Pan Am: The Complete Series

I love this program! I just loved every minute of this very entertaining , glamorous, escapist series. The girls are so beautiful , likable and all different, none are stereotypes. All superb actors. And their costumes, hair and make up are wonderful. Proper sixties glamour! This isn't as dark as Mad Men, but its not all fluff either, it does touch on, sexism, racism, politics, art, history and the making of `Modern Girls'. The women in this program are empowered by their own sense of worth and its so refreshing to see that in a TV program! Admittedly the first few episodes weren't as good as it later gets. It seemed like they had a small budget, which was letting them down. But this seems to change after episode 4 or so, when the sets and locations become much more elaborate. A bigger budget would have put this on level with Mad Men, I think. All in all, this is a very watchable series, its glamorous, exciting (some times edge of your seat!) There is an innocence to it that seems deliberate and is enjoyable. Its romantic and moving, emotional and it will make you think from time to time. But overall its quite light entertainment. The 6 main characters are very likable and interesting. And some there are some good badies too! I loved the little snapshots into American and European history, and the spy storyline. Also how they played around with time in certain episodes. I just wish that they had had a bigger budget. Well written, well acted, well..just great entertainment. I'm hoping for a second season.

I REALLY wished they had done a part 2 to this brilliant series. Great actors , great storylines, and stepping out of our lives for a few hours to see how flying REALLY was then. I am ex crew and so have a great interest in this stuff, but flying a load of Brit’s to the canaries and back is not QUITE the same as a clipper going round the world. Great film and nice to switch off the depressing soaps and news and brainwashing adverts for a bit. MORE LIKE THIS PLEASE !

I saw some of the episodes when they were shown on satellite TV a few years back, but didn't see the whole thing. It really is very well done, with the four leading actresses looking very convincing as Pan Am stewardesses in the early sixties. The sets are well done, and shots of the aircraft, which must be digital effects, are excellent. On the whole, the stories are well done, the acting convincing and the locations and details good. There is the occasional blip, for example a sequence set in Monaco in early 1963 features a Jaguar E Type as part of the story, but the producers obviously couldn't find one of the right year, so use a US spec late 60's model instead. Probably a minor point, but it sticks out for those who notice this sort of thing! Don't let this put you off, it really is well done, very watchable. My only complaint is they didn't make any more, which to me was a missed opportunity.

I think first & foremost it is a real shame that this did not go on for another season at least! I have given the 4 star rating, but in reality I would have given it 4 & a half, this is because I felt that the first 2 or 3 episodes started off a tad slowly......however from there on it just gets better & better. The only other negative observation is that the very enjoyable last episode leaves a lot of unanswered questions as to what happens next to the main characters. Obviously this is because they were expecting to make a second season which was then cancelled, but very disappointing when you want to know what happens in the non existent next season! If anyone who wants a nostalgic look back to the classic golden years of airline travel, then I would highly recommend they get this DVD. As far as the main actors are concerned, they all played their parts very well, but with a special mention to Christina Ricci & Kelli Garner, who were absolutely superb. Will they ever make another season? Well it would be great if they do, but I am not going to hold my breath, & being some 4 years since it was first broadcast I think it would be unlikely that they would get the same actors back. However, still well worth seeing.

great show such a shame it was cancelled.

Great series so well made and well written, at last! It was over so soon I was left wanting more.

Pan Am is my favourite show on TV - ever, perhaps. The glamorous crew, the beautiful cities they fly to and the intruiging, brilliantly acted plots make for a perfect mix. What a welcome relief from all the cop shows and daft comedies that dominate the schedules! There is just the right balance of serious drama and lighter fun - the First Officer played by Michael Mosley is hilarious, as is Christina Ricci as flight attendant Maggie Ryan, while Karine Vanasse and Mike Vogel are excellent as Colette and Dean. I can't wait for Series Two!

Another one of those curiously short tv series that got cancelled mid season, this is interesting enough to wonder what it might have become as it matured. As it stands though, it has not quite found its identity - though the 14 episodes it ended up as, showed promise. It's the beginning of the jet age, and Pan Am epitomises cutting edge sophistication. The lives of a flight crew, 4 stewardesses and the captain and co-pilot, are explored. This exploration ranges from the intriguing world of the sexual mores and burgeoning liberation of the time, a little social drama, the burgeoning feminism of the 60's, and - somewhat ludicrously - some spy drama thrown in for good measure. Starting off as more or less stand alone stories in each episode, the series seems verging to a soap opera dynamic by its close, somewhat letting the characters down with the romantic entanglements coming to the fore. If any of this sounds an intriguing mixture, within a show steeped in meticulous recreations of the period and consultants who were there and did it, then a cautionary note is that it is steeped in candy coated bubble gum style - the 60's are stylised through rose coloured glasses, and the Disney parentage means that the deeper issues that the series hints at are arguably never properly portrayed or investigated, though this does leave it watchable by a wide audience. Somewhat of a let down then in terms of what it could have been, I'm ultimately not too disappointed that this was cancelled - and yet it was something of a guilty pleasure while it lasted thanks to an appealing cast and intriguing milieu.