Pan Am: retro lives on

Get ready to take to the skies in ABC's delightful new drama "Pan Am."

After the success of the 1960s' show "Mad Men," network television hoped to jump on the retro-bandwagon by ordering two shows set in the 60s'; NBC's "The Playboy Club" and ABC's "Pan Am."

Unfortunately, a time period alone does not a hit TV show make, as we have already seen with "The Playboy Club," which was one of the first of the new fall shows to be cancelled. However, I don't think "Pan Am" will suffer a similar fate. Whereas "The Playboy Club" never really got a chance to find its feet, "Pan Am burst onto our screens already full of life and vigor from the very beginning.

The "Pan Am" stewardess is described as "a new breed of woman," which is actually true and not just scripted spiel. Stewardesses had to have a bachelors' degree and they were in one of the highest pay grades women could receive. More importantly, while most women of the time period were kept in the home, a Pan Am stewardess was able to see the world, more so then even most men.   

This isn't to say that the stewardess didn't have to deal with the blatant sexism of the time. Maggie (Christina Ricci) has already experienced a rape attempt. The assailant was fought off, but the attempt was still just waved off without any consequences. If anything, the event is shown as though Maggie is the one who could get in trouble because she stabbed the man with a fork to get him to back off.

It is this very kind of sexual inequality that provides one of "Pan Am's" main plot points. Kate (Kelli Garner) has been a stewardess for a couple of years when she is approached to become and undercover agent for the CIA. This is the perfect job for a stewardess because she is able to travel anywhere in the world without raising suspicion. Also, unlike a man, a woman isn't going to be the one generally expected to be involved in that kind of covert operations.

So far we haven't see much of this aspect as the focus has been on Bridget Pierce (Annabelle Wallis) is replaced by Kate after being burned when her cover is believed to be compromised. Bridget is the one who recommends Kate as her replacement and in the last episode, she warned Kate that the job may cause more problems the good in the long run, but Kate insists that it is what it's something she really wants to do. The producers have teased that through this plot device the show is going to portray a lot of the international relations of the time.

But while all this espionage sounds very exciting, what I'm most looking forward to is the relationships between the stewardesses. Unlike a lot of TV shows, which features women in the work space as being catty and competitive, the ladies on "Pan Am" seem to genuinely care about each other. Even the friction between the two sisters, Kate and Laura (Margot Robbie) still has a strong sense of sisterly love beneath it.

Of course, it's still early days and cancelation could be just around the corner for any show, but I for one hope that this fun new drama sticks around for a long time.

"Pan Am" airs on Sunday at 10 p.m. on ABC.