Inside No. 9 (BBC2)

[Dandontdare]

The third one was an odd beast - kept waiting for a twist that never came (though we can speculate about plenty of backstory - [spoiler]what happened to Alex's wife 3 years ago? who ran over the loan shark?[/spoiler])

Not the best episode, but I'm still amazed that they manage to come up with great ideas after 5 seasons.

[pauljholden]

It's all there...
[spoiler]His wife ran over him, that's why she had damage done to her car. [/spoiler]

It was a subtler, different kind of show - which contrasted greatly with the weird grotesqueries of the last episode. I really loved it. (and I loved the last one too, I'm all in for weirdly changing formats)

-pj

[Dandontdare]

It's all there...
[spoiler]His wife ran over him, that's why she had damage done to her car. [/spoiler]

It was a subtler, different kind of show - which contrasted greatly with the weird grotesqueries of the last episode. I really loved it. (and I loved the last one too, I'm all in for weirdly changing formats)

-pj

Ah yes, I forgot the [spoiler]bit about the car repair bill. I thought it may turn out to be the daughter after all the focus on her driving test. Also wondered if Alex's wife had been run over by the druggie son, starting his spiral off the rails.[/spoiler]

[Dark Jimbo]

The third one was an odd beast - kept waiting for a twist that never came...

Pretty sure they were deliberately playing with expectations, there! Knowing their previous form, my girlfriend was braced for 'something horrible' (her guess - the family would end up making a last stand in the kitchen against an alien invasion!), then turned to me at the end with an 'Oh! That was actually really nice!'

[Fungus]

It really worked well. You know anything is possible with the League, so guessing where it's going is hard to avoid. Detective shows and spotting clues aren't usually my thing, but here it's told with flair and humour and even violence (that hits home, given the ordinary setting). Fantastic.

[Rately]

Thought that was a superb, emotional piece of TV, that touched on things that affect all of us. Family, expectations, failures, pressure, debt, mental health. So much of it rang true.

Immediately into my top five of Inside No. 9 episodes.

The performances by Steve Pemberton and Debbie Rush were something else. The way Julia, the mother, lit up at mention of her errant son having eaten on a stag weekend was just mesmerising and heart-breaking. And the knowledge as parents, as they sat with each other at the table that he would be "Moving on" before long... Just amazing writing and performing.

I don't know if they can keep up the quality forever, but I'm hoping they do, because the freshness, and twists of each episode, and the skill and heart that goes into it is something we should feel very lucky to be able to witness.

[Dark Jimbo]

I don't know if they can keep up the quality forever, but I'm hoping they do, because the freshness, and twists of each episode, and the skill and heart that goes into it is something we should feel very lucky to be able to witness.

Yeah, this series is 3 for 3 so far!

[Tiplodocus]

I really liked the misdirection of the wee boy mentioning [spoiler]Alien crash at school[/spoiler]. What a great episode with fantastically real dialogue and emotion.

[Eamonn Clarke]

On their BBC sounds podcast they talked about how they achieved the naturalistic dialogue and performances. They told the Young actor playing the grandson to just talk about something  that had happened at his own school. Apparently the alien thing is an exercise some teachers use to look at life from a different perspective.

[moogie101]

Just caught up on the last two & amazed how effortlessly they can go from a Psychoville crossover to a Kitchen-sink drama & yet maintain such quality. Was great to see the end of David's story & loved that Episode three just told a story with no need for anything OTT or some shocking twist, although of course we were all looking out for it.

[Timothy]

In a series crammed with greats last night's was something special. Up there with Riddle of the Sphinx.

[Tiplodocus]

Another goodie. Guessed some bits of it but not all. Again I continue to be amazed about how much plot, character, atmosphere  and  incidental detail they cram into 30 minutes.

[Tiplodocus]

That one fell slightly flat for me. I appreciated the rug pull they tried [spoiler]making you think it was a Galen and Angel serial killer thing[/spoiler] but I think they actually spoon fed us too much. I'd have rather had it left open to interpretation.

Oh and the "American" sections had a very false feel for dialogue and accent that kept pulling me out of it.

[Dark Jimbo]

That one fell slightly flat for me.

I know what you mean. I liked episode 5, but I can't see me rewatching that one in a hurry.

[Timothy]

I did like this week's episode, but I thought the ending was a little rushed. It could have done with bit more space with the main character as she came to terms with her condition before the final confrontation with dad.