I'm not sure what exactly struck me and my partner about this relatively obscure Scottish aviation sitcom from the mid nineties. We'd not long returned from a rather unaccustomed set of galling long-haul flights when it was repeated by BBC Scotland and it's beguilingly silly mix of camp foolishness and nostalgic nineties beige was rather intoxicating. Plus Alan Cumming is magnificent at all times.
Loosely based on a set of exaggerated cabaret characters that Masson & Cummings used to perform as, Steve is a lovesick buffoon and Sebastian is a fame-hungry slugabed. They are opposite the acidically prim Shona Spurtle played by (the usually very dry) dramatic actor Siobhan Redmond and the possibly deeply insane hammy English captain Hilary Duff. It's an odd set-up, more cheeky pantomime than sharp comedy and the series is at its best when they abandon all pretence at sitcom structuring and delve into strange parody as in the steward "boot camp" episode or the wildly silly spoof of Batman in the final episode. The entire endeavour is enlivened by Masson & Cummings road-sharpened chemistry and the particularly the latters' magnetically mannered performance.
Apparently there was a second series written but it was scuppered by Cummings (well deserved) ascending stardom although part of me still hopes they come back together and try it again one of these decades. As such, it remains a strangely comforting slice of 90s Scottish sitcom silliness.
Loosely based on a set of exaggerated cabaret characters that Masson & Cummings used to perform as, Steve is a lovesick buffoon and Sebastian is a fame-hungry slugabed. They are opposite the acidically prim Shona Spurtle played by (the usually very dry) dramatic actor Siobhan Redmond and the possibly deeply insane hammy English captain Hilary Duff. It's an odd set-up, more cheeky pantomime than sharp comedy and the series is at its best when they abandon all pretence at sitcom structuring and delve into strange parody as in the steward "boot camp" episode or the wildly silly spoof of Batman in the final episode. The entire endeavour is enlivened by Masson & Cummings road-sharpened chemistry and the particularly the latters' magnetically mannered performance.
Apparently there was a second series written but it was scuppered by Cummings (well deserved) ascending stardom although part of me still hopes they come back together and try it again one of these decades. As such, it remains a strangely comforting slice of 90s Scottish sitcom silliness.