Wings: The Complete Series 1 And 2 [DVD]

I remember it was a big ratings winner in the late 70's when I was about 8 or 9 years old. I took a gamble I bought the series as I only had sketchy memories of a few scenes and characters from thirty years ago. I thought that for the price you couldn't go wrong for 25 episodes. It was well worth it. It is far superior to anything shown over the Christmas period or all year for that matter. A drama following the fortunes of early British pilots in the first world war at the very dawn of air power. My parents and I have really enjoyed it. It's a period drama so has not really aged at all. The stories are well told and the characters are distinct and well performed. These days I feel writers are lazy and they hide silly plot holes with a manic pace ( I'm looking at you Spooks writers ). No modern soap-opera sensationalized rows and tedious `relationship' merry-go-round disputes between semi-clown characters. These stories are credible and are really rich in depth and texture. I particularly liked Michael Cochrane who did a superb job of showing a man under extreme strain. The joy of watching real aircraft over cartoon ones cannot be under-valued either. I watched a few minutes of the historically dubious Red Baron film at around the same time and found the computer generated aircraft silly in both speed, movement and believability in comparison to the solid forms of the rickety and sluggish planes of Wings. It's strange Wings has never been repeated on any of the many channels that show old BBC dramas ( Colditz, Secret Army, House of Elliot, Onedin Line etc ). In my opinion Wings is superior to all of them except Secret Army. Wings was a series that filled the peak time BBC1 slot on Sunday evening at around 7pm. This is when there were only three channels to watch! It's also incredible to me that the three lead actors have vanished into virtual obscurity to only appear in occasional character parts rather than to become house hold names. Tim Woodward probably had the largest scope to appear in more dramas. He has completely vanished from our screens as a leading man. Michael Cochrane and Nicholas Jones have real presence as upper class officers; both in very different and memorable ways. I suspect they may have been type cast in upper class roles ever since. To a modern audience I think Nicholas Jones as Captain Triggers is probably a bit too full throttle. He never seems to relax. He at times reminds me of Lord Flashart from Black Adder Goes Forth - which of course came many years later. All three leads are however superb and it was with real regret that I watched the last part. It really did feel as if I'd lost old friends when I watched the last part. It was good enough for another series. The series had still plenty of bite in it. There was no dropping off in quality over time. It would be great if the BBC could re-unite the leads for a one-off drama set thirty years later just after the second world war. I suspect in the post Star Wars mania era of the late 1970's, the BBC changed to dramas like Blakes 7. It's a shame because even though I'm a Blakes 7 fan, Wings is a much better drama and should be appreciated far more than Blakes 7.

Well, that's it....I finished watching the last episode today of this captivating series. It almost seems like I've shared the same journey as the characters within and didn't want it to end. To be honest, when I played the first episode, and the credits and music started - I thought...ayup! This could turn out to be not quite what I thought it was going to be (sound and picture quality, etc). The pace is quite slow too or it appears that way at first but then you have to make big allowances for the fact that firstly, life 100 years ago was just that (and much simpler) and secondly, the series was made 35 years ago! I think that with those two elements in mind is the reason why it works so well. There's little point in making a glossy, fast paced CGI packed production (like you would expect from todays standards) as it just wouldn't be believable in the slightest. I think it all works beautifully well. I was impressed by the acting of the main characters and I'm not entirely sure whether it was intentional, but there were quite a few scenes where the actors stumbled with their words / lines - this for me, made it even more real. Ok, there was also the odd occasion where a door slammed and the 'wall' wobbled, etc. but again, it didn't spoil it in the slightest. I was particularly impressed with the aerial action and outdoor footage generally, especially the authenticity of the aircraft - even the radio controlled models were brilliantly handled and filmed. I think the producers were spot on with portraying the period and I urge anyone studying (or just interested in) WW1 and particularly the RFC to watch this series. Not necessarily for historical accuracy (I never spotted the steel helmets in 1915 as one reviewer did!) but just to soak up a flavour of what life in the RFC and wider British Army must have been like and the relationship with ordinary life back home. A wonderful series with generous helpings of poignancy and nostalgia thrown in! Glad I bought the series and would definitely recommend buying and watching it. A very worthy addition to your DVD library!

