Inside No 9, TV review: Toilet humour with a twist - Pemberton and Shearsmith are in a different league
The duo's twisted tale anthology introduced unpredictable plot twist after unpredictable plot twist, as six strangers gathered in a sleeper cabin
Ellen E Jones
Ellen is The Independent's TV critic. She writes a daily review of Last Night's TV and a weekly 'Inside TV' column for the i paper, as well as a column on general topics for the main paper most Wednesdays. Ellen is a former Hollywood correspondent and a contributing editor to Little White Lies, she's written on TV, film, lifestyle, travel and politics for publications including the Guardian, The Times, The Sunday Times, Esquire and Total Film.
Friday 27 March 2015
Of all the horrors conjured up by co-writers Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith in their twisted tale anthology Inside No 9, sharing a confined space with burping, farting, sweating, snoring Jorg (Pemberton), as meticulously detailed in last night's series two opener, must be the most traumatic.
Jorg was one of the six strangers sharing a sleeper cabin, or "couchette" (Couchette No 9, of course) on the night train from Paris to Bourg St Maurice. Uptight Maxwell (Shearsmith) just wanted to get some shut-eye, older couple Les and Kath were en route to their daughter's wedding (Mark Benton and Julie Hesmondhalgh, enjoying another plum post-Corrie role), and then there was Aussie backpacker Shona (Jessica Gunning) and her latest conquest, Hugo (Jack Whitehall), shamelessly getting down to it in the bottom bunk.
Claustrophobia was a favourite theme in the last series ("Sardines" took place almost entirely within a wardrobe), but the train setting in "La Couchette" also added a Hitchcockian elegance to Pemberton and Shearsmith's usual mix of gothic-horror influences. And while there were only two strangers on Hitch's train, Inside No 9 brought together several (mostly) unpleasant individuals with competing motivations, introduced unpredictable plot twist after unpredictable plot twist, and did it all in one briskly efficient half hour.
It's true that last night's guest stars weren't given the opportunity to stray very far from their established types (Hesmondhalgh was frumpy but compassionate, while Whitehall played yet another clueless, posh student), but simply the opportunity to be in the presence of Pemberton and Shearsmith's weirder character creations must have been inducement enough to sign up. It was Jorg's grunting and squatting that produced the episode's impressively grotesque climax, but it was Whitehall as Hugo who followed up with the instantly quotable line: "We're going to need a bigger box!"
Music Why this music festival is still the place to spot the next big thing
Film review Michael Glatze biopic isn't about a self-hating gay man gone straight
Arts & Ents blogs
- 1 East 17 bandmember Brian Harvey in 'very desperate situation’
- 2 Is this bridge haunted by the ghost of nu rave?
- 3 Woman filmed launching racist tirade against men on the Tube for speaking in 'own lingo'
- 4 The West has it totally wrong on Lee Kuan Yew
- 5 Scientists have discovered a simple way to cook rice that dramatically cuts the calories
-
Britain's first cinema flickers back to life following £6m refurbishment
-
A historian gave the most British look of despair when someone screwed up Richard III's birthday at his reburial
-
James May hints Top Gear days are over following Jeremy Clarkson's BBC exit
-
Fifty Shades of Grey movie shows first sex scene 'after 40 minutes'
-
James May hints he will not continue on Top Gear without Jeremy Clarkson
-
Ukip supporters are 55 or older, white and socially conservative, finds British Social Attitudes Report
-
JK Rowling responds to fan tweeting she 'can't see' Dumbledore being gay
-
Jeremy Clarkson sacked live: Alan Yentob 'wouldn't rule out' ex Top Gear host's BBC return
-
David Cameron calls Labour 'hopeless, sneering socialists' while announcing 7-day NHS plans
-
The West has it totally wrong on Lee Kuan Yew
-
Revealed: Putin's army of pro-Kremlin bloggers
Win a trip to Tobago for two
Discover Tobago with our competition for one lucky reader to have the chance to win a seven night self-catering holiday for two. Enter here.
How researchers are set to leave their marks on solving crime
The technology, which is now being trialled by West Yorkshire Police, could lead to the biggest change in forensic fingerprinting in its 100-year history.
Taking steps to tackle the housing crisis
Whatever the result of the forthcoming General Election, tackling Britain’s housing crisis should be at the top of a new government's to-do list.
Making informed decisions when borrowing money
Borrowing money is not a decision which should be taken lightly. Read this guide to help get the right information.
Crowdfunding: The end-end solution for business success.
Calling all entrepreneurs! See how crowdfunding can provide you with a full-circle, end to end solution for your business.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.