Well. Sorry, but that ending was not worth the half an hour of shit gameshow preceding it, even if there was foreshadowing with the Matilda question. This is the first time I can genuinely say I was bored for the majority of the episode.
Inside No 9 - Series 8 Page 3
I'd say it was worth watching, although I know what you mean. I quite liked the idea of it, though I agree it was a bit boring as well. Doing the whole episode as though it was a real game show, in real time, must be tricky to get the tone right and keep things subtle.
A neat touch for the continuity announcer to say "in a change to our scheduled programme" beforehand - I bet some people just changed the channel at that point! I also liked how, in retrospect, it turns out that even the promo material for the episode didn't give anything away in advance either - the BCG page for the episode suggested it was going to be something very different, with a picture of Shearsmith and Pemberton dressed like characters from On The Buses!
Lee Mack was a good choice for the presenter role, and he came across quite natural and exactly how he usually does (including saying "I genuinely thought..." all the f**ken time!)
I enjoyed it. Spoiler alert. The daughter always seemed a bit strange. i thought maybe she was AI and her Mum had no sense of humour.
Quote: Sitcomfan64 @ 18th May 2023, 10:40 PMWell. Sorry, but that ending was not worth the half an hour of shit gameshow preceding it, even if there was foreshadowing with the Matilda question. This is the first time I can genuinely say I was bored for the majority of the episode.
😁 I explained to my wife that this was going to be a bit odd, and ten minutes in she said "Well, this is a bit shit, isn't it?", and I had to agree with her and you, about the crap quiz show we had to suffer, all for that at the end.
And where was the hare? Or have they given up that now, not that I care.
Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 19th May 2023, 11:14 PM😁 I explained to my wife that this was going to be a bit odd, and ten minutes in she said "Well, this is a bit shit, isn't it?", and I had to agree with her and you, about the crap quiz show we had to suffer, all for that at the end.
And where was the hare? Or have they given up that now, not that I care.
The hare definitely popped up on the screen behind Mack, couldn't tell you when because I don't really want to rewatch it.
Quote: Sitcomfan64 @ 19th May 2023, 11:25 PMThe hare definitely popped up on the screen behind Mack, couldn't tell you when because I don't really want to rewatch it.
Of course, and I understand - I'm sure I went a bit glazed half way through the "quiz", so it was just images flashing before my eyes with nothing going in
Quote: a plate @ 19th May 2023, 3:02 AMLee Mack was a good choice for the presenter role, and he came across quite natural and exactly how he usually does
That's just as well because the bloke can't act for toffee.
Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ 20th May 2023, 8:19 AMThat's just as well because the bloke can't act for toffee.
I don't think he is that funny either
Certainly didn't work on iPlayer as you knew it was an Inside No.9 episode.
The only way it could have ever worked was if you genuinely thought it was a gameshow.
Once you start looking for the "No.9-ness" the gig is up.
Ghostwatch was one of the few programmes to pull this off, as was purportedly Orson Wells' War of the Worlds radio drama (though I think that was mainly post-match PR spin from the man himself.)
Quote: Chappers @ 15th May 2023, 4:38 PMSome nice little scenarios but it became a bit predictable. (The dating one that is)
Yes.
100% knew 'whodunnit" from pretty well the opening frame.
But I thought the lead woman was great in it - really nice, moving performance.
Quote: Lazzard @ 20th May 2023, 9:48 AMThe only way it could have ever worked was if you genuinely thought it was a gameshow.
.
Puts up hand
Hence I didn't watch it after 10 minutes, what with it being bloody boring.
Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 20th May 2023, 10:12 AMPuts up hand
Hence I didn't watch it after 10 minutes, what with it being bloody boring.
Ironically, if you had continued, you might have been one of the very few people to have enjoyed it!
Quote: Lazzard @ 20th May 2023, 11:26 AMIronically, if you had continued, you might have been one of the very few people to have enjoyed it!
I did watch it in the end, after recovering it from the Deleted Items folder, and after lofthouse taking great delight in "pointing out" the error of my ways.
Not that impressed, and am I right in thinking it has to be the only episode Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton never actually appeared in?
SPOILER ALERT!
Reminded me of "Scanners" I won't leave the You Tube vid up on screen as it gives the game away, so if you want to see it, (Spoiler) here's the link :-
That would seem like the sort of thing they'd watch, and even from the handful of these I've seen, it's clear they borrow little conceits here and there. They were probably Hammer, Tigon and Amicus portmanteau film fans. But then you have a lot of similar American TV, Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, Tales From the Crypt, and currently on Sky, Hitchcock Presents. Along with the obvious TotU there's an awful lot of unplundered and unviewed material for them to rework (if needed).
Finished my Hitchcock Presents DVDs for now, and am watching the MASSIVE! box set of the Twilight Zone on and off, when there is little else to watch or I've tired of so many comedy DVDs.
I'm going to be the voice of dissent here, and say I thought it was excellent.
Firstly, I'm surprised anyone who had watched any of the past 40-odd episodes would believe that this wasn't a No9 episode, because
a) doing a fake show is precisely the sort of thing they'd do
b) they've effectively pulled the same stunt before, in the live episode
c) even when things go wrong in broadcasting, they never replace leftfield comedy dramas with a random episode of a teatime quiz show
d) 3 by 3 = 9
So, I watched it believing it to be the actual show all along, and I then started looking for clues to what might be odd about it, and what was great for me was that this absolutely pitch-perfect pastiche showed just how strained and strange those interactions on quiz shows are, so everything seemed heightened and surreal to me, where many of your were finding it boring.
The slow reveal of the situation, from the Shakespeare question onwards, was excellent, as were the two central female performers (also probably the best forehead casting I've ever seen!).
Finally, if I were Lee Mack, I'd be concerned at how immaculately they'd managed to imitate his style 