This is one of the most outstanding World War 1 drama's to be every put on DVD. Saw it years ago, and thought it marvelous. This is the Royal Flying Corps at its best. Details are accurate (right down to the nomenclature and then-used phrases, like "Gone West"). Characterizations of the flyers are faithfully portrayed by actors who brought a level of perfection that should not be missed. The series covers many types of combat the RFC was involved in and that makes this one of the most realistic dramas. The home front scenes are also excellent with good character studies of those who waited at home for their boys to return. All the realism is here: the perils of early flight, the thrills and chills of being airborne, the horrors of war in the air (and on the ground in the trenches); all at a time when these original heroes of flying, carried little defensive armament and no parachutes. Whether in the pub or the Officer's Mess, it's all faithfully portrayed. This series represents the true story of the RFC and the men who flew above the trenches...witnessing the War from a completely different perspective. They represented the forerunner of the RAF pilots who would become "The Few" of the next world war. I highly recommend this without reservation.

There are a lot of 5* reviews for this; much though I like it, the series doesn't deserve that. It has many strengths to start with, but deteriorates as the two series progress. The acting from the main characters is universally excellent, as are the flying sequences, the look, the feel, the general authenticity. None of it perfect, perhaps, but as good as you're likely ever to get. Where the series progressively fails is in the plots. Occasionally, in series 1, they're a bit unlikely, but the unlikely happens, and they're done well enough & believably enough. The more negative reviewers have complained about the "Home Front" stuff & its slowness, but the Home Front was a reality for far more people than the fighting men. Again, it's all done well enough. If the Home Front problems are small & humdrum, that doesn't mean dull, and I was as interested in the fate of Harry Farmer, et al, as I was of the fliers. However... When the unlikely happens again & again, the suspension of disbelief is broken. The soap opera, episodic nature of it becomes increasingly obvious as you work through series 2. The plots become not so much unlikely as simply contrived. If the acting is, perhaps, not so good, you can hardly blame the actors for the declining quality of the material they are being asked to present. A microcosm of the difference between the two series is Charles Gaylion's sister, Kate. In series 1, played by Celia Bannerman, the character is interesting, even if her plot involvement is one of those unlikely moments. In series 2, the actress changes & so does her character. She is now vapid & shallow. The question is, was Celia Bannerman unavailable, or did she not fancy the part any more because of what had been done to it? Don't get me wrong! Taken as a whole, this is an excellent series, generally well constructed, certainly well acted & excellently presented. The only comparable production is the slightly later film starring Malcolm McDowell, Aces High, a rather more jaundiced presentation of a slightly later period in the war. I have fond memories of Wings at original broadcast & was delighted to find it available on DVD. It's well worth the investment of your £££s & your viewing time.

Wings - a truly excellent series from the glorious decade of television drama, the 70's! The two series chart the exploits of a small, poorly equipped reconnaisance squadron during the middle of WWI. For a 70s series, Wings manages to look remarkably undated, by contemporary standards, if you allow for the grainy quality of footage for most of the flight sequences. At no time do you feel that you are not up there with the action and the sets feel real enough to dissuade question too. Some series such as The Sandbaggers are shot mostly on sets and it really feels like it. Not so with Wings. Whilst being a thouroughly satisfying drama series in its own right, Wings serves to explore several themes and issues of the period, and wartime situation. For example, it explores class issues of the day, and how difficult it was for working class people to compete with officers for recognition and respect; the elitsist attitudes of the air corps inrelation to the foot soldier in the trench; the coming and going of sweethearts and the stupidity of wartime tactics and expectations. Although it has been nostalgic to see this excellent drama again, at the end of the second series, I was left with a slightly bitter taste in my mouth. Series two finishes in a reasonably satisfactory manner, however, I cannot help but feel it could have extended into a third series and maybe beyond. Certain story ends seem to be hanging loose, such as the relationship with Gaylion and Lorna. Do they get married. or does Alan finally win het back in the end? Does he deserve her back? Maybe it was supposed to be left that way, like the uncertainly of warfare. Conclusion: I highly recommend this series to any aficionado of British wartime drama or drama in general.

