TALES FROM THE CRYPT returns; are we headed for anthology overload?

The marketplace is about to get very crowded, as U.S TV bosses remember how cool and popular the anthology genre once was... and could be again. I mean, given how many amazing television shows there are right now, jostling for your time, it's true that some very good shows are being forgotten about and cancelled (ahem, Hannibal). It's just impossible to watch everything, no matter how many friends recommend you something with a half-crazed fever in their eyes, even with the aide of modern-day catchup TV, box-sets, and streaming services.

INSIDE NO. 9, 2.6 – 'Séance Time'

★★★☆

The last Inside No.9 of series 2 ended with a horror-tinged instalment, rather like last year's climax "The Harrowing", but "Séance Time" had a great deal more humour. Here, we visited the abode of Hives (Reece Shearsmith), bespectacled assistant to clairvoyant Madam Talbot (Alison Steadman—not coincidental casting, given last week's Abigail's Party influence?) It began with a very eerie tone, as Hives dealt with house guest Tina (Sophie McShera), whose sister had arranged for her to have a reading with a spiritualist, and quickly became a surprisingly frightening mix of genre clichés—telekinetic tamborines, flickering lights, animated dolls—ending with a terrifying appearance from a blue-skinned demon (Dan Starkey) that reminded me of a similar jump-scare from Insidious...

INSIDE NO. 9, 2.5 – 'Nana's Party'

★★★☆

This week, series 2's penultimate Inside No.9 paid homage to farcical one-act plays, and in particular the trope of an important birthday going awry thanks to invited guests clashing spectacularly. It's Nana's (Elsie Kelly) 79th birthday, and her daughter Angela (Claire Skinner) and son-in-law Jim (Steve Pemberton) are putting on a delicious spread in their immaculate suburban home, where Angela's alcoholic sister Carol (Lorraine Ashbourne) and her practical joker husband Pat (Reece Shearsmith) are also in attendance. What could possibly go wrong?

INSIDE NO. 9, 2.4 – 'Cold Comfort'

★★★☆

"Cold Comfort" appears to be series 2's "experimental" instalment, following series 1's near-silent comedy "A Quiet Night In"—which has become an Inside No.9 tradition; seemingly inspired by the success of Psychoville's fourth episode, which was filmed in (seemingly) one uninterrupted take. The gimmick for this half-hour was about the difficulty of crafting a compelling story with a camera placed in a static position—looking down the lens of CCTV camera 9, at Comfort Support Line telephonist Andy (Steve Pemberton). Although a bit of narrative flexibility was available, by virtue of the fact there were three other camera angles visible in camera 9's feed.

INSIDE NO. 9, 2.3 – 'The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge'

★★☆☆

Entertaining fare, but too predictable and clichéd to prove genuinely memorable. This week's Inside No.9 began promisingly, with notorious 17th-centry witchfinders Warren (Reece Shearsmith) and Clarke (Steve Pemberton) arriving at the hamlet of Little Happens to put old crone Elizabeth Gadge (Ruth Sheen) on trial for witchcraft and consorting with The Devil. The presence of genre legend David Warner as village nobleman Sir Andrew Pike was a pleasant accompaniment, too, last seen working with the duo on The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse. It's just a shame that the storyline and various creative decisions were amusing but didn't do much to subvert my preconceptions; including a double-twist ending that held little surprise.

INSIDE NO. 9, 2.2 – 'The 12 Days of Christine'

★★★☆

This episode kept its space the same—a No. 9 flat belonging to feisty Christine Clarke (Sheridan Smith)—but time itself was more pliable; as we zipped through twelve holidays of a calendar year (Christmas, Mothers Day, Easter, Halloween, etc), but not in strict chronological order. "The 12 Days of Christine" was one of Inside No.9's more experimental and stimulating experiences, but one which wisely kept focus on Sheridan Smith's nuanced performance as a woman starting to feel like she's losing her mind.

