The filming for the night started off with Robert Lee doing the introductions, as each of the cast members came in through Gate-1 to a standing ovation from everyone. They all took a bow and Part-2, directed by Jeff Melman, was ready to shoot. Four sets were used on this night. There was the hangar with the Cessna in the left extreme, Joe's office, the terminal, and for the first time ever, Helen's pantry! As reported by people in the past, filming was done using four cameras simultaneously from various angles. The monitors facing us showed "almost" edited versions of the scenes shot with the cameras. The chalk board over Helen's counter read, "Final boarding, #172, Today's special: Cooked Goose.

Scene-1 between Joe, Helen and Brian was set in Joe's office. The shoot virtually started with a "bang" when SW broke the door to the office upon entering it, when he slammed it too hard. The comic made a crack about even the set being broken up that night! The door was quickly repaired, and I think it took about four to five takes to finish this scene since SW forgot a line or two in the middle. During takes between Joe and Brian, CB waited outside near Fay's terminal, waiting for her cue. It was really impressive to see how identically perfect TD and CB's delivery was in successive takes. They made it look so easy. Would have been fun to watch them during rehearsals! Next, there was a scene with Brian and Antonio in the terminal, and then one with Brian and Casey. Meanwhile, I could see CB and TS rehearsing their lines in the pantry on the far right. A funny scene between them quickly followed.

There was a short break in the filming at this time, and the audience entertainment began. First off, there was a WINGS T-shirt giveaway to anyone with the best story as to why he or she deserved it. There were about six contestants and the winner, by audience applause, was a teacher from Canada who wanted to present it to his best student. Doesn't sound like a great story, but it was nice the way he told it. Then we got a rousing rendition of the bluesy "Route 66" by none other than TS's cousin. Someone commented that she had perfected that song by singing it in almost every finale over the years! There was another young woman called "Rosie" (who I later learned was Peter's wife, Rosie Casey), who sang one of her own country style compositions. A great voice! Meanwhile, out of the corner of my eye, I could see TD and CB going over some of their upcoming lines.

The bell rang, the assistant director "Barbara" motioned to all, and the filming continued. There was a nice scene between Joe and Helen in the office followed by another one between Joe and Fay in the terminal. Then there was a long scene upstairs between Brian and Casey.

It was time for the second big break in the filming, and more entertainment. One of the crew members hopped into the audience, grabbed a mike, and brought the house down with his rendition of "Ride, Sally Ride". Tyne Daly, Lenny Garner Jr., and "Rosie" also joined him during title repeats (or whatever you call that). The comic made a joke about how the only phrase he could understand in the entire song was the title! Even some of the people on stage enjoyed this show along with us. It was fun.

The filming continued with a rip-roaringly funny scene between Joe and Antonio in the terminal. TS took a well-deserved bow after perhaps the funniest sequence of the entire night. This was followed by a beautiful scene between Joe and Helen in the pantry which also required quite a few takes, the reasons for which I didn't fully understand. Maybe it had something to do with the timing of the lines, or the angles of the cameras. The director decided to end this scene after a while, though he didn't appear fully satisfied.

The filming this night had another excellent touch. I am unaware of how many other great series have done such a thing for their finales. 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 (pronounced Reese-ma-n), Howard Gewirtz, Ian Gurvitz and Chris Vane also grouped together, though I'm not so sure if their scene will make it to the final cut. I'll wait and see.

There was another "interesting" development sometime during the middle of the shoot. The two WingNuts seated beside me pointed out with great excitement that Thomas Haden-Church had entered the building! Robert Lee announced his presence, followed by what I thought was a "moderate" applause from the audience. I also noticed that THC and TS had a long conversation during one of the breaks. Just so you all don't get your hopes up too high, as I expected, he had neither a scene nor a cameo this night. But it was sure nice to see him there.

It was now time for the penultimate scene between Joe and Roy in the hangar. This scene also required more than two takes, and it was truly a lesson on how crucial even a small change in the timing of a line relative to a shot is, to the effectiveness of the final "cut". Very interesting to watch. After a short break during which the band played some show tunes in various genres, it was time for the final scene and for the first time that night, I felt a tingly sensation down my spine . Even until this time, the writing and pacing was so great that the episode could have ended in a couple of different ways. Regarding the actual ending, well, all I can say is, I LIKED it! As wonderfully written as it was, and despite the fact that a truly funny crack about TD's toupee by the quickwitted SW served to ease the tension a bit, the final scene was indeed a sad affair. But it was also the ending I personally prefered to a few other possibilities. After some three takes, the filming was complete except for short takes. I noticed a gradual transformation in the faces of the cast members as this final scene came to a close. The emotional intensity in the room, which was truly palpable, was about to rise...

It was now time for the curtain calls. The cast came out one after the other through Gate-1 for one final time, and took a bow to a very long standing ovation from one and all. There wasn't a face on stage that didn't have some tinge of sadness. The situation seemed to be especially hard on CB and AY, who couldn't control their tears. Amy in fact started sobbing, and was quickly comforted by SW. Seeing all of them hugging and consoling one another and openly expressing a true sense of affection and loss, and thinking about how many wonderful hours of laughter they had provided me over the years and knowing that this was perhaps the last time I would ever witness such an assemblage,...well..., it was a bit overwhelming and brought a lump to my throat that stayed on for quite a while. I couldn't dare to imagine what they were going through.

Anyway, after some time, the tension cooled a bit and it was time for numerous short takes of different parts of the final scene. The last shot was filmed in a couple of different ways, and I'll be eagerly waiting to see which version is used. The filming officially came to a close at around 10:45 pm. By this time, I had gone through the four stages of denial, anger, regret and reconciliation (though perhaps not as quickly as Lowell ), and it was time to have some fun. While the filming had ended, my good luck hadn't and in fact, it was about to take a giant leap forward (pun intended)!