On to the penultimate series of the show and it's chock full of surprises, including one of the most different stories ever done. All episodes are written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton and directed by George Kane, Jesse Quinones, Barbara Wiltshire and Ian Bevitt.
Episode 1: The Bones Of St Nicholas
Christmas came a little early for the series and for the second time, we had a Christmas episode air during the festive period. So far, every Christmas episode has been a winner for the show and this happily was no exception. Local vicar Dick (Simon Callow) has resorted to "champing" in order to raise funds for the church in need of repairs. On a spooky Christmas night, he had three guests. There was a husband and wife named Pierce (Shearsmith) and Posy (Shobna Gulati), who in spite of their jolly demeanor and failed Lapland plans were nursing the pain of a deceased child. Then there was Jasper (Pemberton), who had booked the church with his mother, only for that to be a lie. Jasper was far more interested in the jawbone of St Nicholas and had no qualms scaring Pierce and Posy in order to get. However things took something of a very dark turn by the end of this one. 9/10
Episode 2: Mother's Ruin
Now technically this could be seen as the real opener for the eighth series given the gap from the rest of the series and the previous one. In this one we've got brothers, Edward (Shearsmith) and Harry Blackwood (Pemberton). Their parents were East End gangsters who did some bad things but left money behind. Money that Edward wanted more than Harry and because both parents were dead, Edward was willing to resort to necromancy in order to retrieve the missing cash. Then they got interrupted by rival gangsters Frances (Anita Dobson) and Reggie (Phil Daniels), resulting in one of the brothers losing a foot and someone else being dead. The lesson of the episode being that necromancy works but always have a parrot nearby nonetheless. 8/10
Episode 3: Paraskevidekatriaphobia
The title alone for this episode was a mouthful but simply put, it means a fear of Friday the 13th. That's the problem for middle class Gareth (Shearsmith) and it's gotten so bad that his wife Dana (Amanda Abbington) had to resort to an acting troupe doing every bad luck thing to try and snap Gareth out of it. The troupe comprised of Johnny (Pemberton), Sue (Samantha Spiro), Shelley (Moyo Akande) and Bethany (Ayda Kiiza), the granddaughter of Gareth's therapist Dr Rogers (Leon Herbert) to help Gareth get past a school trauma he suffered on that particular day. Add in a subplot involving Dermot O'Leary and a £130,000 win and overall you've got a very good take on this unlucky of days. 7/10
Episode 4: Love Is A Stranger
Online dating can be tricky, huh? It certainly appeared to be that way for Vicky (Claire Rushbrook) as her quest for love seemed to be one disaster after another. First there was Edgar (Matthew Horne) who blew her out and then there was Norman (Shearsmith) who was unbelievably rude towards. Things had looked like they were picking up with Manny (Pemberton) but he had a rather disgruntled wife Polly (Menyee Lai) who threatened Vicky. Then there was Lesley (Frances Barber) but she was interested in getting Vicky on a diet programme than love. Last but not least, there was Jai (Asim Chaudhry) and things looked like thry were going well in that regard. Then the Lonely Hearts Murderer struck again and given the way this episode was going, their identity won't be a shock. 9/10
Episode 5: 3 By 3
Originally we were supposed to get an episode called Hold On Tight. Except we weren't because that doesn't exist but hats off to Shearsmith and Pemberton who committed to the ruse well up until actual transmission. With their complete absence from the actual episode itself we got Lee Mack hosting a new quiz show called 3 By 3, which had three teams of three players and there's a prize. Anyways the emphasis was mainly focused on mother and daughter Margaret (Gemma Page) and Catherine (Saskia Wakefield) as they got the furthest in the game while family secrets spilled out and things escalated. For an experimental episode, I liked it more than Dead Line but it's weaker compared to others from this series. 6/10
Episode 6: The Last Weekend
If this show hadn't been renewed for a ninth and final series, this very well could've been the series finale. Although I loved this episode, I'm glad it wasn't the last one. Anyways, Chazz (Shearsmith) and Joe (Pemberton) have been together for nine years and it's been a fraught relationship, especially with Joe's tumour. A weekend away at an old house run by Mollie (Sheila Reid) was a means of giving the couple a break. During the episode we learned that Chazz had a failed career in a boyband and as a solo artist and vented his failures on aspiring musicians MySpace pages. This would be very relevant when Joe's true motives for being with Chazz for nine years came to light. Revenge might be a dish served cold but milk, honey and oats can lead to a very slow and painful death as Chazz had the misfortune to find out. A very grizzly ending to a strong series. 9/10
All episodes of Inside No. 9 are available on BBC iPlayer and Amazon.
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