Inside No. 9

Inside No. 9 - S1E1 - Sardines

At the engagement celebration, the guests and future newlyweds play a kind of hide and seek, where one hides, the others look for him, and whoever finds him joins him in the hiding place. In this way, the episode introduces us to one character at a time, all of whom are somewhat caricatures of different types of people, slowly revealing their mutual relationships. A mildly unpleasant comedy, with a very unpleasant twist at the end. The episode isn't particularly original and feels a bit cheap. It is redeemed only by the silly premise and the ending, which is somewhat stronger than the previous half hour.

6,5/10

Inside No. 9 - S1E2 - A Quiet Night In

Two masked burglars try to rob a luxury house, while the owners are present and in the middle of a marital dispute.

"A Quiet Night In" is an obvious homage to silent comedies from the beginning of the last century, which is confirmed by the choice of Chaplin's granddaughter for the main female role. Essentially realistic situations are over-the-top caricatured and hilarious slapstick gags are lined up one after another without respite, until the (un)expected ending. A very twisted and amusingly morbid episode with a few effective twists, a class above the first episode.

8/10

Inside No. 9 - S1E3 - Tom & Gerri

A teacher, who is trying to make his way as a writer, takes in a homeless man who found his wallet, befriends him and his life suddenly goes downhill.

The episode is interesting, but quite unconvincing. Things just don't work that way. Also, the twist is predictable. Or maybe we actually have no idea what we're watching until the very end... The writers of this series, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, who also play the main roles, surpass themselves from episode to episode, and Conleth Hill (Lord Varys from Game of Thrones) is always a welcome spice, who adds a special touch to the episode.

8,5/10

Inside No. 9 - S1E4 - Last Gasp

A popular singer dies suddenly while visiting a terminally ill girl. His entourage and the girl's family are thinking only about how to get financial benefits out of the unexpected situation. It is a tribute to human greed, selfishness, and cruelty, against the innocence of children. An original idea and a much tamer twist than in previous episodes. It did not leave a particularly strong impression.

6/10

Inside No. 9 - S1E5 - The Understudy

In the theater, the stand-in actors are preparing for the rehearsal and hoping for their big chance. How far are they willing to go to get that chance...

An episode of consistent quality with nothing to complain about, but somehow thin compared to the previous ones and quite predictable. I see that many rank it among their favorites, but I found it boring.

5,5/10

Inside No. 9 - S1E6 - The Harrowing

A teenage girl comes to a creepy house to watch over a sick man while his family is away. She takes her friend with her to keep her company. Of course, it turns out that nothing is as it seems and that what awaits her is not worth all the money in the world.

By far the worst episode of the first season. The script is an unoriginal linear gothic horror, with no real plot or denouement, nor the final twist that is the trademark of this series. Half an hour of slow and boring development of the situation passes in anticipation of a surprise and just when you think - here it is, any moment now - the ending credits start. Just because of the good atmosphere and scenography, I can't go below

4/10

Inside No. 9 - S2E1 - La Couchette

The stiff-necked gentleman in the sleeping car of the train went to sleep. He has an important meeting in the morning. But the compartment has six beds and the other passengers arrive one after the other, making noise and causing a series of comical situations. As things stand, there will be no sleep. Especially when they discover that there is a dead man on one of the beds.

A great cast, a variety of characters characterized very well in just half an hour of an episode, and humor that ranges from harmless verbal and slapstick to perverse, morbid, and quite nasty, all in all, it is a lot of fun. But even though it has a decent plot twist, the episode lacks story strength and didn't leave me with any impression. Fun to watch, but forgettable.

7/10

Inside No. 9 - S2E2 - The 12 Days of Christine

I don't know what I could write about this episode without it being a spoiler. The story is designed in such a way that it is practically impossible to get the gist, because until the very final twist you have no idea what you are watching. And then it hits you like a ton of bricks. From the construction of the story, through the pace, the atmosphere, the acting, to the point and the emotions it evokes, "The 12 Days of Christine" is an excellent 30 minutes of television, the best episode so far, and according to many who have watched all the seasons, possibly the highlight of the entire series. It is only important that you enter the story without any prior knowledge and pay attention to the details.

10/10

Inside No. 9 - S2E3 - The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge

In the 17th century, two inquisitors came to a remote place to try a witch, at the invitation of her own daughter and son-in-law. An almost Pythonesque mockery of primitive mentality, church dogma, witch hunts, and mass psychology. Hilarious trial, excellent scenery and costumes, even better acting, and impressive plot twists. Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton nailed their roles, and Ruth Sheen stole the show, but the rest of the characters are really not far behind. So far, the second season is convincingly better than the first season.

