Imagine actually looking forward to going to the airport, checking in, eating airline food and then the eager anticipation of six hours of Trans-Atlantic travel itself. For a brief period from the late 50s to the 1970s (when hijacking ended the fun), that was very much the case. Zoom forward to 2011 and this seems a quaint and ridiculous notion; passengers are treated as bombing suspects, frequently delayed, and having to endure the petty humiliations of the low cost airline and the 'pleasures' of airport shopping. Yes, it's much cheaper to fly now thank 50 years ago but it's still, by and large, an unwelcome experience. Which brings us to 'Pan Am' (RTE 2), set in a time when airports and flying were undeniably glamorous. It had 'thetvreviewguy' slightly underwhelmed but wanting more. Christina Ricci is great, the 'look and feel' of the time is almost spot-on, while the backstory is passable, if a little light. The air hostesses and pilots are reasonably skectched characters but we'd like to know more about what makes them tick. This could be down to the nature of a 'Pilot' (yes, the first episode of 'Pan Am' is called the 'Pilot') programme itself; try and cram as much establishing information as possible into your first view of a series. The spying angle didn't really work; 'thetvreviewguy' likes his espionage dark and murky.There'll be plenty of 'Mad Men' comparisons and there is something about that era that is compelling; it was a time of Post WWII swagger and optimism, pre-Vietnam and, for most viewers, a Camelot-type time that now seems a very long time ago, possibly before they were born. 'Pan Am' is a pleasant flight that will have the viewer looking forward to their next Martini at 30,000 feet.
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