We called it when guessing that “Pan Am” was probably like “Mad Men” but with stewardesses, since the show was promoted as a depiction of the social and sexual mores of the 1960s. Sunday night’s premiere was relatively well received by critics and audiences alike, but I personally found the show a bit hollow in terms of the human element. Indeed, the International Business Times agrees that “It’s bubblegum. It’s a glossy, well researched, and fairly well-executed piece of nostalgic candy” but that “an emotional core is needed if the show hopes to have any staying power.” The NY Times also (accurately) declares the show inferior to “Mad Men” but also distinguishes “Pan Am” as “tak[ing] a more forgiving look at the 1960s” and stops just short of describing the pilot episode as “Sex and the Cockpit.”

Still, it’s a rare pleasure to see Christina Ricci on television, and here are some candid shots of her while shooting “Pan Am” on location in New York City in August. Ricci’s character, Maggie, stands out from the other three primary stewardess characters in that she refuses to wear a girdle and often gets in trouble for her so-called “rebellious” nature. It’s a fitting role for Ricci, and she’s still doing the press rounds to promote the show, including this interview with the Huffington Post:

On The Glamour of “Pan Am”: It certainly does look glamorous and fun and beautiful, but it also reminds me about the clothes and having to have my makeup done like that every day. My mother told me it took her two hours every day to get ready during those times. It reminds me that getting dressed today — the way we get dressed — is also a luxury.

On Sexism In The 1960s: Yeah, there is that as well. You can’t show this period of time without acknowledging that it was a misogynistic period of time for women. There were certainly not just double standards but blatant rules that excluded women and were very hurtful to women.

I think they were having a good time. One thing I have to say about stewardesses — they were very much in charge of their own lives and sexuality. It was a job where they could sleep with who they wanted to and travel around and not be married. Actually, they couldn’t have the job if they were married. While certainly flirting with passengers was encouraged, sleeping with passengers was not encouraged and that is something we deal with in the show.

On Her “Pan Am” Character: I flout authority. My character, Maggie, uses the plane as her own personal runway. When she’s out and about, she’s the glamour queen and gets into fights and fights for everyone else’s rights. She has her nose in everything.

On Watching Her Old Movies: I look at it and think it’s funny because I look like such a kid. I think when you know yourself, you can recognize your little kid acting voice or the way I read a line. I’m more like, “Oh, look I was 12,” or, “Look what I looked like when I was 10.”

On Her Food Temptations: I have to say my favorite forbidden food is Cheetos and any kind of McDonalds. I once ate McDonalds three times in one day.

[From HuffPo]

We’ve already discussed how Ricci has some lingering body image issues from her teens and young adulthood that are evidenced by her recent statement that she doesn’t look as good as the “average person” in a bikini. She usually comes across as quite honest and frank in interviews, so I’m wondering what to make of this admission that she often eats McDonalds. Is it possible to do so and still maintain such a lithe figure without delving into eating disorder territory? Whatever the case, Christina must be doing something right, for she is positively glowing in these set photos.

Photos courtesy of WENN