Inside No. 9 | 3 by 3 (2023) Series 8 Episode 5 Honest Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 พ.ค. 2023
- / @thehorrorexchange
🍿 Inside No. 9 | 3 by 3
🎬 Hop on the replacement bus service for this massive swerve! Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith's promotional material for "Hold On Tight!" never came to fruition! Instead, Inside No. 9 fans received this brand new gameshow hosted by Lee Mack!
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It just didnt make sense, also with Catherine guessing the answer even tho the question wasnt finished so impossible to answer (thought was deliberate to make it look rigged)
i think this episode is incredible- the fact that it’s a slow burn is more of an homage to the fans since they are constantly looking for clues and guessing the twists. and it’s definitely the most memorable episode yet, it’s got everybody talking. we all knew that there would be a twist- i didn’t watch it live so i knew it was a number 9 episode but the only criticism being ‘it’s not no9 enough’ or being too normal is exactly what they intended to do- the fact steve and reece didn’t even appear showed that they didn’t want this to be a more conventional show. i thought it was incredible
I respectfully disagree. The fact that it felt so real and so much like a run of the mill game show for most of its running time is what sold me on the episode. I showed my wife, who has seen a couple of Inside No. 9 episodes with me but isn't a massive fan, this episode and just told her it was a game show. She was trying to figure out the answers like you would if you were just watching a normal game show, she laughed at some of Lee Mack's jokes, she mentioned a couple times that she got a bad vibe from the mom, etc. She enjoyed the twist with the exploding head and when it turned out to be an Inside No. 9 episode.
But even beyond it feeling incredibly authentic to an a real-life game show, there is an actual story here seeded throughout. It seems pretty clear Margaret, a research scientist, was experimenting on Catherine and those experiments gave her telekinetic and telepathic powers. When they talk about "unfreezing" the dad and Catherine asks her mom what she thinks, Margaret responds with "You know what I'm thinking." At one point Margaret says they need to "put our minds together." At a different point, Margaret says something along the lines of "Say whatever pops out of your end." And Catherine mentions at different points that she doesn't get out much and they aren't allowed music at home. When TikTok comes up, Margaret said she has "heard the girls in my lab talk about it" - which, to me, had a double meaning implying that Margaret has been studying and experimenting on multiple girls. Margaret talks about using the money to expand their basement for Catherine, which I took to imply that she would just expand the underground lab\prison Catherine has been placed in.
In terms of your point about not seeing any fantastic performances on the second watch beyond the actors feeling like actual game show contestants, I respectfully disagree. The actress who plays Catherine is fantastic and her performance is enhanced once you know the twist. She often subtly winces when her mom looks in her direction or speaks to her. When Margaret remarks that the Article Monkeys sound like a project she was once involved in, the actress playing Catherine shoots her a look of fear and rage. When the other team is trying to name Eddie Murphy for the donkey question, you can see Catherine staring at them the entire time, her gaze unwavering, implying that Catherine is actively suppressing the answer from their minds. To me, all of the facial tics and body language the actress playing Catherine employs implies a life time of abuse until she decides to finally turn the screws on her horrible mom. I got the sense that maybe Margaret wanted to try a live test on her experiment and it backfired horribly on her. It's a tragic story camouflaged by an incredibly realistic game show setting. I can see why someone might not like the dry game show gimmick, but I personally loved this episode.
I'm with you on this. I picked up some of these things but you expressed it much more completely. it's quite scary actually. Only when all the pieces slot into place do you see the whole thing.
On my first watch there was that vague and growing feeling of unease and discomfort - something isn't right. I first thought of the Major Ingram who wants to be a millionaire show In a way there are some similarities only via devliry (let's put our heads together) as opposed to cheating via coughing.
it all explodes at the end. Catherine wants a one way ticket to new Zealand. Mum says 'over my dead body' and has plans of doing up the basement to keep her daughter in. Literally the experiment has escaped from the lab.
It seemed to me Dad was the first victim of the telekinesis. He gets his answer wrong and in the intro says he is a cricket fan and follows 'Nottingham', and isn't brought back. He has the appearance of being somewhat in a trance....
All episodes shouldn't be like this but for my money this is my favourite of all episodes this far.
There is devilry. But the devilry isn't just the cheating and supernatural communication and thought blocking/projection. It's the experimentation on others (daughter but also other sentient beings). It's actually very deep and scary.
I agree, I absolutely loved this episode! I loved the bit when Catherine answered a question correctly before she could have any idea what the answer was - made me think of Starter For Ten and led me down a far less supernatural route haha. But I think how normal and mundane it was put me so on edge and so hyper aware of all the strange little out of place things that happened!
Having read this I do agree with your points. It is a very clever character piece. The main event was still a bit disappointing for me, though. Idk, just felt like something was missing imo😅
And I respectfully love your disagreement Kelly! This one has definitely been a very divisive episode of the show with all kinds of reactions being experienced, perhaps more than any other episode in years! If you were able to have a great time with it then I'm buzzing to hear that! Thank you for your comment! - Connor
I totally agree with this assessment and have to respectfully disagree with the video. On a rewatch there are loads of little cues to tell you something is off. When the Oakwoods are introduced it feels very much like a routine except Catherine says the dads full name, an odd thing to do when you are familiar with somebody. There are lots of little looks between Catherine and Margaret suggesting a controlling relationship, Catherine's constant desire to travel whether be for uni or New Zealand shows her desire to leave her predicament and the moment the 'basement' is referred to by Margaret her face changes before the final moments of the episode.
Another thing which I may be reading too much into is that fact that Margaret yells 'I should have destroyed you when you were born' (something my other half noted) which to me suggests that they aren't actually related and potentially similar to 11 in stranger things she's a lab experiment whose only joy has been through board games and quiz shows. It's such a layered episode and maybe my love for the classic game show also colours my opinion as the corny jokes and awkward interactions give it such an authentic film with an edge of uncertainty. Top episode in my opinion
Having just rewatched this, there’s a narrative I did initially miss. That the daughter has been pressured into competing in the game to win them money, and is planting the answers into the mothers head. Then, when the mother mentions she will use the money to build a basement cell, the daughter kills the mother. Maybe I am dumb but hadn’t quite up on everything first time.
