Inside No. 9

The best thing I watched last week: Inside No. 9

This week I watched a series that has everything I look for in a British TV show; innovation, an element of the unexpected and something that is just plain well written. That is Inside No. 9 in a nutshell.

Inside No. 9 - Series 2 review

This series feels even more steeped in strong narratives. Perhaps this is because of the pressure of the previous run: viewers now had high expectations.

Reece Shearsmith's favourite TV anthology episodes

To celebrate the release of Season 2 on DVD (out now), Cult Box asked Reece Shearsmith to select some of his favourite ever TV anthology episodes...

You should be watching: Inside No. 9

Occupying a Tuesday evening timeslot on BBC Two, it was perhaps inevitable that Inside No. 9 didn't received the recognition it deserves. After only two short series, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton have succeeded in creating one of the most original and well-written British TV series in years.

Reece Shearsmith on crafting Inside No. 9

Digital Spy spoke to series co-creator, writer, performer and first-time director Shearsmith about how series two was crafted - and whether a third might be in the works.

Inside No 9 - Series 2 DVD review

With some vaguely insightful behind the scenes featurettes for each episode, this is ultimately a superb series of comic anthologies. Let us hope there will be more.

Review: Inside No. 9, Seance Time

No official word has yet come out about another series, but with its consistent quality, and growing critical acclaim, it would seem ludicrous not to bet on its return.

Inside No. 9 - Séance Time review

The BBC don't appear to have enough faith in this series, but if they have any sense they'll realise it's one of their comedy jewels and deserving of some support.

Inside No. 9 ended its run with a story that, I kid you not, had me waking up and fretting in the middle of the night.

A timid girl was shown into the house of a renowned medium. No sooner had their consultation began than a series of terrifying events took place. A candle shot into four-foot flames as the voice of a growling demon issued forth from the smoking mouth of the frail lady medium. Then the lights went on and the whole thing was revealed to be a stunt for a particularly cruel type of reality show called Scaredy-Cam.

The ugliness lingered, ghost-like, even when the cameras had gone off. The host, played by Reece Shearsmith, was an arrogant beast, the medium was a self-obsessed prima donna and the production crew were, at best, indifferent.
When a new victim was ushered in, though, there were spooky happenings that no one seemed to have planned. Slowly, without declaring its hand until the final shot, the half-hour tale built into horror (but a moral horror) where the unkind got their desserts.

You could even say that the modern, callous world of reality TV got a roasting from a format truer of a bygone age, something akin to Play For Today or Armchair Theatre.

However you see it, however it unsettles you, this show is a faith-restorer for those who love TV drama.