Well, it might not be over. At least there is still hope. As recently as last week they said it was cancelled, but now it might not be. I guess only time will tell.
Last year ABC aired the period drama
PanAm, to pretty mixed reviews. The wife and I enjoyed it, when it stuck to being a fun period show. Seeing the VERY detailed costumes, and being taken though (an almost Forrest Gump view) of the changes in the early 1960s - it was just good fun. The French-Canadian actress,
Karine Vanasse. In addition to being very classically beautiful, she was beyond charming, and has the kind of
smile that could melt the coldest heart.
The only down part in our opinion was the unnecessary sub-plot of using a stewardess as a CIA/M6 courier. Frankly, it was just flat stupid, and really detracted from what was a subtle and charming series. But no one asked me to contribute to the writing, so you get what you got. At least it wasn't the cancelled after 3 episodes disaster that the
Playboy Club series was.
As far as kink goes, the one big positive of it were the ladies. They went all the way with making sure the details were right, and all the stewardesses were in well fitted girdles. And they looked delicious. All prim and proper, with gloves on and stockings and their makeup always just perfect. A true bevy of beauties. Perhaps the only downside for this fetishist was that there was virtually no smoking by women at all. Ah well, ya can't have
everything you want, right? Unless you count the
off the set, or
behind the scenes shots.
There's quite a bit of documentation out there about how Ricci felt the uniform helped her performance: "
Well, we have these undergarments that we wear -- a girdle and a long-line bra -- and the girdle keeps you from being able to do anything boyish like run or jump. And the long line is like a bra attached to a mini-corset, so it basically makes you stand up really, really straight. I tried chasing our second AD once. We were racing somewhere and it was hilarious.
There's just no way in hell you can do anything tomboyish or boyish; you have to walk like a lady at all times, so immediately you're just put into this mindset of "I'm a lady." I sit a certain way. I walk a certain way. They're maybe five different paces at which I can go and it really lends itself to all your movements from the second you have the bottom layer on. And then when you get the rest of the uniform on, you immediately become more professional... and elegant."
I another interview, Christina calls it a corset rather than a girdle,
Christina Ricci... loves the corset she has to wear for ‘Pan Am’. Though its possible she was referring specifically to her
outfit in the final scene of season one, where IMO its quite clear that there's
far more boning under her lovely dress than what a girdle would provide. Plus she moves with such a pronounced sway, it just has to be a full corset under there.
All in all, Ms Ricci said of the TV show's period costumes, that although there were some misgivings at first, all the PanAm actresses have "
... gotten used to wearing the girdles. They unequivocally assist. They have been constricting, though it pierces your physique the right way."
Now the super petite Ms. Ricci is not new to wearing real corsets, and she was also laced in the recent film "
Bel Ami." Of the film,
she said -
"It’s a lot of corsets," she said of the film attire. Not that she’s complaining. "I like wearing them quite a bit," she chirped.
But her remarks are not all good, she also
reported that she soon grew tired of the "really gorgeous" corsets she wore for her new movie.... "The corsets are really gorgeous and fun to wear and then not fun at all because you can’t breathe after a while," she laughed. "All the skirts and everything… it’s very difficult to go to the loo."
She also said that she loves the period costumes,
even though the corsets are very tight. I guess I'm going to have to see it for myself! Til then, I'm happy with these two
collections of stills from the
official website. And a few more nice shots over at
staylace.com. BTW, it's not just Ms. Ricci laced in, but also
Uma Thurman,
Kristin Scott Thomas and
Holliday Grainger.