Thankfully on my 3rd watch I caught some more of those super cool references! Thank you for alluding others to them too Neil!
That's not dumb that's actually smart and correct guess.
The original plan was obviously for Catherine to plant the answer Ice T into the mothers head but when she hears about the basement cell idea she just can't stop herself from thinking "fuck you". This makes the mother believe she's actually talking about a rapper called Fur Q. I found that bit the most genius part of the episode.
I think my favourite of these is that, when members of other teams get questions wrong, you can see Catherine staring at them in the wide shots. The David Jason moment is definitely her influencing them - and they refer back to it in the final round. But I feel like she also influences Shindu early on, when she gives a really dumb answer to the kind of maths question that I think an IT person would definitely know.
@@FTZPLTC She was certainly planting thoughts and images into people’s minds for sure. Very creepy woman. As was her weird mother.
Something that I noticed was that there were several questions in the quiz that could be related to the plot: Matilda (a girl with telekenetic powers), Harry Potter/Shrek/Frozen (films featuring magic), Matthew Hopkins (witchfinder general). Then you've got references to being controlled: Taming of the Shrew (where Katherina is tormented into becoming an obedient woman), Sandie Shaw "Puppet on a string" and a question about an (Tiktok) influencer. Finally, a couple of questions regarding influential/powerful women (Queen Victoria and Margaret Thatcher).
It's not every question/answer and could just be coincidence.
If anyone's interested, here are a list of the answers:
1) Sandy Shaw (Puppet on a String)
2) Poseidon
3) 4
4) Rhode Island
5) Bobby Moore
6) Taming of the Shrew
7) Slumdog Millionaire
8) District Line
9) Queen Victoria
10) Olaf
11) 6
12) Thatcher
13) 1948
14) Iron
15) Green
16) 7 (Harry Potter)
17) Jupiter
18) Matilda
19) Matthew Hopkins
20) The Simpsons
21) John Lennon
22) Sunil Gavaskar
23) Eddie Murphy
24) I bet you look good on the dancefloor
25) Volga
26) Charli D’amelio
27) Ice T
Thank you for providing these answers below Ben!!! There's certainly some clever selective questions placed in here!
@@benwillis5840 fun fact - the incorrect answer that the mum gives to the final question (Fur-Q) is also the name of a fictional rapper created by Chris Morris who would kill someone on-stage during a performance, as seen in a spoof of MTV that appeared as a segment on The Day Today, itself a spoof news program.
I especially loved when the bus crashed through the wall at the end
Lol that made my day 😂😂😂
What are you talking about?! It was clearly a coach.
The fact we expected a completely different episode to what we got is still so surprising to me. I always get pranked by Pemberton and Shearsmith.
I thought the key was her answering the Matthew Hopkins question so quickly and with a smile; therefore she’s not only telekinetic but is also a witch. I also felt she didn’t ‘push her abilities too far’ but deliberately decided to kill her Mother after the ‘over my dead body’ remark. I also loved the fan trolling with the fake ‘On the Buses’ idea. But you’re right, I don’t think there’s enough story beyond the few minutes at the end to make this one a true classic. Never fail to surprise though.
Yeah she definitely killed Margaret on purpose. We see a lot of subtext as the episode goes on about how controlling she is, presumably that was the only way Catherine had any chance of escaping. (“Fur Q” was a nice little touch too)
@@ssai90 I think the same - got the impression Catherine was being kept imprisoned in Margaret's "lab" and that Margaret saying she'd spend the prize money on renovating their basement to keep Catherine there and experiment further on her was the final straw for Catherine.
Witches aren't real
She didn't just answer quickly, she answered after Lee said "Who was the self-appointed...?" It was that moment for me that I was wondering if the game was fixed or if she was reading the host's mind.
I noticed that on the 2nd watch....it's like,e last weeks reveal ( big shocker of a twist that was) and you now have the new context & knowledge in mind and your eyes open, everything like the tics,behaviors and reasons etc for doing what they're doing ìh this w^ay everything fits into place so much better and makes so much moEEre sxense...
Even the hidden Easter eggs you see with% hindsight
But yeah if you're eagle eyed that could either be a giveaway or could be dismissed as a mere technical oversight or error etc...thats the risk you take in production I guess
For me, this was the best (and most rewatchable) episode of IN9 since much of season 6. Even taking into account the increasing predictability - and if I'm being brutally honest, laziness - of some of this year's twists, a good episode of IN9 is obviously more than just its ending. Unfortunately though, this year in-particular that's been something of a rarity, with episodes serving as little more than a basic set up for said obvious twists. None more so than last week's Lonely Hearts episode.
With 3x3 though, this was the first time in a long time that an episode did more than just service the twist. It reminded me of what I always loved about IN9, that sense of normality being just slightly... off. Which was a tone that pervaded the entire episode.
Last week, I guessed the outcome of the Lonely Hearts episode as soon as the radio report mentioned a serial killer in the opening minute. This week, I'd actually had the incident at the end of the episode spoiled by a post on Twitter. And yet I still didn't suss out exactly what was going on (and how said ending would transpire) until just a few moments before it happened. And whereas Love is Stranger just felt like a plod through obvious tropes to get to an inevitable conclusion, 3x3 has so much going on under the surface, it had me utterly engaged throughout.
Brilliant Honest Review of your feelings, Symon! Thank you for taking the time to share it with us!
i too had to google if 3 by 3 was a real thing, and i think that's what i really liked about this episode! i like that i was left questionning whether it was real or not
while I wish I'd caught this episode live, it was still so effective
Really glad you enjoyed it!
Same here. I watched it on iPlayer and the announcement was missed off the beginning, which would've been nice to keep.
Sadly I didn't get to see this live, but I was hoping they'd do an episode like Dead Line again. Honestly, I think this was the best episode of series 8. There were clear references to Carrie and Stephen King with Catherine sounding similar and the parents being named Margaret (Carrie White's mother) and Stephen (the author). I think there were references to Eleven and Sydney from I Am Not Okay with This with the whole head-exploding thing too. I just have an appreciation for these kinds of stories.