9/10

Inside No. 9 - S2E4 - Cold Comfort

Through the monitor of the security cameras, we observe the events in the volunteer Comfort Support Line organization. The protagonist receives disturbing calls from a girl who threatens to commit suicide and it throws him off track. Things are more complicated than they seem and are gradually revealed to us in the twists and turns towards the end of the episode.

Visually, it suffices to repeat that the episode mimics security camera footage. For this approach to hold water, the episode needs a powerful story to support it, and this one is not. The story development was quite boring to me, and the twists and turns were predictable, far-fetchedly unconvincing, and fundamentally pointless. Only the acting is good. Overall impression - half an hour wasted.

5/10

Inside No. 9 - S2E5 - Nana's Party

At the family celebration of the grandmother's 79th birthday, the sons-in-law traditionally play pranks on each other, and unpleasant family secrets threaten to come to light.

The episode feels like a cheap sitcom, with banal humor, pathetic drama, and a totally disappointing ending. The cutting of the cake is the only scene with some tension, but this idea is not enough to carry the entire episode. Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith, Claire Skinner, and Lorraine Ashbourne performed well, but they didn't have much to work with. In my opinion, it is the worst episode so far.

4/10

Inside No. 9 - S2E6 - Seance Time

The girl comes to the same house from the episode "The Harrowing" for a session of communication with the spirits of the deceased. Of course, things are not what they seem and there are several twists and turns during the 30 minutes.

Excellent acting (Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton, and especially Dan Starkey and Alison Steadman in the role of blind medium Madam Talbot), well-crafted atmosphere, interesting twists, and a couple of nice jump-scare moments. But the story itself, especially the cliche ending, does not deserve more than seven out of ten.

7/10

Inside No. 9 - S3E1 - The Devil of Christmas

A wealthy family comes to the Austrian mountains to ski and in their bungalow, they find a picture of a demon on the wall. It turns out to be a local legend about a demon who rewards good children around St. Nicholas and punishes and takes away bad children. Soon the boy begins to see signs of the demon's visits and the question arises whether it is an unsavory joke of one of the housemates or if the demon really exists.

The story is interesting, filmed in the style of the seventies and actually using equipment from that time, the format in which the story is presented is unusual, and the plot twists are unexpected. Original, risky, and quite successfully executed. The problem is that I can't stand "found footage" and similar film forms, so I can't judge this episode objectively. From me, one subjective

7/10

Inside No. 9 - S3E2 - The Bill

The restaurant is about to close and four friends get into an argument about who will pay the bill. The discussion turns into a fight, and the fight takes on catastrophic proportions.

What started as a fairly boring viewing of four men talking fast and being hard to understand even with subtitles, ended up being perhaps the best episode yet. It's so good that I'm going to rewatch it before moving on. Great acting, the tension that will keep you on the edge of a knife (pun intended), and completely insane, even breathtaking plot twists. This one really surprised me.

10/10

Inside No. 9 - S3E3 - The Riddle of the Sphinx

A university professor, an expert in cryptic crosswords, catches a young burglar in the act, but instead of calling the police, he spends the night teaching her how to solve riddles. Anything beyond this would be unforgivable spoilers.

It is enough to say that I am tempted to remove a star or two from all the previous episodes, because otherwise, this ten isn't enough above them. But although I wholeheartedly recommend it, I must warn you that it is not for the faint of heart. A brutal psychological horror thriller, as much as it is possible to achieve in a half-hour episode.

10/10

Inside No. 9 - S3E4 - Empty Orchestra

A group of office workers organize a karaoke party for their boss who got a promotion. When word gets out that he has to fire one of them the atmosphere changes and the rivalries bring out the worst in them.

On its own, this episode is watchable and, depending on one's taste, somewhat entertaining, but as part of the "Inside No. 9" series, this is a complete failure and a huge disappointment. It's a classic filler episode that does nothing to justify its existence. Knowing what Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith are capable of and in comparison with the rest of the series, I can not go over

3/10

Inside No. 9 - S3E5 - Diddle Diddle Dumpling

Returning from his morning run, a man finds a new leather shoe on his lawn. He lifts it on the wall to be more visible, but since no one has taken it by the end of the day, he brings it into the house and decides to find the owner. Soon, the search for the other shoe becomes an obsession, distorting all spheres of his life.

At first, the episode seems trite, as if they threw in a filler until the next burst of inspiration, but when they start to pile up twists in the manner typical of this series, "Diddle Diddle Dumpling" gains momentum and culminates in a very shocking and emotional ending. Reece Shearsmith really dominated here.

