Final Approach (TV Episode)
Encyclopedia
Fiinal Approach is the double length finale of the eight season long tv show Wings, which ran from 1990-1997. The plot is very much a sequel to the first episode, with the Hackett's finding $250,000 lined in the suitcase they found a picture of themselves in the first episode. The rest of the episode concerns them going on another chase to find the rest of the money and what to do with it.
to study music.
In the final moments of the episode, Brian offers to run the airline for one year while Joe and Helen are in Europe
. With Joe's portion of the money, they retire the mortgage
on their first airplane, acquire a second airplane, and purchase access to more airline routes, thus doubling the airline's size and rebuffing Roy's desire to "tear down this lemonade stand of a business", as Joe had initially agreed to sell him Sandpiper Air. Helen leaves her lunch counter, while Casey, having told off everyone on the island, has nowhere to work and no means of supporting herself. Helen steers her toward her old lunch counter, a fate Casey cannot believe, to which Helen says she felt the same way at first. The final scene shows Joe flying Helen to Boston so they can get a connecting flight to Vienna. The series ends with a long shot of the terminal with Antonio and Casey walking over to the lunch counter, Casey tying on her apron and serving him, and Brian, Roy and Faye returning to their respective checking counters, Faye announcing the boarding of the next flight. The credites roll over a montage of the series.
Series finale
NBC aired the final episode of the show on May 21, 1997. The episode's plot was a callback to the first episode of the series, in which Joe and Brian are left a suitcase by their father containing a picture of the two as boys and a note reading, "You're rich". In the finale, the brothers discover that not only does the lining of the suitcase contain money, but it sets them off on a treasure hunt which ends up making them $250,000 richer. They argue over what to do with the money; Joe wants to put it into the airline while Brian wants to use the money to retire and move away. Joe's resolve to stay on Nantucket is further tested by the news that Helen has been offered an opportunity to go to ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
to study music.
In the final moments of the episode, Brian offers to run the airline for one year while Joe and Helen are in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. With Joe's portion of the money, they retire the mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
on their first airplane, acquire a second airplane, and purchase access to more airline routes, thus doubling the airline's size and rebuffing Roy's desire to "tear down this lemonade stand of a business", as Joe had initially agreed to sell him Sandpiper Air. Helen leaves her lunch counter, while Casey, having told off everyone on the island, has nowhere to work and no means of supporting herself. Helen steers her toward her old lunch counter, a fate Casey cannot believe, to which Helen says she felt the same way at first. The final scene shows Joe flying Helen to Boston so they can get a connecting flight to Vienna. The series ends with a long shot of the terminal with Antonio and Casey walking over to the lunch counter, Casey tying on her apron and serving him, and Brian, Roy and Faye returning to their respective checking counters, Faye announcing the boarding of the next flight. The credites roll over a montage of the series.
Cast
- Tim Daly as Joe Hackett
- Steven WeberSteven Weber (actor)Steven Robert Weber is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the television show Wings which aired throughout the 1990s on NBC.-Early life:...
as Brian Hackett - Crystal BernardCrystal BernardCrystal Lynn Bernard is an American actress and singer, most widely known for her seven-year-long role on the situation comedy Wings. While her main work has been on television, she has appeared in some films, and also attempted to pursue a music career as a songwriter/performer.-Early...
as Helen Chapel-Hackett - David SchrammDavid SchrammDavid Norman Schramm was an American astrophysicist and educator, and one of the world's foremost experts on the Big Bang theory.Schramm was a pioneer in the study of Big Bang nucleosynthesis and its use as...
as Roy Biggins - Rebecca SchullRebecca SchullRebecca Schull is an American film and television actress.Schull studied acting in the United States and in Dublin, Ireland...
as Faye Cochryn - Tony ShalhoubTony ShalhoubAnthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub is an American actor of Lebanese descent. His television work includes the roles of Antonio Scarpacci on Wings and sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk. He has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work in Monk...
as Antonio Scarpacci - Amy YasbeckAmy YasbeckAmy Marie Yasbeck is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her role as Casey Chapel Davenport on the sitcom Wings from 1994-1997.-Early life:...
as Casey Chapel-Davenport - Thomas Haden ChurchThomas Haden ChurchThomas Haden Church is an American actor. After co-starring in the 1990s sitcom Wings, Church became well known for his film roles, including his Academy Award-nominated performance in Sideways and his role as the Sandman in Spider-Man 3.-Early life:Church, the fourth of six children, was born...
, who played Lowell, declined to appear in the episode but did appear at the tapings, probably in the audience.
Goofs
When Lowell opens the locker in the first episode, there is only one case. Unless someone came along in the meantime and planted in there, there was no way the case could have gotten in that locker by this episode.Little Known Facts
- Joe and Helen don't share a farewell scene with Roy because the writers believed that he was still considered "the villain." The cast members complained but the writers refused to give in.
- The chalk board over Helen's counter reads, "Final boarding, #172, Today's special: Cooked Goose." 172 Being the episode number and the total number of episodes in the series.
- The episode was sprinkled with cameos by almost all the writers and producers, including Angell, Casey and Lee, Dave Hackel, Jeff Richman and Joyce Gittlin, Ken Levine and David Isaacs, and even the director, Jeff Melman. Mark Reisman, Howard Gewirtz, Ian Gurvitz and Chris Vane also grouped together.
- The day turned out emotional in more ways than one for Rebecca Schull. Her husband Gene suffered a broken rib in an accident on the way to the filming.
- The producers asked Thomas Haden Church to make a cameo appearance, but he declined the offer.
- Thomas Haden Church was in the audience for the taping of this episode (as well as its conclusion).
- The original opening sequence from the show's first couple of years is reinstated in this episode, and is changed to reflect Tony Shaloub and Amy Yasbeck's addition to the cast, as well as Haden Church's absence.