One peaceful day while bored on a long flight I decided to flip through a passengers’ cast-off issue of Cosmo. Therein nestled between the makeup and fall fashion ads was an advertisement for the new CBS show Pan Am. Chipper flight attendants in their adorably silly hats stared at me from the page in front of the retro blue logo. I was squatting unladylike in the galley of a regional jet in slightly wrinkled clothes, a bit sweaty and covered in bruises, and with my curly hair sporting unruly fuzzy patches from hitting my head on the overhead bins. The last thing I wanted to see was a show about the ‘good old days‘. I hear about them enough from older passengers. Though flight crews from that time left such an impression that I take it as a compliment when passengers tell me I remind them of the flight attendants of ye olde days of aviation. While watching Pan Am I was struck by how close the show resembled what my imagination conjures up when told these fairy tales. The show is a blend of accurate small details and the barely believable; like looking into a moving Pan Am advertisement.
The first episode introduced us to the main characters, crew members of the inaugural flight of a new jet from New York to London. Their personal stories are related by flash backs, as they arrive and work the historic flight. Kate (Kelli Garner) and Laura (Margot Robbie) are sisters who one after the other escaped marriage and family to the freedom of becoming stewardesses. Kate was the first to go to work for Pan Am, and later helped liberate a cold-footed Laura from her own wedding. Kate is also newly in cahoots with the CIA as a spy, with her first mission taking place on the flight. Maggie (Christina Ricci) is sort of a rebellious hipster who goes from being suspended from work for not wearing her girdle to being the last minute replacement for a missing purser. Bridget (Annabelle Wallis) is the missing-in-action flight attendant and also the girlfriend of the captain, Dean (Mike Vogel), who spends the flight trying to find her. His slightly immature first officer Ted (Michael Mosley) tries to comfort him, leaving the impression that even if Bridgette has disappeared, Dean always has Ted. Colette (Karine Vanasse) is to see a former lover on the flight, and surprised to meet his family as well.
Clearly from the above synopsis, there are plenty of eye-roll moments. But given the show’s overall hazy memory tone it’s easy to just accept the ridiculousness. There’s just a disconnect between the authentic and the over-the-top that is a bit jarring. For instance, there’s the flashback scene in which Dean loses Bridget while liberating Cuban hostages at the Bay of Pigs. He then finds her and proposes marriage on the steps of the plane in the wind/smoke/blowing grease of the prop engines. As a token of his love, he gives her his wings. Cue eye roll. Also, the take off scene was the height of bro-mance between Dean and Ted, partners in the skies. There are plenty of little accurate details, and nods to archaic rules which added a bit of reality in the mix. The casting is perfect for the overbearing in-flight manager who rules with a perfectly manicured fist.
If the atmosphere of wonderment and slightly dream-like nostalgia was what the shows creators were going for, then they hit the mark. Usually in period movies or television shows I dislike the tendency of set and costume designers to select everything from that specific time, making everything look brand new and shiny. In the past of these television shows and movies everything was new and perfect and clean, as if the whole world threw out everything at the end of the 50s and immediately bought new 60s style clothes and appliances. This is one of the few times it seems to work, because you get drawn into the feeling that the industry is new and exciting. The brand new terminal at JFK, shiny and 60s futuristic, is the sort of thing I imagine when I see the current terminals. I try to think of how they might have looked newly built and shiny before they were left to decompose. Before buckets on the floor caught drips from the leaky roof, rusted through, with a fresh crop of wild grass growing from the gutters. The hopeful and excessively luxurious setting for this show makes the current state of modern air travel look like a dystopian future nightmare.
