Review of Cabin Pressure Series 2 (BBC Audio)

"Arthur is basically just a passenger in a hat, and that's only because he made himself a hat."

After providing BBC Radio with what may be its best comedy in years, John Finnemore's second series of Cabin Pressure shows only a marginal loss of altitude and still provides plenty of laughs. Working on the principle that if it ain't broke, don't fix it - perhaps not so applicable to a show about a cut-price charter airline where if it IS broke, don't fix it and it'll hopefully sort itself out - the formula is the same, with only new destinations and a few new revelations about the characters this time round. Once again it's an enjoyable four-hander between Stephanie Cole's authoritarian owner, her idiot son John Finnemore, Benedict Cumberbatch's insecure upper class pilot (who finally lets slip how he became a Captain so young) and Roger Allam's glorious deprecating co-pilot, and once again they play off each other perfectly. This time round they face obstacles like having to go on a refresher Safety and Emergency course, ferry a very dysfunctional orchestra complete with conspiracy theorist who thinks the crew are trying to kill her to Gdansk, deal with a very obstructive ground control in Spain to win a bet, ferry some very disgruntled relatives and, as always, come up with stupid games to while away the boring hours in the air. It may not quite match the first class standard of the first series, but it's still a hugely enjoyable flight that you'll take more than just once.