“It’s escapism at its best, at a time when, for a moment, the world kind of opened and embraced everywhere we were going,” says star Mike Vogel, who plays a bright-eyed pilot flying his way up the company ladder.

The series takes full advantage of his metaphor — “Pan Am,” which takes place in 1963, not only taps into the nostalgia of the industry with gorgeous costuming and set design and stories uninhibited by TSA regulations, but it also delves into the burgeoning cultural revolution of the era.

“For the stewardesses, there was this sense of excitement and freedom,” says star Christina Ricci, whose bohemian character takes the gig as an opportunity to explore the world. “The job allowed these women to have a freedom that they weren’t really given in a regular sort of role in life at that time,” she explains. “Yes, they did have to pass through girdle checks and grooming checks, but by going through those things they were then allowed to travel freely and … be in charge of their own lives.”

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“I’m having a blast,” says the actress, who plays the Evil Queen with deliciously cruel flair.

But the residents of Storybrooke — including, seemingly, the queen — are unaware of their true identities. In this real-world parallel to the lost fairy tale realm, Parrilla plays the mayor, Regina, who isn’t much kinder than her alter ego.

“I’ve worked pretty hard at showing the contrast between the two characters,” Parrilla says. “The queen is very powerful and puts everything out there, where Regina, she masks everything. I think she’s a much more complex character, but I love them both. It’s a lot of fun.”

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“I’ve been working, honestly, as an actor professionally since I was 21, I think 23,” Martindale says, adding that her career as a character actor has led to a fluctuating lifestyle between “poor, some money, poor, counting pennies on the floor.”

But not any more. After playing ruthless Southern matriarch Mags Bennett on “Justified,” Martindale moves to New York City, portraying Rita, the no-nonsense assistant to Patrick Wilson’s well-respected neurosurgeon in charge of an upscale concierge medical clinic. The doc also just so happens to receive visits from the ghost of his altruistic ex-wife, which Rita thinks is ridiculous — and lets him know it.

“It’s great to go from that fabulous, wonderful part [on ‘Justified’]  to a luxurious, spa-like existence with another good-looking man,” Martindale says of the role change. “What can I say? I turned 60, and everything fell into place.” 

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“Someone tried to count [the number of cameras in NYC] a couple years ago, and the official tally was ‘uncountable,’” says executive producer Jonathan Nolan, whose credits include the “Dark Knight” films (director Christopher is his brother). “I think we’re all really aware these days of just how much information is kind of swirling around out there about us, about our friends, about everybody,” he adds. “What’s missing in all of this — or at least we think is missing — is something that sifts through all of that information, a way in which that information actually becomes useful to people.”

Enter The Machine. The invention of a mysterious billionaire, Finch (Michael Emerson), the government-commissioned, anti-terrorism device is capable of predicting when a crime will occur. With the aid of a former CIA agent, Reese (Jim Caviezel), Finch plans to enact vigilante justice, which plays out on the show in a case-of-the-week format.

“We’re at this very odd moment, kind of standing on the precipice of seeing what happens when you start harnessing all that information,” Nolan says. Scarily, he’s referring to real-life as much as the world created on “Person of Interest.” “This is not really a science-fiction show,” he says. “It’s more science-fact.”

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“We got a visual effects team together that has literally created new technologies to make it possible,” executive producer Brannon Braga says of the effort required to make dinos come to life week-to-week on the small screen.

“A lot of visual effects houses that were approached about the project said, ‘Can’t be done. Not on time, not on the schedule you’re looking for, no matter how much money you have,’” adds executive producer Rene Echevarria. “Even five years ago, this show would not have been possible.”

The pair credits advances in motion capture and new software for the effects wizardry. They’ve also got Steven Spielberg — who wowed audiences with cutting-edge special effects in “Jurassic Park” — on board as a producer. Remember those Velociraptors? Just wait ‘til you meet the Acceraptor terrorizing Terra Nova.

