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Cabin Pressure (radio series)

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Cabin Pressure
Cover of the definitive CD collection of Cabin Pressure, depicting cast. Left-to-right: John Finnemore, Roger Allam, Stephanie Cole and Benedict Cumberbatch.
GenreComedy
Running time28 minutes
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Language(s)English
Home stationBBC Radio 4
StarringStephanie Cole
Roger Allam
Benedict Cumberbatch
John Finnemore
Written byJohn Finnemore
Directed byDavid Tyler
Produced byDavid Tyler
Recording studioRADA Studios
Original release2 July 2008 (2008-07-02) –
24 December 2014 (2014-12-24)
No. of series4 (plus Christmas special and a two part finale)
Audio formatStereophonic sound

Cabin Pressure is a radio sitcom written and created by John Finnemore and directed and produced by David Tyler. It follows the exploits of the oddball crew of the single aeroplane owned by "MJN Air" as they are chartered to take all manner of items, people or animals across the world. The show stars Finnemore, Stephanie Cole, Roger Allam and Benedict Cumberbatch.[1] The series was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.[2]

Critical reception to the series was positive and four series have been broadcast, along with a special 2010 Christmas Day episode.[2][3] The fourth series consisting of six episodes was broadcast in January and February 2013.[4] The show's finale, entitled "Zurich", was broadcast as a two-part special on 23 and 24 December 2014.[5][6] The series' opening music is Mikhail Glinka's Overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila.[7]

Cast

The principal cast, the 4-person crew, is the following:[8]

  • As part of her last divorce settlement, Carolyn Knapp-Shappey (Stephanie Cole) received a mid-size (16 seat) jet aeroplane nicknamed "GERTI" (a "Lockheed McDonnell 312",[9] registration G-ERTI). As a result, she founds her very own single plane charter airline, "MJN Air" ("My Jet Now"), which is crewed by an oddball mixture of characters who fly to various cities around the world, encountering a variety of situations. Her company is perpetually on the brink of bankruptcy and thus she strives to reduce running costs wherever possible and find more high value clients to keep the company going. As a former stewardess herself, she often pulls double duty as both administrator and cabin attendant, alongside her grown up but childish son Arthur, whom she struggles to educate in proper customer care.
  • The airline's only Captain, Martin Crieff (Benedict Cumberbatch[note 1]), has wanted to be a pilot since he was six years old (before which he wanted to be an aeroplane). He suffers, however, from a distinct lack of natural ability in that department. He was rejected by at least one flight school, and had to put himself through the required coursework, barely qualifying for his certification – on his seventh attempt. He took the job with MJN for no salary at all, as long as he could be Captain.[10] He appears to have no outside interests beyond flying. He is a stickler for procedures and regulations, but is more prissy than pompous. At the end of series two he tells Douglas that he survives financially by running a delivery service using the van he inherited from his father (running two different jobs largely explaining the lack of hobbies). This was his only inheritance (apart from a tool kit and multimeter) because his father believed he would waste any money he received trying to become a pilot. He has two siblings, Caitlin, now a traffic warden and Simon, a council administrator who often frustrates Martin with his annoying superiority. This isn't helped by his Mother's constant admiration of Simon, often saying that "Simon knows best". According to Carolyn he is the "safe pilot" in contrast to Douglas's "good pilot".
  • First Officer Douglas Richardson (Roger Allam) is, on the other hand, a quite competent pilot who worked for Air England – until he was fired for smuggling. He chafes at his subordinate position to Martin, and misses no opportunity to flaunt his superiority in the younger pilot's face. In later episodes, it is revealed that Douglas, ashamed of his second-rate job, dresses in Captain's uniform for his wife Helena's benefit, changing to First Officer's uniform before he gets to work, however this ends when his wife reveals her infidelity and Douglas divorces her, his 3rd divorce overall. Douglas is, however, something of a smooth operator who knows all of the dodges available to airline officers, and enjoys taking part in all of them. According to Carolyn he is the "good pilot" in contrast to Martin's "safe pilot".
  • Carolyn's son Arthur Shappey (John Finnemore) is an eager and cheery dimwit aged 29, who is supposed to be the flight attendant but usually manages to get in everyone's way. He is half-English and half-Australian; Carolyn is his English mother, and Gordon, Carolyn's ex-husband, his Australian father (original owner of Gertie). Arthur is a relentless optimist, whose biggest claim to fame is being the inventor (or at least discoverer) of fizzy yoghurt (the recipe for which is yoghurt plus time). He also celebrates Birling day, Birling day eve, Gertie's birthday and Summer Christmas, and is a definite polar bear enthusiast and expert. He is very allergic to dragon fruit and strawberries, but frequently forgets, having eaten strawberry mousse on occasion. His cheerful mannerisms are however affected badly on the rare occasions that he sees his father, of whom he seems very afraid.

The cockpit crew frequently pass their time by engaging in word games, such as naming Brians [sic] of Britain, making bets that Douglas always wins, playing a game of the travelling lemon (wherein a lemon must be hidden in plain sight among the passengers to be discovered by the next player), or playing "Simon says". All crew members also make humorous cabin addresses, inserting e.g. limericks or titles of Hitchcock films, generally when there are no passengers on board. The highlight of their flight is often the cheese tray, and they are angry to learn that before it is delivered to them, Carolyn eats the Camembert off it.

A recurring character from Series 3 onwards, Hercules Shipwright (Anthony Head) was a pilot in Air Caledonia. He often goes on dates with Carolyn, despite her claims otherwise, during which they tease each other. A source of ridicule is his vegetarianism and his phobia of sheep, to the extent that Carolyn flies to Ireland to purchase a stuffed sheep for a birthday present. He is fond of opera, much to Carolyn's dismay.

