The latest episode ofPam & Tommyupped the dramatics and offered a major tonal shift. Lily James' portrayal of Pamela Anderson stole the screen in every scene, not only because of her devastating portrayal of Pamela during the tragic time in her life, but also due to her pulling main focus for a majority of the episode.
Thisbiographical serieshas gotten under the skin of a few notable people, including Anderson, herself. Last week’s episode, titled “Uncle Jim and Aunt Susie in Duluth," chronicled the downfall of Tommy Lee’s Mötley Crüe amid the rise of women-led rock bands and the “Semi-Charmed Life” rockers Third Eye Blind. It received comments from Third Eye Blind’s leading man Stephan Jenkins and the Mötley Crüe frontman John Corabi. Both stated that the hostile interaction shown between the two bands in the series was entirely fictional. Jenkins got some backhanded jabs at the notorious band, tellingVariety, “Mötley Crüe and I’ve never been in the same studio. I recorded my whole first album in Northern California. So we were across the state from each other at the very least… I had never, in fact, listened to Mötley Crüe. I never even heard them.”
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Corabi, however, went to higher grounds defending the reputation of his bandmate, Lee. The musiciantook to Facebookto say that the entire series is “full of bulls***.” He went on to express, “I can honestly say about 98% of this ‘fictional’ take on T&P’s life is criminal. I shared 5 years of my life with Tommy and although it was at times insanity it’s sooooo overblown in this s**t they call TV entertainment! Tommy never walked around in a Speedo, didn’t act at all the way they portray him, and now I see that Third Eye Blind ‘bumps’ us from a studio, because they’re more relevant???? Did not happen…!!!” Since, executive producer Rob Siegel has admitted to fictionalizing this bit.
All of this being said, this week’s episode introduces, what feels like, a bit of reality, into this unreliable retelling. Much like the previous episodes, the show’s rocky relationship with its real life subjects continues to be a damper on the story being told. Episode six titled “Pamela in Wonderland” finallycasts a light on the strongest character in the series: Pamela Anderson.
There are little-to-no smiles in this week’s episode which clocks in at 32 minutes. It takes a deep dive into Pamela’s fragile psyche as her leaked sex tape continues to be distributed around the world. The episode masterfully intertwines flashbacks to the start of Pamela’s modeling career while throwing a gross deposition the celebrity’s way, led by a group of pervy old men.
In the previous episode, it was revealed thatHugh Hefner’s competitor,Penthouse’s Bob Guccione, got his hands on the tape and was planning on running stills from it in his adult magazine. In an act to dissuade him from doing so, Pamela and Tommy were convinced to take precautions and begin a lawsuit with millionaire. In the prior episode’s final moments, Pamela was summoned make a deposition.
“Pamela in Wonderland” starts off with a flashback, showing a teenaged Pamela at a sporting event with her aggressive, jealously-ridden boyfriend. Her sharp looks and glowing personality were captured on a jumbo tron, and she found herself taking a business card from a man within the modeling industry. As this part of the story plays on, it is woven into 1996’s Pamela being subjected to obscene questioning about her modeling history and her judgment calls throughout her relationship with Tommy— whose womanizer reputation is used as a misguided attack on Pamela’s standards.
Young Pamela finds herself leaving an abusive relationship after her boyfriend grows enraged by Playboy’s interest in the rising celebrity. He tells her not to take the job and throws an object directly at her, which she dodges. This, combined with the male-dominated deposition, and the fact that Tommy was not subjected to the same treatment from the court, brilliantly paints a picture of the misogyny during the era, as well as the dated perception of the dismissal of consent and sex positivity, and the hurdles Pamela had to overcome during the battle.
By the end of the episode, Pamela is physically ill and has to excuse herself from the deposition, after they made her watch the tape while answering their invasive questions. Eventually, she says she’s “done”, removing herself from the office and refusing to further cooperate. It was a much-needed power move from the character and it grounded her in ways that other episodes failed to do because of its dual focus on Tommy, who despite his strong love for the blonde, is equally domineering as the men who are striking against her.
This week’s episode was a standout in the line-up, thus far, as it finally gave the viewers what they’ve been craving all along: A keen focus on one of the title characters and some backstory information to further drive the investment in the character building. With two episodes remaining and many strings left to tie,Seth Rogen’s Rand and his dimwitted associates are likely to be making a return to close out the series. But, it was nice to get a taste of what the show could’ve been amid the over-the-topness of Tommy Lee andsympathy pull for the crime doers.
Pam & Tommydrops new episodes on Hulu every Wednesday.
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