Each week, I take a look back at a pilot from the 2011-12 season, first reviewed on my blog during that season. This week, I am looking at ABC's splashy attempt at a period piece, Pan Am!
The Details:
Premiered: September 25, 2011 on ABC
Starring: Christina Ricci, Margot Robbie, Michael Mosley, Karine Vanasse, with Mike Vogel and Kelli Garner
Created by: Jack Orman
What I Thought Then:
"As expected, Pan Am is beautifully produced. It captures the glamour and class of what it was like to fly back in the 60s."
"The entire look of the show paints a beautiful picture of a bygone era."
"The danger of shows that are all about the look is that there is sometimes a shoddy plot and that was the case in the first episode."
"The ridiculous spy plot seems too contrived and might hurt this show in the long run."
What Others Said:
"The glamour in Pan Am may indeed be manufactured - doubly manufactured, given the re-created places and planes - but it's not empty: The show says, yes, this is as good as it looks, and it looks very good." - Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times
"The romance and the attractively stylized innocence of the era is addictive, but the espionage plot, with its link to political history, is absurd." - Matthew Gilbert, Boston Globe
"The female leads are appealing, the world promising and the pilot much more clear-eyed and less compromised in its view of the era than Playboy Club is." - Alan Sepinwall, HitFix
"Beyond selling the glamour of it all, Pan Am may be very hard-pressed to come up with weekly storylines that impel viewers to climb aboard." - Ed Bark, Uncle Barky
"It has neither the exactitude of the times nor the talents of the writers to get at the issues, ala Mad Men, that illuminate the issues of the day." - Tim Goodman, The Hollywood Reporter
What I Think Now:
I remember being quite excited about this show after seeing the trailer (the trailer still holds up by the way) and I didn't even end up sticking with the show for its run before it was cancelled. But I liked the pilot then and I like it now. It's not perfect by any means. They are trying to do way, way too much for one episode and the flashback scenes were wholly unnecessary (it was an example of both showing and telling). But it was still a treat. It's not Mad Men but it had a vision and glamorous production values. There was something inherently elegant about Pan Am in the 60s and the Pan Am stewardesses and this show capitalized on that with a real slick look that worked beautifully to capture the era. Perhaps it was a superficial capture but it was strong nonetheless. I remember being very skeptical of the whole "spy" storyline at the time and I think if this was a new show, I might continue to be skeptical. But it did work effectively in the pilot. It's very clear that Margot Robbie was a budding star and Karine Vanasse was a real standout here while Christina Ricci brought some gravitas to her underwritten role and Kelli Garner was solid too. It made me tempted to go back and watch this show. I'm not sure I really have time but it's only 14 episodes so you never know.
What Happened to the Show:
In Fall 2011, both NBC and ABC tried to emulate AMC's critical and awards darling Mad Men with one of their own 60s-set dramas. While NBC had the controversial and poorly reviewed The Playboy Club, there was more hope for ABC's glossy Pan Am, a show that had a $10 million pilot directed by acclaimed director Thomas Schlamme. The series took over the Sunday 10pm slot vacated by Brothers & Sisters after many years, and it was following a on-its-last-legs Desperate Housewives. Reviews were mixed to positive (68 on Metacritic) and the show premiered to solid ratings (11.1 million viewers and a 3.1 demo). However, the numbers dropped hard in the second week to 7.8 million viewers and a 2.6 demo and the numbers just kept dropping from there (its penultimate episode was all the way down to 2.6 million viewers and a 0.7 demo). The writing was on the wall when ABC only picked up one additional episode of the show instead of a "back nine" order but the official call wasn't made until May. Amazon explored picking up the show for a second season due to its success internationally, but that plan did not come to fruition. The broadcast networks seemed to forget that as acclaimed as Mad Men was, its ratings were not strong in its run at a time when broadcast shows still needed to pull strong numbers. That didn't stop CBS from getting in on the 60s game a year later with Vegas. As for Pan Am, it has become best known for being a launching pad for Margot Robbie, who briefly reprised her role from this show in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (where she also played Sharon Tate) several years later.
Final Episode: February 19, 2012
Episode Count: 14
Where to Watch: Tubi, available for purchase on DVD
I'm excited to be contributing to The TV Ratings Guide! You can read my regular work at Benjamonster's TV!
