TV: Pan Am (episode 5)

Last night was the airing of the fifth episode of ABC's Pan Am. Taking a quick look at the ratings, we see a leveling off over the last couple weeks. Episode 3 pulled in 6.38 million viewers, episode 4 pulled in 5.84 million viewers and last night's pulled in 5.77 million. Yes, the number are half down from the debut but they seem to have a core audience that is sticking with the show, for now.

Episode five is entitled "One Coin in a Fountain", a play on the title of a 1954 film Three Coins in the Fountain about a trio of American girls in Rome who work at the American Embassy. It was a film about romance and intrigue. Not sure if there is any connection or not. We'll see.


Poor Laura is all upset that the local pawn shop where she hocked her engagement ring actually sold it after 60 days. What was she thinking they would do, just hold it for her? She is too naive. So now she's irritated with her sister Kate and co-pilot Ted (who we later learn will try to help her get the ring back, at a cost to himself).

Maggie, meanwhile, is all flirting with Niko Lonza, a Yugoslavian U.N. attache. Meanwhile, a female passenger Ginny, who is into fast race cars and life in the fast lane, is flirting with Captain Dean.

Did this turn into the Love Boat or something?

The crew doesn't end up in Rome; they land in London instead. Oh, and no surprise, Kate is getting a new espionage assignment - she has to get some Soviet agent's fingerprints and needs to utilize Niko Lonza to get them. That puts Kate in direct conflict with Maggie. Rawwwr. Cat-fight in the making.

Dean finds Ginny and ends up making out with her in the back of a Bentley. Turns out, though, that she's flying to Monte Carlo with Everret Hanson, a Pan Am vice-president. Can you say messing with a boss' mistress?

Yup, definitely the Love Boat. I guess the show figures they might as well use that 10pm time slot to see if a bit more racy and romance can help save the show. Will it? I'm not sure yet.

And can anyone tell we what's going on with Colette? She has had so very little to do in the last two episodes.