I think this is one of those episodes that is more interesting to talk about and interesting by what it does in a meta sense than by what the actual episode is itself
I think that's a big factor, this comment thread has been my most-populated of any of my No. 9 reviews! So regardless of opinions on the episode, it's got the No. 9 community active and talking together, which is amazing to see I think, Elliot!
Nope: this one was one of the greats. Started light, got eerier and eerier, and managed to tell two contrasting stories at once. Absoulte genius.
This is the only episode from this season that I've rewatched. Loved all the foreshadowing and the climax felt super rewarding. That was the daughter actress' first ever credit and what a way to make an intro. One of my favourite and most memorable No.9 episodes in a long time.
I really would still love to see The Hold on Tight episode.. it looks really funny..they can surely still make one. Number 9 bus.
Hopefully the Series 9 opener! I can already imagine a continuity announcer saying "Well, the bus has finally showed up, better late than never. Hold On Tight..."
The one theory I had in my head is that all this was going to be a Squid Game type event; all the contestants who lost would unfortunately have their life taken from them but the winner got to live. What made me think this is when Catherine's dad gets frozen out and they put a lot of emphasis on the "goodbye dad" almost as if they knew they weren't going to see each other again.
it was brill but blooming crackers ax
@RobtheMod I don't know about you, but if I found out that someone had just exploded her mother's head with her mind, my first thought wouldn't be to arrest her 😂 I think she'll be fine
I also got a Squid Game vibe in watching this episode.
That’s what I thought (but only because I watched it after on iPlayer), so I was sucked right in waiting for something dodgy to happen, but right before the end I nearly gave up. The bombshell that is the ending definitely still was able to subvert my expectations.
I’m going to have to start watching the show as it airs now lol.
I really liked it, episodes like this weren't designed to rewatch but to troll the audience, it makes me think where there any quiz shows with abusive families. To be honest there probably are. It makes me rethink the idea of a perfect family
That's a really cool take on it!
@@UnleashTheGhouls thanks, btw big fan of your videos
I agree with you, one of my favourite episode of season 8
I really liked this episode and although this will be an unpopular opinion, I think they could have taken it even further by losing the head explosion at the end. Just have the girl win using mind reading and leave it at that. Just go dead subtle, don't confirm to the audience that this is an inside Number 9.
Usually I'm in broad agreement with your Inside No.9 reviews, but this week we obviously had very different experiences. This is the first episode this series I've rewatched. I knew straight away that this was Inside No.9 from the name of the show if nothing else so I enjoyed looking for clues and watching the clock get nearer and nearer to 10:30 without a reveal. I actually found that part quite exciting - trying to work out how they would wrap it up so quickly. On rewatch I was able to spot even more things and start to put together subplots that were only hinted at. Conjecture on my part, but fun all the same. This is the kind of thing I want from Inside No.9 at least once a series to keep me on my toes.
It's certainly one of those episodes isn't it Kieran? It's one people have either absolutely loved, didn't gel with it, or somewhere in the middle! Either way, the fact it's got us all talking is fantastic! Glad you enjoyed it mate!
I have just re-watched this and one aspect I noticed that the 2 main characters are female and refer to gran at home. 3 generations. Isn't that some aspect of witchcraft? Oakwood is possibly related to that too. The witchcraft angle kind of conflicts the science aspect mentioned. Though I could accept that it could be paranormal research.
I like all the little clues building up to some telepathy and mind control stuff but the Scanners-esque ending still comes out of left field. I guess throwing in a phrase like "mind blowing" earlier may have telegraphed it. Still enjoyable to watch again. The girl is suitably weird. The set even looks like they are in claws/tentacles but I could be reading far too much into that
@@keithparker1346 I like that we're not spoonfed too much and can fill in the blanks ourselves. For example, what is the role of the dad in all this? Is it significant that he's out so quickly? Couldn't he have been fed the answer to the question he got wrong? Did the daughter want him out of the way and why?
@@kieranmoore8501 I think this episode as a sort of Adultswim vibe though the creators are working in a more conservative environment so it's not quite as weird or shocking. Just going to rewatch Unedited Footage Of A Bear and Too Many Cooks which are the pinnacle of that sort of stuff
Late to the party with this but there’s something in the apparent ‘glitch’ and the Arctic Monkeys question.
I believe the question is worded as “The Arctic Monkeys had a number one hit with their first ever single, what was it called?” This is actually incorrect. They didn’t have a number one with their first single, which was an obscure non-album single, so the question is wrong.
Catherine really seems to struggle to get the answer, possibly because the question is wrong. She takes longer than for any other answer and when her mum says, “just say what comes into your head”, she looks confused and panicked and replies, “I don’t actually know it”. The other team clearly do, so she should just be able to pluck it from them but I think there’s significance in the question being incorrect. And that definitely links to the delay in it being revealed on the screen in the quiz.
Initially, I’d thought the question was different so Catherine was having to manipulate the board and possibly the other people into accepting her answer as right but having rewatched, I’m not sure on that.
It’s one of a million extra things I’ve noticed when watching back, great episode. Underrated.
My family just made me watch this blind. The ending is gonna be scarred into my head for a while holy shittt.
The whole episode, 'a replacement bus service' was a retaliation to fans who are constantly asking Steve and Reece to do an episode on a No.9 Bus without offering anything other than that, just "do one on a bus"
The fact that people actually believed they were watching a new game show as a replacement to Inside No9 reflects this episode's brilliance, one as a prank on those "do an episode on a bus" merchants, and two, as a great parody of a TV game show.
I remember Rhys getting into a proper lather about that on RHLSTP. "Ooh you should do one on a bus. A number 9 bus. Yeah and what fucking happens cunt?". I like his angry rants.
I think it's a myth that fans wanted an on-a-bus Inside No 9 episode at all.
I've rewatched the episode twice! So I guess I'm in the minority...having seen it live, there was the impact of having the story switched out from under us, but I immediately knew 3 by 3 was not an actual game show but the real episode. Because of "Dead Line" I then watched attentively with heightened anxiety, waiting for something terrible to unfold. And it was a car crash in slow motion, in the best possible sense.