This wonderfully evocative series about the earliest days of British military aviation in World War I (before the RFC became the RAF) features fine acting and strong characterisations, highlighting the incredible bravery (and tragically short lives) of the young pilots in their flimsy machines of the day. The flying sequences feature accurate replicas of the aircraft, such as the British BE2 biplane, up against the far superior German Fokker Eindecker monoplane, with its forward-firing machine gun (synchronised with the propeller, to avoid shooting it off!). In addition to the flying action, there is a strong story line following the family of pilot Sgt. Alan Farmer (played by Edward Woodward's son, Tim) back in rural England, contrasting with the upper class background of Lt.Charles Gaylion (Michael Cochrane). All in all, an absorbing series which I highly recommend to anyone interested in early military aviation history. You can almost smell the castor oil, fabric dope, and mown grass! A bargain price for all 25 episodes of the two series (over 20 hours) made during what I consider to be the Golden Age of Television in the 1970s.

Despite its age this production tells the story well. The real plane scenes on the ground and in the air are remarkably good for their time and a nice change from CG stuff we get now. For me this series shows the frustration, the fears, the comradeship, the squabbles and losses and also the mundane day to day life with great attention to the characters who continually have to put on a brave face to save their sanity. In reality there is no 'gung ho' mega exciting action in war with loads of succesful 'kills' and for most of the time there are many disappointments and frustrations which are all portrayed well here. It was extremely difficult to shoot down a plane unless it was hit in the right place on the first pass and the problems of equipment are rarely shown in productions elsewhere, however good. Altogether a realistic and refreshing series. Recommended for its great stab at authenticity. Minor imperfections in the story can be overlooked and strangely I liked the slightly inferior quality of the 'film' due to its age - it somehow makes it more realistic.

I am 71 and have had a long-held interest in WW1 - though, in the late 1970s when this series was broadcast, I was unaware of it, too busy with life, work and a new baby. It's really only through Amazon that it came to my attention and I can only endorse all of the very favourable reviews. A key point, I feel, is that the series was made 40 years ago (actually 1978) and therefore 40 years closer to actual events and people's memories of them. Thank goodness, too, that CGI (computed generated images) were unheard of and thus we get real airplanes albeit, I believe, some were large-scale replicas. The story is unhurried and you need to watch 2 or 3 episodes before it begins to take off (forgive the pun). The casting, acting, characterisations, and character development are all first class and the home-front element fits in well and adds depth to the story. Although not one of the main characters, Sarah Porter, as Lorna, is gorgeous (in a wholesome way) and transitions well from a somewhat timid country girl into a nurse who definitely knew her own mind. I would certainly have married her ! I have many DVDs, individual and box sets, relating to WW1 and, of the fictional ones, this is far and away the best. Though it does feature some trench scenes, it deals mostly with the lesser known side of the war, the fledgling Royal Flying Corps. Not to be missed at the current price and, incidentally, it has excellent sub-titles.

Everyone in the family is enjoying the series. Thanks very much.

Wonderful series about the Royal Flying Corps in WW1. The series intertwines the lives of people caught up fighting the war and those at home trying to carry on in a normal manner.

This MIGHT be a great series but it is for "Region 2" DVD players (Europe). That means you can't play these DVD's in the USA. I googled how to do it but neither my wife or I were able to make them play. Will be returning the set. It would be nice if Amazon put that on the description of this product.