Pan Am...did anyone watch?

[Marc]

As for the crash, didn't we see a scene with one of the pilots on trial related to a crash? I can't quite remember if that was relating to a past event that had already happened or not. Could it be related to that, you think?

The Co-pilot was a naval test pilot but was discharged after a test aircraft made by his father's company went down.

It was a fault with the air-craft but they wanted to save face so the pilot had to carry the can (And his father admitted as much).

As to them mentioning the loss of a Clipper, I'm not sure how that would fit in with the tone of the show -might be a bit too dark.

 

[spooky spice]

I've seen two episodes and am enjoying it, I find it interesting to see the way women were objectified (if that's the right word) by their employers in those days, also I wanted to be an air hostess (as they used to call 'em) when I was a kid (apparently as an adult I'm too tall ), and then there's the whole nostalgia for the days when flying somewhere was a Really Big Deal.

I'm not keen on the CIA recruitment storyline as I'm not sure what the point of it is, but I'm assuming it will become clearer as the series progresses.

I seriously want one of the blue Pan Am carry-on bags, and have started carrying my handbag on my elbow, if I'm not careful I'll be wearing white gloves and a pillbox hat soon.

 

[Warped9]

I'm ashamed to say I missed it last Sunday because I actually enjoy the show. I'll make a point of catching the last episode online from CTV.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Wasn't the best episode so far, but the development of all the characters is continuing and I'm still finding it interesting. Ted continues to be the best character, followed by Kate and Maggie.

I guess Laura isn't a lesbian, but they really need to introduce a gay character sooner or later. Except for Silent Sanjeev, the main characters' sexual orientations are now fairly obviously heterosexual, and I don't want the one nonwhite character to also be gay. Speaking of that, sooner or later this cast is going to have to stop being so blindingly white.

I guess I should stop carping until we know whether this show will even survive to S2, when they can start doing all that stuff.

And morbid as it is, it's also a great way to dramatically remove a character or two if they end up not working out or not wanting to continue with the show.

The whole cast is clicking, so there's no deadwood to whittle down. But I do expect a big airplane-in-danger cliffhanger for the end of the season (in which case they better get a second season!)

 

[propita]

While I kinda liked the show, it wasn't "must see tv" for me. I'm watching too many shows and their scheduling is so haphazard (this show is off this week; that show is 6 weeks on, 10 weeks off), that I decided to drop a few from my watching. This was one.

 

[FPAlpha]

Just saw the Berlin episode and it totally blew me away.

I loved the energy it caused in everybody with Kennedy so close to his historic speech and from what i read about that period he was more than a rockstar to many people and i think that was shown very well in that episode.

The crowning of it came with Colette's breakdown and downright (understandable) hate for Germans culminating in her singing the first (even then banned) verse from Germany's national anthem that has the line "Germany over everything else" (initially expressing one's love of Germany over everything) that got perverted by the Nazis to mean Germany is superior to everything else.

Even though i'm not german that was so painful to watch especially right in the middle of the US embassy.. by all rights she should have been fired for singing this part of the song and should be fired again by Pan Am for wearing their uniform while doing so.

That contradiction of the pure joy Kennedy produces with his visit to Berlin with the still lingering pain some feel because of WW2 and how quickly the western world "forgave" Germany for its atrocities for strategic, political reasons was what made the episode one of the best to date.

I hope this is part of what we can expect from Pan Am and if it is i really am hopeful for this show and hope it gets a renewal.

 

[Brolan]

The old German guy reminded me of another old German guy I met while in Germany. My father was in the US Air Force and we were stationed in German during the 70's. The German fellow stopped our family in the street one day and thanked us in broken English for being there. He was surprised my mother was fluent in German (being a post-war bride) so he was able to tell us how he feared for his children and grand-children if the Russians were not opposed. I was very proud to be an American that day.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

From my own personal experience I also know it rings true.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

While I kinda liked the show, it wasn't "must see tv" for me. I'm watching too many shows and their scheduling is so haphazard (this show is off this week; that show is 6 weeks on, 10 weeks off), that I decided to drop a few from my watching. This was one.

I know how you feel, but I'm letting some shows just pile up on my DVR rather than be forced to drop any show for reasons other than watchability. Pan Am is one of the few that I'll watch within days of airing (though given the Sunday night pileup, not the same day - the zombies have first dibs on my attention. )

The crowning of it came with Colette's breakdown and downright (understandable) hate for Germans culminating in her singing the first (even then banned) verse from Germany's national anthem that has the line "Germany over everything else" (initially expressing one's love of Germany over everything) that got perverted by the Nazis to mean Germany is superior to everything else.

