Inside No.9 was a long running British dark comedy anthology series that had been running for the past ten years. Each episode tells a stand-alone story though always features the series creators Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith (Psychoville, The League of Gentlemen) playing central roles, always has the feel of a stage play and always takes place in a location that is numbered 'No.9', often a house but has also been anything from a dressing room to a game show to an escape room. It was thanks to my father that I re-discovered the show, having watched the very first season back in 2014 but then not returning until he recommended it to me a few years back. Fittingly, series 9 is the final season of the show. returning for one final block of six episodes. Would it manage to go out on a high is the question I had running through my head.
It begins with 'Boo To A Goose' that takes place in the carriage of a London underground train that has broken down one night. The eclectic group of passengers that have gotten stranded include outlandish drag queen Wilma (Pemberton), a set in their ways elderly couple, a nurse returning home from her shift, a man suffering severe paranoia and a homeless man (was lovely to see Charlie Cooper from the hilarious This Country playing that role). After the nurse's purse is stolen tensions begin to rise between the passengers. The episodes in Inside No.9 often have a twist ending to them, so you sort of come to expect that. I spent the episode trying to guess what was really going on and have to say I didn't expect what happened. It was a look at how people's perceived roles in society shape their ideals and beliefs, resulting in a dark finale.
Next was 'The Trolley Problem' that had more of a thriller vibe to it. Psychiatrist Blake (Pemberton) has brought to his remote rural home a suicidal man (Shearsmith) that he found on top of a bridge ready to jump. Over the course of the episode it is revealed both characters have dark secrets that they are hiding from each over. Personally, I really liked this one, but I have read other people criticising some of the plot holes that admittedly appear once you begin to really think about what happens here. Aside from voices on the phone, the two creators are the only characters to feature here, and demonstrate how easily they are able to carry an entire episode on their own shoulders.
Next was 'The Trolley Problem' that had more of a thriller vibe to it. Psychiatrist Blake (Pemberton) has brought to his remote rural home a suicidal man (Shearsmith) that he found on top of a bridge ready to jump. Over the course of the episode it is revealed both characters have dark secrets that they are hiding from each over. Personally, I really liked this one, but I have read other people criticising some of the plot holes that admittedly appear once you begin to really think about what happens here. Aside from voices on the phone, the two creators are the only characters to feature here, and demonstrate how easily they are able to carry an entire episode on their own shoulders.
Inside No.9 often likes to experiment with different styles of episodes and the stand-out one in term of feeling different was 'Mulberry Close' that takes place entirely from the viewpoint of a doorbell camera. After the wife of a new couple who have moved into Mulberry Close vanishes, the nosy neighbours suspect the husband (Shearsmith) of foul play and become determined to prove his guilt. I had heard about this one before hand and have to say I was a bit concerned how a whole episode could play out from such a grainy and restrictive camera setting. I needn't have worried as not only was it the funniest episode to come out of season 9, but it also had a series of clever twists that lent this slightly sinister farce some good late stage reveals.
Closing out the middle of the season was 'Ctrl Alt Esc' which my father proclaimed to not only be the best episode of the season, but even perhaps his personal favourite out of all the seasons! Here, Jason (Pemberton) has taken his family to an escape room as a way to bond with them, but it begins to seem that they might be in real danger, with the room maybe an actual real place of horror rather than pretend. The twist here might not have been especially mind blowing but I thought it was a decent one, and maybe even represented the best episode of the season with how well done it was all carried out.
Penultimate episode is 'The Curse of the Ninth'. This was a rare one that didn't take place in present day, instead this was set at a mansion in the Edwardian period. A talented piano tuner (Shearsmith) has been hired to tune a piano for the widow (Natalie Dormer - Game of Thrones TV show) of a recently deceased well known music composer, but it seems the widow might have ulterior motives for bringing the man there. It was great to see the ever reliable Eddie Marsan (Choose or Die, Feedback) in a supporting role here. I would say this was probably the weakest episode of the season for me, feeling a bit Inside No.9 by numbers for me, ending on a predictable note.
That just leaves final episode 'Plodding On' that has the genius setting of a wrap-party for Inside No.9, with Shearsmith and Pemberton playing fictional versions of their real selves. In terms of an ending this was fantastic, it had a giant cast of returning actors from episodes over the past ten years, and there were a boat load of easter eggs and references to past episodes that were joyful to see. In terms of story it wasn't designed to feel thrilling or like a horror, instead it centres on the fragmenting relationship between the two creators as their ideas for what to do in the future are not remotely similar. A good way to finish, and something that I feel will mean more once I have gone back and watched the load of seasons I have yet to see.
That just leaves final episode 'Plodding On' that has the genius setting of a wrap-party for Inside No.9, with Shearsmith and Pemberton playing fictional versions of their real selves. In terms of an ending this was fantastic, it had a giant cast of returning actors from episodes over the past ten years, and there were a boat load of easter eggs and references to past episodes that were joyful to see. In terms of story it wasn't designed to feel thrilling or like a horror, instead it centres on the fragmenting relationship between the two creators as their ideas for what to do in the future are not remotely similar. A good way to finish, and something that I feel will mean more once I have gone back and watched the load of seasons I have yet to see.
I really like Inside No.9 and it has been great to see the two creators mature over the years. In sixth form at school I was obsessed with The League of Gentlemen, and now as an adult it feels like their humour matured at the same rate as mine has. This is a show well worth watching, and being in an anthology format there really is something for everyone.
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