Inside No 9 - series 6

[jobotic]

No I agree, I didn't mean last week.

[idunnosomename]

I thought Reece (hi) playing a homosexual man in the lift episode was fine but in this it felt a bit shitty. ooh he spends time at the gym looking at hairy arseholes because he's a limp-wristed remainer who doesnt want to fuck jesus when push comes to shove. oh but he felt up his balls and stuff

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Well as I say, I agree with that. It was a cheap, retrogressive gag. Reece's character being an angry, embittered little hypocrite was fine on its own, there was absolutely no need for the 'LOL that's because he's secretly gay' stuff.

On a more positive note, the blatant anti-jingoism message of that episode was very pleasing. It may be par for the course around these parts, but you really don't see much of that on television these days. Steve's wife was a flat-out racist, and while Reece's character enjoyed pointing that out largely to bolster his own sense of moral superiority, you could tell that the writers were fundamentally on his side during those rants.

[kidsick5000]

It was difficult to latch on to. I found every character so believably unlikeable in a way you'd not want to be stuck with them any longer than 5 minutes

[Kankurette]

Well as I say, I agree with that. It was a cheap, retrogressive gag. Reece's character being an angry, embittered little hypocrite was fine on its own, there was absolutely no need for the 'LOL that's because he's secretly gay' stuff.

On a more positive note, the blatant anti-jingoism message of that episode was very pleasing. It may be par for the course around these parts, but you really don't see much of that on television these days. Steve's wife was a flat-out racist, and while Reece's character enjoyed pointing that out largely to bolster his own sense of moral superiority, you could tell that the writers were fundamentally on his side during those rants.

It would have been much better without the repressed homosexuality. They should have limited it to him being a hypocritical liberal.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

It was difficult to latch on to. I found every character so believably unlikeable in a way you'd not want to be stuck with them any longer than 5 minutes

Jesus and the teenage lad both seemed quite nice.

But yeah, it was an episode dominated by annoying, unpleasant characters. I enjoyed the clasutrophobic intensity of it all - Reece and Steve are very good at creating an atmosphere of simmering discomfort - but it was also quite exhausting. Deliberately so, I get that. Definitely one for the 'stress-inducing comedy' thread, though.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

It would have been much better without the repressed homosexuality. They should have limited it to him being a hypocritical liberal.

I agree, hence why I already said that. ;-)

[Kankurette]

I was agreeing with you, mang! Sorry, I'm having an insomnia attack and I'm not always very coherent when it happens.

Normally they're pretty good with gay characters. It's disappointing they'd resort to something so cheap.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Apologies, I hope that didn't come across as a shitty reply. I was only messing.

I feel your insomniac pain, I'm in the grip of it too. Which is why we're chatting about Inside No. 9 at this ungodly hour.

[Kankurette]

Have you seen Barry's thread on the subject?

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I have, yes. Some good, sound advice in there.

[kidsick5000]

Jesus and the teenage lad both seemed quite nice.

But yeah, it was an episode dominated by annoying, unpleasant characters. I enjoyed the clasutrophobic intensity of it all - Reece and Steve are very good at creating an atmosphere of simmering discomfort - but it was also quite exhausting. Deliberately so, I get that. Definitely one for the 'stress-inducing comedy' thread, though.

They'd be amazing as Martha and George in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

[phantom_power]

It was all a bit clunky for me. The woman sees the Jesus figure and frigs herself off or whatever but then chooses not to mention him to anyone else until he appears, and all the stuff with the food and him hiding under the table. The moving of the chess pieces to get to the denouement was a bit too obvious and clumsy for me, and I am not really sure the message was worthwhile after all that

[Tony Tony Tony]

There was very much a whiff of Abigail's Party about this ep for me.

The Den of Geek review had a couple of interesting paragraphs, that will probably lead me, for one, to a rewatch

Making the remainer character a total prick is perhaps a conciliatory attempt to armour the episode against accusations of left-wing BBC bias, but by the end, there's no disguising the political perspective. The episode is an uncompromising look at post-Brexit UK identity and division. First, it paints a picture of the specific version of Britishness that inspires people to wave flags, hang bunting and congratulate themselves on being part of glorious British tradition. And then... it shows them murdering an illegal immigrant who might just be Jesus (Yusef looks the part, turns water into wine, miraculously restores an eaten buffet, has stigmata, and appears in a vision to Penny after his death – there's the Dennis Potter fabulation), before they dispose of his body wrapped in a Union Flag. Well, why pussy-foot around.

and

The psychic wounds, if that's the right way to describe them, of the last few years in the UK have pushed plenty of us to more political engagement. It's no surprise that Inside No. 9 has been moved to do the same. When people age, we either mellow from the firebrand passions of youth or enter a new era of boldness. Maturing TV series are no different, it seems, and judging from this episode and the whole of series six, mellowing is not on this ever-vital show's agenda. Here's to series seven.

