Up in the Air

What’s it about? You don’t know the UK until you have watched Little Britain. Similarly,you don’t know “one of the busiest airports in the world”,(hint: it’s based in London) until you have watched Come Fly With Me. This mockumentary stars Little Britain’s hilarious duo,Matt Lucas and David Williams. True to their style,they draw parodies of different characters the flyers come across at the airport.

Who’s in it? The six episodes of the first season see Lucas and Williams transform into characters such as feuding pilots,thieving baggage handlers,snooty first-class stewardesses and highly suspicious and slightly racist immigration officers. Apart from the standard characters,the duo has undergone major makeovers to depict British minorities. Taaj Manzoor works as a roving ground staff personnel who nurses an ambition to become a film director. Precious Little is a happy-go-lucky West Indian lady who works at a coffee kiosk but can’t seem to keep it running for too long. Omar Baba,one of the best characters in the series,is the penny-pinching,deceitful owner of Flylo,Britain’s “eighth favourite low-cost airline” whose shenanigans keep getting him bad press.

What’s hot? The characters and the situations are depicted well. Tommy,a would-be pilot,is working his way to the cockpit but has only managed to reach the burger joint. The straight-faced pleasure he derives from plane-spotting (“There’s a plane!”) is endearing. Every episode emerges with at least one quotable quote.

In episode three,Omar Baba is shown at a press conference dodging criticism by screaming,“Richard Branston is a well-known homosexual. If you want to have bum-bum time in the sky you fly with him!”

What’s not? The first viewing of this show comes across as a bit offensive,especially when you first meet Precious Little,depicted as stereotypical heavy,Christian woman who wastes no time to slack off while saying,“praise the lord” in a sing-song voice. So it may not go down well with those sensitive to such comedy. For others too,it may take a fair bit of watching to understand that the characters’ social,religious and ethnic backgrounds are just incidental,sometimes complimentary,to the show’s humour.

Should you be watching it? As the show is based in “one of the busiest airports in the world”,one is bound to come across various situations that one might identify. Also,if you’re still wondering how and why your luggage reached Delhi when it was supposed to go to New York,this show will offer you several hints. In defense of the baggage handlers,“At least the passengers got the peace of mind to know their luggage has left London”.