I felt the performances were absolutely spot on, connecting that there was something not right about the Oakwoods from the off, then specifically Catherine. It's her mother's dialogue that is worth listening to - 'we just need to put our minds together' - she was being literal. There are a few instances of this. She also appears to have the ability to affect technology when the answer reveal glitches. This might have been planted to explain the hare when it turns up...
Then the reveal of David Jason being an answer Catherine had planted onto "Christopher Bigwins" (that gag is so Shearsmith & Pemberton!) when she does the same to her mother. And the question mark as to whether her mother just happens to have a gifted child or if perhaps she is the product of one of her 'research projects.' There is a back story to dig into, which I think also gives it rewatch value.
Fur-Q was the pivotal moment. Catherine's barely concealed triumph & her mother's open disgust when she realises her plans have been scuppered. She is used to being in control, but her experiment has got the better of her. Just as she is about to go bye-bye a la "Scanners," she says, "I should have destroyed you when you were born!" Even knowing where the episode was headed, it was still a shocking moment. I do wonder if there were viewers who hadn't twigged what they were watching or who had tuned in partway through that were far MORE shocked. It'd be interesting to see how many complaints OfCOM received ;)
Best Bus Replacement Service if you ask me. I thoroughly enjoyed being taken for a ride.
Was the team name not "Quiztopher Bigwins" (which is even better in my opinion)?
@@benwillis5840 and now I need to watch it again 😂
This was a brilliant breakdown of your thoughts Ruthie! Buzzing you had such a great time with it and loved it on repeat watches too!
In response to how many ofcom complaints... Quite a few I believe
@@nathanmassam9102 unlikely…the Ofcom report for that week had only one entry & it was the Coronation of King Charles with 137 complaints. The threshold for publication/investigation is 50 complaints minimum. Ofcom only take on complaints re: BBC shows after they’ve been reported to the BBC first & there are no complaints listed for Inside no 9 in any of their 2023 reports.
Definitely , my FAVOURITE episode. It nailed the terrible post-covid british gameshow feel.
Amazing it's gone right up as your favourite, Archie!!
Or, as a daytime tv continuity announcer would love to say, but doesn't: "And now for something cheap".
I pretty much agree with everything you’ve said here. The payoff just came too late. I was on edge all episode waiting for the Inside No 9 element to kick in. Would smoke start to seep from one of the camera cables? Would a strange figure be visible in the far corner? Would one of the contestant’s phones ring and when they answer it, rather than apologise, they turn in horror at another contestant?
And yet, what we got arrived too late but make any real long lasting impact.
It goes down as the only IN9 episode not to feature Steve and Reece. There’s that, at any rate.
Yes I suppose we HAD to have an episode to have NEITHER Steve or Reece, with us having one without Steve and one without Reece!
I would say the number 9 stuff is there from about halfway through. Lots of verbal clues and increasing slight weirdness
"and just like that, the chase is over"
DUN DUN DUDDLY DUDDLY DUN
that's exactly how I got here, I am 5 minutes into the show right now and I wanted to be sure that this is indeed an episode of Inside No. 9 and not some game show so I don't end up wasting half an hour if it was actually a game show... lol..
Even though Im getting the impression lots of people are heavily mixed, I had quite a lot of fun watching this episode. As well, i did clock on the twist due to the mentions of margaret being a scientist, catherine saying see hadnt seen much of world and the mention of working in a basement and ending with guessing the tik tok answer.
I love that you had a lot of fun with this one Tom! It's certainly had mixed reactions!
i think what will become this episodes greatest flaw when looked back on is that in a show that is meant to be inherently rewatchable, this episode sticks, until about the last 60 seconds, to a genre that is inherently unrewatchable, i think you hit the nail on the head with your analysis
This just about describes my thoughts Ben! And another thought I've had since this review is for this episode's intended impact to have been felt you really HAD to watch it live, whereas many people today just catch up on iPlayer. It's somewhat like Dead Line or, for another reference, Ghostwatch, where those who DID watch it live have a story to tell, but those who didn't will always have that little missing piece of 'I wish I had'
@@UnleashTheGhouls i think in a way 3 by 3 might have a better non-live first watch because with deadline the glitches and eventual "cancellation" of the episode would tip you off that it's all planned meanwhile seeing that hold on tight was swapped out for 3 by 3 keeps you on edge for longer as you watch it to see why, but it's all up to how the viewer percieves those things at the end of the day. i started watching no 9 live with series 6 so i didnt see deadline live, in fact i was introduced to the series with the inside a mind analysis of deadline which is it's own special way of experiencing the episode for the first time that was incredible for me, but again that's just personal perception i think 3 by 3 will at least be the most polarising episode of the series if not the entire show
@@bengrainger2887I watched it live and thought maybe it was a twist but after about 15 minutes of watching the replacement episode I genuinely believed it was a banal quiz show and switched it off. Having watched the rest of it the ending comes out if nowhere so rewatching the boring quiz bit will reveal clues leading up to the ending...people have commented with the subtle clues. I like how the vibe of the episode dramatically shifts in the last few minutes and kind of reminded me of some Adultswim stuff
I watched it stoned and was confused for a long time. It blew my mind when I realised it was an episode of Inside No. 9.
I’ve rewatched this several times and it has become my favourite episode of series 8 so far, maybe it’s because I watched it on the iplayer so knew it was an actual episode I also enjoyed the game show format ( even though I’m indifferent to most game shows) I thought the naturalistic acting was spot on and lee Mac was brilliant
Great Honest Review of the episode! Glad you had a lot of fun with it!
I forgot to watch it last week, but was already aware that 3x3 was an Inside no 9 episode, so missed out on the false trail. Even so, it would be pretty obvious it was Inside no 9 as they've done this before (made out it was a replacement episode); this is now one of the problems with Inside no 9, we have come to expect the unexpected.
I do agree that too much of the episode was 'normal' and just a straightforward game/quiz show, although you could see something wasn't right with the Oakwood team and that there was tension within the family. On the other hand, they went too far with her head exploding, it would have actually worked better if she'd just won the money to get a one way ticket to New Zealand.
