Inside No. 9

 

by Pa Rock

TV Junkie

My earliest experience watching British television shows occurred when I was a young adult and discovered the various British comedies that ran on my local PBS station late Sunday evenings.  Even though I would have to go the work the next morning, I managed to stay up Sunday nights until eleven or so to watch a couple of episodes of classic "Britcoms," shows like "Are you Being Served?," "Keeping Up Appearances," and "As Time Goes By," to name but a very few.  They were smart, funny, and far and away better than most American offerings.  

Not long after retiring more than a decade ago, just as "streaming" was becoming a thing, I got rid of my awful satellite dish, and then my awful cable, and began streaming "Netflix" and "Prime."  I also added one guilty pleasure and subscribed to a service called "Britbox" which specializes in British comedies, mysteries, and detective shows.

Today I no longer use "Netflix," but still maintain "Prime" and two others which I subscribe to through "Prime":   "Britbox" and "PBS Masterpiece."  Those are the two services that I use most frequently.  A day or two ago I hit a dry patch with British detective shows and decided to explore some comedies as a change of pace.

I selected a series about which I had no prior information called "Inside No. 9," which describes itself as a "dark comedy."  I became hooked on the first episode.  It is a series of thirty-minute comedic episodes, all very dissimilar from one another, that are smartly written and acted, and perfectly hilarious.  The series, which ran from 2014-2024, was written by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, and both writers seem to be central characters in every episode.  The hook to the title is that every story happens in a structure -  a house, apartment, building, etc - that is labeled No. 9.

I lack the words to describe just how interesting and funny this show is, but if your tastes run to strong stories with quirky and unusual trappings, I would recommend "Inside No. 9."  I am three episodes into the first season and looking forward to enjoying the remainder of the series as winter sets in.  Hot chocolate and thought-provoking stories laced with hearty laughs will see me through to the spring!