Pan Am...did anyone watch?

[Warped9]

After hearing The Playboy Club being trashed I was still curious about Pan Am and wondered if anyone watched. I missed it because of work and I forgot to set my dvd recorder.

Yes, I'm a big fan of Mad Men since the beginning, and I don't expect Pan Am to be anything like that. But I do like the idea of stories set in a past era and wouldn't mind something to watch on TV even if it's on the lighter side.

I'd also like to see Boardwalk Empire, but I don't get HBO. Of course, everything eventually gets onto dvd.

So, Pan Am, did anyone watch?

 

[Anwar]

It was better than I thought it'd be: Which was a TV version of that Gwen Paltrow flick about stewardesses.

 

[Lindley]

I had it on but was distracted during parts and didn't get the complete story. It seemed decent enough but not outstanding.

The depiction of the pilots wasn't the greatest. I don't know what the reality was back then, but these days airline pilots have massive experience requirements. You don't get to even be a first officer or flight engineer without a large number of pilot-in-command hours under your belt on noncommercial aircraft, so the age of the pilots was a bit unlikely. Also, the "they wanted a real pilot" line when the Captain showed up may have been intended as bantering but it didn't play well considering their mutual experience.

During the preflight, the FO said "flight controls free and correct" without actually looking out the window to verify correctness. For that matter, is it even possible to check that from the cockpit in a passenger jet, or did a writer just grab a Cessna 172 preflight checklist?

During the takeoff, the two pilots share this goofy grin and the music swells as if this is a fantastic moment. Dudes, you've both done it hundreds of times before, and at least dozens in a similar class of aircraft (otherwise you wouldn't be there). Show some professionalism.

Finally, the statement that this plane has "never flown before" is quite obviously false (it would never be put into passenger service without flight testing).

Other than that, it was okay I guess. The CIA angle is interesting.

 

[RobertVA]

With the swept wings of airliners used in that period and since, the pilots would be able to see little more of their own aircraft than the engine intakes and outboard portions of the upper wing surface and leading edge flaps trough the side windows of the flight deck. Like the front wheels of an automobile, mechanical linkages insured that the movement of either cockpit controls or the external control surfaces (rudder, elevators and ailerons) were transferred to the other in both directions. Some of the more recent aircraft lack the mechanical linkage.

 

[JiNX-01]

Nope.

 

[AliciaD496]

I watched...and out of all the new shows this season I think this is one I might actually stick with. The whole CIA spy story may get tiresome fast, but at least it's only one facet of the show.

It's funny...I didn't really like Mad Men because of the blatant sexism and everything that went along with the time period in ad offices (and it was deadly dull anyway, but that's beside the point), but I didn't mind it so much on Pan Am.

I liked the scene at the end where the pilots were looking at the table of stewardesses and commenting that they're a new breed of women and they didn't even realize it along with the shot of the young girl watching them admiringly the next scene. That and the bravery shown during the flash back to the Cuba evacuation. It's putting a good spin on how women were overcoming limitations and stereotypes while working within them.

 

[Lindley]

That and the bravery shown during the flash back to the Cuba evacuation.

Oh yeah, that was the other thing that bugged me. "Get on the damn plane! You can have your emotional conversation onboard, there's a time limit here!"

 

[CaptainCanada]

The whole CIA spy story may get tiresome fast, but at least it's only one facet of the show.

MI6 spy story.

I liked it, overall. The two guys (particularly the lead one) need a bit of work to be more interesting, but I liked most of the girls, particularly Collette.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, I watched it and thought it was quite decent. I'm curious to see what they do with this. I've also seen a lot of comparisons to Mad Men, but honestly, I don't see it. It may be in the same era, but that doesn't automatically make it a Mad Men clone as some people thought it would be.

Btw, does anyone know if they're referring to a real airplane? All they refer to is "Clipper Ship".

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Pretty good. Very beautifully produced and the characters are fairly interesting, especially Spy Stewardess and Beatnik Stewardess. I'll learn their names eventually. If ABC was going for "cable show on broadcast," it looks like they succeeded better than NBC did with Playboy Club.

Solid numbers, too.

Pan Am's series premiere 3.1 rating was 7% above the season premiere of Brothers & Sisters last season (2.9 rating) a pretty nice takeoff

I think the ratings will hold up pretty well next week.

PS, Blonde Stewardess will turn out to be a lesbian.

New fall season: 2/5. Next up: Terra Nova.

It's funny...I didn't really like Mad Men because of the blatant sexism and everything that went along with the time period in ad offices (and it was deadly dull anyway, but that's beside the point), but I didn't mind it so much on Pan Am.

Maybe because the focus here is so obviously on the female characters. The pilots just come across as eye candy (blond guy) and comic relief (the co-pilot). I hope they don't stretch out the pilot's search for British Spy Stewardess (did everyone recognize her as Jane Seymour, Henry XIII's wife?) too much because I really don't care and they obviously need to pair him up with Beatnik Stewardess so she can dump her commie boyfriend.

