Inside No. 9

Inside No. 9 series 4 episode 5 review

Inside No. 9 does well-observed industry satire in its latest episode.

TV: Inside No. 9 - Series 4, Episode 5, And The Winner

Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton have assembled a starry cast for the penultimate episode of their current series.

Maybe some of you are sick of hearing it by now, but I personally think that this series of Inside No. 9 is possibly the best so far certainly in terms of variety. After last week's clever Memento-style darkly comic murder mystery, we have a much more subdued tale that has the usual twist-in-the-tale that we've come to expect from the show. To Have and To Hold feels like Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith's tribute to Mike Leigh as it focuses on the strains in the marriage between wedding photographer Adrian (Pemberton) and Harriet (Nicola Walker) over a handful of scenes. Adrian is painted as the most boring man in the world; a jigsaw enthusiast and pot noodle eater he spends more time in his darkroom than he does working on his marriage. Even though Harriet wants to renew their vows, Adrian is still simmering over a dalliance his wife had with a former colleague in a Premier Inn in Wolverhampton. In the episode's most excruciating scene Harriet attempts to inject some spice into their relationship however their role play doesn't go to plan and is soon interrupted by a recently-wed pair (Shearsmith and Miranda Hennessy) who have come to look at their wedding pictures. What I liked most about To Have and To Hold was the attention-to-detail in the scenes between Harriet and Adrian that added to the realism of the piece. Nicola Walker's casting was a piece of genius and her performance here was utterly heartbreaking as the woman stuck in marriage that had lasted due to habit rather than romance. She and Pemberton were utterly believable in their roles as they convinced as a couple who still loved each other but struggled to show it. I was utterly shocked when the twist involving Adrian was first revealed and as ever the writing duo gradually peeled back the dark side of the character before the dark denouement. Like the best episodes of Inside No. 9, To Have and To Hold is an instalment that you can revisit and try to spot all the clues that Pemberton and Shearsmith dropped about the true nature of Adrian's personality. Unlike many of the shows that have debuted this year, every episode of Inside No. 9 has provided memorable moments and that's especially true of To Have and To Hold which may be the best thirty minutes of TV that I've seen so far in 2018.

Review: Inside No. 9 - To Have And To Hold

As a dull wedding photographer's marriage hits the rocks, a secret puts things in a fresh light...

Inside No 9 series 4 episode 4 review

This has been a remarkable series of Inside No 9, and this episode is no exception.

Laughter in the dark

Talk about laughter in the dark. With every successive episode, the fourth series of Inside No. 9 (BBC Two) has perceptibly turned a shade blacker.

TV Review: Inside No. 9 - To Have and To Hold

Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton have proven themselves, time and time again, to be masterful writers of dark comedy. But while all of their projects contain a certain ode to horror, this latest episode of Inside No. 9 might just be their darkest yet.

Irony defines Adrian's life. As a wedding photographer, he provides undying records of newlyweds' blossoming bliss - a high-contrast counterpoint to the lack of love left in his own marriage to Harriet. She struggles to reignite an emotional flame long extinguished, but Adrian is reluctant to leave his basement darkroom. The spleen-squeezing unease in this latest episode of Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith's anthology leaves little room for laughter, but is as essential a visit to No 9 as ever.

Inside No 9: To Have And To Hold

After all the fun - if occasionally murderous fun - in this season of Inside No 9 comes an episode with a distinct chill in the air.