Wings!

[amoama]

As trite as it is after one flying lesson (which was awesome dfkljdlkfvhvdj\vj) I am finally watching the BBC TV series Wings. I'm loving it and I am just here to flail a little.

Wings is a show from the 1970s set in WW1 about the men of the Royal Flying Corps.

Things to love (a list!):

The flying! It's so interesting watching the evolution of the planes and also kind of sad how quickly their development progresses towards being better at killing people. There was a great episode where the men were debating how they could be more useful in the war and it was so poignant the way they were questioning themselves, and how they felt like the possibilities of flight were endless and unknown and they are constantly butting up against the technology. Every episode it seems like they try something new, push further. (And always the Germans are ahead, lol, sorry RFC).

The class divide! The second best thing is the way the show is saturated in class issues. The main character, Alan Farmer, is the son of a blacksmith who used to hang out with the village toff helping him build an aeroplane. He lies about his own flying experience to get him into the Flying Corps, very much an officers club, mostly filled with old etonian refugees from the cavalry. He befriends one such refugee, Lt Charles Gaylion, and this leads to much confusion and frustration on all sides. I love how this isn't a one episode issue, it suffuses the whole show and isn't limited to these two characters. It's a constant that colours all the interactions.

The Characters! Forget Alan and Charles, the real star of the show is Captain Triggers. Tormented, free-thinking, temperamental Triggers! He's very much the leader every public school boy loved to hero-worship a la Stanhope in Journey's End and Ralph Lanyon in The Charioteer. He's tall and lean and looks excellent in leather. His moustache is tres stroke-able. His eyes follow his men around, considering and appraising them. He understands them, he's frustrated by them, he loves them despite himself. He's absolutely setting himself up to get hurt as he sends them out to greet death day in day out.
There are also some very loveable minor characters but you have to beware because they are more likely to get the chop the moment you give your heart over to them. Triggers pain is my pain!

The Homefront! Another awesome thing is how the show is just as much about the folks Alan has left at home in his little sussex village. Namely, his mother, his uncle Harry (back from war himself with an amputated arm), Alan's girl, Lorna. Its heartbreaking watching how these people left behind think constantly about Alan and worry and talk about him, even though they hear nothing from him and he's really too busy to even think much about them, you really get the sense of people centring their lives on this absence. There's also tons of lovely, fun, moments of people being taken over by the times. Molly goes to the Electric Theatre! Molly uses the telephone! And there's the slow sense that the blacksmith business is winding down, and their livelihood is heading towards peril. And, and, and, the slow burn romance between Harry and Molly, Alan's mum. Kind of forbidden because they have been brother and sister in law for so long and very much unspoken up till now. Harry is very aware of his feelings but Molly isn't necessarily up to speed yet! (I'm still watching series 1).

Heeeee, flail over, must get back to watching. So glad there's another season to go although I'm not sure how much my Triggers feelings can withstand. I ship him with everyone really but mostly Alan for convenience's sake. Anyway, on it goes to my Yuletide list for sure!