Inside No. 9, Season 1

Season 1 Episode 2 is a masterpiece. Wish there were current shows like these.

I wish all of the seasons were available here! I came to the show sideways, and was jaw-droppingly amazed. Each episode is a stand-alone with only the number ”9” to tie them together. Considered dark comedy with a twist, it’s much more than that. I really don’t want to give more away because each person deserves to come to this fresh.

It is on very few occasions that a movie or a film leaves me with the feeling that I just experienced something amazing (I hesitate to say ‘genius’ because then it might seem as though I favor hyperbole and can’t be taken seriously). The Tom and Gerri episode went a little over my head, but that may have just been me, other than that the episodes were a beautiful combination of dark humor, crushing realism (when the plot is more realistic), and true horror, with more somber and dark endings than not. And believe me when I say that there are some truly brilliant moments and ideas in this series. Sometimes you see the twist coming from a mile away, then Shearsmith and Pemberton turn it back around on you. Sometimes, because of how dark you know they can get, they surprise you with a bit of light. Sometimes, when the tension is at it’s highest, they crack a joke and have you laughing out of relief. I really wasn’t exaggerating before when I said that this series left me with an odd feeling of something amazing. I enjoy laughably bad stories because they are bad, and genuinely good stories because they are good. But this was something different. More than one episode left me with the odd feeling that I had just witnessed something rare and brilliant. I had to sit back and think to myself ‘wow, this is true genius!” Of course, this is all relative, but I wanted to relay, as much as I could, how this series affected me, as both a writer of horror stories, and a fan of Shearsmith and Pemberton (along with the other two Gentlemen). It is very likely that the general viewer won’t enjoy this as much as I did, but I had to relate my sheer joy at this series and look forward to the second one being posted on iTunes. I must stress that this is not for everyone. But, if you are familiar with the League of Gentlemen’s past series/shows or Psychoville, then that is the type of humor you should expect here. As for the horror elements, you can really tell that these two men appreciate good old fashioned dark situations and classic horror, because it is decidedly more prevalent here than in their past TV projects. To sum up: Classic horror + LoG Humor + brilliant writing + a touch of the fantastic = Inside No. 9