Inside No. 9

When asked if the Voyager space probe should carry an audio recording of J. S. Bach's music, Carl Sagan (or possibly Freeman Dyson) supposedly replied: "That would just be showing off." If we assume aliens have any concept of dark humour and visual storytelling, the same could be said about this series.

The first three episodes are absolute masterpieces of their respective (quite different) styles, which is even more impressive when you realise they were all written and directed by the same people.

Episode 4 is probably the weakest of the first series, but episode 5 is fairly solid and the finale goes back to near perfection, manipulating the audience's assumptions to deliver a surprise even after we've learned to expect it.

The second series can't quite live up to the first. There are a few stylistic highlights (especially the 2nd and 4th episodes) and a few laughs (especially in episode 3), but the plots are more disjointed, the twists more predictable, the direction blander, the endings less satisfying. Even the order of the episodes somehow feels "wrong". It's still better than 99% of what's on TV, and definitely worth watching, but it won't humiliate alien film-makers as thoroughly as the previous season.