The 'Cabin Pressure' Alphabet Part One Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. We start our trip, naturally enough with the letter 'A'. In the case of the very first episode of 'Cabin Pressure', 'A' is for 'Abu Dhabi'. In this episode we are first introduced to the crew of 'MJN Air' as they transport an oil executive's worldly possessions to the titular destination. One of their client's belongings is a particularly vicious pet; what type of animal is it?

Answer: Cat

In this wonderful first episode we are thrown straight into the chaotic world of 'Cabin Pressure' as the airline (or 'airdot' as it could best be called) CEO Carolyn is furious with her captain, Martin, for taking what she believes to be an unnecessary, and costly, detour to Bristol and insists that the company is going to have to be run much more frugally. During their inaugural trip under this new 'no frills' regime, the client's angry cat attacks the lovable but dim-witted air steward Arthur and is then frozen to death when Martin, heeding a previous warning Carolyn had given him about wasting money by heating the luggage hold, fails to leave the heating on when the cat is in there, necessitating an emergency landing. Meanwhile, Martin and Douglas play 'Brians of Britain', which proves too complicated a game for Arthur and Martin tries to assert his authority over his first officer.

'Abu Dhabi' began the trend of each episode of 'Cabin Pressure' being the name of a destination beginning with a different letter of the alphabet. Although the episodes were intended to be broadcast in their alphabetical order, this has not always been possible.

2. In 'Boston', the second episode of series 1, the crew land a last minute job, returning a group of American passengers back home. However, one of these passengers proves something of a handful, he makes Martin cry, continues smoking in the airplane toilet and is generally extremely rude. What is the name of this unpleasant passenger who meets a somewhat undignified end on board Gertie?

Answer: Mr. Hamilton Liman

Mr. Liman suffers a heart attack after Arthur sprays him with a fire extinguisher, having been instructed to do so by Martin after the troublesome passengers refusal to stop smoking in the toilet. Arthur delivers a particularly moving eulogy to the late Mr. Liman while Martin and First Officer Douglas Richardson engage in a serious game of 'Simon Says'.

3. In episode 3 of the first series, Arthur and Martin have stars in their eyes when they are booked to transport a film actress to 'Cremona', what is her name?

Answer: Hester Macauley

Hester (played by Helen Baxendale) has recently starred in a popular film based on the story of King Arthur and his knights and is consequently being followed around by groups of beardy male fans dressed in home-made armour and, "singing a song about a dragon". With the help of a dozen black shirts Douglas is able to concoct a cunning plan to allow the crew to upgrade from the horrible hotel Carolyn has insisted on them staying at to somewhere much more fitting. Meanwhile Martin has trouble playing it cool around Hester and Arthur ponders the age old moral dilemma of whether it is unprofessional to inform a client that you once made a collage of their face out of pasta.

4. In episode 4 of series 1 the crew go to the rescue of a national sports team who have become stranded at an airfield in 'Douz' after the airline they were travelling with went bust. The crew have to outwit the unscrupulous airport manager and find a way to get past two baggage carts and a strategically placed fire truck in order to get themselves and the team home. What surprising national sports team are the crew transporting in this episode?

Answer: Scottish cricket team

After an argument with the manager of the airfield the crew find themselves stranded on Gertie with no fuel and consequently no way of escaping and no air conditioning. Meanwhile Douglas takes part in an impromptu game of half-naked cricket on the stationary plane, Arthur attempts to take a photograph for the company brochure that really encapsulates what MJN is all about and the crew discover that, not only can you feed a rabbit on cheetah food but that you can also feed a cheetah on rabbit food. Nobody is able to discover what side of the road you should drive on if you are taxiing a jet plane down a deserted desert road.

5. In the fifth episode of the first series we join the crew for a very important annual tradition for MJN Air, because it is the finals of the rugby world cup which means it is 'Birling Day'. On this day the crew fly a very rich, very posh and extremely rude man called Mr. Birling to watch the rugby which, this year, is taking place in 'Edinburgh'. One 'Birling Day' tradition is Douglas', usually successful, attempt to steal a bottle of expensive whiskey, which Carolyn buys in specially for their VIP. What premium brand of whiskey is this?

Answer: Talisker

Douglas consistently comes up with clever plans to steal the Talisker, none of which Carolyn has managed to foil despite having Douglas frisked before and after the flight and putting other measures in place. Martin is confused as to why Douglas and Arthur are so cravenly toadying to the outrageously rude Mr. Birling, however, when Arthur lets it slip that their customer is an extremely generous tipper Martin shelves his dignity and joins in with the toadying. Martin is also shocked to discover which side Mr. Birling is cheering on in the rugby final while Arthur despairs of ever finding another girlfriend and discovers that aeroplanes do not have television aerials on the roof.