I didn't quite get the telepathy theme, the first clue was when she answered the question before it was asked (Matthew Hopkins), so I thought at first she was cheating, as in 'Starter for Ten', and had seen the questions beforehand. Now I take it that she was reading Lee Mack's mind? But then they seem to imply that she got the cricket question right because of her father (who was a cricket fan). Would she have known the other questions, or was she reading Lee Mack's mind? Not sure.
It also wasn't quite right in the terms of the quiz format, you obviously have to have two people in the final round, but she had an opportunity to freeze both her parents out after the first round, and chose only her father. What would have happened then if she had frozen them both out, and played on alone? How could the final round have worked then? Easy to say 'only a bit of TV, don't analyse it too much' but that's EXACTLY what Shearsmith and Permberton do, they work everything out to the finest detail, and it does seem (and the final episode of the series is another example) that this is starting to desert them. In the 'Friday the 13th' episode, the 'twist' at the end would only have worked if it had somehow been related to the bad luck that he feared (horseshoe above the door falls down and kills his wife when it hits on the head, for example). As it was, it just felt random. I would never accuse them of being lazy - the very last thing that they are - but maybe, after so many brilliant episodes, it's time to leave it at that and move on to another project?
For anyone interested, "Fur Q" is a fictional character in the comedy series The Day Today.
Plot twist: The head explosion was real and we just witnessed a ritual.
A cricket fan wouldn't say Nottingham is a team he quite likes
I actually really wanted 'Hold On Tight'.
When i first watched this episode i thought that there wouldn't be much replay value in it, but i watched it again and its amazing what i missed the first time. A very well acted episode.
1st one with no showing of Reese & Steve. Boo
Hooray as far as I'm concerned
I kind of liked the lack of twist till last second. Gor some of the episodes ive basically spent the whole episode knowing the twist because they hint at it too strongly too early.
Like obviously the woman is gonna be the lonely hearts killer rather than one of the men the meets online.
I even knew reggies wife woupd kill him the second the mention of reggie sleeping with their mum happened when they first appeared.
This episode was so out of character that i genuinly didnt have a clue and only had slight suspicions of there being a twist when catherine guessed the answer to a question after lee said the first 2 words. Then on a rewatch picking up on the background story of catherines parents keeping her basically prisoner in her own home her whole life with the implication that her mums experiments did something to her. With cstheirne manipulating the other teams (i genuinly thought the other teams were just being dumb a lot of the time) Then her wanting to use the money to escape (rather than her mums idea of building a bigger prison for her in the basement) so purposefully giving her mum a big "fur Q" at the end
FUR-Q
I have seen EVERY Ep at least 5 times. ( cold comfort 10 ) So , this was a big Bust... still love tho
Cold Comfort still a Top 3 episode for me
I could see the Scanners finish coming a mile off , gonna get my partner to watch it without telling her it's number 9 ....might be fun 😂
Let us know how it goes pikehead!
Not sure I agree with your interesting perspective - should we be measuring the quality of Inside No. 9 on how rewatchable the episodes are? This made me feel so tense I had to pause it (on iPlayer) and step away from it for a while - real nasty creeping horror from the writing and Saskia Wakefield, who I'd argue gives the kind of performance you mention where rewatching the episode is worth it just for her. Sorry this didn't work for you but I thought it was two episodes in a row where it got me good, and showed how confident and ambitious Pemberton and Shearsmith remain as writers. Having them in the episode would have spoiled what they were going for - I feel like they wanted people to question whether they were even watching the same show as usual, in which case mission accomplished.
Disagreement is only subjective dear Michael! I think that the viewer can measure No 9 in many different ways, and this episode has certainly been a VERY divisive one! Either way, it's got all of us talking about it which is so much better than nobody wanting to talk about it, and it doesn't discredit how genius both Steve and Reece are whatsoever!
I have to disagree with your statement that there was no foreshadowing to the storyline verbally in the episode. The first time I watched I picked up on Catherine answering an impossible question (at around 12:40 in the episode) - Lee Mack doesn't get to actually ask the question before she answers it. Granted, I was much more focussed than I would normally have been because I wasn't 100% that it wasn't a broadcast mistake, but I did pick it up immediately. I think it was a really great way of doing it because (like others have mentioned) I was also playing along and trying to answer the questions so it was much more noticeable that he didn't get to the question (Lee Mack just gets out the beginning: "who was the self-appointed" before she cuts him off and answers it). From that point there was a lot of tension in the episode for me because of the narrative happening in the background and it was fun to pick up on the hints of her being an experiment of her mother's. Do agree with you on it not being super rewatchable, but it was a fun ride the first time!
Edit to add: so technically the psychic twist happened before the half-way point!
I've now caught a lot more of these on my 3rd watch! Clever little hints that escaped me previously!
I would argue that this episode is possibly the only episode worth re-watching to get it
@@keithparker1346 Oh I get that, but I mean in terms of baseline enjoyment since I'm really not into daytime quiz shows and it was extremely successful in approximating one!
@@katlbird oh I agree totally. It seems I was one of the few people to watch this live and be totally fooled by it to the extent I actually stopped watching thinking it was a genuine replacement show. It's an experience imo rather than a piece of normal TV to critique. Easily best episode for a few years simply by its nature
3x3 can also be a reference to the "third eye" and psychic abilities.
A brilliant little idea!
Catherine and Margaret also clues, as Carrie in 'Carrie' who is a young physic who also has a domineering mother Margaret.
A brilliant link you've made on the 3 by 3 board, Matthew!
I'm not British, so I haven't seen it live and knew that I was coming into a hoax right from the start. Which I think was the main drive behind the episode - not the quiz show element, but the fact you didn't know what you were watching. Therefore for the confusion to linger, they had to postpone the twist right until the end. Which is a terrible thing for rewatching, because the element of surprise is already gone.
And while I understand what S&P were going for, I disagree with it. What I would have done is focus on the supernatural and weird storyline more and possibly right from the start - or have at least hints, while presenting it as totally normal and OK when it clearly wouldn't have been. Basically something like The Onion did with their "Sex House" show from about 10 years ago, which satirises reality shows like Big Brother. This could have easily been one of the best episodes ever (even more with the Hold On Tight hoax) had it focused on the quiz show satire more.