“The Slashers [the colonists’ nickname for Acceraptors] that you see in hour two are spectacular,” promises Echevarria. “They really do represent the latest paleontological thinking of what dinosaurs might have actually looked like. And you’ve never seen anything like them.”

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There’s a lot on the line for the new talent competition, another singing contest Cowell has imported from Britain. The winner is guaranteed $5 million in cash in addition to a recording contract and a Pepsi-sponsored commercial to run during the Super Bowl. “If I didn’t think that the talent was worth $5 million in America, I wouldn’t have made the show in America,” the infamously direct Brit says. 

Despite its pedigree, Cowell insists that this is not an “Idol” clone. “The X Factor” is open to both solo artists and groups, ages 12 and up. Contestants will be broken up into four categories: girls ages 12 through 30, boys ages 12 through 30, individuals over 30, and groups. Also, the judging panel — including Cowell, “Idol” mate Paula Abdul, former Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger and record producer L.A. Reid — will serve as mentors.

“We see this as a game-changer,” Cowell says. “We’re going to try and find a completely different kind of contestant. Our job as judges is to find people who’ve got star quality [and] turn them into stars. And I’ve got a panel who can do that.”

L.A. Reid on the sheer number of wannabe stars:

“We’re seeing more talent in a day than I could see perhaps in a year in my job as a record executive. We are auditioning sometimes 50, 60 contestants a day. I may see 50, 60 in a two-year period. The numbers certainly increases the opportunities for us to discover the next generation of stars — and we are finding them, too. We are finding artists, contestants that we really believe to be true stars of tomorrow.”

Paula Abdul on the caliber of singers auditioning:

“[The contestants] understand the savvy business of the record business, of having to have your own definitive, unique something special that is not copycat to other artists. And they come in, and it’s that feeling that I’ve wanted to feel as a judge even through all of the years of ‘American Idol,’ that I’m discovering something I have never seen before. And it’s not just about having that brilliant voice. It’s about all of the other parts that fill the gap — that special, unique, bold and daring style.”

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Ken Burns brings his thorough, engaging documentary storytelling to the 18th Amendment in a three-part PBS miniseries. “The conventional image of the Prohibition era is, of course, the rain-slicked Chicago streets around which the Model T is careening, machine guns blasting — or the flapper who is shimmying in her miniskirt with her bobbed hair,” Burns says. “We have a lot of that, and it is very exciting and sexy, violent. But we felt that the story that we told had also encompassed other things.” (Premieres Oct. 2 at  8 p.m. on PBS.)

2: ‘Five’

Jennifer Aniston serves as an executive producer to this anthology of five short films — directed by Aniston, Alicia Keys, Demi Moore, Patty Jenkins and Penelope Spheeris — exploring the impact breast cancer has on people through very personal stories. Jeanne Tripplehorn heads an all-star cast as oncologist Pearl, the central character who ties together each film. “We were all there for a beautiful cause, and I think that brought the best to the table, you know, in all of us,” says Tripplehorn.
(Premieres Oct. 10 at 9 p.m. on Lifetime.)

3: ‘Pearl Jam Twenty’

Filmmaker Cameron Crowe turns his lens to Pearl Jam, one of the rock bands that defined the early ’90s, in honor of the group’s 20th year together. A friend of the Seattle grunge outfit, Crowe was given unprecedented access while using his journalist’s eye to tell the whole story. The truth, however, isn’t that salacious. “Nobody dies. Nobody ODs,” Crowe says. “So it’s really about what happens with a band that develops an audience and stays with their fans.” (Premieres Oct. 21 at 9 p.m. on PBS.)

4: ‘Vietnam in HD’

Through cooperation with the U.S. military, History Channel presents “Vietnam in HD,” a six-part documentary featuring never-before-seen footage from the Vietnam War, restored and airing in high-definition. “We have at least a hundred different personal [film] collections that were shot by people who served in Vietnam,” says executive producer Susan Werbe. “Dexter” star Michael C. Hall serves as narrator, with an A-list roster lending their voices to the stories of war veterans. (Premiere date TBA this fall on History Channel.)