8/10

Inside No. 9 - S3E6 - Private View

A seemingly random group of people are invited to a closed-door private exhibition, where they soon begin to die one by one.

The episode alludes to several well-known films, is imbued with morbid humor, and could be categorized as a slasher horror-comedy. It is like a crazy combination of Agatha Christie and the "Saw" series, with a touch of "Friday the 13th." Peter Kay, Morgana Robinson, Montserrat Lombard, Reece Shearsmith, Fiona Shaw, Steve Pemberton, Felicity Kendal, Johnny Flynn... quite a cast that nailed their roles. It is not a masterpiece, but it is well worth watching.

7,5/10

Inside No. 9 - S4E1 - Zanzibar

On the ninth floor of the hotel, the rooms are slowly filling up, and the fates of the guests begin to intertwine in crazy ways.

This episode in verse is an obvious homage to Shakespeare and is based on elements of his most famous plays. Unlike the previous three seasons, the episode that opens the fourth is a pure comedy of confusion. It is quite convoluted, vulgar at times, tense here and there, completely wacky, and really fun, without a single moment of idleness.

Jaygann Ayeh, Reece Shearsmith, Rory Kinnear, Bill Paterson, Marcia Warren, Steve Pemberton, Hattie Morahan, Helen Monks, Tanya Franks, Kevin Eldon.

9/10

Inside No. 9 - S4E2 - Bernie Clifton's Dressing Room

Three decades after parting ways, a pair of comedians known as Cheese and Crackers are reuniting for one more, farewell performance. As they rehearse old skits, memories come flooding back and disagreements and reasons for the split are revealed.

It's very cute, very emotional, and easy to watch, but it's unoriginal and unimpressive. I saw it yesterday, and I could not remember today what it was about until I checked it on the internet. The strongest assets of the episode are Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, who really nailed their roles here.

7/10

Inside No. 9 - S4E3 - Once Removed

The moving service comes to move the family and finds the corpse and the woman who begins to explain what happened.

This darkly humorous mystery-thriller tells us the story from the end to the beginning, showing us the last ten minutes, then jumps to the previous ten, then to the previous ten, and each jump brings new twists and surprises. At times it is a bit difficult to follow, but it is worth the effort. A good idea executed even better, with an excellent cast and effective directing. Besides Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, there are Monica Dolan, Nick Moran, David Calder, and Emilia Fox.

8/10

Inside No. 9 - S4E4 - To Have and to Hold

A middle-aged married couple doesn't get along like they used to. The wife tries to stir things up, but the husband, a wedding photographer, is absentminded and does not respond to her initiative. He spends too much time in the basement where he has built a photo-developing chamber, and he doesn't think much of his married life. But is work the only thing that ties him to the basement...

Mostly a slow-moving marriage drama, "To Have and to Hold" eventually turns into a creepy thriller. Pemberton gave one of the best performances of the series here.

7/10

Inside No. 9 - S4E5 - And the Winner Is...

The jury gathers to choose the winner for the best female TV role. This time, in addition to people from the industry, there is also a representative of the audience on the jury.

The idea is cute, the acting is good, the humor can come through, and it's somewhat entertaining, but far below the standards that Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith set for themselves from the start. A tame, mildly witty satire of the world of film and television, without the strong atmosphere and shocking twists we're used to.

4,5/10

Inside No. 9 - S4E6 - Tempting Fate

A three-member team comes to the apartment of the deceased hoarder to clean up the clutter and the traces of blood. What awaits them there catches them off guard.

Not a particularly original premise about the consequences of greed, but the atmosphere is superbly built, the characters are believable, and the twists, although they later seemed logical and predictable, even clichés, still surprised me. The ending is very effective and poignant, one of the best so far.

This minimum amount of characters in reviews is quite irritating. They should get rid of it.

9/10

Inside No. 9 - S5E0 - Dead Line

There's no way to tell in short what this episode is about, because it's not about anything. It was a Halloween special, live episode that simulated technical issues, later revealed to be caused by paranormal activities.

Quite an interesting idea, that gives an opportunity for originality and awesome twists, but they should have put more effort into it. There was no plot, no characters, no real twists, nothing to care about or be shocked, stressed, amazed. It's not a filler episode, the idea had potential, but the experiment failed badly. I barely forced myself to endure till the end, knowing what Steve and Reece can do and expecting that some awesome ending twist would justify half an hour of boredom. But wait didn't pay off. It was simply nothing about nothing. Maybe if I had been watching it at the time, live on TV, it would have been more effective, but I honestly doubt it. Huge disappointment and nothing but a complete waste of time.

2/10