Overall this show is a happy little bit of historical fiction. It might not be something to take seriously, but it was amusing to watch. Maybe not in the intended way, but laughably dramatic is amusing to me. The camp is never overbearing, and seems to be just enough to make the show endearing. It seems like the plot is taking on a cold war espionage theme. The characters’ own personal dramas will also be in the forefront of the show. Hopefully there will also be some topics concerning feminism as it changes the role of women in aviation. Sexism in airlines and from passengers is even now a very complex and interesting subject. The show’s already emphasized the excitement and freedom of being a stewardess as opposed to being a housewife, so perhaps there will be more of that dynamic. I don’t know if it will help improve viewers’ poor opinion of the airline industry or flight attendants, though. Unlike the stewardesses on the show I’ll probably still avoid telling people what I do for a living.
The first episode introduced us to the main characters, crew members of the inaugural flight of a new jet from New York to London. Their personal stories are related by flash backs, as they arrive and work the historic flight. Kate (Kelli Garner) and Laura (Margot Robbie) are sisters who one after the other escaped marriage and family to the freedom of becoming stewardesses. Kate was the first to go to work for Pan Am, and later helped liberate a cold-footed Laura from her own wedding. Kate is also newly in cahoots with the CIA as a spy, with her first mission taking place on the flight. Maggie (Christina Ricci) is sort of a rebellious hipster who goes from being suspended from work for not wearing her girdle to being the last minute replacement for a missing purser. Bridget (Annabelle Wallis) is the missing-in-action flight attendant and also the girlfriend of the captain, Dean (Mike Vogel), who spends the flight trying to find her. His slightly immature first officer Ted (Michael Mosley) tries to comfort him, leaving the impression that even if Bridgette has disappeared, Dean always has Ted. Colette (Karine Vanasse) is to see a former lover on the flight, and surprised to meet his family as well.
Clearly from the above synopsis, there are plenty of eye-roll moments. But given the show’s overall hazy memory tone it’s easy to just accept the ridiculousness. There’s just a disconnect between the authentic and the over-the-top that is a bit jarring. For instance, there’s the flashback scene in which Dean loses Bridget while liberating Cuban hostages at the Bay of Pigs. He then finds her and proposes marriage on the steps of the plane in the wind/smoke/blowing grease of the prop engines. As a token of his love, he gives her his wings. Cue eye roll. Also, the take off scene was the height of bro-mance between Dean and Ted, partners in the skies. There are plenty of little accurate details, and nods to archaic rules which added a bit of reality in the mix. The casting is perfect for the overbearing in-flight manager who rules with a perfectly manicured fist.
If the atmosphere of wonderment and slightly dream-like nostalgia was what the shows creators were going for, then they hit the mark. Usually in period movies or television shows I dislike the tendency of set and costume designers to select everything from that specific time, making everything look brand new and shiny. In the past of these television shows and movies everything was new and perfect and clean, as if the whole world threw out everything at the end of the 50s and immediately bought new 60s style clothes and appliances. This is one of the few times it seems to work, because you get drawn into the feeling that the industry is new and exciting. The brand new terminal at JFK, shiny and 60s futuristic, is the sort of thing I imagine when I see the current terminals. I try to think of how they might have looked newly built and shiny before they were left to decompose. Before buckets on the floor caught drips from the leaky roof, rusted through, with a fresh crop of wild grass growing from the gutters. The hopeful and excessively luxurious setting for this show makes the current state of modern air travel look like a dystopian future nightmare.
Overall this show is a happy little bit of historical fiction. It might not be something to take seriously, but it was amusing to watch. Maybe not in the intended way, but laughably dramatic is amusing to me. The camp is never overbearing, and seems to be just enough to make the show endearing. It seems like the plot is taking on a cold war espionage theme. The characters’ own personal dramas will also be in the forefront of the show. Hopefully there will also be some topics concerning feminism as it changes the role of women in aviation. Sexism in airlines and from passengers is even now a very complex and interesting subject. The show’s already emphasized the excitement and freedom of being a stewardess as opposed to being a housewife, so perhaps there will be more of that dynamic. I don’t know if it will help improve viewers’ poor opinion of the airline industry or flight attendants, though. Unlike the stewardesses on the show I’ll probably still avoid telling people what I do for a living.