Saturday 30 April 2011

Sadly 'Arthur's Egyptology Lecture (Dustbuster)' didn't make the cut.

Qikiqtarjuaq. In case you were wondering.

Sorry for the gap - it's been all Cabin Pressure, all the time, round here lately. Apologies also if you are one of the many people to whom I owe a letter, email, phone-call or visit. But as of yesterday, series three is now not only written but recorded, and I now find myself in a strange new world where I must learn what it is humans do when they're not writing radio sitcoms. Answer their emails and visit their parents, possibly. The first thing I did this morning, though, was dismantle the huge and oppressive wall of multi-coloured post-its with bits of plot on them which has grown up round my desk. Here are a few of them:

  • - Eddie immovable.

  • - Carolyn retrieves the lemon.

  • - Arthur's phantom fire. 

  • - Otter in fridge?

  • - Martin grills Martin

  • - No toblerones!

  • - Apple juice confiscated.

  • - Hercules scared of sheep.

  • - Yellow car III

  • - Douglas chases bears. 


The odd thing is, these are all reasonable descriptions of moments in the series. You should have seen Roger Allam chasing those bears last night. Magnificent.

43 comments:

Idina said...

Can not wait for the next series. The last one was stunning! Favorite moment has to be the ending of Gdansk though, that was amazing.

Ally said...

hahaha- Carolyn retrieves the lemon! an otter in the fridge!! awesome :D

Miss Pear (taller freak) said...

Yellow ca-- DAMMIT!!

You are an absolute star. Don't let fame and fans go to your head!

You're clearly a sadist, though, what with the Miss Marple and getting Ben to do that ridiculous French accent. ...M'colleague and I hereby put in a request for German next time round.

Can't wait for broadcast. Be proud! We are!

p.s. Suggest writing Series 4 a bit earlier to reduce stress levels... ;) Relax in the meantime, though!

Anonymous said...

Looking forward to Douglas chasing bears ... I loved the moment when he dived into the swimming pool in 'Ipswich'; the look on his face was priceless. (I know, but I could *see* it ... )

I was unlucky in the ballot for tickets (my Olympic tickets had better come through or I'll be inconsolable) so I'll hope for better luck next time - there *is* going to be a series four, I hope? - and start counting the days until July 1.

Congratulations again, John; you must be exhausted but I'm sure your efforts will be very much appreciated by your many fans.

Cassie said...

A massive thank you for yesterday, Mr.Finnemore. You and everyone else really put on a fantastic show and I haven't laughed so hard in ages. I won't spoil anything on here, but seriously, the next series of Cabin Pressure is going to be amazing! Oh, and another extra thank you for staying back to sign, that was lovely of you! :)

Kathryn said...

The recording yesterday totally made my day. I want to know what Benedict's reaction was when he first got the 'Paris' script. I beg you from the bottom of my heart to please do another series soon.

Anonymous said...

The otter in the fridge was a thing of great beauty as was the Travelling Lemon. Here's hoping for at least 26 episodes!

Susannah said...

I can't stress how much I loved yesterday :) It was an amazing experience and meeting you/Benedict/Roger was great, thank you for all being so lovely to stay behind afterwards :D My sister and I haven't laughed so much in a long time!

kodama said...

Oh, I'm so jealous of you people who have been there!
Now I have so many hints that I don't know what to do about them!
I'll be waiting impatiently for the 1st July, no doubt!
Thank you all for your hard work! :D

Mr. Finnemore, you don't owe me an e-mail, but you could ;-D But visiting parents should be first, I think.

Zed said...

Oh, man. I do hope the shows makes its way onto iTunes quickly. This sounds absolutely wonderful.

Jules Johnson said...

Magnificent.
That just about sums it up!
You.
They.
It.
ALL
Magnificent!!
Yesterday was so completely utterly hilariously brilliant. Hurry up July!!
Congratulations John - aaaaaaaaaand relax.

Anonymous said...

The recording yesterday was absolutely amazing, made my day! And was lovely to meet you afterwards :)

Kate said...

Haha! I DID see Douglas chasing those bears yesterday and it was hilarious! Thank you for yesterday! I enjoyed it so much and my face hurt from laughing by the end :D
It was lovely to meet you afterwards and I can't wait for July!

Rach said...

Yesterday was AMAZING. Absolutely brilliant. July cannot come quickly enough! Favourite moment has to be Douglas chasing the bears XD

Hannah said...

I am so looking forward to the third season, it's going to be brilliant. From the sounds of things there's going to be an episode (or episodes) that I'll love even more than Gdansk, which still makes me laugh hysterically even after the many, many times I've listened to it (I think I could probably recite most of it from memory).

I just wish I lived in England instead of Australia and had been able to try and get to a recording.

Anonymous said...

What a fab day in London! I get to see 2.5 episodes of my favourite radio comedy being recorded and then soak up the atmosphere in central London after the Royal Wedding.

John you are too modest. Indeed you do have a stellar cast, but your writing is bordering on comical genius. Thanks for a wonderful afternoon.

Anonymous said...

Ridiculously exited for the next series, seriously can't wait - fabulous writing and fabulous actors, your hard work pays off, believe me! And I really must stop listening to episodes on my iPod in public, I keep getting strange looks for laughing for no apparent reason...

NoisyJones said...

Brilliant.

Sorry if I laughed too loud, but how could I not? Highlight of my year (with possible exception of 10th wedding anniversary).

I'll be checking Time Out for the advert for series 4.

turkfox said...

I was at the recording yesterday and now I can't wait to hear the other episodes! I'll be careful where I listen to it, though - the sugar brick part almost got me banned from a library...

Oh, and thank you for signing my hat!

eAi said...