Basically, it's a huge missed potential, but I still liked it.
I think this was a really difficult episode to pull off. They gave away clues to the shock out of nowhere ending but had to keep them subtle so as to maintain the prank/hoax nature of the quiz show. Too subtle and that ending is wtf too obvious and it's boring
I liked when the hare showed up at the end
There are several often subtle hints - she answers the Mathew Hopkins question before Mack has given enough information for any correct answer to be possible. There are indications that her gifts are due to her mother's experimentations - the Mother says the Arctic Monkeys band reminds her of one of her research projects - she has been conducting experiments, and the daughter mentions being isolated and denied access to music though it is music questions she does best on - her revenge on her Mum in the isolation booth is very Scanners and an apt revenge too
Thank you Arthur! Thankfully I've noticed more of those hints/details after multiple rewatches! It's a lot more intricate than I originally took it for, but I still find it a little bit of a drag to get through on rewatches!
Nah she's the antichrist, margeret says just before her head pops "I have have destroyed you when you were born" indicating she's always been this way
Am I the only one that felt short changed.. don't get me wrong I love Lee Mack and gameshows but the rewatchability is zilch.. I'd much rather have seen on the buses..
Maybe because I wasn't able to watch it live so woke up wondering why Lee Mack was on episode 5? Then hoping they had rescheduled..
Only good bit was the far.q.. at the end.. maybe a rewatch will make me feel differently x
I hope you get something from your rewatch, Kelly!
I thought this was a good prank on the audience. I also found it funny when they guessed that David Jason voiced Donkey in Shrek. I do agree though that they probably should've introduced the supernatural element earlier.
i’ve gotta start watching these live on air. i watched both this and dead line on iplayer and the best parts were therefore both completely lost on me
I think that's a big gamble with the audience! Those who watch it live will ALWAYS have that little bit 'extra' impact to talk about, and those who didn't watch it live will always have that little bit extra 'missing'
@@UnleashTheGhoulswell I watched it live and convinced myself that it was a genuine quiz show that I turned off. Watching live I think you'd be hard pressed to find the subtle clues for the ending. Definitely an episode to re-watch which I've never had any inclination to do for other episodes
Here i could be in a minority but i felt this was exceptional. It was a bit off the beaten track - I wouldn't want all episodes to be like this, but I very much enjoyed it.
Is there a twist? Good question. Probably not. More like a slow reveal of forces of devilry, with a horrible end. I enjoyed it very much and have already rewatched twice, once straight away!
i enjoyed it too. I've also watched it a few times
@@paulflint6254 rewatching gives more elements to the story. Arctic monkeys reminds the mother of her experiments. We now know she's done likely cruel and unethical experiments on primates......
I'm over the moon you loved it! I can tell by this comment thread that it's been an incredibly divisive episode!
The fact that there were people who stumbed on it and bought into it as a real show then complained to the BBC made it a television event.
In love is a stranger, I was completely caught off guard by the twist but strangely with this episode I guessed the twist by halfway through. Though this somewhat diminished it's impact, I really enjoyed the concept and still a solid episode in the series.
How were you possibly caught off-guard by LiaS? It was the most telegraphed twist in IN9 history…
It was the opposite way round for me
@@themomentalistyes plot twist easily guessable a minute or two in BUT it was a very well executed episode. 3 by 3 is almost the opposite with a shock ending coming seemingly out of nowhere with almost everything done too subtly.
I like both episodes and a shame that the other episodes of this and series 7 have been lacking
This was a great episode hands down! Always expect the unexpected.
Really happy you thought it was great Jason!
@@UnleashTheGhoulsjust rewatched it and it's one of the best episodes!
The hints that suggests the ending were amazing. One thing I agreed with you on, "I too had to Google to see if I was watching inside no.9" too.
Good review. Loved the guy's comment to the dummy episode ( Radio Times write up, publicity shots etc) but the pay off was a long time coming.
This episode not only blew my mind but exploded it.😂😂😂 It was like real tv quiz show and dint felt like scripted staged act. They where not acting they where literally in tv quiz show. And the ending was unpredictable and shocking. No genuise and no amount of movie and tv show viewing experience can make you pridict this type of shocking and Such twisted endings. After that disappointing and pridictable eoisode "love is stranger". This episode was superb and dope. For the first' time Steve and sheerSmith chose to not to participate in episodes as actors. Insted they wrote and directed it. They used thier full potential and creativity to pull this shock.
Buzzing you enjoyed it so much!
I also get scanners vibes from this, with the whole head exploding. :D
Idk, I enjoyed the commitment to the bit (yeah likely more focused on live viewing than tewatches) but even on rewatch picking up on the tale of abuse of a mother experimenting on her own child and that child finally taking revenge and all that framed as if it was actually caught on camera for an actual quiz show, feels like watching the lost pilot of something that never aired. That being said it was probably my least favourite of series 8.
Edit: spelling
Hopefully like buses, two come along at once and we get a little extra of the on the buses type episode next week
I think series 9 will have Hold on tight instead (fingers crossed).
Yeah I do hope that they actually HAVE filmed the entire episode and that it's not just promotional images, so that it doesn't live on as just a 'fake' episode
@@UnleashTheGhouls Definitely
Yeah, it's taken 8 series but Inside No 9 finally jumped the shark.
I've been there since series 1 episode 1 and love these guys, but if it's come to this then I hope that they will wrap it up after the expected 9th series. I don't think the rest of S8 has been particularly good either.
Call it a day before it starts properly declining...
Season 7 was weak. This season or series has been saved by this episode and the last
I was watching this episode yesterday morning and I was thinking “how TF is this scary?!” And when I saw Catherine blowing up her mum’s head that surprised me!!
One thing i really liked was how in my EPG it was showing as a normal "inside No.9" episode until (what i think was) a few hours before where it suddenly changed to 3x3 on the EPG...
(I only noticed this about 20 minutes before it started, as i was checking it was set to record, but i believe it was the case for about 2 hours before)...
When i saw that change i thiught either Robin Asqwith must have passed away, or there had been some terrible Bus incident, or something, so they had cancelled the epiosde...
