The Lemon is in Play

Instead of posting artwork this week I am going to shamelessly plug a radio programme you should be listening to: The BBC's Cabin Pressure, written by John Finnemore, who received a Writer's Guild Award for it in 2011. (That's him below, on the left, playing Arthur). Like an annoying missionary (on a mission to make you laugh!) I am using this space to proselatyze so sit down, grab a cup of coffee, and read on. I was introduced to it less than a year ago and now own all four seasons on audiodiscs (available through Amazon.com), and also downloadable from them into your computer or iPod.

The premise of the series is that Carolyn Knappe-Shappey (played by Stephanie Cole), recently divorced from a horrible man, got a small airline jet in the settlement: good old Gertie, a plane held together by duct tape and sheer force of will. Her crew includes Captain Martin Crieff, (Benedict Cumberbatch) a bundle of insecurity and self doubt, who failed his flight test numerous times before finally succeeding. He is usually teased mercilessly, often for good reason, by First Officer Douglas Richardson (Roger Allam), a snarky, smarmy reformed alcoholic who used to be a pilot for a major airline but was fired from his job so now Carolyn is the only one who will hire him on her shoe string budget. Carolyn's dim-witted but lovable and relentlessly cheerful son, Arthur, is the flight attendant. He is the heart and soul of the show and the one who often has surprising insights into human nature in spite of himself. Each season contains 6 episodes/journeys beginning with Abu Dhabi and going through each letter of the alphabet, city-wise, up till Yverdon-les-Bains, the end of season 4.
Since that last episode ends with a cliffhanger (and we are so rooting for Martin in this one as he attempts a brave step in his life) we presume there is still a city starting with Z (possibly Zurich) that will complete the series. Finnemore has promised a resolution.
This is the perfect series to listen to on a road trip or going to work. The writing is clever and hilariously laugh outloud funny, the plots are well thought out with often unpredictable and witty resolutions, and the characters, with all their flaws, are lovable and sympathetic.There is a genuine humanity in them and a compassion for them, much more so than in many TV situation comedies where the humour is dependent on awkward, embarassing situations and on mocking the people caught in them. I have yet to share this series with anyone who did not want to hear more. Also it's perfect for family listening: no swearing, no violence (well Martin does accidentally kill a man but it makes sense in context), and no sex (although Douglas has been married three times, and Martin desperately needs a girlfriend). I guarantee kids will want to play Yellow Car after listening to it. Or Fizz, Buzz, Have a Banana.
 I have more care for these characters than almost any TV series or movie I watch. Finnemore has that rare ability to create fully developed personalities out of funny exchanges and situations that all happen in around 25 minutes per episode. And they always leave you wanting more. It's the sort of show you annoy people with by repeating clever lines and catch phrases. Usually uttered by Douglas, the master of the clever comeback.
This series has grown through word of mouth, like this, and sharing of discs, until it now has its own little fandom who wear the T-shirts and plan conventions. And now fans are even creating artwork around the episodes. Here is one (not mine) representing the long, boring flight across Russia when the sun never set as they headed east to Limerick, Ireland.

Series 4 was only just recorded last January and had to revolve around the very busy schedules of its actors, especially Benedict Cumberbatch, who is becoming a major movie star (BBC's Sherlock, Star Trek into Darkness, The Hobbit) and is constantly busy. Yet each actor is firmly committed to this project and has lovingly kept it going.

Which brings me to the fact that the acting is brilliant, down to even the bit players, like sarcastic Carl in the flight tower, or the insufferable client, Mr. Birling, who hires them every year to fly him to rugby matches and treats them like servants.
Some of my favorite bits are the games that Douglas always engages the rest of the crew in on long flights, such as 'books that sound better with the last letter left off", (The Davinci Cod) or 'people with evil sounding names' (Rrrrrussell Crowe) or 'question and answer movie double features' (Question: What's Eating Gilbert Grape? Answer: 12 Monkeys.) Then there's the Traveling Lemon game, the Only Speak in One Syllable game, the Make Cabin Announcements Using Titles From Hitchcock Films game, the How Many Otters Can Fit on the Plane game. Finnemore's imagination is vast and clever. Favorite episodes stand out including  two of the most popular, Qikiqtarjuaq, a real place in Canada (involving dive bombing polar bears), and Ottery St. Mary (which brings up the above mentioned otters).

Speaking as one who is fearful of flying, I have to say that this series, even with one episode (St. Petersburg) involving a near crash, actually has a calming effect on me. I don't know how to explain it but I have actually heard another fan express this same sentiment. The way the crew is always breezing off to transport a difficult movie star to Italy, a mysterious cargo heading to Hong Kong, or a drunken Scottish cricket team stranded in the Sahara Desert, makes flying seem like a mad, fun adventure, even if Douglas is doing some shady black market bartering of rare orchids.
If I have sold you on this or made you the least bit curious I will gladly burn you a sample season and send it to you. Even the creator, John Finnemore, does not mind, (as stated in his blog that I often read) although he would prefer you purchase your own so he can make some money. He is worth it.