- "The first violins will not sit together; the second violins will not sit apart. The harpist will ignore you unless your aura is orange; there is nothing you can do to make your aura more orange. The tubist must on no account be given alcohol; the conductor must at all times be given alcohol; he will also require the toilet to himself for an hour before landing."
- ―Carolyn
Gdańsk is the first episode of the second series of the BBC's Cabin Pressure, which was first broadcast on July 24, 2009.
It was broadcast out-of-order as the second episode of series 2, to allow Helsinki to be broadcast as the series opener.[1] [2]
Synopsis[]
Official synopsis for the episode Gdańsk:[3]
- When MJN Air is chartered to ferry a chamber orchestra, Carolyn has to deal with the mysterious Case Of The Poisoned Cashews, while Martin gets to run through all of the Seven Deadly Sins. And Arthur learns how not to pronounce 'Szyszko-Bohusz', but does eat a lot of pudding.
Plot[]
While flying a chamber orchestra to Gdańsk, Martin becomes obsessed with winning a game, and is attempting to remember the names of the Seven Dwarfs before Carolyn can.
Carolyn spends most of her flight reassuring a paranoid bassoonist, Madame Szyszko-Bohusz, who believes that everything from the position of her arm-rests to the composition of the salt on her cashews is part of a plot to kill her.
Meanwhile, Martin enters into several competitions with Douglas, including a game of Passenger Derby and a dessert-based bet, all of which he loses. Finally, he goads Douglas into a bet on whether he can land in Gdańsk on time, the stake being three months' salary. While he loses the bet due to weather, he reveals that because Carolyn doesn't pay him to be captain, three months salary for him is £0. In pity, Douglas gives Martin enough hints for him to work out the name of his last Dwarf, though his cabin address of all seven names once again panics Madame Szyszko-Bohusz.
Cast[]
- Stephanie Cole as Carolyn Knapp-Shappey
- Roger Allam as 1st Officer Douglas Richardson
- Benedict Cumberbatch as Capt. Martin Crieff
- John Finnemore as Arthur Shappey
- Britta Gartner as Madame Szyszko-Bohusz
- Matt Green as Amsterdam ATC
- Simon Greenall as Maestro
Trivia[]
Madame Szyszko-Bohusz was named after Ulica Adolfa Szyszko-Bohusza, a street in Kraków where John Finnemore lived while teaching English during his gap year.[1]
Martin and Douglad make a strudel-and-cheesecake-based bet in reference to a bet on the same items in Guys and Dolls. In the original draft, the bet was between red and white wine.[4]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Forget What Did: Farewell Bear Facts - Gdansk. Retrieved 19th September 2023.
- ↑ Forget What Did: Farewell Bear Facts - Helsinki / Writer's Guild Award. Retrieved 20th September 2023.
- ↑ BBC Radio 4: Cabin Pressure, series 2, Gdansk. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
- ↑ Cabin Pressure Transcript: Interview with John Finnemore. Retrieved 21st February 2024.