Not what I hoped for

susanmhale

Being a daughter of a Pan Am pilot and a wife of an airline pilot I had high expectations for this show. The TV series started out interestingly enough, the pilot episode was fairly entertaining and some of the scenes were spot on. Although truth be told, in the 60's the stewardesses were treated with less respect than depicted. BTW, the airlines were weighing their flight attendants up until the 1990's and I think some still do and it was 1970 before a woman could be married and keep her job as a flight attendant. I remember when Eastern and Pan Am flight attendants were all male stewards, sort of like the gentleman's valet. When the airlines decided to go with an all female flight attendant crew their hiring practices became shocking by today's standards. A woman had to be young, attractive and single to be hired, but it wasn't just the stewardesses that were glamorized and sexualized, a certain airline pranced their pilots around like they were matinée idols.

Okay, back to the show. I really enjoyed Pan Am's attention to period detail, loved the costumes and the sets. The flight attendant uniforms are slightly different from the originals and they are missing their in-flight smocks, but this is a TV series not a documentary. Actually a lot of thought and research went into bringing the early 60's back to life and this was most evident in the first episode. Subsequent episodes have brought increasing disappointment. What could have been a great show has turned into a melodrama that has little to do with the the airline industry. The story lines are far fetched and Pan Am is bordering on becoming a soap opera. Actual airlines offer plenty of interesting story lines, lots of drama in the skies between employees and passengers, just ask any employee or former employee. If the writers and producers followed an airline theme the show would be a lot more interesting and vastly more entertaining. Instead they have chosen some rather silly and improbable story lines. Some interesting events happen on lay overs but Pan Am writers seem to forget how many very interesting, sometimes dramatic, sometimes hilarious events happen on the flight itself.

Even though the scripts are ridiculous the acting seems top notch. Karine Vanasse is superb as Colette as is Michael Mosley as the First Officer, these actors seem destined for greatness. Mosley's character may be the most interesting on the show. But I wish they would throw in a few extras as flight attendants and maybe one as a reserve pilot. Flight crews are always different, a few extras might make the show a little more believable and add a little more interest.

Well I hope Pan Am changes their flight path, there is still hope for this show but for now their flight has been canceled from my DVR. Please, get some new writers!

score 4/10

susanmhale 24 October 2011

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2508101/