“I want to see the world. I’ll become a Pan Am stewardess!”— line from new series, Pan Am
For months now, we have been seeing teasers and advertisements for ABC’s newest Sunday drama, Pan Am, a creative take on one of the most preeminent flight carriers in the 60’s and 70’s. It features all of the gloss and fabulosity of old school fashion and style, perky stewardess outfits, and enough vibrancy to make what was old new again.
The new series stars acclaimed actress Christina Ricci as Maggie, a flight attendant for the popular Pan Am airline who is trying to find her independence as a working girl.
If you remember, in the movie Catch Me if You Can, Pan Am was hailed as a brand that brought cache and respectability when it came to commercial and international flights. Flying Pan Am meant you were somebody.
Nostalgic and visually stunning, Pan Am gives a similar vibe to AMC’s Mad Men, paying homage to the glamorous days of old with rising hemlines, liquid eyeliner, pale skin, and ruby red lips. I have not been able to see a full episode of the drama, but from what I have seen, it seems a little campy and predictable. Where Mad Men soars as being a true representation of an advertising agency in the 60’s complete with smoking in the office and a secretarial pool, Pan Am looks to be surface only. One will only be able to tell just how deep Pan Am will be after seeing its pilot episode.
Pam Am debuts tonight (Sunday, 9/24) on ABC at 9pm CST, 10 EST and for the moment, will take Mad Men’s time slot and 60’s vibe. Come January, though, if Pan Am manages to escape the chopping block, it will be interesting to see how the two shows will be able to compete.
Critics have mostly panned Pan Am but I will give it a shot and develop my own opinion on the “period” piece.
Will you be watching Pan Am?
You can view the Pan Am trailer below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFPxyTEcJXU
I don’t want many of the new network dramas, but even if I did, I’ll probably skip Pan Am. Visually it doesn’t look period enough, and the promos make me wonder how women will be depicted, even as a historically correct period piece. Yeah, just watched the promo again. No. My legal training reading cases on the legality stewardess requirements that they be unmarried, a certain age and shape, etc. so as to better service male customers, well, looks like the show will glamorize all of that. Doesn’t seem as cutting edge as Mad Men. But I’m a tough crowd for new shows. After it’s been on a while, if it’s on a while, maybe I’ll catch an episode.
Roxanne, I am on the fence about it as well but I will give it a go tonight and watch the pilot episode to see if it interests me enough. Thanks for commenting.
I am going to give it an episode to see. I love the time when travel was luxurious. You actually got peanuts, could sexually harass a stewardess and could suffer from cigarette smoke on planes. Oh the glory days!!
I’ll give it a few more episodes, but from the first episode it just doesn’t measure up to other 60s newbie ‘The Playboy Club.’
The characters and the plots were all a bore to me! I do like Christina Ricci’s role though. Cool to see her as this modern girl and then she puts on that uniform and is just perky eye candy. Read my blog post – http://daniellestvaddiction.blogspot.com/2011/09/pan-am-vs-playboy-club.html
But no matter what – neither of them will replace ‘Mad Men’! It’s the BEST!