In the 90's, Alan Cumming paired up with the underrated Forbes Masson to write and star in 'The High Life' - a short lived BBC Scotland sitcom set in Prestwick Airport.
Cumming and Masson conceived the show as a pilot for the 'Comic Asides' strand in 1994. The two played Sebastian Flight and Steve McCracken, two airlines stewards who work for Air Scotia. Starring alongside them was the sexy Siobhan Redmond as their sharp-tongued superior Shona Spurtle ( who is often referred to as 'Hitler In Tights' ) and Patrick Ryecart as the deranged Captain Hilary Duff.
As the leads, Cumming and Masson hammed it up no end. As was evident in the opening titles, the style of humour was a mixture of visual slapstick and music hall comedy. For Redmond, this was her first regular comedy series since the patchy Granada Television sketch show 'Alfresco' in the early '80's. Patrick Ryecart was hilarious as Captain Duff. What a pity he isn't seen much on television these days. The late Molly Weir made a memorable guest appearance in the final episode as an eccentric professor.
After only one series, 'The High Life' was finished, despite a positive response from viewers. A second series was written yet went unmade due to Cumming's movie obligations. 'The High Life' may not have been brilliant, but it redeems a lot of the guff that Cumming has done in recent years. Some people may find Steve and Sebastian's camp, over-the-top and sometimes even childish behaviour annoying but trust me it is much funnier than anything you will find in 'The Office'.
The complete series is available on DVD, affording fans the chance to see it again and in 2009, it was repeated by BBC4.
Cumming and Masson conceived the show as a pilot for the 'Comic Asides' strand in 1994. The two played Sebastian Flight and Steve McCracken, two airlines stewards who work for Air Scotia. Starring alongside them was the sexy Siobhan Redmond as their sharp-tongued superior Shona Spurtle ( who is often referred to as 'Hitler In Tights' ) and Patrick Ryecart as the deranged Captain Hilary Duff.
As the leads, Cumming and Masson hammed it up no end. As was evident in the opening titles, the style of humour was a mixture of visual slapstick and music hall comedy. For Redmond, this was her first regular comedy series since the patchy Granada Television sketch show 'Alfresco' in the early '80's. Patrick Ryecart was hilarious as Captain Duff. What a pity he isn't seen much on television these days. The late Molly Weir made a memorable guest appearance in the final episode as an eccentric professor.
After only one series, 'The High Life' was finished, despite a positive response from viewers. A second series was written yet went unmade due to Cumming's movie obligations. 'The High Life' may not have been brilliant, but it redeems a lot of the guff that Cumming has done in recent years. Some people may find Steve and Sebastian's camp, over-the-top and sometimes even childish behaviour annoying but trust me it is much funnier than anything you will find in 'The Office'.
The complete series is available on DVD, affording fans the chance to see it again and in 2009, it was repeated by BBC4.