Watching Pan Am Episode 1 - “Pilot” (2011)
OK, so I don’t really get American television. It bothers me that you guys spend your whole time watching shows like Maury and American Idol and think that this is awesome. When I think of awesome TV, I think of ER, Hill Street Blues, Star Trek: The Next Generation or The Cosby Show. But I haven’t watched so called “Prime Time” TV in years mostly because I don’t watch TV in general. And if you were wondering, Irish TV is crap too. You Gringos just have better budgets. Don’t believe me?
PROOF
There, didn’t that feel good?
So, anyway, I started noticing shows that were turning up on my radar that came and went in the US after falling under the dreaded cancellation axe. Things like Drive, Firefly, Wonderfalls (which I’ve only ever watched drunk), Undeclared, Reaper, The Event and Firefly (yes, I said it twice because the show had double the amount of fun in a TV series) have all gotten my attention but it’s usually months if not years after they were done away with. So with that in mind, I’ve decided to start watching US television again. Actually, I’ve decided to watch it via iTunes and skip the rubbish of waiting for the UK or Irish channels to notice or not notice. But I was never one to watch CSI when the latest season runs first (mostly because CSI just plain sucks now), so I’ve decided to focus on two or three series and follow them all the way to the end of season, either cancelled or renewed. I’ve picked a big show and a small show (at least they are in my mind). 
The small show I’ve picked is a quirky drama/comedy (is this what they call dramedy?) called Pan Am starring Mike Vogel (whoever the hell he is) and Christina Ricci (I DEFINITELY know who she is) and is about the heyday of the Pan American World Airways or Pan Am for short. You’ve seen Pan Am before, right? It features heavily in Catch Me If You Can and if you grew up before 1990 then you’ll recognise the distinctive blue globe logo. The series follows the lives of the pilots and stewardesses abroad the Pan Am flights. Romance and international intrigue (re: No Mommy Commies) abound.
The pilot has got a pretty sweet set up: On the maiden flight of Pan Am’s new Majestic Clipper, Kate Cameron (Kelli Garner), a stewardess whose sister Laura (Margot Robbie) has been snapped on the cover of Life magazine as a newly graduated Pan Am girl, is about to help the US government fix it so that a Russian “diplomat” is easily detained at Heathrow Airport. Laura herself is trying to find her feet after running away from getting married. Maggie (Christina Ricci) lives with damned beatniks and is being rushed to be the purser abroad the flight. Beatnik flophouse to Pan Am building to Pan Am Worldport in half an hour? Pretty damn good. Maggie is replacing Bridget who is missing, presumed sleeping with someone other than beau(?) Dean (Mike Vogel), captain of today’s flight. And last but not least Colette (Karine Vanasse), a French stewardess who is having to deal with the fact that the guy she was(is?) sleeping with is now onbroad with his Stepford wife and mini-Joe, complete with short, back and sides haircut. 
Now that we’re adjusted to the air pressure on this show (yes, I will be using a lot of terrible plane jokes), I must say this is a pleasant surprise. The show moves at such a brisk pace that you probably won’t notice the 45 minutes pass by. The stories that run throughout have a back and forth timeline. We find out why the girls and fellas are where they are through flash backs. Maggie is the only person who doesn’t get one and I’m figuring that we’ll get to see hers soon. I felt soaked into the story, just given enough info to start me off and I’d want to know more. 
The girls themselves are not perfect. From the outset, we know that Maggie was suspended or something but we’re not told why. We know she lives with no good beatniks but that she’s fine with them, i.e. possibly sympathetic toward them. I love Christina Ricci and never turn off anything she’s in (yes, even Wes Craven’s Cursed). She just has such a natural talent and even though her on screen presence is somewhat truncated (ABC have her out front on all the posters), she’s there and holding her own, and I love her for it. But she seems to be the calm one of the crew. 
