Cabin Pressure: The Complete Series 3

By: John Finnemore

Narrated by: Stephanie Cole, Benedict Cumberbatch, Roger Allam, John Finnemore

Length: 2 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Stephanie Cole, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Roger Allam star in the first series of the hit sitcom about the tiny charter airline for whom no job is too small, but many, many jobs are too difficult. By John Finnemore (‘The News Quiz’, ‘That Mitchell & Webb Sound’) Run by the forbidding divorcée Carolyn Knapp-Shappey (an unfortunate marriage, namewise, but in Carolyn’s opinion, marginally better than Carolyn Shappey-Knapp), her two pilots are the smooth, experienced and almost-certainly-fired-by-a-big-airline-for-all-round naughtiness Douglas, and struggling almost-competent pilot and sweaty man Martin. All-round help is provided by Carolyn’s near-idiot son, Arthur...In the first of the complete six episodes - ""Qikiqtarjuaq"" - when MJN Air flies a party of tourists near the North Pole, Arthur goes hunting for polar bears, Carolyn for a rogue lemon and Martin for a believable French accent...

Then we travel to episode 2 - ""Paris"", and when a bottle of highly-expensive whisky goes missing, Martin becomes the Miss Marple of MJN Air with Arthur assisting as his trusty Doctor Watson and Douglas hindering as his untrusty prime suspect. On to part 3, ""Newcastle"", where love is in the air, but also unfortunately in a small airport in Birmingham - and Martin has to choose between career, romance and fixing a very small tail-light. Part 4 finds us on the way to ""Ottery St Mary"". Martin is a Man With A Van, Douglas flies A Plane With An Otter and Carolyn dates A Pilot With A Problem With Sheep. And two mysteries solved - the name of Carolyn’s dog and the rules of “Yellow Car”.

Arriving at episode 5, ""Rotterdam"", it's Lifejacket, Camera, Action as stardom beckons for one of the crew of MJN Air... but who will get to blow the final whistle? And will they look good in a vest? And in the last episode of the series - ""St. Petersburg"" - some vodka and an unwary bird could spell the end of the line for MJN Air, and when Carolyn meets her ex-husband the atmosphere turns even icier.... With special series guests Timothy West, Anthony Head ('Buffy') and Mark Williams ('The Fast Show').

©2011 Pozzitive Television Limited (P)2011 AudioGO Ltd

Critic reviews

"The more I listen to John Finnemore's Cabin Pressure, the more I think what a stonking masterpiece it is. Perfect in every department." (Philip Pullman)

MJN keeps flying, I keep laughing

Fabulous as per usual.
"Qikiqtarjuaq"-- what Douglas puts Martin through is excruciating and hilarious
"Paris"-- since I came to Cabin Pressure as a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch from Sherlock, this is my very favorite episode, in which Martin attempts to solve a mystery on board
"Newcastle"-- Benedict Cumberbatch is replaced in this episode and the stand-in doesn't quite have his note of desperation. Wish I could hear the real Martin try to flirt with the female pilot they are ferrying
"Ottery St. Mary"-- Delves into the age-old questions, (1) can one visualize 100 otters and (2) would they fit comfortably in Gertie? This episode is special because finally, finally, for once, Douglas does something nice for Martin
"Rotterdam"-- Really makes the most of the radio format as Martin, Douglas, Herc and another man also named Martin compete to sound the smoothest and most confident for MJN's welcome recording.
"St. Petersburg"-- a tense but great day, in different ways, for Martin, Douglas, Arthur and Carolyn and hence a treat for listeners. I was delighted to hear that a fourth series is planned, but if this had to be the show's finale, it is fitting.

Endless laughs

Which character – as performed by the narrator – was your favorite?

Martin and Douglas are a perfect couple. I can't stop laughing at Douglas's antics and poor Martin's desperate attempts to make everything better.

One of my favorite series

Any additional comments?

Wonderfully written and fabulously performed. Cabin Pressure is hilarious, touching, and always great. S3 is just as strong as the previous series, and "St. Petersburg" was a fantastic series end.

Worth the credit just for a single episode.

I'd never heard of John Finnemore before listening to this series, but I was intrigued by a comedy starring Benedict Cumberbatch [who was astonishing at the National as both Frankenstein and his monster, although more known this side of the pond for playing a contemporary Sherlock Holmes], Stephanie Cole [Waiting for God, Tenko] and Anthony Stewart Head [Buffy, Little Britain, Free Agents]. To my surprise, they do a beautiful job together!

