PANAM REVIEW

Pan Am (BBC2) is Mad Men set in the glamorous world of 1960s air travel rather than the advertising men of Manhattan! So we've been told. However, Pan Am is to Mad Men what an Airfix model assembled by a blindfolded man with ten fractured fingers and a severe case of the hiccups is to Concorde.

It tells the story of a group of women who are apparently consumed by the earnest joy and weighty responsibility of being Pan American stewardesses, with the possible exception of designated sass-merchant Maggie Ryan (the name denoting Irish descent, unless I'm very much mistaken, and explaining that fiery temperament).

Yes, it's a little soapy, maybe more than a little, but the characters are likable and attractive. Margot Roby's feature film debut. She and Kelli Garner have a cute sister rivalry camaraderie. Pan American stewardesses travel the world with impunity and admiration. Perhaps they could provide some covert courier services? Christina Ricci plays the John F. Kennedy admirer and head stewardess with aplomb. In Berlin, a powerful scene occurs when Karine Vanasse, a French stewardess, sings Deutschland Überalles in perfect German.

14 episodes in one season. With the advent of jet travel, America and the rest of the world are getting to know one another. The glamorous, bright, and courageous Ladies of Pan Am are our guides through this historical period. Oh, and the pilot and co-pilot are really nice people.

And... the soundtrack is great, swinging' early sixties sampler. Around the World, Fly me to the Moon, The Girl from Ipanema, New York City Blues, Do you want to know a secret?... Destination Moon, to name a few.