#FlashBackFriday: Pan Am

In honor of Margot Robbie’s SNL hosting gig last weekend I figured I’d use this segment to promote another show she was on – Pan Am. Oh yes, before he years of terrorizing Gotham as Harley Quinn she was the newest recruit to Pan Am Airlines.  

Premiering in September 2011, Pam Am told the story of the pilots and stewardesses of the airline as it operated in the early 1960s – which if you’re up on your flight history you know was the beginning of the “jet age”. Robbie played Laura Cameron, the fresh out of training girl who, after a stint as cover girl on the Pan Am in-flight magazine, becomes a minor celebrity – and a source of irritation for many of the other stewardesses.

At the time of this show airing I had no idea who Margot Robbie was but she instantly stood out to me as the break out star, and I think I would have been right had the show gotten passed mid season.

I really, really enjoyed Pan Am for many reasons, but mostly because it was different. It told a story that wasn’t your typical cat-and-mouse cop show, or over the top soap opera – which is something that I find most dramas today are all about. In a world of cookie cutter network dramas Pan Am stood out at the forefront for taking something interesting – who doesn’t like flying? – and making it a viable story and also incorporating a lot of the talking points of the sixties. It also gave you a behind the scenes glimpse as to what it was like for a stewardess back in they day. They were subjected to a shit tonne of regulations on their weight, height, hairstyles – you name it. I’m sure there’s a few airlines today that still stand by this soul destroying way of thought – but what do I know.

The cast was rounded out by Christina Ricci, the head strong flight attendant who was always ready to challenge her superiors – because hey it was the sixties and people were dicks back then too! Mike Vogel also starred as the company’s newest pilot for international routes – and the one that provided a lot of the love stories through out the series’ short run.

Pan Am‘s ratings while steady, were not phenomenal, and February 2012 ABC put the show on hiatus and then cancelled it the following May. Upsetting as that was, it wasn’t a surprise – but there was a tiny part of me that was hoping I’d get to know these girls a bit better.

The show lives on in DVD form though, so if you didn’t catch the series during it’s original run I highly recommend checking it.