and I'll give you a great deal, too.
Norm: Sounds good.
Lowell: Of course, my family lives on the boat, but they won't get in your way. Don't mind the little one. He'll probably just crawl right up into your lap and fall asleep. At least that way he won't eat the bait.
Fay gets in on the act when Ted Cobb hits the terminal. He introduces himself, and she does her best to be helpful.
Ted: I'm Ted Cobb from American Flyer magazine. I'm looking for Joe Hackett.
Fay: That's him right over there. In case you need it for your article, my name is Fay Evelyn Cochran, my favorite color is blue, and I was the first stewardess to use the emergency exit gesture. [With both hands, she points straight ahead, then off to each side.]
Ted: I've seen your work. Thanks.
This is also a great episode for Steven Weber to strut his comedic stuff. Ted, it seems is well known to Brian.
Brian: Ted Cobb...you aren't the Ted Cobb who wrote for Mercenary Monthly, are you?
Ted: Yeah, I am.
Brian: Man, I loved your stuff! My favorite was the four-part article on the sucking chest wound.
Ted: Yeah, I was pretty proud of that.
Brian: I used to read your magazine from cover to cover when I was flying out of Mustique.
Ted: You flew out of Mustique? I lived there for two years! Did you ever go drinking at Basil's?
Brian: Are you kidding me? They named a drink after me: "The Traumatic Head Injury."
And just like that, poor Joe's dreams of being featured in American Flyer magazine...well...they fly right out the door. How can you compete with a brother who has lit Princess Margaret's cigarette with a tiki torch? Not to worry though, Gentle Viewer, there's still time at the end of the episode for the Brothers Hackett to reveal their true feelings to each other. And for Fay to admit that she is, perhaps, watching too much TV wrestling. Is that even a thing?!
Well, folks, you know what time it is. As we begin our final descent, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright positions. Be sure that you securely fasten your seat belts. Place your carry-on luggage beneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins. We have been given permission to land, and our next flight won't be for another month. It won't be until November that we fly the funny skies of Wings and talk about Episode Three of Season Two, "A Little Nightmare Music." Why the month-long layover, you ask? Because it's October, and that means it's time for this blogger's 31-day trip through the land of witches, vampires, and ghouls. It's time for LARPing Real Life to talk Halloween! I hope you'll drop by during October and see what we're up to in these parts. I'll be writing about some of my favorite spooky movies, TV shows, radio shows, books, and more! It should be a good time.
