BLOGS
Welcome back to the Pan Am death watch. After a month off, the ABC series aired the first of its (likely) final five episodes ever, "Secrets and Lies." It was a strangely muted return, even though some pretty big things happened. For starters, Dean's ex-fiancée (and Kate's predecessor as an undercover CIA courier) Bridget returned, putting the kibosh on his fledgling romance with Colette. And speaking of Kate, the Agency finally agreed to let her go free of their clutches and return to civilian life, but at the last minute she seemed to change her mind (spy games are far more fun -- if also far more dangerous -- than simply serving drinks, after all). Elsewhere, Maggie continued her so-boring-nobody-cares romance with the pro-nukes congressman and Laura... took some pictures. That's right, it's always a thrill-a-minute ride aboard this show. No wonder it's about to get its wings clipped.
In the '60s... Robert Redford Was the Hugh Jackman of Broadway
Six years before becoming the Sundance Kid and nearly twenty years before founding the Sundance Institute and its film festival, Robert Redford was a hard-working New York actor dividing his time between TV and Broadway. After smaller roles in a few forgettable Great White Way productions, Redford hit pay dirt as the male lead opposite Jane Fonda in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park. Directed by Mike Nichols (the wunderkind who, three years later, made the leap to movies with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), the Manhattan-set romantic comedy opened on October 23, 1963 and ran for 1530 performances before closing in June 1967, making it Simon's longest-running hit play. Of course, had they just waited four years, Dean and Colette could have seen Fonda and Redford on the big screen in the 1967 film version of Barefoot instead of having to pay Broadway prices.
In the '60s... Guys Still Hit Up Their Female Friends for Sex Tips
After trying to pass himself off as some kind of expert on the female mind for much of the season (remember when he boasted about having read The Feminine Mystique?), Ted revealed his true colors last night, asking Laura in the most awkward way possible how he could seduce his current paramour, Amanda. Seems that despite spending almost every waking hour together since their London date, they haven't gotten past the heavy necking phase of their relationship thanks to Amanda's "strict pants-on policy." So Ted turns to the only girl that will talk to him about serious matters (or, really, the only girl that will talk to him at all) for advice and, as it turns out, Laura is actually really good at counseling dorky dudes. Hey, if this Pan Am gig fails, maybe she can become the proto-Carrie Bradshaw.
In the '60s... Real Men Didn't Like The Beatles
When we spoke with Pan Am creator Jack Orman back in September, he mentioned his plans to devote an entire episode to the Beatles' first trip to America in 1964, for which they boarded a Pan Am flight. With the show's shortened episode order, it's unclear whether we'll actually get that episode, so Orman went out of his way to rope the Fab Four into this episode instead. Early on in the hour, Dean scoffed while reading a newspaper article about the thousands of screaming fans that greeted the mop topped quartet at Heathrow following a quick trip to Sweden. ("They have girl hair," he says dismissively. Yeah, because the way you pined after Bridget was so manly.) Later on, a concierge in a London hotel complained about all the "fuss" being generated over the band, proudly stating "Give me Sinatra any day." Don't get us wrong, we like Ol' Blue Eyes too. But if forced to choose between "My Way" and "A Hard Day's Night", we'd listen to the latter every time.
Think you're a TV or movie expert? Prove it! Play Trivia Without Pity, our new online trivia game with over 2,000 questions about the shows and films you love -- and love to hate.
What are people saying about your favorite shows and stars right now? Find out with Talk Without Pity, the social media site for real TV fans. See Tweets and Facebook comments in real time and add your own -- all without leaving TWoP. Join the conversation now!
Sponsored Links
5 Comments
Add a comment
MOST RECENT POSTS
Today's TWoP News: Friday, May 18, 2012
USA Network Upfront 2012: Characters, Extremely Defined Jawlines Still Welcome
The Most Heinous Person on Reality TV This Week
Community: School's Out For Summer
TWoP 10: Most Promising New Shows of the 2012-2013 Season
Battleship: Your Burning Questions Answered
What To Expect When You're Expecting: Exactly What You'd Expect
Friday, May 18, 2012: Nikita
BLOG ARCHIVES
The Telefile
May 2012
48 Entries
April 2012
71 Entries
March 2012
68 Entries
February 2012
64 Entries
January 2012
78 Entries
December 2011
49 Entries
November 2011
56 Entries
October 2011
74 Entries
September 2011
77 Entries
August 2011
61 Entries
July 2011
56 Entries
June 2011
57 Entries
May 2011
57 Entries
April 2011
78 Entries
March 2011
73 Entries
February 2011
57 Entries
January 2011
65 Entries
December 2010
39 Entries
November 2010
45 Entries
October 2010
46 Entries
September 2010
62 Entries
August 2010
55 Entries
July 2010
53 Entries
June 2010
65 Entries
May 2010
59 Entries
April 2010
57 Entries
March 2010
67 Entries
February 2010
53 Entries
January 2010
59 Entries
December 2009
32 Entries
November 2009
47 Entries
October 2009
65 Entries
September 2009
66 Entries
August 2009
58 Entries
July 2009
72 Entries
June 2009
71 Entries
May 2009
50 Entries
April 2009
57 Entries
March 2009
66 Entries
February 2009
52 Entries
January 2009
56 Entries
December 2008
51 Entries
November 2008
71 Entries
October 2008
88 Entries
September 2008
86 Entries
August 2008
120 Entries
July 2008
115 Entries
June 2008
90 Entries
May 2008
44 Entries
April 2008
30 Entries
March 2008
26 Entries
February 2008
30 Entries
January 2008
44 Entries
December 2007
31 Entries
November 2007
66 Entries
I am MAD at Pan Am's writings for breaking up Dean and Collette. So we're seriously supposed to believe that Bridgette can just waltz right in a pluck Dean out from under Collette's nose? :/
"A Hard Day's Night" over "My Way"????? Are you some kind of musical moron????
After a reasonably good start, the writers seem to be grasping at anything and everything to keep this show going. If the emergency landing in Haiti wasn't bad enough, bringing Dean and Collette together, now they bring back Bridgette to spice things up once more. Not like we really need her at all in this series, as she had passed the CIA baton to Kate.
With all its flash forwards and flash backwards, it seems the writers are taking too many cues from Lost, including shifting the story arcs when it suits them. No wonder this show continues to lose its audience.
We stumbled over here by a different website and thought I should check things out. I like what I see so i am just following you. Look forward to exploring your web page yet again.
Howdy What Pan Am Taught Us About the '60s This Week - The Telefile Blog - TV Shows & TV News - TV Reviews | TWoP - blog mujeres