Let Me Play Among The Stars

[redbrunja]

Okay, so I kind of need my entire flist (possibly the entire internet) to watch Pan Am so I can talk about it with people and there can be fic. What do I need to do to make that happen? I am legit willing to bride people to watch. Especially given that this show is going to be canceled. Ironically, I have ended up having discussions about loved shows getting canceled with several different people recently and my position was always that I would rather have a show canceled while it was still good than have to quit it when after it started sucking and retroactively tainting earlier episodes. But. But but but I am NOT OKAY with not getting a full season or a season two of Pan Am. Like, TSCC-levels of Not Okay.

I also need a music video of the ladies of Pan Am being fierce and having agency (especially sexual agency) to Lady Marmalade.

So, I just want to state for the record that Collette is my favorite of the ladies. She didn't really register in the pilot for me but then the third episode happened and BAM. The heartbreaking crying during Kennedy's speech was the start of it, totally cemented by her epically classy f-you to the germans by singing their national anthem. And after that, I pretty much find everything she does delightful. Getting Dean to let her fly, going to find a doctor with Ted, breathing, you name it. Regarding Dean... as romantic as sweeping her off to learn to fly (and meet his parents) was.... I could not take their sex scene seriously. Like, screwing in that hay can't have been comfortable. NOT TO MENTION HIS PARENTS ARE IN THE HOUSE. WHILE THEIR SON SPENDS HOURS WITH A FRENCHWOMAN IN THE BARN. OBVIOUSLY NOT LEARNING TO FLY. PLUS, THERE WERE HORSES IN THAT BARN WHO PROBABLY NEEDED TO BE FED. AND CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW AWKWARD THE PARENTAL GOODBYES WOULD BE? DEAN, DON'T DRAG COLLETTE AND HER CLASS INTO AN AWKWARD SCENE WITH YOUR PARENTS; IT'S NOT NICE.

On the subject of characters I love - oh my god, Ted. Apparently in Pan Am's miniscule fandom it's cool to hate Ted? DOES NOT COMPUTE. I admit, I was predisposed to like him from his time on Justified, but really, the reason I love him so much is that he's funny and MAKES THE BEST FACES. Like this and this and this. Originally, I was hoping that something would happen with him and Maggie but Ted and Laura really won me over. I'm not entirely sure when that happened - I enjoyed all their scenes together and then in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang I was brutally disappointed – not that Ted hit it off with another girl right when Laura was reconsidering her position on Ted + embracing her sexually but because we didn't get to see Laura playing Ted's enraged ex. You can't tell me I'm the only one! Seriously, seeing Laura in that smoking black dress playing the harridan would have been aces. And then when I literally squeal out loud upon discovering a Ted/Laura graphic with text from my favorite song from Anastasia, I could not longer deny the truth.

(To repeat: I am dead serious about trying to bride my flist into getting into that show. Dead serious.)

Comments

[norgbelulah.livejournal.com]

Baby, I am already into this show. I haven't really delved into fannish stuff as of yet, but I really think I would only need a little push. ;)

AND WHY DOES FANDOM HATE TED??? WHAT?! I am flabbergasted. I LOVE Ted. He does make the best faces and he tries so hard to be nice, but then occasionally comes off as the over-privileged white male that he is, which just makes me want to go *patpat* on his poor confused head.

And I agree with everything you said re: Collette/Dean and the barn scene. Also, what was he thinking, just showing up with a different girl after not telling his parents Bridget was gone??? Who does that?!

Anywho, I'm glad someone on my flist likes this show too. <3

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

AND WHY DOES FANDOM HATE TED??? WHAT?! I am flabbergasted. I LOVE Ted. He does make the best faces and he tries so hard to be nice, but then occasionally comes off as the over-privileged white male that he is, which just makes me want to go *patpat* on his poor confused head.

EXACTLY. And just as the ladies of the cast are growing and changing, I think Ted is too - I love how when the ladies call him on things, he actually listens (and sometimes calls himself on it, a la his conversation with Colette).

And I agree with everything you said re: Collette/Dean and the barn scene. Also, what was he thinking, just showing up with a different girl after not telling his parents Bridget was gone??? Who does that?!