Laura, on the other hand, seems to be the most lost. We see on her wedding day that she has been pushed into getting married from the social weight of her mother (also Kate’s) and Kate helps her to break free. Unfortunately, Laura decides to break free into Kate’s Pan Am world. Oh, dear. Laura is like honey to Kate’s mountain river water. Both have pure origins but one is sweeter.
As for Kate, she seems to be someone in desperate need of a purpose. I feel listening to a conversation she has with someone at the end of the pilot that Laura was always the Golden Child even if Laura didn’t want to be and Kate resents that. Not her sister, just the pigeonhole she’s been put in. With that kind of background who wouldn’t volunteer to help Uncle Sam destroy International Communism!? 
Colette, on the flipside, has the worst storyline. Someone had to be sleeping with one of the passengers and it’s her. And what’s worse is the guy treats her like dirt once the robot wife and robot son are revealed. I didn’t care for his Milquetoast “I’m sorry” answer when the two illicit lovers get a quiet moment. Colette holds her own and does her job with the standard serenity that comes with being the third wheel in a relationship. She gets the rawest deal and she understands that she chose this and this was one of the outcomes.
The pilots erk me. From Dean with his whole “my little lady, Bridget is waiting for me” to Ted and his whole “I like my bestest buddy but I WANT TO BE THE CAPTAIN!”, the cockpit is a place I’m glad we spent the least amount of time. Everytime we go there, it’s usually to see Captain Dean mope over the lost Lenore…er, I mean, Bridget. Ted does his best to cheer him up and on but to no avail. Give it up, Ted, he’s lost. Did you notice the above has THREE people in it? Yeah, that’s because the other guy is called Sanjeev, he’s tan skinned and we only hear a couple of times and see him only in side profile. I suspect the creators of the show were trying to give the notion of “White People ran Pan Am but the place wasn’t run by white people EXCLUSIVELY” to us and I can only hope that was their way of saying “Not cool, 1960’s. Not cool.”
God, he looks like a twit, doesn’t he? I have about four press images of him looking like a complete and utter weapon. Well, readers, this situation doesn’t improve. He spends the whole episode thinking the girl he loves is going to be on the runway when he lands in London. Despite the fact he sees her in a flashback chatting with another man, about to get into a car with him and who doesn’t give him an answer yes or no when he asks her to marry him. When the awful truth is revealed, I’m not in the least bit sorry for him. Don’t get me wrong, Dean’s not as repellent a airline Captain as say, Captain Nigel Croker from Mile High, but he is a right eejit.
Ted is…Ted. He has next to no personality whatsoever. Only at the end of the episode does he actually come close to being a friend to Dean and fellow member of the human race. Also, he attempts to talk with Laura only to shot down by Kate. Ah, well. Can’t win them all, co-pilot.
The standout element of the show has to be the production values on show. And they are on show. ABC have crafted a show that has lovingly recreated the inside of a Pan Am airline jet circa 1963. Every attention to detail has been catered to. From the décor of the cabins and passenger areas to the uniforms and props, this is a series that should win awards for set design and visual aesthetics.
Also, the costumes and CG used to bring 1960’s New York and London to life is fairly well done. I worry that a drop in budget will kneecap the show as this series hinges on its ability to show not just the world inside the plane but outside it as well. But as it is with all pilots, we have to see episode two to hope that the money has been evenly spread out. Having said that, the glitz and glamour of the decade is out front and noticeable. It just makes me wish at least some of the fashion had survived. Girls and guys sure knew how to dress. The music is great with lots of period pop songs and a great score by Blake Neely. I’d like to see the songlist and score getting separate releases if possible as a mix of the two would do a disservice to both.
All in all, I’m happy to see more of this. If I have to watch one more reality show about nothing real, I think I’ll scream. But watching this, you can take off your shoes, turn off the lights, drink a small bourbon and settle into the sixties for a while.
Legal stuff: Please note that all images herein are and remain the property and, where applicable, the copyright and trademarks of their respective owners. All images are used for the purpose of review and may not be used for any other purpose. Pan Am is copyrighted (unless otherwise stated) by ABC Studios, 2011.
