Inside No. 9

Having been a fan of the League of Gentlemen I have closely followed the careers of Gettis,Shearsmith and Pemberton. All have had various success. But it's with Inside number 9 which gives Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton the perfect opportunity to showcase there wonderful talent for mixing the macabre with humour. Each show is a one off with the only connection as the title says is the number nine. It's fair to say some ideas work better than others but on the whole the vast majority are hugely enjoyable and very entertaining. 10/10

As a Yank I've always admired The Brits ability to mold a great tv series. But Inside No. 9 is off the charts. Great scripting and even greater acting. A classic.

I have always found everything Steve Pemberton and Reece Sheersmith have written and performed in together total mesmerising. Their stories are highly original and imaginative. All their characters are thoroughly amusing, sometimes poignant and usually down right odd! I love stories with a twist, and so far the tales in this series have not disappointed, they get you thinking and are full of anticipation, Steve and Reece, please keep writing together! I loved The League of Gentlemen and Psychoville and this is well on par with that. They appear to be influenced by the horror genre and their individual episodes are reminiscent of The Twiighlight Zone only more sophisticated. Their acting is so convincing and they can easily portray all the crazy characters without going over the top. Supported by some well known faces, it is interesting to see the interaction between the actors. In my eyes these guys can do no wrong! Can't fault the series so far!

When asked if the Voyager space probe should carry an audio recording of J. S. Bach's music, Carl Sagan (or possibly Freeman Dyson) supposedly replied: "That would just be showing off." If we assume aliens have any concept of dark humour and visual storytelling, the same could be said about this series.

The first three episodes are absolute masterpieces of their respective (quite different) styles, which is even more impressive when you realise they were all written and directed by the same people.

Episode 4 is probably the weakest of the first series, but episode 5 is fairly solid and the finale goes back to near perfection, manipulating the audience's assumptions to deliver a surprise even after we've learned to expect it.

The second series can't quite live up to the first. There are a few stylistic highlights (especially the 2nd and 4th episodes) and a few laughs (especially in episode 3), but the plots are more disjointed, the twists more predictable, the direction blander, the endings less satisfying. Even the order of the episodes somehow feels "wrong". It's still better than 99% of what's on TV, and definitely worth watching, but it won't humiliate alien film-makers as thoroughly as the previous season.

Every episode has a different storyline, each one extremely well written, keeping you guessing until the very end. In no way can you predict what is going to happen in any of the episodes. The best black comedy series I've ever seen, well worthy of a 10 star rating.