Quote: Davida Grimes @ 15th March 2017, 12:10 AM

Okay, so here's my guess about what happened. (SPOILERS btw)

Reece's character is definitely obsessive, and also traumatized by past events to the point of blocking out the memories of his son's death (I'm thinking he either killed the son, or unintentionally was responsible for him dying), and then blocking out the violent act he committed at the end. The end was ambiguous between him having killed the guy to get the shoe back, and him having killed the daughter so that the twins can be together. The shoe guy was in Norfolk, and Keeley Hawes' character made it sound like that was far from wherever they were, but the blood on his hand was still wet. So he could have killed the shoe guy AND the daughter to reunite the twins, or he could have just killed the daughter, or just killed the shoe guy. I'm not leaning toward one of those three options in particular at this point. I think it's supposed to be ambiguous.
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I took it as them making us assume he'd killed the shoe guy, but in fact killed the daughter, backed up when he says that he "wanted them to be together again". It's so easy to overthink No. 9 to the point of seeing things that aren't there. I think it was an outstanding evaluation of a state of grief, and on a rewatch there's so many hints, the amount of symmetrical twins (chairs, lamps etc).

Quote: Sitcomfan64 @ 15th March 2017, 11:39 AM

It's so easy to overthink No. 9 to the point of seeing things that aren't there.

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Yes, yes it is!

Quote: Davida Grimes @ 14th March 2017, 11:35 PM

And I asked Steve what episode(s) they would most like to take on stage and he said A Quiet Night In, but not with real dogs, maybe puppets, like war horse. That would be amazing!

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Well done Davida!

Hooray! And good, because that is mine too and is what No. 9 was meant to be I thought - tense and funny, not like those of late. The bit that made me and my wife burst out laughing was when the put the Yorkie out in the garden and the wolfhound loped in - so funny and well timed, which was even more enjoyable for us as it was a cream Pendomer wolfhound - we had one of these called CJ - "Cream Job"

As for this week's, my only comment is if it was his daughter he killed then why didn't she react more? You would have thought she would have screamed the house down and beat the shit out of him. Yes/No?

I think she was in shock. Her response time to him having the shoe back wasn't exactly lightning quick either.

Also, if he killed the daughter and not the shoe guy (or killed both the shoe guy and the daughter), then we could still plausibly assume she thought he had only killed the shoe guy, as he was just talking about the shoe guy a moment earlier in response to the blood on his arm. It might not have sunk in that he could have reunited more than just the pair of shoes.

And thanks Herc! That dog was friggin' huge! Designing a functionining stage set for A Quiet Night In sounds like it would be both beautiful and challenging to make. I like the puppets idea though.

The Pendomer Wolfhounds are both big and tall, as our CJ was. Beautiful dog that I miss dearly.

Must have a look at Twitter for the Q&A, well done Davida! Well, caught up with the episode last night, it's my favourite so far,. I loved the ludicrous idea of the obsession with the one shoe and as it goes on the layers of why he's obsessed being revealed were brilliant. I think he killed the Norfolk guy as he said he was reluctant to give him back the shoe (can't remember the exact words and I'll need to watch again) and when he said he wanted them to be together, I think he meant the shoes...maybe.

I'm still kind of leaning toward him being redponsible for 3 deaths. Both the twins and the shoe guy.

The line about the shoe guy was something like: "I went to visit Ted" "What, up in Norfolk" "Yes, in Norfolk. He didn't want to give me the shoe back. He said something about me being unreasonable" "David, what did you do?" "I don't remember" *sirens approaching*

I think he killed the shoe guy because I think the police had to have been called because of the shoe incident in Norfolk. He was alone in the house, presumably with the daughter, do unless the neighbors heard screams and called the police no one would have known to call the police yet for him killing the daughter. But the blood still being wet hours after the shoe guy incident makes me think he reunited both pairs, the shoes and the twins, which were all together in the photograph at the end. My assumption that he was responsible for the son's death is the biggest leap I think, but it makes sense to me. He's the one who put the shoe out on the pavement separating the pair, so I think he was the one to cause the son to die separating the twins, too. Seems like a symmetrical conclusion to me.

Favourite episode though, for sure! I loved Reece in it. It was a very Reece character. Did anyone else sense any sexual tension between the wife and Steve's character?

Also I searched #thelostshoe on twitter and found a picture from 2015 of pretty much that exact black slip on leather shoe, except the caption was in arabic and translated to something like. "Finally solved. #thelostshoe. Much drama." In Arabic. I think I might be losing my mind.

Anyhow...

I've finally caught up with this series. I've watched all 4 episodes (ep.2-5) in the past 12 hours. I noticed the hare theme before I read this thread! Very clever writing. Is the hare theme in their other work too or just this series?
My favourite episode this series has to be the sphinx. Really reminded me of how I felt when I saw the first episode of IN9 I ever saw - The 12 days of Christine.
I didn't see the first series at all, so having read the rest of this thread and seen your comments, was IN9 ever actually a comedy? I keep thinking about this and I really don't understand why its classed as a comedy. I know they've done comedy in the past, but really? I think even with League of Gentlemen there was much more to it than just comedy. It's great character observation and timing and all the great things of comedy, but a hybrid drama. It reminds me of the work of David Renwick in that respect - for example the hour long episodes of One Foot in the Grave.
I feel that the time frame of 30 minutes does restrict somewhat. By the time some of the episodes are getting going its nearly time to end. I found that with episode 5 in this series.