Enjoyed the recording of the 2 and a half episodes yesterday! Thanks :)

Anonymous said...

Yesterday was fantastic (I could be daft and say BRILLIANT!) and completely worth the lack of sleep trying to get to London in time. The atmosphere really made the theatre come alive and I'm looking forward to hearing it once it's been produced!

Jessica said...

Indeed Roger was magnificent and Qikiqtarjuaq is now etched onto my memory forever. but you were all magnificent in fact (just like those men in their flying machine)and the face Ben pulled whilst doing the French accent will be conjured up from my memory when the series is aired. Keep us posted! Well done and thanks for all the entertainment.

Kaitebon said...

Cannot WAIT for July!

Petina said...

That was amazing - "A thing of (comic) beauty to be enjoyed forever"! LOVED Ottery St Mary (almost as much as Ipswich - but I'm still laughing afresh at that episode and I heard it ages ago)
You are a comic genius, Mr F. We mere mortal (writers)salute you!

Anonymous said...

Fantastic day. The Hitchcock titles were my favourite.
Please NO German accent, too many comidians do it/ Nazi references when they run out of ideas as it seems.

Any chance for a special with "mishaps"?

Daedalus said...

Anyone wondering where Benedict Cumberbatch gets his talent from should look no further than 70's television shows, such as The Lotus Eaters, where you can see his mother, the wicked and luscious Wanda Ventham, merrily stealing the show.

Oli F said...

Fantastic recording on Friday, I laughed till I cried! You might also like to know that at my 18th last night my family and I played 'The Travelling Lemon' much to our guest's bewilderment - very very fun!
Really pleased we went, can't wait to hear the episodes aired. Well done again!

Miss Pear said...

Oli F said: You might also like to know that at my 18th last night my family and I played 'The Travelling Lemon' much to our guest's bewilderment - very very fun!
AWESOME! Where did the lemon end up? (Or is that not fit for public consumption?!)

Also, nice to see someone here immediately associating Germany with Nazism! That's never been done before...

(Note to John: Sorry for this comment; just got a tiny bit narked as I'm part-German myself! ...Expect my pamphlet on fascism through the post within three working days.)

Gillian said...

Really can't say how brilliant CP is. Just completely brilliant. I realise I sound like Arthur but that's because it is just brilliant (and because I'm quite like Arthur...).

Now I'm counting down to 1 July :)

I'll be looking out for tickets for series 4 - how could I have been so dim as not to realise they might be available for the first three series (well, I reiterate that I'm very like Arthur)?

Anonymous said...

I thought lemon tea was made from wetnaps... Is it a lemon wedge for gin? I can't wait to find out.

Anonymous said...

@Miss Pear: Living in this country for a decade and having been to many comedy recordings I was just stating the most likely. Having recently seen two contempory plays with no connection whatsoever to Germany or the second world war, guess what ....
How about washing machines or fridges... ;-)

@John: Benedict's German in Sherlock was not too bad.

I think Carolyn deserves another triumph over Douglas.

But, John, we trust in you!

Anonymous said...

Christmas special is available from audible.co.uk

ClosetDiva (aka Kate K) said...

Lovely news - quite looking forward to hearing series 3! (Somewhat jealous of those lucky folks who not only got to be at the recordings, but also meet you!)
[Also have to add - just in case - please, please keep up the excellent writing!]

Snow said...

I will have this list next to me as I listen to the new series! I'm so excited for July 1!

Sarah said...

We went to the recording on Friday and loved it. My favourite bit had to be the end of the game of travelling lemon. Although I got into trouble with my mum for going and laughing too much as I went into premature labour on Saturday!

My husband noticed the significance of the titles of the episodes and we spent the train journey home listening to the beginning of all the first two series and the Christmas one and writing them down to see if he was right - although the first two in series two are swapped round in the file I got from Audible.

Thanks for a lovely and very memorable day, much better than going to the Royal wedding...

L said...

Dugga-dugga-dugga!

Amelia said...

Cannot wait for series 3, I was able to get tickets but because of the Royal Wedding no one wanted to come with me! Sounds like I missed a brilliant show with Ben's French accent! Never mind, I will eagerly await series 4 and maybe a Christmas special this year! Good luck with it in July John, I'm counting down the days!

kodama said...

Those comments made me even more jealous! ;D
If there's any chances of series 4, I'm saving up for a trip to London. I was given a tin box with Tower Bridge on it and I'm putting there every change I have...

Anonymous said...

Absolutely fantastic recording on Friday. Roger Allam chasing bears was, indeed, magnificent.
My friends and I also played The Travelling Lemon on Saturday night. Much fun :)

(We also watched the Royal Wedding on iPlayer and ended up playing Yellow Queen. You are always playing Yellow Queen)

ClosetDiva (aka Kate K) said...

Probably doesn't quite belong here, but I just bought the "Cabin Pressure" Christmas special on Audible and loved it! Had to listen to it right away, of course, and I've now got "Get Dressed You Merry Gentlemen" so ingrained that I'll probably goof up when we go caroling this Christmas. (Yes, never mind that we've just had Easter - some earworms are just that persistent!)

Chrissy said...

As Arthur, you are absolutely adorable. And as yourself, I'm sure.

CP is my favourite programme on radio for which a million thanks.

Writing and acting the thing - can't be many who can do that so brilliantly.

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Mandy said...

Hello there!!

Just wished to delurk to tell you what a fantastic writer you are...

I only just discovered Cabin Pressure via iTunes and have received many funny looks in the last couple of days for randomly bursting into gales of laughter in various public places (in the car, at desk whilst at work) for which your sparkling writing and glorious cast are entirely to blame...

So excited that you were able to round everyone up despite their busy schedules for season 3 - hopefully we'll be able to get it here in Australia soon!