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"Helsinki! How could you not have fun in Helsinki? It’s like half helter skelter and half twinkly!"
―Arthur

Helsinki is the second episode of the second series of the BBC's Cabin Pressure, which was first broadcast on July 17, 2009.

It was broadcast out of order as the opener of the second series in order to get more reviews for the episode, which guest-starred Alison Steadman.[1]

Synopsis[]

Official synopsis for the episode Helsinki:[2]

Carolyn and her sister haven't spoken for fifteen years. Which is why Arthur has invited her to a party on board, together with 500 Euros-worth of smuggled orchids... Meanwhile, Martin gets tangled up in some karate and a fishcake.

Plot[]

As part of a surprise for Carolyn's birthday, Arthur has pseudonymously booked a trip to Helsinki with Carolyn's sister Ruth, along with her deaf husband Philip and her grandson Kieran, unaware that Carolyn and Ruth have long since fallen out.

An angry Carolyn wants to cancel the trip but Douglas, concerned about the longevity of the orchids he is smuggling, convinces her to go ahead with it. En route to Helsinki, Arthur finds that Ruth has indignantly declined to bring a cake so he attempts to make one on the plane, which becomes a gooey 'mostly chocolate thing' that requires a bribe to be brought through airport security.

Kieran has been quizzing Martin about his success, but this later turns to his mocking Martin; Martin clips Kieran round the ear, prompting Kieran to use his orange-belt-level karate on him. The ensuing argument when Ruth, Carolyn, and Philip walk in ends in Arthur throwing his 'cake' in Ruth's face and calling her a 'horrible aunt'.

On the plane home, the crew are surprised to find that Philip is still on board, having left Ruth and Kieran in Helsinki. They also find that he is not deaf, but that he keeps this secret from his family.

Cast[]

Trivia[]

Ruth's surname, Gregson, is a reference to Bertie Wooster's Aunt Agatha Gregson.[1]

Kieran claims an orange belt in karate ("scariest of all the colours"). Depending on the style of karate Kieran practises, this places him between the first and fourth rank above beginner (10th kyū to 7th kyū).[3] Either level is several ranks too high for Martin.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Farewell Bear Facts - Helsinki / Writer's Guild Award. Retrieved 19th September 2023.
  2. BBC Radio 4: Cabin Pressure, series 2, Helsinki. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  3. Wikipedia: Obi (martial arts) - Karate. Retrieved 29th September 2023.
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