THE GREATEST SITCOM YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN!

Because it's an audio sitcom called Cabin Pressure by John Finnermore!

Today, we discuss the genius of John Finnemore and his audio sitcom - Cabin Pressure, about a small charter airline called MJN Air, owned by the formidable boss Carolyn Knapp-Shappey, who has employed two of the very cheapest pilot’s money can buy: Captain Martin Crieff, who's always wanted to fly and won't let a little thing like lack of ability stop him, and First Officer Douglas Richardson, smooth-voiced old sky-god and eternal schemer. Passenger service is provided by Arthur, the relentlessly cheerful son of Carolyn.

We are going to classify this as a Brit Com, because let’s face it, it’s distinct, bloody well written and honestly, the british are just better at it.

"It is clear that humour is far superior to humor.—?Oscar Wilde"

Cabin pressure apart from being a stellar example of a “Brit Com’ is also a ‘Work Com’. A kind of sitcom which generally confines itself to a place of employment i.e., The Airline Industry. More specifically confined inside their one plane - GERTI. The episode seldom leaves this location. Essence of each episode is always hinging on the tension between the two pilots, aided by Carolyn's penny-pinching ways in running the airline and Arthur's profound stupidity.

The cast is phenomenal and includes veterans from the renowned british theatre circuit. First Officer Douglas Richardson,?the schemer?is played by Roger Allam, and Captain Martin Crieff,?the complainer?is played by Benedict Cumberbatch.?The boss?Carolyn Knapp-Shappey is played by Stephanie Cole, who owns the airline as part of her last divorce settlement, and Arthur,?the idiot, her well-meaning, if dim, late-twenties son is played by the show creator, John Finnemore.

Carolyn is the owner of MJN. She is famous for her deadpan snarker and has put (lost) most of her share of her ex-husband's fortune into the airline, which has been running at a deficit for years. She holds on because being the CEO of MJN Air is "a good thing to be. Better than ... “a little old lady."

Arthur is a Kindhearted Simpleton who loves and is kind to everyone, and regards everything and everybody as "brilliant." Arthur and logic... are not on the same page. At all. He can take approaches to problems which don't make any sense at all.

Here is an excerpt: Arthur's Delusions of Eloquence vs Carolyn's?utterly?deadpan translations:

[bing bong!] Announcement on the Speakers

Arthur:?Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, our onboard transit process today has now reached its ultimate termination.

Carolyn:?... he means we've landed.

Arthur:?Yes. So, as yourselves prepare for disemboarding, if I could kindly ask you to kindly ensure you retain all your personal items about your person throughout the duration of the disembarcation.

Carolyn:?... he means take your stuff with you.

Arthur:?In concluding, it's been a privilege for ourselves to conduct yourselves through the in-flight experience today, and I do hope you'll re-favour ourselves with the esteem of your forth-looking custom going forward.

Carolyn:?... no idea

Martin is a very knowledgeable, cautious and safety-conscious pilot, but not good at quick-thinking or improvisation in a tight spot. He qualified to be a pilot on his seventh attempt. Every time he failed he had to save up the money again in order to retry. He also managed to read and memorize the entire 600 page flight manual. Martin has devoted his entire life to being a pilot, sacrificing everything and working obsessively towards getting his license and doing everything by the book – which to re-iterate again, he has memorized. Yet all those years of dedication have made him merely competent, and markedly not as good a pilot as Douglas manages effortlessly to be - it just comes naturally to him, and absolutely doesn't to Martin.

Douglas on the other hand is a highly (and effortlessly) skilled pilot, but a reckless one, his record of stunts resulting in his being knocked down to First Officer. He appears supremely confident and self-satisfied, but this masks a deep and desperate desire to be a captain rather than a first officer (to the point where he pretends to his wife that he's the captain). Douglas being Douglas, the mask is almost always extremely convincing. Almost always. Douglas is also a former alcoholic who has had a total of three unsuccessful marriages and his most recent wife cheated on him with a Tai Chi instructor. He's very good at coming up with on-the-spot lies and excuses.

Douglas is certainly sneaky and a slacker, and often winds up getting Martin in more trouble than himself, but he is highly competent as a pilot, and is often the one who winds up bailing MJN out when trouble strikes.

One of the most heartwarming moments of the series is when Martin finally swallows his ego and asks Douglas for advice:

Douglas: Well, the main thing is, you've got to stop asking for advice.

Martin: Great, thanks.

Douglas: That's OK, you can start just as soon as I've given you mine. You're the captain, Martin. And one of the many excellent things about being captain, along with the irresistible sexual magnetism , and first crack at the cheese tray, is that you're always right. So by all means, take opinions, but remember, you don't have to listen to Carolyn, you don't have to listen to ATC, you don't even, and savour this, because I shall never say this again, you don't even have to listen to me. You're the boss. What you say goes.

The series was completed after 26 alphabetically-entitled episodes: four series of six, one Christmas Special, and a two-part finale that was broadcast on Christmas 2014.

"Welcome to MJN Air — putting the excitement back into air travel. Sometimes too much so."

—Douglas Richardson

All the episodes are now available here:?https://bit.ly/3Sw1QrM