Inside number 9

[motherbear43]

Anyone just watched? Not sure what I made of that!

I interpeted it as a literal manifestation of what happens to many of us under societal pressure to conform and from fear of standing out.

Everyone pretty much fell in to line with the bully when they felt threatened, we all want to fit in and identify a "out group" to blame. The Joel Fry character was just a personification of that societal pressure to comform, not make a fuss, gang up on an outsider.

The ending was crazy but made perfect sense.They were literally on a replacement service, in a dystopian world (the posters behind them...) and the flashing lights were probably them being scanned into some database to produce the clones at the next stop. The hare doesn't appear as a hare statue, as such - but it's behind Joel Fry at one point :)

Bonnar's character was the opposite - he was willing to get physical to maintain the status quo. I don't think they accepted the clones that readily.Gerry accepted the clone of his wife as that's what he wanted - as he was also a clone. Wilma is morally very grey and probably thinks it's easier to have a silent follower instead of an activist friend. The nurse was visibly in shock but what could she do? ETA: I think they are aware their government does things like that but "it can't happen here" - they signed the release forms out of peer pressure and the fact they're used to complying with authority figures.

The World's End is a little like this - but I think they just spitballed something around "replacement service" and came up with it that way

Steve pemberton and Reece sheersmith are both secret crushes of mine! I think it's because of how clever they are.

I enjoyed the episode but didn't pick up on any of the hints (as usually) so I had no idea where the story was going. But that's the fun part, I'm just along for the ride

The BBC have treated it appallingly. It no longer gets Blu Ray releases and they've never had the courtesy to bump it up to BBC1 or a 9pm slot, both of which it deserves.

It's one of those rare series where so many people have no idea about it, but the ones who like it are almost in awe. I'm going to rewatch the whole thing soon - at least the ones that aren't too scary/unpleasant - a couple tip over the edge for me.

Their writing is so economical, not a word wasted. And I love how they use humour not just for lols but to show character, or undercut tension, or even cleverly ramp tension up. (Reece's line about clapping for carers, and how his Le Creuset got heavy, really made me laugh!)

It’s incredible what they cram into half an hour. Perfectly crafted, individual stories and characters each and every time. They are absolute geniuses.

Got my tickets for the live show next year ❤️.

I'm sure I'd seen this one before so stopped watching after ten minutes. Don't know where tho as I don't use iPlayer etc.

I was gobsmacked, at a Christmas party last year no one had heard of this show!

BBC is so lucky to have them.

That was characteristically fabulous. We are now discussing which bus stop in Preston was the scene of the not to scale R2D2 being inserted…….got to be Church St or Lancaster Rd

Bonnar's character was the opposite - he was willing to get physical to maintain the status quo.

This is nonsense. The status quo was everyone sitting quietly in the carriage together. Once the beggar had been searched, that was the status quo definitely because hte nurse (whose wallet had been stolen) wasn't making a fuss.

It was Bonnar who went on the offensive demanding a resistant man allowed his bag to be searched - with an element of racist overtones (terrorist suspicion because he wasn't white).

That absolutely wasn't the status quo and he was the prime disruptor.

I loved it, one of my favourites. They are so clever it makes me sick, characters are established in a few sentences. It's telling that black mirror went off the boil but inside no.9 has been good all the way through (some dips but to be expected). Got tickets too.

I really enjoyed the blue jeans baby one from the last series. Hope the rest keep it up.

It reminded me of midnight (Dr Who)

I thought the same about Bonnar's character. In a real tube carriage everyone would be spread out and staring at the floor, whether a purse had been stolen or not. He was the one who ignored the social norms and made a fuss about it.

Very dark and creepy last night. Favourite episode was (Hotel) Zanzibar in series 4 I think, it was all in Shakespeare like rhyming couplets. What brilliant writing and performances.

I thought the Matthew Kelly character was interesting. He foreshadowed that they were in danger with the cannibal tunnel story and the Mikado song. At the end he inverted the Blessed Are The Meek sermon. Although he was a clone he seemed to be subtly warning them but was overlooked and patronised - which he maybe knew would happen and that it was too late anyway? I wondered if he deliberately let the bully put his hand into his dirty bag.

Good point re Matthew Kelly! There was so much cool stuff in the writing that I missed - they never waste a word. Did you clock the sinister posters on the train carriage wall?

Also loved the middle-class wife's comment on him singing Gilbert & Sullivan - "I know that one, it's from the Ocado!"

I loved the "Democracy manifest" line I was expecting someone to ask for a succulent Chinese meal after that.

I like that it's a BBC2 treat. It's a cult classic and sometimes things are better if left on a smaller channel.

Thank you for the head’s up on the stage show! Didn’t know it was a thing. Bought two tickets and now off to sell my left kidney to pay for them 😂

DH is enthralled by Inside No 9 so we’ve seen every episode. Does anyone remember the one with the cryptic crossword in series 3? Steve Pemberton compiled most of the crossword that the episode revolves around, and it was published in The Guardian. Then he did it again recently for Taskmaster, but in such a way that anyone who solved it wouldn’t know quite what it was all about until the episode went out. He's so, so wonderfully clever.

I'm in awe of the number of "names" they get appearing on Inside No9

They have either made some very good friends or they know where the bodies are buried !

I was so pleased to see Siobhan Finneran on this episode , she was Mick's wife in Bedidorm.

I would love to see Sarah Lancashire ( Happy Valley , Steve P played the nasty little accountant)
Rupert Penry Jones (Whitechapel) Steve P played the nasty little Ripperologist
David Tennant ( Good Omens) they were both in a later series
Micheal Sheen ( Good Omens)

But unlesss they've been cast , there;s no more after this series

I'm in awe of the number of "names" they get appearing on Inside No9
They have either made some very good friends or they know where the bodies are buried !

It's partly because they are short episodes so it's easier to get "bigger" names to commit to a one off. Tales of the Unexpected is the same - there are legions of brilliant actors in those episodes.

Then obviously later as their fame grew and the fame of the series, that adds the attraction.