What struck me is how rare it is on TV to see non-American characters, especially ones who authentically react in ways Americans wouldn't. It took some effort and imagination on the writers' parts to give Colette a backstory and reaction that is very different from her colleagues.

I hope ABC makes an effort to save this show. They should start advertising it during Once Upon a Time, and maybe flip the timeslot with Desperate Housewives, which is on the way out anyway, to run it back to back with OUAT.

 

[Owain Taggart]

What struck me is how rare it is on TV to see non-American characters, especially ones who authentically react in ways Americans wouldn't. It took some effort and imagination on the writers' parts to give Colette a backstory and reaction that is very different from her colleagues.

Agreed. I think that's what I really love about this show. It feels like it has cultural flavour, and I think the show could get to be more popular in Europe as a result. You can tell the writers put a lot of effort in researching things. And for once, we have a show that isn't set in a big American city, and I think that's what sets it apart.

Posted in the right thread this time!

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Has everyone given up on this show? I'm starting to get into the character plotlines now...

Ratings seem to be basically stabilizing.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Nah, I watched it on Sunday, just haven't commented on it yet. I thought it was quite good. It's actually pretty consistently good so far. I figured it would likely stabilize too as it found its audience. I was surprised to see that pilot's girlfriend so soon though.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Yeah, this past episode upped the ante considerably for interpersonal drama. I would have preferred them to have plotted a course in that direction one or two episodes sooner, but I'm still loving it.

(I just couldn't resist the aircraft pun there, ya understand. )

 

[Brolan]

I'm a little disappointed in the last two episodes. I see a lot of meandering, we don't seem to be getting anyplace.

 

[FPAlpha]

What place is there to get?

It's not a show like BSG or Lost where there is a definite thread that runs through the show and which gets resolved in the final season.

It's mainly a show about this era, the women (and more broadly the people) who lived back then and to mix it up a bit they threw in a spy/intelligence subplot in there.

Personally i like this show very much.. i like the visual style (i have old pictures of my mom who was around the age of the stewardessess where she almost looks like them.. if she wore a Pan Am uniform she would have fit in right there ), like the plots,personal drama, the occasional spy antics and the humor.

Liked this episode too.. shit has really hit the fan for Christina Ricci (i only start to remember character names by the second season at the earliest ) because selling out a co-worker to save your job is very low and being desperate is no excuse. She has no one but herself to blame (even if that woman she gave lip to in an earlier episode was a bitch) and i liked the background on her showing that it's symptomatic she behaves like that.
Curious to see the fallout but honestly i believe the writers have written themselves into a corner there.. in reality, if i were the captain and the immediate boss of her i'd at least get her transferred out of my crew (which most likely mean gone from the show) but since she's currently the only big name on the show it's safe to assume she will stay.. how that will play out we will see but i have little hope it will be good or even realistic.

Sidenote.. damn Ricci has a huge forehead and when she stares her eyes get so big it looks downright scary. She is an attractive woman but not with the wrong hairstyle and staring you down.

 

[I Grok Spock]

Still watching, still enjoying. If they add any more beautiful women to the cast I'm going to have to get the staple gun out to keep my eyes in my head.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Somehow, Temis, I doubt a recurring gay character will be introduced, though I could be wrong. It wouldn't work in the historical context, unless, of course, there's a timeskip and we see Pan Am in the 1970s. Then it would work. But in 1963, it wouldn't work because said air hostess, if found out, would be gone after the first couple of episodes.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

^ To be fair, that would be part of the drama.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Somehow, Temis, I doubt a recurring gay character will be introduced, though I could be wrong. It wouldn't work in the historical context, unless, of course, there's a timeskip and we see Pan Am in the 1970s. Then it would work. But in 1963, it wouldn't work because said air hostess, if found out, would be gone after the first couple of episodes.

They could do it, she just wouldn't be found out, at least not immediately (if she's a recurring character, her arc could be that she is found out and fired).

But I don't think that sort of thing is on this show's agenda.

 

[Marc]

Somehow, Temis, I doubt a recurring gay character will be introduced, though I could be wrong. It wouldn't work in the historical context, unless, of course, there's a timeskip and we see Pan Am in the 1970s. Then it would work. But in 1963, it wouldn't work because said air hostess, if found out, would be gone after the first couple of episodes.

They could do it, she just wouldn't be found out, at least not immediately (if she's a recurring character, her arc could be that she is found out and fired).

But I don't think that sort of thing is on this show's agenda.

well not unless it goes on long enough to make it the late 60s.