6. In the sixth and final episode of series 1, the crew are busy doing nothing at their home airfield in 'Fitton' as they are on stand-by, waiting for a customer who, they are pretty sure, must have forgotten about his booking. At the end of this episode we briefly meet Douglas' wife when Martin returns an item Douglas had left on the plane to his house and learns a shocking secret about his first officer. What is the name of the current Mrs. Richardson?

Answer: Helena

Having spent most of the day waiting for a customer to arrive, Carolyn eventually accepts that he is not coming and allows the crew to have a drink. Unfortunately, shortly after this their client turns up expecting them to fly him to his destination.

Although Douglas and Arthur have not had any alcohol, Martin and Carolyn are both quite drunk. In order to keep the customer from finding out that one of the pilots he has hired is drunk, Martin and Arthur trade uniforms and Arthur gets to briefly live his dream of becoming a pilot, even if he doesn't get to do any actual flying! Also in this episode Martin discovers that Douglas has a romantic side and Arthur explains the secret to true happiness.

7. In the first episode of the second series it is Carolyn's birthday and Arthur has arranged to surprise his mum by booking the plane for the day under a pseudonym and arranging to take her off to 'Helsinki' for the day with her sister, whom she hasn't seen in years, unfortunately, it hasn't occurred to Arthur to wonder why the sisters haven't spoken for so long which leads to an uncomfortable day for all involved! What is the name of Carolyn's estranged sister?

Answer: Ruth

While Carolyn and Ruth bicker, Arthur is busy making a birthday cake for his mum while Douglas has filled the flight deck with orchids which he plans to give to a custom's official at Helsinki airport in exchange for a quantity of seafood. Elsewhere Arthur and Douglas ponder whether Helsinki sounds more like a 'cross between helter skelter and twinkly' or 'a sink in hell' while we learn how, through a series of advantageous swaps, Douglas has managed to turn a cheese sandwich into several hundred Euros worth of fish.

8. In the second episode of series two the crew has its work cut out for it when they have to fly a very temperamental chamber orchestra to Gdansk. Carolyn finds herself particularly tried by a member of the orchestra who suffers from paranoid delusions and who is convinced that spies are hiding everywhere. What instrument does Madame Szyszko Bohusz play?

Answer: Bassoon

While Carolyn is busy dealing with the 'glorified buskers' as she refers to the chamber orchestra, all kinds of fun and games are going on in the flight deck. Unfortunately for Martin, Douglas never loses causing Martin to become desperate to win just one game that he reveals a shocking secret about his job to Douglas. Also in this episode, we learn the rules of 'passenger derby', the dastardly lengths rival bassoonists will go to to nobble their rivals, that the names of Disney characters can hide a sinister meaning and that everybody hates strudel.

9. 'I' is for 'Ipswich'. In this, the third episode of the second series, Carolyn has booked her distinctly unenthusiastic crew in for a training day. The kindly instructor running the SEP course shares his name with which children's television presenter?

Answer: Peter Duncan

Not for the first time, Arthur's misguided attempts at being helpful cause havoc, nearly costing MJN its licence. The crew are forced to cooperate to save the day by rescuing Adrian the dummy from being burned to a crisp and Douglas must learn to conquer his natural shyness when addressing his captain. Meanwhile we learn how many quiches are the recommended serving for an average adult male and Douglas learns who the Alpha dog of MJN Air is, and it isn't him!

10. In the fourth episode of the second series, 'Johannesburg', the episode begins on a dramatic note when a birthday surprise Douglas has planned for his daughter's birthday goes wrong and he ends up dropping a 'sugar brick' on what valuable possession of his ex-wife?

Answer: Koi carp

As the episode opens Douglas is about to surprise his daughter by flying Gertie over her birthday party and releasing a quantity of boiled sweets which he has stored in the air brakes. Douglas is convinced that the sweets will flutter gently down to the delighted children at the party, unfortunately he has failed to take the heat into consideration which results in him dropping a 'sugar brick' over his ex-wife's house which lands in her pond killing her extremely valuable carp.

In need of some quick cash to compensate his wife for the loss of her prize pet, Douglas rashly enters into a bet with Carolyn that involves bringing the next trip to Johannesburg in �2000 under budget.

While Douglas unleashes his inner womble in order to ensure they are flying the most no-frills way possible his plans are somewhat scuppered by a dysfunctional warning light which causes them to make an emergency landing in a remote airfield.

However, after an unexpected burst of confidence and competence from Martin and Arthur, with a little help from a baggage trolley, Martin's new shades and a Spanish engineer with an exhaustive knowledge of the noises animals make, it looks like they might win the bet after all. Meanwhile, Carolyn is finally able to find a use for the deck chair she keeps in the hold at all times.

Source: Author candy-pop

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor eburge before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

This quiz includes questions about each of the first ten episodes of the hit BBC Radio 4 sitcom 'Cabin Pressure'. I hope you enjoy this alphabetical trip around the world with the hapless crew of 'MJN Air'!

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