I've tuned into this show since it's inception and I'm glad I did because it's one of the few shows on network TV that isn't following the usual cookie-cutter plots and story lines that so many of the other indistinguishable hospital-based/dysfunctional-family-driven/crime-of-the-week stuff that's out there. Not that any show dealing with those topics is bad, it's just getting tired and unoriginal. That's why Pan Am was such a breath of fresh air when it aired.
Unfortunately, sometimes the plots felt like they were thrown together last minute to give each character their moment in the spotlight instead of concentrating on building the back stories of the flight crew through more group situations. The cast is great but while I found myself engrossed in some of the sub story lines (like Maggie's growing involvement in ethically questionable stuff or Laura's figurative jailbreak from a previously boring life with a new taste for adventure as a flight attendant and novice photographer, for instance), others kind of bored me. Kellie Garner's role as Kate and her adventures as a CIA courier/soon to be spy in training were just too forced and silly. When I DVR'ed the show, I'd fast forward through those particular parts because they just didn't mesh well. No offense to Ms. Garner, who is a top notch actress, but the part of the CIA trainee would've been more believable to me if any one of the other women in the cast played the role. Maybe it's because Ms. Garner looks too sweet and seems uncomfortable playing that part. I don't know. On a better note, the romantic entanglements are pretty cool and I'm loving the match ups. Mike Vogel's pretty boy Dean is an unlikely yet perfect match for the cool and mysterious Collette (Karine Vannasse), and the nice slow burn romance that's building between naive Laura (Margot Robbie) and hotshot pilot Ted (Michael Mosely) is charming. It would be cool to see Maggie and Kate get some constant companionship too. Finally, it would be nice to have a little more of the travel scene stuff because, hell, they're an airline crew and they go to some great places. Start to show some more of the places and sites and less of the inside of the terminal or their apartments so much. I hope this show makes it because it's good and, despite some disjointed stuff that seems to happen in many of the episodes, I still like it. Maybe ABC will take a chance and renew it and give it a better slot. Here's hoping.
Unfortunately, sometimes the plots felt like they were thrown together last minute to give each character their moment in the spotlight instead of concentrating on building the back stories of the flight crew through more group situations. The cast is great but while I found myself engrossed in some of the sub story lines (like Maggie's growing involvement in ethically questionable stuff or Laura's figurative jailbreak from a previously boring life with a new taste for adventure as a flight attendant and novice photographer, for instance), others kind of bored me. Kellie Garner's role as Kate and her adventures as a CIA courier/soon to be spy in training were just too forced and silly. When I DVR'ed the show, I'd fast forward through those particular parts because they just didn't mesh well. No offense to Ms. Garner, who is a top notch actress, but the part of the CIA trainee would've been more believable to me if any one of the other women in the cast played the role. Maybe it's because Ms. Garner looks too sweet and seems uncomfortable playing that part. I don't know. On a better note, the romantic entanglements are pretty cool and I'm loving the match ups. Mike Vogel's pretty boy Dean is an unlikely yet perfect match for the cool and mysterious Collette (Karine Vannasse), and the nice slow burn romance that's building between naive Laura (Margot Robbie) and hotshot pilot Ted (Michael Mosely) is charming. It would be cool to see Maggie and Kate get some constant companionship too. Finally, it would be nice to have a little more of the travel scene stuff because, hell, they're an airline crew and they go to some great places. Start to show some more of the places and sites and less of the inside of the terminal or their apartments so much. I hope this show makes it because it's good and, despite some disjointed stuff that seems to happen in many of the episodes, I still like it. Maybe ABC will take a chance and renew it and give it a better slot. Here's hoping.