Stephanie Cole, Benedict Cumberbatch & Roger Allam star in the third 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, ArthurIn 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) & Mark Williams (The Fast Show).Unexpectedly brilliant- Time Out
An inspired new sitcom- The Observer
I cannot find a single flaw in it. So top marks.- Independent on Sunday
Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse for MJN Air, Cabin Pressure is back for a third, hilarious series. Featuring Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch, Tenko and Waiting for God star Stephanie Cole, Olivier Award-winner Roger Allam and written by John Finnemore, this series has remained consistently funny since its first transmission.
Series 3 sees the world’s smallest airline facing new problems, set against the now-familiar backdrop of charter and commercial flights to different locations around the globe. While this might sound glamorous, some of the episodes bear titles such as ‘Newcastle’ and ‘Ottery St Mary’ – it’s apparent that MJN has yet to scale the heights achieved by its competitors!
The cast are well and truly at home in their characters’ skins and Finnemore’s writing has steadily progressed, building on the extreme situations and character foibles that have made this series such a hit. Highlights of this season include ‘Rotterdam,’ in which the crew fight for the starring role in their new promotional video and ‘Qikiqtarjuaq,’ in which the airline transports a group on a mission to find polar bears in a remote location. Cabin Pressure has been reviewed as “one of the best written, cast, acted and directed comedies on anywhere,” by The Telegraph, and listening to this complete season 3, it’s easy to see why.
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