cabin pressure replay - 1x01: abu dhabi

[rebellious_toes]

I've been doing this Cabin Pressure replay thing on Tumblr, where I'm listening to all the episodes in the originally intended order and writing a bit about them. Well, to be more accurate, I haven't been doing it. I've been trying to do it in between bursts of procrastination and outbreaks of WHY DID I START THIS I CAN'T WRITE ANYTHING WHAT WAS I THINKING. Anyway, I thought that since I haven't been here in a while, it might be a good idea to repost my ramblings here. I'm also hoping it might encourage me carry on and finish it. So here goes with some thoughts on Abu Dhabi.

• That opening. We’re less than a minute in and I was already in love. Douglas, you are perfect.
• It’s so weird going back and hearing Benedict’s calm and controlled reading of the credits instead of the slightly manic excitement of the later episodes.
• I should mention here that the thing that finally convinced me to check out CP was this confession about Martin being an ancestor of Rimmer from Red Dwarf (I had previously been quite taken with the idea of Benedict playing Rimmer so I was immediately interested) and this opening scene had me wholeheartedly agreeing with that post. His annoyance over the fact that he’s supposedly in charge but no one will listen to him, the insistence on sticking to the rules and respecting the chain of authority, I am Supreme Commander of this vessel. Yeah. Very alike.
• CAROLYN! She was flawless from the very first moment. And I remember being so excited by the airdot line. I finally understood that reference!
• One thing confuses me at this point. Carolyn, why are you giving the dog a bath at quarter past six in the morning? You couldn’t have done that later? You’re not even going on the flight.


• How does bolting two ginormous lumps of metal to a ginormous lump of metal give it lift? This was the moment I fell in love with Arthur. This scene is just him in a nutshell.
• I am going to count to one! She really is the mother to this bunch of unruly children, isn’t she?
• That’s because instead of reading the adventures of Captain Perkins in my punt at Eton College, Oxford, I was re-reading Principles of Climatology for pilots and underlining bits in red. And I’m reminded of Rimmer again.
• I still love that Arthur is genuinely prepared to shin out on to the wing to get to the hold. It’s adorable.

Right, I’m going to stop now or I’ll be here all night. Conclusions: I liked this episode enough the first time to keep listening and it’s got better with every re-listen. It’s a great opener and a favourite of mine that I come back to again and again.

[Originally posted here]