hannah: (Travel - fooish_icons)
hannah ([personal profile] hannah) wrote2020-01-17 10:18 pm

Rec a canon: Cabin Pressure

Challenge #9

In your own space, promote at least one canon that you adore (old, new, forever fandom). Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.


Cabin Pressure is a canon I've enjoyed without engaging much with the fandom. There's a fair amount of stuff out there, most of which I trust to be good, very little of which I find myself wanting because I find the canon itself so deeply satisfying.

It's a 26-episode BBC radio show about a charter airline service - or, more precisely, an airdot, on the grounds that they've only got one plane. Two pilots, a steward, and a stewardess who's also the plane's owner. MJN Air - My Jet Now, she got it in the divorce - goes from Abu Dhabi to Zurich, with banter and wordplay aplenty, and it's one of those things where you begin by enjoying the characters, and end up liking them. I always appreciate it when that happens.

I also always like it when the conflicts are never world-shattering, universe-breaking, or life-threatening. The worst that usually happens is personal discomfort or mild embarrassment, never anything serious. Also lovely is a reminder that Benedict Cumberbatch's true talent is in comedy, because his sense of timing is nearly that of Emma Caulfield on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (Speaking of Buffy, Anthony Stewart Head has a recurring guest role, and at one point, gets into a vocal syrup contest with Roger Allam, which is exactly as delicious as you think it is.)

Loveliest of all is related to the fact that because the worst is never imperiling, the moments of happiness and joy are largely small triumphs and ordinary victories, and the way the world is right now, sometimes stepping away from it for 30 minutes at a time - they're all quite short - is something to be valued.

Arthur: [...] I'm fairly often just completely happy. Like, for instance, when you get into a bath quickly and it's just the right temperature, and you go "ooooh". I mean really no one gets any happier than that.
Martin: What a depressing thought.
Arthur: No, no, it's not though, because those sort of things happen all the time, whereas you're hardly ever, you know, blissfully happy with the love of your life in the moonlight, and when you are, you're too busy worrying about it being over soon, whereas the bath moments, there's loads of those!


If you're interested, let me know. I've got all the episodes as DRM-free MP3s. They travel well.

Promotional banner depicting a snow-covered green bench in a snowy park. Text: Snowflake Challenge: 1-31 January.
petra: A man in a fedora with text: Between the dames and the horses, sometimes I don't even know why I put my hat on. (Cabin Pressure - Dames and horses)

[personal profile] petra 2020-01-18 03:48 am (UTC)(link)
I do adore Cabin Pressure. I once played the episode that serendipitously didn't have Mr. Cumberbatch in for people with a Cumberbatch allergy, that's how hard I try to push it.
muccamukk: Martini with olives, sparkly lights in the background. Text: Martini Time! (Misc: Martini Time)

[personal profile] muccamukk 2020-01-18 04:21 am (UTC)(link)
My family and I quote the show incessantly, and I often make my wife (who doesn't hear) read the transcripts: (now here: https://arianedevere.dreamwidth.org/37526.html). It's so fun.
olivermoss: (Default)

[personal profile] olivermoss 2020-01-18 04:28 am (UTC)(link)
They travel well and I used to listen to them whenever I was traveling by plane. Until recently I had a very old and cranky iPad, and kept Cabin Pressure on there. It had a quirk where it would sometimes play random audio files if you pulled out the headphones or just looked at it funny.

I was in the middle seat of an evening flight. The cabin was dimly lit and quiet. I pulled the headphones out of the jack and my iPad went "Bing Bong This is your captain speaking" and people around me started doing that headtilt to better hear the announcement while I tried to quickly make my iPad shut up.
dragonyphoenix: (raven)

[personal profile] dragonyphoenix 2020-01-18 05:45 am (UTC)(link)
Oh yes. I haven't listened to them in a while though. I have recently finished rereading a fanfic series that pairs Martin Crieff with Tony Stark. An odd pairing I know but the authors - there's a second series that plays off the first - actually make it work.
nonniemous: (Sense8 Kala & Wolfie)

