Before she flew with "The Greatest American Hero," Connie Sellecca was "Flying High" over on CBS. Often referred to as "Charlie's Angels" set on an airplane, this series followed the adventures of three flight attendants for Sun West Airlines, a name that sounded suspiciously like another well-known airline.
Sellecca played Lisa Benton, a flight attendant who was best friends with her co-workers Marcy Bowers (*Pat Klous*) and Pam Bellagio (*Kathryn Witt*). Each week, Lisa, Marcy and Pam would pack their flight bags and end up in one unusual or dangerous situation or another, such as when they spent a few days in a luxurious casino and Marcy learned the evils of gambling.
"Flying High" had plenty of outdoor action as well. In one episode, the pilots became incapacitated, leaving it up to the three flight attendants to land the aircraft. Critics had a field day with this episode, saying it was impossible for Connie Sellecca's character to make such a precision landing without any training.
The girls weren't above using their jobs to get some payback, either. When Pam suspected her boyfriend of cheating, she invited him to join her on a training flight. What Pam failed to mention, though, was that during this kind of flight, the pilots put the plane into power dives to help the attendants become accustomed to emergency situations. While the unfortunate boyfriend reached for his barf bag, he cleared up any misunderstandings and everyone was happy.
"Flying High" debuted with much fanfare in September 1978, but its flight plan was cancelled in 1979. The problem was that producers tried too hard to create a show in the mold of "Charlie's Angels." They even selected three distinct physical types for the lead roles—Lisa was tall and elegant, Pam was short and cute while Marcy was the stereotypical ditzy blonde.
After the last Sun West flight flew into television's Bermuda Triangle, Connie Sellecca had a much better run as Pam Davidson on "The Greatest American Hero" and later on "Hotel." Her co-stars didn't fare as well, though, and pretty much faded from the public eye.
Resources:
http://www.tv.com/flying-high/show/5948/summary.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077011/