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The film premieres tonight in cities around the world as a one-night event before starting week-long runs in select cities Friday, airing on PBS Oct. 21, and heading to DVD Oct. 25. Accompanying the film is a comprehensive book by Jonathan Cohen with Mark Wilkerson and a two-disc soundtrack of live recordings and bootlegs hand-selected by the filmmaker.

Crowe, a longtime friend of the band, admits a lot of inspiration for the project came from Martin Scorsese’s 2005 Bob Dylan documentary, “No Direction Home,” which also eschewed a traditional theatrical run.

“I felt so satisfied and inspired by that movie that I wanted to listen to more Bob Dylan,” Crowe says.
“It felt like a Bob Dylan experience, and I thought that if we can make a movie the way a Pearl Jam record makes you feel, then we’re in good shape.”

The director, who managed to squeeze all the band members into his Seattle-set romantic comedy “Singles” back in 1992, insists this isn’t your standard “Behind the Music” fare.

“It’s beyond just a rock story. In fact, it takes the usual rock story and turns it on its head,”?Crowe says. “These guys found joy through survival.”

Up next: The sequel, ‘PJ 40’?

Lead singer Eddie Vedder says it was fascinating to watch his own band’s history play out on the big screen.

“You look at all the crowd reaction,” he says. “It’s just music. It’s just guitars and drums and bass. To have it turn into this other thing is kind of a monument, in a way. I don’t mean to self-aggrandize, but it’s really something to see it and witness it, and, in this case, be reminded of it and have it right there in front of us so that we can appreciate it even more. And know that we have a really strong base to, like, cover the next 20.”

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She’s got a clear favorite: “Whoever has the best wardrobe at the time,” Gellar jokes. Of course, it’s a little more complex than Gucci versus Gap. Gellar relates playing the sisters to parenting children since “you have to love each one individually and understand [the one you’re playing at the time],” she explains. “So when I’m Bridget, I feel that all of Bridget’s motivations are hers and Siobhan is wrong. And when I’m Siobhan, everything Bridget does is wrong. I try to get into the head of each of them.”

Acting-wise, it’s not a new challenge for the 34-year-old, who played multiple characters in “Buffy” using the “old-school split screen” method. But technology has come a long way since that supernatural series went off the air in 2003.

“There’s so much more that’s available now between face replacement and the stop motion cameras,” Gellar enthuses. “So during the pilot, we played with all of them like kids with new toys to figure out what works best.”

But, she stresses, “Ringer” isn’t all about fancy camerawork. “Ultimately what you find is, even though there is all this technology, you want the heart of the scene, and the heart of the scene is two people talking to each other. So we try, each time the twins are together, and do one shot where they touch each other or they cross over each other. But on the whole, it’s more about the communication.”

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“Yeah, I’ve got three kids, so I’m a crazy person,” deadpans the former “Saturday Night Live” star, who reunites with executive producer Lorne Michaels for the new sitcom, “Up All Night.” “The funny irony, really, is that I’m the one without the kid in the show.”

Rudolph plays Ava, the demanding boss to Christina Applegate’s new mom, Reagan (Will Arnett stars as the baby daddy). Ava’s cluelessness when it comes to the reality of raising a kid spikes on Reagan’s first day back to work; the boss awkwardly pleas that they party in the name of work. But Rudolph doesn’t have to think back too far to remember what it was like to be perhaps over-invested in her own job. “Anything outside of New York City when you had show week was really hard to fathom because everything for me was living, breathing ‘SNL’ at the time,” she says of her former gig. “It’s funny when you think back to the person that you thought you were going to be or you hold any sort of judgment over parents,” Rudolph adds, reflecting on her character and younger self. “You really don’t know [what it’s like to be a parent] until you have that experience.”

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“These girls are using so much more than [their bodies],” says actress Naturi Naughton, who likes to refer to her character, Brenda, as a “chocolate Bunny.” “I mean, it’s empowering because these girls are smart, they’re going to school, they’re buying homes … things that women weren’t able do at that time. [They’re] using their resources and relying on themselves.”

