- "Brilliant!"
- ―Arthur’s catchphrase
Arthur Shappey, played by the writer of the show, John Finnemore, is an airline steward who works for MJN Air.
Character[]
- "Here you are, chaps— erm... chap. Coffee for you, Douglas, and coffee for you... to... maybe have a bit later on... Douglas."
- ―Arthur, Ottery St. Mary
Cheerful, dim-witted, and ever-optimistic, Arthur Shappey is the son of Carolyn Knapp-Shappey and Gordon Shappey. He provides cabin service for MJN Air (though only in an unofficial capacity since Ipswich, wherein he is removed from the crew roster and becomes 'an unusually helpful passenger').
Arthur often helps his colleagues find happiness in smaller things, such as apple juggling.[1] He is always willing to help, sometimes too much so, necessitating a 'Code Red' alarm which Carolyn has to use to get him to 'go away, go away now, go away fast.'[2] His eternal insistence on helping is put to good use in Wokingham, wherein he is the only person able to deal with Wendy's unwillingness to be a fuss.
Despite his 'helpfulness,' he often proves incapable of simple tasks, such as: making coffee for one person instead of two;[3] microwaving a pie;[4] or picking up a piece of paper with an address on it.[3] Arthur's incompetence makes it difficult for the other crew members to trust him, though he is very trusting himself and easily manipulated by people like Douglas.[5] He is unable to lie,[6] leading the other crew to leave him out of the deception in Timbuktu, a decision which is later vindicated when he becomes panicked at the prospect of keeping a secret.
While very enthusiastic as a steward, Arthur's 'steward voice' can be incomprehensible[7] and he has a tendency to confuse or alarm passengers (or both).[8] [2]
Arthur loves games, including Yellow Car, charades (which he is rarely allowed to play, for sanity reasons), and the Travelling Lemon, though he finds Fizz-Buzz a bit too mathsy,[9] and has similar problems with Monopoly.[10]
Arthur, like Martin, wanted to be a pilot when he was young. Carolyn got him an interview at a flying school but, intimidated by the other potential students, he never attended.[11]
In Arthur's more sincere moments, he expresses that he doesn't mind one day inheriting MJN's debt because he couldn't think of anything he'd rather do with the money than go up in the plane.[1]
The only thing seen to really scare Arthur is his father, Gordon Shappey. While Arthur would usually describe any and all people and things as "brilliant", he describes Gordon as merely "alright," to Martin and Douglas' horror.[12]
John Finnemore notes that Arthur is the main character who needs the least development to 'graduate' by the end of the series because he is already happy anyway. The main obstacle to his happiness is the presence of his father, whom he finally stands up to and helps vanquish in Zürich. Arthur instead chooses to respect the other two father figures in his life, Martin and Douglas.[13] He also succesfully overrides Douglas' 'Code Red' in order to help get Gerti back.
Quotes[]
- "Yellow car."
- ―Arthur, Ottery St. Mary
Behind the Scenes[]
Arthur was originally planned to have an elder stepbrother, and John Finnemore toyed with the idea of making him Martin's half-brother.[14]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 S1E6: Fitton
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 S3E4: Qikiqtarjuaq
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 S3E2: Ottery St. Mary
- ↑ S2E6: Limerick
- ↑ S3E3: Paris
- ↑ S2E5: Kuala Lumpur
- ↑ S2E4: Johannesburg
- ↑ S2E1: Gdansk
- ↑ S4E5: Xinxhou
- ↑ S3E1: Newcastle
- ↑ S2E3: Ipswich
- ↑ S3E6: St. Petersburg
- ↑ Forget What Did: Farewell Bear Facts - Zurich. Retrieved 21st February 2024.
- ↑ Cabin Pressure Transcript: Interview with John Finnemore. Retrieved 21st February 2024.