ianlouisiana Review of Inside No. 9

Inside No. 9 (2014–2024)

Well,it's funnier than"Inside No.10"...........................

[7 February 2014]

But I can see that it won't be everyone's cup of tea.There are no jokes,no funny foreigners,no silly voices and no kids,cute or otherwise. It is insidiously involving however and the first episode:- "Sardines" had a great cast and a killer ending. Set at a middle - class family party in a big old house where patriarch Mr.Timothy West thinks it's still 1955,a game of sardines is in progress with all the characters eventually hiding in a big wardrobe in a bedroom. Familial tensions simmer as the members are forced into close proximity with one another and an appalling secret is revealed at the end. With most of the action going on in what is in effect a large cupboard, the cast interact beautifully and here I must mention the great Miss K.Parkinson who is the first face we see and to whom the eye is drawn even when she is not the focus of attention. Mr S.Pemberton - the sublime Mick Garvey from "Benidorm" quietly seethes with hatred and resentment throughout what is actually nobody's idea of a TV comedy series - more a bleak tale of convoluted relationships and the things we humans do to each other and try to justify. With that caveat,don't expect many belly - laughs. But it is fascinating stuff nonetheless and together with "Uncle" and "House of fools",reason enough to think that the BBC has it's mojo back.