Cabin Pressure

Type: Radio Show
Rating: 5/5
Absolutely fantastic.

Radio shows! Who listens to those anymore, eh? I do. And I highly recommend that you pick this up, especially if you’re a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch, since he plays one of the primary characters in this comedy of airlines.

If you are not familiar with John Finnemore, now is the time to do so. This guy is a comic genius, and he is one of the people I’d most like to meet, even though I can say with complete certainty that I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I did. I’d have no words aside from, “You’re John Finnemore. YOU’RE JOHN FINNEMORE,” and that’s all I’d be able to do, so I really shouldn’t meet the man. In addition to the flights of fancy presented in Cabin Pressure, he also writes the British sketch show John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme, which is in itself an excellent time. But today, I want to acknowledge these statements:

• Opinion: Cabin Pressure is one of the best things I have ever had the pleasure of listening to
• Fact: The series has ended as of 25 December 2014, so you can sit down and listen to the whole thing
• Opinion: Radio shows are an excellent way to pass the time when you’re on a road trip
• Fact: Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock), Roger Allam (V for Vendetta), Stephanie Cole (Open All Hours), and John Finnemore (yes, this same guy) play the main roles. Later on in the show, Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) joins the cast as well.
• Opinion: Chances are you like or know of at least one of the above people

The show follows GERTI, the single, relatively run-down plane of MJN Air, owned and operated by Carolyn Knapp-Shappey; an airline captain, Martin Crieff; his first officer Douglas Richardson; and Carolyn’s dopey but lovable son Arthur Shappey, who serves as the steward. It’s a story of survival, in some ways, because seriously…how can a single plane get any sort of job? How does the crew get paid? Why do the do it? Why is there only one jet, anyway? Yes, there is a single plane. As Carolyn mentions in the first episode, “I don’t have an airline. I have one jet. You cannot put one jet in a line. If MJN is anything, it is an air dot.”

The episode listings go from A-Z, cleverly listing the titles as the destinations of the crew; the first episode is Abu Dhabi, then Boston, Cremona, and so forth. Each episode is full of that wonderful British humor that I’ve come to know and love. The crew tends to pass the time with word games, which is a delight to listen to (and figure out yourself).

For example, in the episode “Limerick”, they…well, they make limericks. My personal favorite game was the one where they took the last letter from the title of a book or movie to change the meaning in its entirety. Try it. It’s ridiculously difficult. I know the whole point of the games is so they can pass the time during the long flights, but it’s incredible that the characters could come up with these things in general! (I know, I know. It’s a script. STILL, I don’t think I’d ever come up with – “Of Mice and Men” became “Of Mice and Me”. How bloody brilliant is that?!)

Beyond all the laughs and joking about, the real gem of the show is the character growth. It’s what kept me listening. The near-thirty minutes of each episode were never wasted, in my opinion. Someone always learned something. And by the final episodes, the culmination of their time with MJN Air made everything worthwhile. Finnemore managed to put those pesky life lessons into every episode, so even though you may not be the pilot of an aircraft, you somehow still get away with feeling a little better about yourself. In short, this show has a lot of heart.

If you’ve got a long road trip or flight ahead of you, I suggest loading up your music player with these files, or downloading them for offline use, or whatever you do to get some stuff to listen to in the car. There are many resources available; I imagine with Benedict Cumberbatch’s presence, the radio show has quite the fanbase. Have a look! Give it a try! You may find that radio shows are just as entertaining as regular TV shows. And if not, well, you get to listen to Benedict Cumberbatch all up in your eardrums, which is really not a bad thing.