In truth, the iconic Bunny costumes are rather tame by today’s standards, and are the most visually risque thing you’ll see in the pilot. But in that first hour, brand new Bunny Maureen (Amber Heard), who captures the eye of every man in the club, finds herself in a dire situation that only “the ultimate playboy,” attorney Nick Dalton (Eddie Cibrian), can rescue her from.

“Don’t underestimate that character and her intelligence,” Heard insists. “I think Maureen allows herself to be helped when she needs it. She by no means relies on any character, male or female, in this story — and never has.”

What the series relies on is audiences buying into the escapism these clubs provided, 50 years after the fact. But nostalgia is a powerful drug.

“This is a world where you come to enjoy the music. You walk in. You feel like you’re in this fantasy, and that’s what it was,” says Naughton. “It’s like Disney World for adults, which is one of the phrases that was used. And at the end of the day, there is no Disney World without the characters and without the people [and] the roller coasters, and without all the fun things that you come for.”

As long as audiences are willing to buy a ticket and take the ride.

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The Forsythe Company
Oct. 26-29, 7:30 p.m.
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn, $20-$70,
718-636-4100,
www.bam.org
William Forsythe, longtime expat choreographer, brings his Frankfurt-based troupe to Brooklyn in “I don’t believe in outer space,” incorporating themes from the lyrics of pop songs. His 18 dancers balance on the edge of beyond.

Fall for Dance
Oct. 27-Nov. 6, New York City Center, 135 W. 55th St.,
$10, 212-581-1212
www.nycitycenter.org
This preview of coming attractions includes performances by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Australian Ballet, Israel’s Vertigo Dance Company, the Joffrey, and 16 other troupes, four at a time for two weeks. Box office opens Oct. 2; move fast to land bargain tickets!

Chunky Move
Nov. 2-6, Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave., $10-$49,
212-242-0800,
www.joyce.org
The first of two Australian troupes brings the local premiere of “Connected,” by Gideon Obarzanek, in which the dancers construct sculptor Reuben Margolin’s set in real time. The following week in the same house, Sydney Dance Company shows two pieces by new artistic director Rafael Bonachela, to music by Ezio Bosso. 

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Broadway

‘The Mountaintop’
Opens Oct. 13
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
242 W. 45th St.
www.themountaintopplay.com
Starring Angela Bassett and Samuel L. Jackson (need we say more?), this play takes on the juggernaut that is the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This reimagining explores the more introspective moments of the civil rights leader’s life when a mysterious stranger brings to light his destiny.

‘Chinglish’
Opens Oct. 27
Longacre Theatre
220 W. 48th St.
www.chinglishbroadway.com
This play takes audiences along with a Midwestern businessman as he’s swept up in a communication-encumbered culture clash in Guiyang, China. Straying from the maudlin you might expect from “Lost In Translation,” humor and happenstance take center stage in “Chinglish.”

‘Godspell’
Opens Nov. 7
Circle in the Square Theatre
1633 Broadway
www.godspell.com
Touting Broadway classics like “Day By Day” and “Turn Back, O Man,” the return of Stephen Schwartz’s 1971 Christ-centric musical-turned-movie is a no-brainer as one of the most highly anticipated shows of the season — but no pressure, guys.

Off-Broadway

‘The Submission’
Opens Sept. 27
Lucille Lortel Theater
121 Christopher St.
www.mcctheater.org
Check your political correctness at the door and open yourself to the situational comedy that occurs when a young, white playwright gets his big break while hiding behind the nom de plume of Shaleeha G’ntamobi. “The Submission” stars Jonathan Groff (“Glee”) and Rutina Wesley (“True Blood”).

‘Motherhood Out Loud’
Opens Oct. 4
59E59 Theaters
59 E. 59th St.
www.motherhoodoutloud.com
Offering a series of snippets exploring the     inherent humor and heartache of childrearing, “Motherhood” is crafted by 14 playwrights offering their insight on maternity. It comes off as an     emotional roller coaster     — aka, an appropriate representation of  parenthood.