[Glebe]

Crikey. Not sure what to make of that. Some of it was a little on the nose. Julian Glover!

[Dusty Substance]

Julian Glover!

Holy shit! That was Julian Glover?! Must have  missed his name in the credits.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

Is this the only series of " Inside No.9" that has had somebody  die in * every* episode ?

[Largely Babble]

I died a little bit during four of them.

[Peter Kurten]

I died a little bit during four of them.

Ah well - it's gone now. And we can all reconvene when it returns to kick it to death all over again.

[olliebean]

Well as I say, I agree with that. It was a cheap, retrogressive gag. Reece's character being an angry, embittered little hypocrite was fine on its own, there was absolutely no need for the 'LOL that's because he's secretly gay' stuff.

The "Gay man can't resist having a non-consensual grope of another man's naughty bits" trope made that particularly regressive.

[Icehaven]

Ah well - it's gone now. And we can all reconvene when it returns to kick it to death all over again.

Hi Reece!

[BritishHobo]

Definitely wish the SECRET GAY angle hadn't been part of it, or at least had been much less significant, as I otherwise thought Reese's character was superbly well-drawn. Railing against tradition and nostalgia, but himself being quite patronising and sneery about a lack of proper respect for vinyl, or for classical music. Very accurate to a type you see online who purport to be liberal and open-minded on issues like Brexit, but are perfectly capable of showing themselves to be petty, smallminded snobs on other topics. It felt a very accurate touch that when confronted with a POTENTIAL IMMIGRANT he also retreated into comforting ideas of an Englishman's home.

[Kankurette]

Definitely wish the SECRET GAY angle hadn't been part of it, or at least had been much less significant, as I otherwise thought Reese's character was superbly well-drawn. Railing against tradition and nostalgia, but himself being quite patronising and sneery about a lack of proper respect for vinyl, or for classical music. Very accurate to a type you see online who purport to be liberal and open-minded on issues like Brexit, but are perfectly capable of showing themselves to be petty, smallminded snobs on other topics. It felt a very accurate touch that when confronted with a POTENTIAL IMMIGRANT he also retreated into comforting ideas of an Englishman's home.

In other words, he's FBPE Twitter.

I preferred last season but there were a couple of episodes I loved (3 and 5). 5 was my fave but then I'm a sucker for Faustian plots and the supernatural episodes. 6 had potential but was a real mess.

[BlodwynPig]

Brilliant fever dream of an episode,  2nd best of the season and best comedy half hour for 20 years

Praize be Jesu!

[BlodwynPig]

There was very much a whiff of Abigail's Party about this ep for me.

The Den of Geek review had a couple of interesting paragraphs, that will probably lead me, for one, to a rewatch

and

Precis. Surprised many on here didnt catch the subtleties of the messaging. Stuffed to the gills. Barbs in the woods

[sevendaughters]

dreadful final episode, some of it was proper Legz Akimbo

[Midas]

Dire. Hated the embittered, closeted homosexual shite. Hated the cheap dementia gags. Hated the humourless farce. Hate hate hate.

[St_Eddie]

Dire. Hated the embittered, closeted homosexual shite. Hated the cheap dementia gags. Hated the humourless farce. Hate hate hate.

Coo.  Didn't realise AM was doing television reviews these days.

[BritishHobo]

Brilliant fever dream of an episode,  2nd best of the season and best comedy half hour for 20 years

Praize be Jesu!

Definitely. They're so good at the claustrophobic horror of unravelling domestic scenes, and the addition of the music in this episode really ratcheted it up. Everyone bobbing along to the Blue Peter music made me feel a bit sick.

[Greg Torso]

Ah well - it's gone now. And we can all reconvene when it returns to kick it to death all over again.

Brilliant. I can even hear it in his voice.

Turn it off, mum. I don't wanna watch it.

Seriously though, it's been pretty well received on here, I think?  (edit: OK maybe not this last episode, but the series in general)