Quote: Davida Grimes @ 16th March 2017, 7:14 PM

The line about the shoe guy was something like: "I went to visit Ted" "What, up in Norfolk" "Yes, in Norfolk. He didn't want to give me the shoe back. He said something about me being unreasonable" "David, what did you do?" "I don't remember" *sirens approaching*

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I particularly liked the lines about Norfolk, coming from there myself. The 'what, up in Norfolk' line was particularly reminiscent of how many people talk of the county as if it's in the back of beyond.
In relation to what happened at the end of the episode and the cause of the blood. I feel the freshness of the blood suggests something happened with their daughter and the references to togetherness, but then surely if it was just the daughter why were the police on their way, who would have called them? So I think he could have killed both. But that's the brilliant thing about IN9. The suggestion without the reveal. The unknowns that keep you wanting more.

The only downside is that there are times, when Steve is delivering his lines, all I can hear in his voice is Pauline. I heard it in the Sphinx episode and that distracted me a little. Nevertheless, all round probably the best series on TV at the moment.

Quote: HCook @ 17th March 2017, 10:07 AM

I didn't see the first series at all, so having read the rest of this thread and seen your comments, was IN9 ever actually a comedy? I keep thinking about this and I really don't understand why its classed as a comedy.

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It certainly started out as a comedy as my favourite "A Quiet Night In" would prove. It was hilarious with lots of Hitchockian tension.

Quote: HCook @ 17th March 2017, 10:07 AM

I've finally caught up with this series. I've watched all 4 episodes (ep.2-5) in the past 12 hours. I noticed the hare theme before I read this thread! Very clever writing. Is the hare theme in their other work too or just this series?
My favourite episode this series has to be the sphinx. Really reminded me of how I felt when I saw the first episode of IN9 I ever saw - The 12 days of Christine.
I didn't see the first series at all, so having read the rest of this thread and seen your comments, was IN9 ever actually a comedy? I keep thinking about this and I really don't understand why its classed as a comedy. I know they've done comedy in the past, but really? I think even with League of Gentlemen there was much more to it than just comedy. It's great character observation and timing and all the great things of comedy, but a hybrid drama. It reminds me of the work of David Renwick in that respect - for example the hour long episodes of One Foot in the Grave.
I feel that the time frame of 30 minutes does restrict somewhat. By the time some of the episodes are getting going its nearly time to end. I found that with episode 5 in this series.

I particularly liked the lines about Norfolk, coming from there myself. The 'what, up in Norfolk' line was particularly reminiscent of how many people talk of the county as if it's in the back of beyond.
In relation to what happened at the end of the episode and the cause of the blood. I feel the freshness of the blood suggests something happened with their daughter and the references to togetherness, but then surely if it was just the daughter why were the police on their way, who would have called them? So I think he could have killed both. But that's the brilliant thing about IN9. The suggestion without the reveal. The unknowns that keep you wanting more.

The only downside is that there are times, when Steve is delivering his lines, all I can hear in his voice is Pauline. I heard it in the Sphinx episode and that distracted me a little. Nevertheless, all round probably the best series on TV at the moment.

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I don't think it's a comedy, but I do think it's funny at times, and the times when it's not funny it's at the very least clever, which is just round the corner from funny. I like it as a fan of comedy, but I certainly don't like it just for the comedic elements. I like the drama and the writing and the characters and the other stuff just as much if not more.

I'm torn between Diddle Diddle Dumpling and Sphinx for favourite. But this series is definitely my favourite overall of the three and I'm with you in thinking it's the best thing currently on telly.

I like your theory about the ending (since it's pretty much the same as mine).

Quote: Davida Grimes @ 17th March 2017, 1:24 PM

I'm torn between Diddle Diddle Dumpling and Sphinx for favourite. But this series is definitely my favourite overall of the three and I'm with you in thinking it's the best thing currently on telly.

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But isn't that like saying a pop group's current hit is the best just because it's the flavour of the month? I know you wouldn't be that naïve Davida but I think there were far better earlier episodes - the one I mentioned and say the 12 Days of Christine, which I think was brilliantly written and filmed.

Anyway, that's not why I came on here just now. It is to say it's a bloody crying shame that you cannot access any British On Demand, but at least, as zooo says, the Frank/Noel portraits should be on Red Nose Day.
In the meantime, and small consolation, I have done this for you:-

I probably am being naive. Maybe it's the the excitement and the newness of it but I think this series has topped the first two. 12 Days of Christine and Tom and Gerri are still right up there on my list, but I was blown away by Sphinx and Dumpling. There's no need to rank them really. There isn't one I don't like.

Thanks for the pic Herc! I appreciate it! I don't know how I'm going to access red nose day stuff either. I'm guessing a lot of it will end up online. Hopefully mostly not blocked to foreigners.

I found 'a quiet night in' online and you were right, it is brilliant! I'm going to have to watch the rest of the first series now.

Quote: Davida Grimes @ 17th March 2017, 4:43 PM

I
Thanks for the pic Herc! I appreciate it! I don't know how I'm going to access red nose day stuff either. I'm guessing a lot of it will end up online. Hopefully mostly not blocked to foreigners.

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This screen grab was especially chosen.........................................

Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 17th March 2017, 11:50 PM

This screen grab was especially chosen.........................................

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For the hare? Yeah, I see it. I can't not see it now. It sticks out like a sore thumb. It was too easy to find in the most recent episode. Not that I'm complaining.

Sidenote: Adam Tandy (Inside No 9's producer) tipped me off to the existence of a new netflix type service that offers BBC and ITV content to people outside the UK called Britbox today. Looks excellent, and S1 of No9 is up on it already.