So i did a quick google in the news and found that there was no such sad death nor incident, but my mind was put in a "WTH" stance until the first couple of minutes of the show had passed and it was clear to me that it was IN9.
Good though, that 20 minutes before the show started was a big part of it for me.
I appreciate the subtlety of the story it wasn't obvious but if you pay attention and listen to the back story I.e the daughter isn't allowed any media and if the mum wins she'll gut the cellar for her daughter to do more intense studies...then you see the story as it was intended.
Would have preferred the On The Buses tribute episode to be honest
I love The League of Gentlemen, Psychoville and Inside Number 9 above anything else that's ever been on British Tv before. However this episode isn't for me, I felt robbed of an episode of Inside Number 9 if I am being totally honest. The whole season hasn't been anywhere near a favourite of mine either. But I will still always be a massive fan, how could anyone not be? 🤔
This episode kind of reminded me of the movie Scanners, especially the ending
In the sense that it was....mindblowing? ;)
Got an inkling the 'On The Buses' spoof will turn up in series 9... late, as buses are wont to be.
I certainly hope so! Looks like a LOT of effort went into the set design/costumes/publicity, would be shame for it to have ONLY been for the fake promo, especially when fans have looked forward to it!
I hope not
I was initially disappointed with this episode, but the more i think about it, the more I like it.
It had such an ordinary setting(many previous ones have obviously strange or macabre ones), and there were so few clues as to what was actually happening. There were some in retrospect, but they were quite ambiguous and plausibly innocent at the time.
It seemed like the writers were deliberately testing the viewers' attention and scrutiny of a series known for its plot twists and misdirections.
I wasn't convinced by the game show or host. The contestants didn't strike me as ordinary people.
Some of the comments and body language between the mother and daughter were strange(the one about why Catherine wasn't going to university), and I thought the twist might be a very nasty surpise for winning; something like the ending of 'The Devil of Christmas'.
I enjoyed the growing sense of dread the episode gave out in its banality, even as I couldn't understand what was really coming until close to the end.
The actor who played Catherine gave quite a performance in this episode.
But the final shocking scenes were perhaps underplayed and could have been made more of.
I'm glad it's had a bigger impact on you after your initial watch!
While I did not enjoy watching this live (I worked out from title and slightly off mood ot was still Inside no 9) and completely get your point about the 25 minutes leading up to the reveal I really enjoyed this episode on rewatch seeing the developing story and clues to the conflict between Catherine and Margaret and Catherine's eventual rebellion. I think Saskia Wakefield gives an astonishing performance as Catherine (I love her little smirk as she implants Fur Q in Margaret 's mind. Loved that little nod to 'The Day Today!) . I don't know if using the format of a day time quiz was both a challenge Steve and Reece set themselves or if it is a commentary on what underlies the banality of much light entertainment. (Such as the very interesting possible dynamic between the Quiztopher Bigwins).
I will still say that Inside no.9 is trying to do things that no other show on tv would attempt and cannot help.but admire Steve and Reece
My take on the Fur Q moment is that there is some telepathic link between mother and daughter but the daughter is so annoyed at the prospect of being kept in a soon to be built basement that she's thinking "fuck you" which is read as Fur Q. Imo it's an accidental transmission but at that point the daughter doesn't care
I have to agree. This episode was very disappointing for me. Sadly, I didn't see this live, but even if I did, I think my opinion would still be the same... I was waiting and waiting for something exciting to happen, only for something to happen in the last minute or two of the episode :/ I absolutely loved "Love is a Stranger", and then this episode just fell flat for me. Also, no Reece or Steve :c
Lee Mack was amazing though, and I kinda want him to have his own game show now haha
He does, he presents the 1% club on a Saturday night. 🙂
@@ThePiratecheese Really? :o Ooo I'll have to check that out, thank you!
No foreshadowing in the dialogue? “Well, you know what I think”
Thankfully I eventually caught pretty much all of them but not until my 3rd watch after this review! I picked up on some hints previously such as the family tensions and the basement plan but daftly didn't link them to the destination of the twist!
As soon as I saw the nosebleed I said out loud her mum's head will explode! Anyone who's a fan of early David Cronenberg films will know what I mean. If you're not a fan of Scanners then the bleeding nose was a side effect of their telepathic abilities. Yeah, I'm a geek.
That's one issue I have with this episode. There's no real verbal clue to the Scanners moment. It's too out of the blue. You have to be into cult films to join the dots. Still one of my favourite episodes though
When I was younger I read a creepypasta called the Game Show From Hell (That's the name that sticks out in my mind anyway. It was years ago so I don't remember exactly).
I don't remember exactly but The plot was pretty much the game show took place in Hell and the contestants were playing for a second chance at life and wrong answers resulted in them getting tortured and because of that I thought that was going to be the twist in this episode I thought they were all going to be playing for their freedom or for their life or something, but the twist we got was probably better.
I mostly agree with what you said in the video, it could have been more than what it was, but in the end it was just a bit too normal and the twist didn't come early enough. It's something different, but feels kind of filler to me, the risk didn't work out.
I just realized this, the ONLY 2 times I've watched the show live is Dead Line and this episode.
I knew the episode was fake instantly as I recognized the guy playing Niall from something else.
Though undoubtedly some audience members would recognise some of the actors, I think the choice of using (mostly) unrecognisable actors was a smart path to make many people think they must be real people and not actors!
I watched for the first time this week and i was shocked with the end😮
Had to research all about because I did not know about the other related program lol
I thought it was a actual quiz but I just clicked on the inside no 9 episode I twigged on the players ax
I genuinely loved this episode. Cause I was watching it thinking inside number 9 had been canceled that day and stuck it on cause I had nothing else to do then the twist happened. But I do wish they had made it work differently yk. Like if it could have started out as the regular episode and been canceled or something idk. Or if it was a celebrity special and Reece and Steve where guests I think that could have been really fun
Even if the episode is ruined by the twist only working whilst live 'I mean i had to look up inside no 9 to find this episode online' i still think this is such a fun idea for an episode
I somewhat agree. I'm not sure if she should have gone on a rampage but I would certainly have liked a little more depth about what was really going on. A little more clarity about what was happening at home. A bit more explanation about what was actually going on etc. Almost all the episodes this series have suffered from this, they get to the twist and then the episode ends when I would have preferred at least a couple more minutes to explore it in detail.
