The sixth season of "Inside No. 9" begins with an episode that sure to be looked upon as one of the classics going forward, a witty, meta, glorious addition to the series.
Pantalone (Paterson Joseph) is planning a heist on an armoured truck and brings in a group of disparate professionals to carry out his plan. Managed by his trusted advisor Columbina (Gemma Whelan) the gang includes nice but dim Arlo (Kevin Bishop), bomb expert Scaramouche (Reece Shearsmith), the Doctor (Steve Pemberton) and his son Mario (Dino Kelly). The last two have their own plan, to swindle the rest of the gang with a set of fake jewels, but a rogue written declaration of love muddies the waters.
So, it's "Reservoir Dogs" in one sense. The gang plan their heist and then we see the aftermath of the failed job, including the fact that one of them is injured and the boss has gone missing. They then discuss the idea that one of them is a police informant. As a comedic homage, that might, in other hands, have been enough. But, Sheeasmith and Pemberton then infuse the story with a Commedia Dell'arte aspect that takes it to another level. Many of our characters are wearing traditional masks and utilise the tropes of that performance style. On top of that Gemma Whelan's character Columbina addresses the audience straight down the camera, with meta jokes about this being the creators sixth season, so ideas might be running out. Even if the very idea of talking to camera is debated as "Fleabagging" or "Miranda-ing". Whelan, by the way, is phenomenal. Put her in everything.
Why not a slightly higher score then? It perhaps sags just a little bit in the middle. But even as I type that, I feel like I'm trying to pick holes in something that was so clever and genuinely laugh out loud funny.
Pantalone (Paterson Joseph) is planning a heist on an armoured truck and brings in a group of disparate professionals to carry out his plan. Managed by his trusted advisor Columbina (Gemma Whelan) the gang includes nice but dim Arlo (Kevin Bishop), bomb expert Scaramouche (Reece Shearsmith), the Doctor (Steve Pemberton) and his son Mario (Dino Kelly). The last two have their own plan, to swindle the rest of the gang with a set of fake jewels, but a rogue written declaration of love muddies the waters.
So, it's "Reservoir Dogs" in one sense. The gang plan their heist and then we see the aftermath of the failed job, including the fact that one of them is injured and the boss has gone missing. They then discuss the idea that one of them is a police informant. As a comedic homage, that might, in other hands, have been enough. But, Sheeasmith and Pemberton then infuse the story with a Commedia Dell'arte aspect that takes it to another level. Many of our characters are wearing traditional masks and utilise the tropes of that performance style. On top of that Gemma Whelan's character Columbina addresses the audience straight down the camera, with meta jokes about this being the creators sixth season, so ideas might be running out. Even if the very idea of talking to camera is debated as "Fleabagging" or "Miranda-ing". Whelan, by the way, is phenomenal. Put her in everything.
Why not a slightly higher score then? It perhaps sags just a little bit in the middle. But even as I type that, I feel like I'm trying to pick holes in something that was so clever and genuinely laugh out loud funny.