'Fly Girls': A new reality-TV low?

Once again, critics are slamming a reality-TV show for ... ignoring reality. "Fly Girls," a new CW series that tracks five of Virgin America's female flight attendants through their inter-continental days, perpetuates 1960s' stereotypes of the "coffee, tea or me" stewardess, say detractors — more adept at flirting with male passengers than performing safety demos. Here's a sampling of the negative reaction: (See the trailer for "Fly Girls" below)

We will now be starting our descent … into offensiveness: Reality is the last thing this show is about, says Walt Belcher in Tampa Bay Online. It's actually a "contrived fantasy" in which the five girls "travel to exotic locales," share a "posh 'crash pad'" in California, and pursue ersatz jet-set romances. Its "swinging stewardess stereotyping" robs real flight attendants of their "dignity."

"Fly Girls plays into airline stereotypes"

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If this is post-feminism, women are in trouble: Bizarrely, we're encouraged to see these "modern air workers" as "icons of post-feminist empowerment," says Robert Lloyd in the Los Angeles Times. Alas, the show suggests that their highest goal is to stand next to Virgin chief Richard Branson at a promo event. "Dare to dream, young girls of America, and that might one day be you."

"Fly Girls is more 'stow your tray tables' than 'wild blue yonder' fare"

This job is about safety, not sex: "Fly Girls" implies that a flight attendant's "main job requirement is to keep her legs oiled," says Megan Angelo in The Wall Street Journal. This "abysmal" show willfully denies the reality of flying the terrorist skies in 2010: Real attendants are more concerned with "our safety in the air" than checking out the "handsome guy in first class."