‘King Lear’
Opens Oct. 18
The Public Theater
425 Lafayette St.
www.publictheater.org
Sam Waterston (yes, his bio lists “Law & Order”) takes on the challenging role of “King Lear” as one of Shakespeare’s most notorious tragedies debuts at The Public Theater. “Love’s Labors Lost” and “Titus Andronicus” round out the Bard-based triumvirate through December.

New York Musical Theater Festival

What’s even newer than opening night? Musicals that have never been staged are meeting audiences for the first time during the New York Musical Theater Festival. Explore shows ranging from rock opera to romance; you might get to be among the first to say you saw the next big hit.

NYMF runs Sept. 26 through Oct. 16. Get more info or buy tickets at www.nymf.org.

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Cycle of Seven Brahms Chamber Sonatas
Keyboardist and violinist Jerome Bosen takes the stage with Laura Hamilton (violin), Craig Mumm (viola) and Lanny Paykin (cello) as they perform the complete chamber sonatas of Brahms in this series of recitals.
Sunday, Nov. 13 and Dec. 18,
Christ and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church,
120 W. 69th St., free
www.csschurch.org
 
The Kronos Quartet presents ‘A Musical Meditation on the Anniversary of 9/11’
Featuring contrasting compositions from 11 countries, the highly acclaimed Kronos Quartet will explore the poignant moments of the 9/11 attacks from a rich multicultural perspective. The Brooklyn Youth Chorus will also be lending its voice in this New York premiere.
Sept. 21-24, 7:30 p.m.
Brooklyn Music Academy Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn, $20-$50
www.bam.org

The Metropolitan Opera 2011-12 season
The Metropolitan Opera opens its 2011-12 season with the Met premiere of Donizetti’s “Anna Bolena,” starring soprano Anna Netrebko in the title role. Other highlights of the season include a new production of “Faust,” a New Year’s Eve gala performance of “The Enchanted Island” and Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle.
Sept. 26 through May 2012
The Metropolitan Opera
Opening night: $85-$1,450; Other performances: $25-$330, 212-362-6000
www.metopera.org

Brooklyn Philharmonic’s
2011-12 season
This fall, Brooklyn Philharmonic takes music into three neighborhoods around the borough, a new paradigm that is set to actively involve communities and engage them in exciting collaborations. Take in chamber music that will accompany rare, celebrated Russian cartoons and an innovative fusion of hip-hop classics and orchestra sets.
Season opens with a special Restoration Rocks concert Oct. 8
Various venues across Brighton Beach,
Downtown Brooklyn and Bedford-Stuyvesant
www.bphil.org

Composer Portraits —Tobias Picker
Members of the Bretano String Quartet present music written by the acclaimed composer Tobias Picker, who the Times hailed as “a genuine creator with a fertile unforced vein of invention.” Watch for the highlight: “Keys to the City” — a piano concerto composed to commemorate the centenary of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Oct. 6, 8 p.m.
Miller Theater, Columbia  University, 2960 Broadway, $25,
www.millertheatre.com
 
Pianist Seymour Lipkin — Celebrating 25 Years at Juilliard
Accomplished pianist Seymour Lipkin will perform an all-Beethoven recital in celebration of his 25 years at Juilliard. Program includes Sonata Op. 2, No. 2 in A Major, Sonata Op. 78 in F-sharp Major and Sonata Op. 106 in B-flat Major.
Oct. 11, 8 p.m.
Paul Hall, The Juilliard School
155 W. 65th St., free
www.juilliard.edu

Symphony for the Dance Floor
Inspired by hip-hop, pop and classical music, established Haitian-American composer-violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain presents a lovely fusion of music, art and movement that is a true manifestation of contemporary sound, composition and vivid aesthetics.
Oct. 13-15
Brooklyn Music Academy Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn, $20-$35
www.bam.org

Sunday Morning Coffee Concerts
Violinist Vilde Frang and pianist Michail Lifits open for the annual season of “Great Performers,” presented by Lincoln Center.
Oct. 16, 11 a.m.
Walter Reade Theater, Lincoln Center,
165 West 65th St., $22
www.lincolncenter.org

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“It’s got a funny reputation as being the most canceled premiere ever,” she says, right before the first installment of the U.S. premiere of “Nine Rivers” was performed. “There have been many well-known festivals in Europe who have wanted to produce it, but it’s just so complex.”