[personal profile] nonniemous 2020-01-18 06:00 am (UTC)(link)
Okay, I'm curious. It sounds like something fun and fluffy to listen to.
misbegotten: A skull wearing a crown with text "Uneasy lies the head" (Default)

[personal profile] misbegotten 2020-01-18 01:05 pm (UTC)(link)
I'd be interested in hearing at least one ep!
spikedluv: (summer: sunflowers by candi)

[personal profile] spikedluv 2020-01-18 02:18 pm (UTC)(link)
I've seen this show about via my small fandom comms, but I never looked into it too much. It sounds interesting, and I love that quote.
isis: (omg!)

[personal profile] isis 2020-01-18 03:52 pm (UTC)(link)
I would super love your episode archive - I had the first two(?) seasons but don't know where they are now, and never listened to the last part of the alphabet. Thank you so much!

(I really loved the ones I listened to!)
noxelementalist: Beastmaster (Tao)

[personal profile] noxelementalist 2020-01-18 04:58 pm (UTC)(link)
I am definitely interested in hearing then- I tried to find a source to listen and couldn't!
dragonyphoenix: (i must squee!)

[personal profile] dragonyphoenix 2020-01-18 08:16 pm (UTC)(link)
After I first listened to the yellow car episode, I found myself saying "yellow car" upon seeing one even though I hadn't intended to play the game!

You're always playing yellow car. ;-)
mekare: Gilmore Girls: Lorelai Gilmore in a woolly hat in the snow (Lorelai snow)

[personal profile] mekare 2020-01-18 10:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Aaaah Cabin Pressure. I am way overdue a re-listening.

Cabin Pressure is a canon I've enjoyed without engaging much with the fandom.

Same here.

ETA: Oh and you chose the perfect Arthur quote to promote it!
Edited 2020-01-18 22:13 (UTC)
yourlibrarian: Sherlock in a Police coat (OTH-SherlockPolice-magicrubbish)

[personal profile] yourlibrarian 2020-01-19 12:25 am (UTC)(link)
This is one of those shows I've told myself I'll get to at some point, but I'll definitely take you up on your archive.
yourlibrarian: FlyingSolo-misty_creates (SPN-FlyingSolo-misty_creates)

[personal profile] yourlibrarian 2020-01-30 01:49 am (UTC)(link)
Yup, was just able to launch Ep 1!
dragonyphoenix: (Morticia)

[personal profile] dragonyphoenix 2020-01-30 03:36 am (UTC)(link)
Oh no, it's a great pairing. It just seems odd before you really see how they work well together.
mekare: Gilmore Girls: Lorelai Gilmore in a woolly hat in the snow (Lorelai snow)

[personal profile] mekare 2020-01-30 06:12 am (UTC)(link)
It definitely is a good one to keep close to your heart these days. /sigh
olivermoss: (Default)

[personal profile] olivermoss 2020-01-30 06:44 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I think listening to it while traveling does add something. Especially on planes when that 'how do I fill all these hours' boredom hits, you can listen to them play dumb games to deal with boredom.
noxelementalist: Dylan O'Brien, Tyler Posey, and Tyler Hoechlin, who played Teen Wolf's Stiles, Scott, and Derek, stand together. Dylan wears a blue t-shirt, Posey a long-sleeve green tee, and Tyler a short-sleeve red tee (unbottoned). Dylan's left arm and Posey's right arm lie on each other's shoulder (Stiles Stilinksi)

[personal profile] noxelementalist 2020-01-30 03:41 pm (UTC)(link)
It worked just fine- thanks so much for sharing!
yourlibrarian: PodficKitty-kitty_fic (OTH-PodficKitty-kitty_fic)

[personal profile] yourlibrarian 2020-09-27 01:53 am (UTC)(link)
I imagine you've forgotten all about this by now but I've been listening bit by bit and just finished the series. Thanks for sharing it, I enjoyed it very much and was so fond of the characters by the time things wrapped.