Flibbertigibbet

Aaaaawkward!

I'm working from home today, which means that I have the television going while I work. Right now I have a show on called Airline.

Have you seen this?

I don't know if it's the same people every episode, but this time they're following some Southwest Airline employees as they attempt to do their jobs. Naturally, this involves coming into contact with the general public.

I have never had a job that required me to come into contact with lots of regular people all the time. Regular people are everywhere, so I've certainly talked to them, but I've never had to be the person who stands behind a counter or answers a phone and talks to such a great number of regular people as their primary job function. I've never worked fast food or retail and I've certainly never worked for an airline.

Here are some of the problems they encounter:
- A passenger with no neck (seriously sad and strange) misses her flight.
- A passenger has a very strong and offensive odor.
- A passenger has an over-sized carryon and refuses to check the bag. (Her bag appears to be stuffed full of things, but she points out that she has carried the bad every week without trouble. When she manages to get onto the plane, the bag fits in the compartment easily in spite of what the sizing thingie indicates.)
- A passenger is a professional comedian and decides to hassle one of the flight crew who is an amateur comedian by calling him a million times and keeping him from helping the other passengers.
- A passenger wants to fly to Las Vegas, but does not have a ticket for the flight he needs and he's trying to convince four people to volunteer to give up their seats so that he can go. Fortunately, he has a good story: he's flying out to surprise his girlfriend and propose marriage.

And I'm barely halfway through the show.

The challenge the producers face is that most conflicts that one encounters in an airport are rather short-lived, so it's hard to build and sustain tension over the course of a whole show. So, I respect the challenge. Unfortunately, it is not well-met and the show comes off rather slow and awkward.

The material is deliciously fun, though. If it lasts, hopefully they will perfect the formula and the show will take off. (Take off! Get it? Airline. Take off. See? I'm hiliarious and you know it.)