Review: INSIDE NO. 9, 2.1 – 'La Couchette'

★★★☆

They'll perhaps never again create anything with the impact of The League of Gentlemen, which changed the television landscape back in 1999 (inspiring a wave of twisted comedies like Nighty Night, while challenging the very idea of what a BBC comedy could look like), but INSIDE NO.9 is nevertheless a brilliant anthology show that sees former-League members Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton channel their gift for the macabre into fresh weekly stories. The format allows for great ingenuity in often claustrophobic settings; bringing in famous guest-stars (undoubted fans of the creative pair), and ensuring nothing ever outstays its welcome—which I'd argue happened to their previous venture Psychoville.

INSIDE NO. 9, 1.6 – 'The Harrowing'

As the episode's title suggests, the final instalment of Inside No 9 was a straightforward horror with flashes of comedy. Considering how much of this series has felt like an evolution for Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's writing, thanks to the extra doses of maturity, I don't begrudge them having some fun with a story and characterisations that felt less of a stretch—and something of a loose throwback to their League of Gentlemen days.

INSIDE NO. 9, 1.5 – 'The Understudy'

written by Steve Pemberton & Reece Shearsmith | directed by David Kerr

The penultimate episode of Inside No9 felt like a companion piece to "Tom & Gerri" (only with Reece Shearsmith's character suffering a cruel ascendancy, instead of a miserable descent). "The Understudy" was set behind the doors of dressing room number 9, belonging to boorish West End actor Tony Warner (Steve Pemberton), currently the lead in the Duke of Cambridge Theatre's production of Macbeth. Tony's a loud, obnoxious, egotistical, selfish man whose talent casts a big shadow; although his bravado tends to mostly eclipse submissive understudy Jim (Shearsmith)...

It's March, so I'm watching...

It's impossible finding time to review everything I watch on a daily basis, so here are my broad thoughts on the TV shows I'm watching every week, started queueing on my TiVo, or have dropped from viewing, as of 3 March...

INSIDE NO. 9, 1.4 – 'Last Gasp'

written by Steve Pemberton & Reece Shearsmith | directed by David Kerr

There was a wonderfully twisted idea at the heart of "Last Gasp", but it wasn't enough to spur push this half-hour to great comic or dramatic heights. The set-up was sublime, the central dilemma amusing, and the execution typically brilliant, but this instalment of Inside No.9 felt weaker than the previous three.

INSIDE NO. 9, 1.3 – 'Tom & Gerri'

After three episodes, it's clear Inside No.9 is largely defined by restrictions. As each episodes takes us behind the door of various residences, this is perhaps to be expected. It's given the show a theatrical feel (as every instalment could be performed as a one-act play), and that feeling continues with "Tom & Gerri"—although it's the least restrictive of the three to have aired, as things aren't largely confined to a wardrobe and dialogue wasn't in short supply.

INSIDE NO. 9, 1.2 – 'A Quiet Night In'

written by Steve Pemberton & Reece Shearsmith | directed by David Kerr

It's fair to say the most popular episode of Psychoville (certainly the most inventive) was episode 4 of series 1, which appeared to be filmed in one long continuous take (although actually there was one surreptitious cut). It was a masterpiece of performance and choreography for both the actors and film crew, inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's similar gimmick in his movie Rope. The response to that episode was so favourable that Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith have come up with another novelty half-hour for their new series Inside No9, as "A Quiet Night In" unfurled without (much) dialogue.

MSN TV: BBC2's INSIDE NO. 9

Over at MSN TV today: I've reviewed the premiere of Reece Shearsmith & Steve Pemberton's new anthology horror-comedy, INSIDE NO 9. Can the duo behind Psychoville pull off another success, without their League of Gentlemen cohorts?

Inside No 9 contains six separate half-hour stories, loosely linked by the fact each concerns people living somewhere with a sole "9" in the address. Sardines, the first instalment, concerned an engagement party held for lovers Rebecca (Katherine Parkinson) and Jeremy (Ben Willbond), where the assembled guests had decided to play the titular game, a hide & seek derivative. As a dyed-in-the-wool fan of The League of Gentlemen (I even attended their live shows), I can't help but approach the comedy troupe's subsequent projects with goodwill that I hope doesn't slip into outright bias.

Continue reading at MSN TV...