Thoughtless pilots with great hair?

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

EXCELLENT SHOW! The pilot was pretty lackluster, but the third episode was so good and ensured that I would be obsessed.

And I think Colette is everyone's favorite! She's certainly mine. But I love all of the ladies. Initially I wasn't that interested in Laura, but she's growing and changing and figuring out who she is, and now I can definitely say that all four of these ladies are LOVELY. SO LOVELY.

I am one of the people who hates Ted.

Yay for another convert to this show! Yay yay yay!

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Plus, the pilot had Laura and Kate ditching Laura's wedding, WHICH WAS FANTASTIC.

Initially I wasn't that interested in Laura, but she's growing and changing and figuring out who she is, and now I can definitely say that all four of these ladies are LOVELY.

Yeah, I think they do a really good job gradually giving Laura depth and having her try and figure out who she is.

[spirited-lizard.livejournal.com]

Hm, I don't know. I've read about the show, but didn't sound like something I'd like. What could make me like it? Tell me. ;)

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Well, if it's not your thing, it's not your thing. Reasons to watch: ladies with agency, ladies having relationships with each other, romance, amazing retro clothes, great music.

[cynchick.livejournal.com]

I read about this show at the same time it was announced there would also be a show about Playboy Bunnies. It seemed that networks wanted to capitalize on the success of Mad Men and the popularity of the mid-century period, and make shows about "stewardesses" and cocktail waitresses in an era when they were the most objectified. I know at that time, the fledgling air travel industry was a great direction to go for young women who didn't want to go the nurse/secretary/homemaker route, but it was also a rampantly chauvinistic boys club and they were treated like shit.

Does the show address those issues, or just romanticize the glamorous golden age of travel without peeking into the darker corners? How do these women have agency in an environment where they are basically pretty ornaments getting their asses groped by businessmen? If there IS female empowerment, is it diminished by diverting into romantic story lines so soon into the series, before their characters are even fully developed?

From one feminist to another, I'm curious.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

know at that time, the fledgling air travel industry was a great direction to go for young women who didn't want to go the nurse/secretary/homemaker route, but it was also a rampantly chauvinistic boys club and they were treated like shit.

Does the show address those issues, or just romanticize the glamorous golden age of travel without peeking into the darker corners?

It does both. For my money, Pan Am does a great job walking the line between being a fun show about a time when women were starting to branch out into the workforce without denying the sexism these women had to deal with. Not everyone is going to feel the same way - I can easily see someone arguing that this show just glorifies the sixties (and it does glorify the sixties, to an extent - I just feel there is some great character work happening as well).

How do these women have agency in an environment where they are basically pretty ornaments getting their asses groped by businessmen? If there IS female empowerment,

These women have agency in this environment because they are not passively being the receptacles of sexism - pretty much every time something of that nature happens, the ladies are reacting to it and dealing with it and doing their best to shut that shit down. (Sidenote: one reason I enjoy watching Ted so much is that he's very much a product of his time but he's also not rigid, so you start to see him begin to renegotiate the gender/social dynamics of his time through his interactions with the stewardesses.)

is it diminished by diverting into romantic story lines so soon into the series, before their characters are even fully developed?

I would say not. The majority of the romantic relationships spring out of larger plots and/or as a function of the characters growth. There is a LOT of sex positivity on this show, imho.

I'm not going to say that this show is perfect gender wise OR an unflinching look at the women's movement during the sixties, but speaking personally, it definitely gets my thumbs up, ESPECIALLY because it's the only show I'm currently watching (and might arguably be the only show currently airing) that has four women who are friends with each other and interact with each other in a positive and supportive way. ETA this show and Parks & Rec are the two shows I'm watching that have ladies having really positive and supportive relationships with each other.

Like, at one point backstory for one character is revealed during her conversations with a potential love interest... but it's with a fellow stewardess that she sits down and is really emotionally open with at the end of the episode. And I've lost track of the amount of times something upsetting or a problem has come up for one of the characters (and this happens with both genders but especially with the ladies) and his or her friends have been right there to have their back.

