Cabin Pressure (audio drama review)
Five out of five captain’s hats
Would recommend if: You are in need of a good laugh. That is it, that is all it takes. Oh, yeah, and if you understand English – which I assume you do since you are reading this. Seriously, if you haven’t heard this one yet you are missing out.
The negative side (because I don’t believe in the existence of perfection): I might have to re-evaluate my belief system… Nothing comes to mind – except of course for there being too few episodes. I have had to restrict myself to only listening when I’m walking the dog, otherwise, I would have gone through everything in no more than three days.
Plot: Carolyn owns a small airline. Well, actually it’s more like an air-dot since you cannot put one plane in a line. The story takes place over the many trips this one airplane has and follows the crew as they interact. The crew consists of the helplessly unintelligent steward Arthur (son of Carolyn), the pilot Douglas might be both the best trained and most unprofessional simultaneously (though Carolyn gives him a run for her money – though she has none), and of course captain Martin Crieff who despite his less polished resume proudly clings to his title of Captain. The passengers range from devilishly cats to paranoid musicians and the onboard entertainment varies from lemon hiding to name games. If I could fly with any airline of my choosing, I would choose this if I could turn on the intercom before takeoff – it might not be the safest trip, but it is the most entertaining. It will furthermore teach you such things as: “how many otters can you fit on an airplane” and “how long can a cat survive in the cargo hold of an unheated airplane” – or, well, at least it will inform you that the reason airplanes fly is “because of the kids”.
What makes this one stand out: The combination of amazing writing and fabulous acting. Both of those parts are outstanding on their own, but they really serve to lift each other up to new heights of quality entertainment. You get to enjoy both lines likes “I am supreme commander of this vessel” and “I can assure you Captain Crieff is very nearly the best pilot in the company” with the empathy and smug understanding the voice acting demands. It also makes lines like “It’s just exciting, that amazing moment when twelve tons of metal leaves the earth… and no one knows why!” want to hug Arthur and tell him to never ever change, and lines like “No, Arthur, the phonetic alphabet version of letter M is not “Mo”” make you smile alongside Douglas instead or feeling bad for Authur for the condescension. Tone of voice and delivery is so important in humor, and I for one would probably not have enjoyed it if I hadn’t been handed these things like a lemon on a captain’s hat.
Personal note: Comedy has never really been my thing, so I only tried this out because a Benedict Cumberbatch fan-account on Tumblr said it was good. All I can say is that Cumberbatch is amazing, but he’s not the best thing about it (the best thing being the combination of all the things). So, if you know “any card tricks, ghost stories or would like to have some sex, please do make your way to the flight deck. Thank you.”
Details:
Written by: John Finnemore
Starring: Stephanie Cole as Carolyn, John Finnemore as Arthur, Roger Allam as Douglas, and Benedict Cumberbatch as Martin.
Years: 2008-2014 (27 episodes in all)
Link for purchase: Series one, Series two, Series three, Series four, Xmas Special, Zurich