Dame Cole has always played characters decades older than herself, and here she plays someone closer to her own age, owner of a struggling single-plane airline, and mother to the steward, the endearingly rattle-brained Arthur, played by Finnemore, the genius behind the entire series. Cumberbatch is the pilot [after seven goes at the pilot's exam] who works unpaid just to fly. His suave co-pilot is a demoted captain who knows all the tricks of the trade, but can't bear to tell his wife he's not #1 on the flight deck any more.
Each episode is a new and alphabetic destination, with some word games for the bored cabin crew, trouble and hijinks.

In Series 3, they veer from Paris to Ottery St Mary to Rotterdam, but the episode in St. Petersburg is worth the price of the whole set, with beautiful voice performances, wordplay, zaniess, and poking fun at the flight industry. Looking forward to Series 4!

Too funny

Such a surprise! Bought this with deal of the day. Takes a little bit of time to understand who is who. The stories are clever, witty, and as Arthur would say, "brilliant"

Still lots of fun

Just finished the third series, listening to too many episodes at one time. ;)
I usually like to savour them, by just listening to only one each time, but they were so funny I got carried away.
Luckily there is a fourth series available now.

Great acting and scripts

This whole series is funny and entertaining to listen to. Great acting and scripts. RogerAllam and John Finnemore have become favorites of mine, but the other actors were marvelous here. I've listened to the whole thing a few times over the years.

Still the best!

The funniest series of all, from A to Z literally, clever, hilarious and yet heart-warming. I shudder to think I might have missed it, it’s like a well-spring of ‘feel-good’, always waiting to be tapped.

My comfort audio drama

I’ve listened to all the episodes at least 3x if not more. I just love the stories and the characters.

Obsessed

I love this program so much. Funny, witty and charming. Fantastic acting. Just brilliant. Do yourself a favor and listen.

The best thing on radio

Superb writing combines with brilliant execution to bring joyous listening. John Finnemore is a genius, and I hope he's busy writing Series 4!

First Review of Cabin Pressure (Series 3)..! Funny

Well, the series has only been here on audible less than a day... I have found it, downloaded it... Listened to it (IN FULL) and managed to laugh most of the two and a half hours.

If you want something really funny this christmas to cheer you up you cant go wrong with this third season. Its well written, the recording is excellent and I have not laughed so much in ages.

That impressed with the series I have been trying to get tickets to go to the recording of one of the seasons via the BBC website, but the tickets are always taken!

One word of warning however... If you happen to have this on your iDevice and are listening to it in public, be careful - you WILL get strange looks when you cant stop laughing or giggling for no apparent reason!

Made me laugh out loud

Another great series - embarrassingly, the emergency procedures made me laugh out loud whilst listening with headphones - I got very strange looks as I continued to snigger and wipe my eyes. Highly recommended

Starts So-So but Ends Perfectly

This 3rd season starts a bit off (in my opinion) as the writers try to have some episodes in settings unrelated to the air (Caroline's pub date). Although the air world is not omnipresent in Cabin Pressure, it does give all episodes a cohesion that was lost in the opening episodes of season 3 (of course, even an "off" episode from Cabin Pressure is better than most anything else available).

But it seems the writers got this feedback soon as the 3rd season quickly goes back to the air/airplnae world and finishes with one of the best episodes of all 3 seasons.

light hearted amusement

Very amusing, very enjoyable to listen to. All the characters are well played and have their own fun enjoyable quirks

Never Disappoints

I am a real fan of John Finniemore's writing. Crisp sharp dialogue with a cast that can't be beaten. How he can write Douglas' barbs and yet still play the goofy other worldly Arthur is a mystery. Long may it last. I look forward to each new series with great anticipation.

a great listen

slick, clever comedy, well acted with a hint of tragedy. I can listen to this again and again

Absolutely brilliant

I've listened to all 3 series and just like Arthur says about everything they're all brilliant but I think the third series is the best. I cried with laughter all the way through. May John Finnemore write many more.

Absolute pleasure

I love this series and having only came across it just before Christmas; I have bought all 3 series and it is a listen over and over again.

A female bear is called a Sow

The more I listen to this programme the more I like it. The characters grow and take shape as the series progress and you consequently find yourself not only laughing but rooting for this bunch of hapless misfits. The cool sardonic wit from Douglas is nicely tempered by the grumpy put downs from Carolyn and the frustrated inadequate Martin. Arthur is alwsys around as well to interject the proceedings with his own brand of cheery helpfulness combined with utter idiocy. As with all good comedy the characters are exaggerated versions of people you could meet in real life. ( I've definitely met a few Martins) and the cast play then brilliantly with great comic timing from all.