[bitterbird.livejournal.com]

everyone says good things but I have been hesitant to watch as I don't want this show to break my heart, especially if it is getting cancelled so early. I do agree though that its better to be cancelled when good than go on forever and suck.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I am more upset for far longer when a show that was awesome really starts sucking.

But watch Pan Am! At the very least, so I can have more people to beg for fic!

[plural-entity.livejournal.com]

I have so much I could say about this show, and no time to say it.

Ted is probably my favorite character. That and Maggie. I just adore Maggie. I don't quite know who I want Ted to get with more -- Laura or Maggie. In the beginning, it was Maggie, and now I find myself more toward Laura. Just because Laura has sparked my interest. I just want the damn boy to be loved already. Whoever gets him, he's so flipping cute in this weird like grown up twelve-year old way.

I love Collette, but I find I can't really get into Dean/Collette. I am not against it.. I just don't have burning passion for it yet.

But srsly. There will be fic. I plan on requesting lots of fic come stainofmylove's next prompt meme, and I hope to god there is a lot of other ready to be filled. I plan on rewatching the episodes out so far, just to gloriously refresh, and then write, goddammit, this winter break.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Please return when you have time! Because I would to talk more about it.

n the beginning, it was Maggie, and now I find myself more toward Laura. Just because Laura has sparked my interest. I just want the damn boy to be loved already. Whoever gets him, he's so flipping cute in this weird like grown up twelve-year old way.

I feel exactly the same way. I was originally all about him and Maggie but he and Laura ending up having a really nice dynamic and I feel like we've seen them grow and develop a friendship, which is a plus in my book.

There will be fic. I plan on requesting lots of fic come [info]stainofmylove's next prompt meme, and I hope to god there is a lot of other ready to be filled. I plan on rewatching the episodes out so far, just to gloriously refresh, and then write, goddammit, this winter break

Noted! I will probably be doing the same thing.

[missymeggins.livejournal.com]

I'm planning to start Pan Am over Christmas! I'm really excited since so many people are saying great things about it. (But I'm also nervous cos I don't want to fall in love if it's going to get canceled :( Ah well, fingers crossed.)

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Yay! If it gets canceled, we'll weep together. With class.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Let me know what you think!

[runespoor7.livejournal.com]

I'm watching it. My favourite is probably Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate. For reasons. But I love all of the girls! Though I'm lukewarm about Colette/Dean: in theory, I like it, I just think Colette's time is better employed saving people breaking things than with him. (Though I have to disagree about the singing: singing the Nazy hymn was NOT CLASSY at all. On that note, I can't stress how impressed I am by everyone's French: the grammar's perfect, the accents are very good in that 60s ways, and the word choices are appropriate. There was a translation fail in the Haiti episode, when Colette talks to the doctor. Usually I wince whenever there's French spoken in American TV, but this series does it flawlessly.) I admit I didn't watch the scene with the parents through: embarrassment squick ack ack ack.

One thing I adore about this show is that the girls all have their own boundaries. They don't become liberated (if that makes sense) the same way; I loved the Truth and Dare game just for that, I think.

Also Kaaaaaaaate. I think I ship Kate/all the handlers ever. Because that is hilarious and awesome and about power struggles and omgKate. And if they do go through with what Kate's been asking for the last few eps I shall be so sad. Because spy Kate is amazing.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Though I'm lukewarm about Colette/Dean: in theory, I like it, I just think Colette's time is better employed saving people breaking things than with him.

Yeah, Dean just doesn't quite match Colette's awesome.

On that note, I can't stress how impressed I am by everyone's French: the grammar's perfect, the accents are very good in that 60s ways, and the word choices are appropriate. There was a translation fail in the Haiti episode, when Colette talks to the doctor. Usually I wince whenever there's French spoken in American TV, but this series does it flawlessly.)

She does! Colette is just a pleasure to listen too. Probably partially because she grew up in Quebec.

One thing I adore about this show is that the girls all have their own boundaries. They don't become liberated (if that makes sense) the same way; I loved the Truth and Dare game just for that, I think.

Agreed. And that was SUCH a great scene.

And if they do go through with what Kate's been asking for the last few eps I shall be so sad. Because spy Kate is amazing.

spy!Kate is one of the things that hooked me on the show.