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ABC's Pan Am arrives on schedule opposite CBS's The Good Wife this Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.
It isn't exactly a soft landing for the pre-feminist 1960s stewardesses and jet age pilots who are circling the globe when the women offered coffee, tea or milk with a smile, and occasionally added something extra.
It's the extra the show concentrates on. The one member of the cast most likely to be recognized is Christina Ricci, who plays the rebel. The cast of characters also includes two competitive sisters, one a former beauty queen, who create a lot of turbulence for each other.
You'll like Pan Am if you enjoy looking at beautiful, stylish people, and feel nostalgic about the days women wore girdles and "silly little hats," when passengers could fly when snacks were plentiful, and before baggage fees and security checks made traveling one big pain. To spice up your trip, the script offers some romantic heartbreak and gives stewardesses an extra job as international spies.
You'll hate it if you're not a fan of flying or nostalgia or lines like this: "Better buckle up, adventure calls." Or "I want to see the world."
Did I mention it's opposite The Good Wife on CBS? And the Sunday night NFL game on NBC? You don't have to be an traffic controller to see that this well-produced and pretty-looking series is flying in dangerous territory, especially since the female audience already has a place to go opposite football.
It doesn't help that it takes the show's pilot a considerable amount of time to take off. ABC better give Pan Am another route to success.
Read more by Alan Pergament at stilltalkintv.com