The holdup? The sheer size of “Nine Rivers.” The work, which took the Scottish composer more than 20 years to complete, is a cycle of nine pieces interlinked by a series of “tropes.” It takes over 50 musicians and multimedia artists to produce the work, which features  visual components, singers and musicians.

And although it takes three nights to present the cycle (it kicked off Wednesday), Smey assures that “you can hear a night on its own” and still enjoy the work. She recommends Saturday’s performance: “All 50 musicians are on the stage at the same time. It’s a great way to end the cycle.”

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Taking a central role in the four-hour event is choreographer Kimberly Bartosik, a veteran of nine years with Merce Cunningham’s company.  In addition, her “I like penises: a little something in 24 acts” will be performed Sept. 22-24 at the Danspace Project at St. Mark’s Church.

“I started thinking about how you become attached to things, about the act of giving, how certain objects pop out of your life and you carry them around with you. What do we like?” she wonders. “I wanted to create a title that would make you really think about that.”

Long interested in collaborating with visual artists, Bartosik recruited Jonathan Allen, who will build a set out of cheap objects purchased by the dancers at 99-cent stores. “It’s really exciting: Allen’s movement, how he is, how he moves with his materials,” Bartosik says. “I was looking at how things acquire value, the act of accumulation.”

She’s been thinking about the value of dance, the value of art, and how they’re valued differently. “I watched two seasons of ‘So You Think You Can Dance.’ How did this show become so popular? Who are these people dancing? We spend much more time listening to the judges and watching them emote than we do watching the dancing!”

Bartosik’s  “Ecsteriority3” is part of Saturday’s festival launch, which starts at 2 p.m. and includes new works by several other artists, talks, and walks on Museum Mile and in Central Park.

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“Will Barnet at 100”
Through Dec. 31
National Academy Museum
1083 Fifth Ave.
Adults $12, 212-369-4880
www.nationalacademy.org
Over an 80-year career, artist Will Barnet had yet to have a retrospective in New York until now. In a style commonly described as a cross between abstraction and figuration, Barnet’s sensual shapes soothe and challenge the eye at the same time. Forty-five works from private and museum collections will be on display.

“Carlito Carvalhosa: Sum of Days”
Through Nov. 14
Museum of Modern Art
11 W. 53rd St.
$22.50, 212-708-9400
http://moma.org
Brazilian artist Carlito Carvalhosa is displaying his environmental and participatory sound installation at the Museum of Modern Art. The installation has microphones fitted to the ceiling recording the ambient sounds from the day, and each day a new recording is superimposed over the previous one, accumulating into a complex mass of ambient sound.

“Intervals: Nicola Lopez”
Oct. 11-25
Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Ave.
$18, 212-423-3500
www.guggenheim.org
New York-based artist Nicola Lopez’s “Intervals” takes advantage of three levels of the already stunning rotunda of the Guggenheim Museum, using bright orange mesh fencing to other unique urban infrastructure in a site-specific configuration.

“Design for the Other 90%: Cities”
Oct. 15-Jan. 9, 2012
National Design Museum
2 E. 91st St., 212-849-8400
http://cooperhewitt.org
The Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum will be showcasing an urban planning and design-inspired exhibition. It explores climate change, public health and affordable housing solutions for the 90 percent of the world’s population not serviced by a professional design community. It is the second exhibition of its kind and the information gathered in the field will be used to generate an open-network database for developing design solutions.

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