Exactly how I felt... the quiz show format initially didn't provide enough entertainment. I wanted to skip to the end, but at the same time didn't want to miss any potential 'events'.
I do prefer Steve and Reece to be in them as well. Their performances are always great value.
I thought this episode was a very good one. I spent the initial 15 minutes wondering whether it was real haha. I kind of guessed that Catherine was an experiment from her mother as she we learn that her mother is a clinical trial person. I liked how it was so normal until the end.
I agree that compared to Dead Line and Devil of Christmas this just couldn't reach the heights of those episodes. However on a re watch I did notice on the questions hint towards what's going on like the question she got right too quickly was about the witch hunts. I did like the sense of awkwardness and forboding throughout the episode but the acting didn't make it 100% believable. Still good but not great 👍 great review
The girl reminded me of Zoe bread from tiktok. No clue why😂
I thought it was a cool idea and it felt really real (honestly thought they put on the wrong show😂I remember saying “the twist is that they’re just making us watch a game show episode and it’s a big prank on us”😂) but it didn’t feel like it was a proper IN9 twist. Though, they must be hard to do over and over. It is kinda sad but I feel like they’ve lost the spark they once had
It was a cool character piece, but it feels like it’s lost the thing that really hooked me, I agree with you!
My partner really liked it though! But we were both shook that the pair weren’t included. Super rare that happens!
If there is one aspect of Inside No 9 that irritates me is the writers insistence on acting in their own stuff.
@@keithparker1346 eh, personally I don’t mind it that much, just says to me “this is an inside no 9”
Pemberton is better at playing a diverse bunch of characters imo though
Let's make the fake one real Number 9 bus.
Just imagine if episode 6 is Hold on Tight then next week is The Last Weekend
That would have been insane!
I liked this one a lot. It's backloaded a bit - there are things that seem a little odd at first, but then make sense on rewatch - lines like "you know what I think", and the way Catherine is acting during some of the wide shots, add up without giving the game away. I guessed pretty quickly that it *was* an Inside No 9 - the 3x3 is a bit of a giveaway, and if they've taught us anything, it's not to trust continuity announcers. But I stuck with it and really enjoyed it.
I just watched this now with my father and I honestly thought Iplayer had made a mistake
6:24 i swear that thing in the window wasnt in that episode
I spotted the twist within about 5 minutes, and questioned myself becuase it felt too obvious? I felt that the novelty of the premise of the episode was one of the only good things about it, but once I got past that, I was bored. Also, it was very clearly scripted, at least in my opinion. I did not feel this episode was very strong.
Whilst I agree that I don't think the episode will be very rewatchable, especially compared the other "fakeout" episodes like Deadline or Devil of Christmas, I do think that for what it was it worked completely *because* it was presented completely at face value as a legitimate game show (though with probably more host banter than a normal game show would have). I think it ultimately would have been generic and disappointing if it played its cards and switched genre halfway through.
This made the news because a ton of people complained. They watched it, not knowing it was inside number 9, and were terrified when the woman’s head exploded
And these people can vote.
This was clearly a fake gameshow
It doesn't happen often, but this is up there with League of Gentlemen Apocalypse and the reanimated head being the payoff in Psychoville (which ended in similar circumstances... These two must really like that moment in Scanners). One of those rare moments where these guys misfired and what they were going for just didn't work.
We waited way to long for the payoff and it was just a "gore effect".
It was very obvious that this wasn't a conventional quiz show due to some unconvincing acting, hammy dialogue and poor staging. If they were trying to fool the audience into thinking this was a legit show for anything more than a literal minute then you'd have had to be pretty gullible to swallow it.
The revelation as to "what's going on" was trite and not worth it. As said previously this is basically a recycled concept from Psychoville and that was already crap a conclusion to a series long storyline. It's not high concept or clever enough to deserve the whole gimmick that surrounds it.
A minor quibble but them not being in it is annoying. They- along with the Hare and it being set inside a number 9- are meant to be the link that binds every episode and there was no need to go off-track with this. They could have been in it for a second as panicking cameramen at the end or something and that would have solved this problem.
They did absolutely everything they're trying to do here better already, with Dead Line.
I'm just glad the next episode was an instant classic, as this is bottom 5 for the show and probably one of the worst half an hour segments of TV these guys have written. Not worth it.
Hey man just recently found your channel, love the content 👍 However i have to disagree this episode for me was great. However the moment the matilda question was asked i instantly knew what was happening. I really enjoyed it.
Hello Dark Doctor! Welcome to the Ghoul Gang! Lovely to hear you found this one a great episode!
@Unleash The Ghouls keep up the content bro I'll keep watching 👍
I’m never gonna watch the 1% Club the same way ever again.
I am curious if Lee Mack was acting or if he had been told the story and then they just let him improvise seeing how quick he is on something like would I Lie to you? For me he just seemed so natural as if he was presenting his real quiz show the 1%club
Not sure what the point of this was, I just found it irritating.
Were we meant to doubt this was an episode of “9”? I guess the conceit was reliant on that premise, going as far as not having Reece or Steve onscreen, but in that regard it failed the moment we were introduced to the Oakwoods, (where did they get those actors IKEA?!). Knowing it was a legit episode meant a lot of what would have been more subtle in ignorance became annoyingly obvious and felt like treading water til the final minutes.
On the plus side Lee Mack did an excellent job, the actors on the other teams were (mostly) better, had the Bigwins been introduced second with another extra minute or two of ambiguity I might have found myself double checking the tv listings. Also I didn’t expect the “scanners” moment.
Ironically I probably will enjoy this more on a second viewing looking for the clues I did miss.
What would’ve been the paranormal experience halfway through? 5:34
I think that Catherine could have still killed her mother, just having her snap a little bit earlier in the show rather than in the final game
I really hope that I wasn't the only person who found an article about this and thought it was a real death...if so, I apologise. I am dumb.
I loved it. I think if they had played their hand too early it would have been too expected because of what they did with dead line.
... it was a mind blowing episode! 😂
For real!!