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"A good landing's any landing you can walk away from; a great landing is one where they can reuse the plane."
―Douglas

Douglas Richardson is the First Officer of MJN Air, who flies Gerti alongside Martin Crieff.

Character[]

"I do profoundly apologise for my first officer and his badly misjudged attempt at humour."
―Martin, Limerick

Douglas Richardson is an effortlessly charming, authoritative, dark-brown voiced, smooth, old sky god. He's twenty years older than Martin,[1] and spent most of those as a captain for the mighty Air England, before finding himself unexpectedly on the job market after a difference of opinion with Hong Kong customs about whether having seven silk kimonos stitched inside one's jackets indicated one was a smuggler... or simply a lovable eccentric.[2]

Having to sit in the co-pilot's seat, fly drunken city boys to Biarritz, and then hoover the plane afterwards is not how Douglas imagined the last ten years of his career, but with a wife to support, and two different flavours of alimony to pay, he's not in a position to be choosy. And on the bright side, there's Martin to tease, and... well, there's Martin to tease.

Personal life[]

Douglas has been married three times, most recently to Helena, though the relationship fell apart due to her affair with her tai chi instructor.[3] John Finnemore confirmed in a series of tweets that Douglas has two daughters, each from a different marriage, and that the older one is called Verity. Verity was scheduled to appear in Timbuktu, but this was scrapped.[4] The younger, unnamed daughter is mentioned in Johannesburg when Douglas bombards her birthday party with a sugar brick.

As revealed in a cut scene from St. Petersburg, Douglas' parents were both doctors. Douglas went to medical school but gave it up to become a pilot, which was a disappointment to his parents.[2]

In the Show[]

The conflict between Douglas (the First Officer who ought to be Captain) and Martin (the Captain who ought to be First Officer) drives a lot of the first series. One of the few moments in which Douglas shows vulnerability in the first series is when Martin discovers that Douglas pretends to be Captain in front of his wife, demonstrating how important the position is to his image. In the same episode, Douglas reveals that he is teetotal and drinks water disguised as vodka to protect this image.

Over time, the relationship between Douglas and Martin (and the rest of the crew) becomes more cordial and, by the end of the series, genuinely friendly. In Zürich, Douglas admits to Martin that his image is based on an old Air England captain he used to work under, and suggests Martin could base his own image on Douglas.

Douglas is a relentless schemer who is (almost) always one step ahead of his adversaries: he always steals the whisky on Birling Day,[5][6][7] and many episodes (including Ipswich, St. Petersburg, and Xinxhou) are resolved with Douglas' problem-solving. The others come to rely on his ability to plan his way out of trouble, though he rarely does it unless there's something in it for him, such as when he engineers his way into the state room in Cremona, or attempts to get Carolyn to let him take Gerti to Spa in Rotterdam (one of the few schemes that backfires).

Douglas displays maturation in Zürich with his willingness to do what's best for the whole crew, not just him, even if it risks mistakes. This shows that he has earned his place in Captain's seat which he finally regains in the new OJS Air.[8]

References[]

  1. S1E1: Abu Dhabi
  2. 2.0 2.1 Cabin Pressure Transcript: Interview with John Finnemore. Retrieved 21st February 2024.
  3. S2E6: Limerick
  4. Forget What Did: Timbuktu. Retrieved 21st February 2024.
  5. S1E5: Edinburgh
  6. S3E3: Paris
  7. S4E1: Timbuktu
  8. Forget What Did: Farewell Bear Facts - Zurich. Retrieved 21st February 2024.
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