Spot on! People who tuned in were hoping for "Mad Men" in the sky.
"Pan Am" - did a super job with the feel of the 1960s. It was stylish, had great sets, great music. The stars and acting were passable, and like other people pointed out, Karine Vanasse was going to be the breakout star. Very likable. ...BUT there were two flaws. One of them was the death sentence, the second one they probably would have gotten past.
The writing doomed the show. The plots were childish (e.g. landing at a closed airport Haiti to save one old man and imperil a planeload of people?) and that whole CIA thing seemed contrived and always seemed to destroy any momentum that was building. Is it really that hard to write a smart, clever script? Maybe it is, I don't know.
The male leads were a little weak. It's probably difficult to find another Jon Hamm, but for sure "Ted" wasn't one. One of the male leads should have been a little older and distinguished. Maybe a "name" movie star that we all liked, but who's past his prime and hasn't had a hit in years. I think if the writing wasn't so bad, they would have worked this one out. Either we would have warmed up to the characters, or they would have introduced new ones, or they would have made Colette the pilot and had all plots revolve around her.
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