Also, I'm expecting Beatnik Stewardess to figure out what Spy Stewardess is doing and rat her out to Commie Boyfriend (this is fun, I might never bother to learn their names).

The whole CIA spy story may get tiresome fast, but at least it's only one facet of the show.

MI6 spy story.

Spy Stewardess must think she's working for the CIA in collaboration with MI6 (and very likely is) , because for an American citizen to work directly for a foreign spy agency might get them put in front of a firing squad. And since Spy Stewardess is my favorite of the bunch so far, I'd hate to see her come to a messy end.

 

[PsychoPere]

The whole CIA spy story may get tiresome fast, but at least it's only one facet of the show.

MI6 spy story.

Probably a bit more along the lines of American/British allied spy story, since the guy she met in Rome was American intelligence and the MI-6 guy said he would be "one" of her contacts.


Anyway, I just finished watching it a few minutes ago. Pretty decent start, so I'll stick with it for a while. Nice to see Michael Mosley in this, who was easily the best part of the weird final season / spin-off of Scrubs.

 

[Squiggy]

No...I'm waiting for the real Mad Men to premiere.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

No...I'm waiting for the real Mad Men to premiere.

I got bored of that last season. This one is new and shiny!

 

[Greg Cox]

Also, I'm expecting Beatnik Stewardess to figure out what Spy Stewardess is doing and rat her out to Commie Boyfriend (this is fun, I might never bother to learn their names).

.

I know. I didn't even watch the show, but I love the concept of "Beatnik Stewardess" and "Spy Stewardess."

It sounds like something out of some old Roger Corman exploitation movie.

"BEATNIK STEWARDESSES! They're a mile high, man!"

Or maybe they all belong to the Legion of Super-Stewardesses . . . ?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Why not? The other two are French Sex Kitten Stewardess and Blonde Bombshell Lesbian Stewardess (okay, her sexual orientation is just a wild guess on my part but I think there was more to her running away from her society wedding at the last minute than just a sudden urge to be an international tourist; after all, she can go on ritzy vacations with her rich hubby for the rest of her life). Also, Spy Stewardess and Bombshell Stewardess are sisters.

However when I came up with those monikers, I was envisioning them as Barbie Dolls.

 

[marillion]

I thought it was pretty interesting... I don't remember the heyday of Pan Am very well, but I do remember flying it as a kid back in the 70's... By then the glitz and glamour had worn off those old 707s, quite a bit... I had one of those blue carry on bags for years... I'm sure my parents bought it in the airport gift shop, but who knows..

Christina Ricci is just gorgeous in the outfit, I have to say..

Supposedly, the spy storyline is based on actual events from the woman (former stewardess) who wrote the original concept.

 

[23skidoo]

I actually was going to watch this, and then I got interested in doing something else and I missed it. I'm finding myself utterly disinterested in TV this season. Other than Doctor Who I wouldn't be watching it at all. That's not a comment on quality or lack thereof - I just find I no longer care. Must be getting old. I rather read a book or play Destroy All Humans on my PS2.

Alex

 

[Warped9]

I'm watching it now off ctv.ca. It's not bad. And French stewardess is HOT!

Not on Mad Men's level, but not bad.

 

[J.T.B.]

The depiction of the pilots wasn't the greatest. I don't know what the reality was back then, but these days airline pilots have massive experience requirements. You don't get to even be a first officer or flight engineer without a large number of pilot-in-command hours under your belt on noncommercial aircraft, so the age of the pilots was a bit unlikely.

"A bit" is being kind. The airline industry lived off the huge numbers of pilots trained for WW2 for thirty years. A Pan Am captain south of 40 in the early '60s is highly unlikely, and one in the age range of that kid is just not realistic. How many hours could he have? The pilots should be more like John Slattery age, and what would be wrong with that?

During the takeoff, the two pilots share this goofy grin and the music swells as if this is a fantastic moment. Dudes, you've both done it hundreds of times before, and at least dozens in a similar class of aircraft (otherwise you wouldn't be there). Show some professionalism.

I'm glad you mentioned it, that was what made me decide I wasn't going to stick around for the next act. Getting an airliner in the air, even a new one, is serious business and they're supposed to be old hands, but they were grinning like two goofy teens who just got the keys to dad's Thunderbird.

Other than that, it was okay I guess. The CIA angle is interesting.

I thought it was horse shit. The excitement and changes the Jet Age brings to people's lives aren't interesting enough to build a story on, you have to have some espionage angle? Apparently the only thing they learned from Mad Men is a series set in the '60s can sell.

And the show's PC no-smoking policy seems to have been extended to the Pratt & Whitneys on the jet clipper, they looked pretty clean on that take off.

I knew it would probably be bad, but what I saw there was awful. The saturated color, spotless sets and too-cheery lighting didn't give me a sense of authenticily, and the characters and dialogue made me think "Grey's Airline" might be a more fitting title.

--Justin

 

[Broccoli]

You're right. Every TV show needs to be 100% realistic to what they are depicting. All those lawyer and cop shows, totally like the real thing.