In the first, third and fourth series, the crew take Mr. Birling (Geoffrey Whitehead), a rich Welshman, to the Rugby Final. Birling is extremely unpleasant but the crew put up with him due to his large tips. The annual "Birling Day" is always accompanied by Douglas trying (and succeeding) in stealing Birling's expensive whiskey, which he later sells.

Reception

Writing in The Independent newspaper, Nicholas Lezard praised the first series highly, called "the writing and performances ... exceptional" and suggested that the show "deserves an award".[11] Gillian Reynolds of The Daily Telegraph called Cabin Pressure "one of the best written, cast, acted and directed comedies on anywhere."[12]

Partly due to the popularity of leading actor Benedict Cumberbatch [13] the show has a significant fandom, and its final episode received a record number of requests for audience tickets for a Radio 4 comedy recording — 22,854 requests for just 200 available tickets. [14]

Awards

Cabin Pressure was nominated for a Writers' Guild of Great Britain award in 2010.[15]

In 2011, John Finnemore won the Best Radio Comedy 2011, awarded by the Writers' Guild of Great Britain.[16][17]

It was nominated for the Best Scripted Comedy category at the 2012 BBC Audio Drama Awards.[18]

The series has won numerous Comedy.co.uk Awards, voted for by readers of the British Comedy Guide. The series won the award for "Best British Radio Sitcom" for 2011,[19] 2013,[20] and 2014.[21] Also it was voted "Comedy of the Year" across TV and radio for 2014, making it the first radio show to be given the honour.[21]

Episode list

The episode titles follow an alphabetical sequence, beginning with the first episode, "Abu Dhabi", followed by "Boston" etc. In Series 2 and 3 episodes were broadcast out of the original intended order for various reasons.[22]

Series one

No. Episode No. Title Original airdate
11"Abu Dhabi"2 July 2008
22"Boston"9 July 2008
33"Cremona"16 July 2008
44"Douz"23 July 2008
55"Edinburgh"30 July 2008
66"Fitton"6 August 2008

Series two

No. Episode No. Title Original airdate
71"Helsinki"17 July 2009
82"Gdańsk"24 July 2009
93"Ipswich"31 July 2009
104"Johannesburg"7 August 2009
115"Kuala Lumpur"14 August 2009
126"Limerick"21 August 2009

Christmas Special

No. Episode No. Title Original airdate
131"Molokaʻi"25 December 2010

Series three

No. Episode No. Title Original airdate
141"Qikiqtarjuaq"1 July 2011
152"Paris"8 July 2011
163"Newcastle"15 July 2011
174"Ottery St Mary"22 July 2011
185"Rotterdam"29 July 2011
196"Saint Petersburg"5 August 2011

Series four

Finnemore announced a fourth series consisting of six episodes recorded in December 2012 and January 2013. It was broadcast from 9 January 2013.[4]

No. Episode No. Title Original airdate
201"Timbuktu"9 January 2013
212"Uskerty"16 January 2013
223"Vaduz"23 January 2013
234"Wokingham"30 January 2013
245"Xinzhou"6 February 2013
256"Yverdon-les-Bains"13 February 2013

Show Finale

No. Episode No. Title Original airdate
261"Zurich, Part 1"23 December 2014[23]
272"Zurich, Part 2"24 December 2014[23]

Notes

  1. ^ In series 3 episode 3, "Newcastle", Tom Goodman-Hill stood in for Cumberbatch, who had lost his voice. Goodman-Hill also recorded "Ottery-St-Mary" at the same session, but his scenes were not used as Cumberbatch was able to record them in a subsequent performance at the Shaw Theatre on 29 April 2011.

References

  1. ^ "Cabin Pressure". BBC. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  2. ^ a b John Lavalie (21 June 2012). "Cabin Pressure (a Titles & Air Dates Guide)". epguide.com. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  3. ^ "Cabin Pressure: Episode guide". BBC. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  4. ^ a b John Finnemore (14 November 2012). "Cabin Pressure IV – prepare for boarding". Forget What Did.
  5. ^ "Final episode of Cabin Pressure".
  6. ^ Finnemore, John. "Prepare for final descent". Forget What Did. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  7. ^ "The Cabin Pressure Theme Music". Cabin pressure Fans. 27 November 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  8. ^ "Cabin Pressure". Radio 4 Extra. BBC. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  9. ^ Newcastle
  10. ^ Gdansk
  11. ^ Nicholas Lezard (10 August 2008). "Cabin Pressure, Radio 4: Scratch the surface and there's a classic British sitcom beneath". The Independent. London. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
  12. ^ Gillian Reynolds (18 July 2011). "A strike and a scandal keep Radio 4 on its toes". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  13. ^ "John Finnemore on the joy of crafting radio comedy... and Benedict Cumberbatch". Radio Times. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  14. ^ "John Benedict Cumberbatch fans go wild for actor's recording of the last ever "Cabin Pressure"". Radio Times. 23 February 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  15. ^ "Guild Awards 2010 – shortlists announced". Writers' Guild. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
  16. ^ Writers' Guild Awards 2011 – winners
  17. ^ "Victoria Wood awarded top TV honour from Writer's Guild". BBC News. 17 November 2011.
  18. ^ "Shortlist announced for first BBC Audio Drama awards". Ariel. 10 January 2012.
  19. ^ "The Comedy.co.uk Awards 2011". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  20. ^ "The Comedy.co.uk Awards 2013". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  21. ^ a b "The Comedy.co.uk Awards 2014". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  22. ^ John Finnemore (19 July 2011). "Newcastle". Forget What Did.
  23. ^ a b "Good Omens and last ever Cabin Pressure confirmed in Radio 4 Christmas schedule". BBC Media Centre. 27 November 2014.
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