Pan Am (ABC, Sundays 10/9 Central)

Pan Am

ABC, Sundays 10/9 Central

Sep 23, 2011 By Hays Davis Web Exclusive

America’s iconic international airline serves as the vessel for Pan Am, following the lives of a group of stewardesses and pilots in 1963. Throughout the show’s premiere, Pan Am’s stewardesses are established as intelligent, poised, and carefully trained in public perception. Behind the scenes, they receive a rigorous going-over (girdles: check; no hats askew: check) to ensure exacting standards are met. Walking in a uniformed group through crowded airports, they move as one, providing a picture of precise aesthetic consistency.

For the stewardesses, the job provides a golden opportunity to travel the world while working, and they are introduced through glimpses of their off-duty lives and sometimes via flashbacks. Maggie (Christina Ricci) may be a bohemian in her downtime, but she’s the picture of brushed efficiency when on duty. Kate (Kelli Garner) quietly assumes her first assignment for U.S. intelligence. Kate’s sister, Laura (Margot Robbie), decided to pass up married life and take to the skies.

The careful attention to period detail is crucial here, as the alluring Jet Age is underway and the Cold War is churning. There’s some promising intrigue, but upcoming episodes will tell whether Pan Am is a must for your weekly flight schedule or merely a diversion in a first-class seat. (www.abc.go.com/shows/pan-am)

Author rating: 6/10

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Average reader rating: 6/10