User Reviews

The first episode is one of my favorites. It's weird, well acted and funny, until it's not. I find the situation quite explicit and do not really understand those who do not catch the end, especially because of all the clues. I guess it helps that I really like Katherine Parkinson. In 30 minutes, the story manages to make us feel uneasy, to make us laugh and finally understand the revenge executed. As others said, it's a great episode to rewatch.

This series deserves to be better known and I'm really happy to have stumbled upon it. The shorts stories make us laugh, cry and reflect, and few are those that we do not appreciate. I love the simple concept of the n9 and the aesthetic that works wonderfully.

The series kicks off with a quintessential episode.

The premise is simple and neatly justifies this quiet chamber piece as colorful character after colorful character just hangs out, apparently being inconsequential but at the same time delightfully drole.

And finally the whole thing ties up in a neat, but not so nice, little bow.

As the first episode of this highly amusing and highly inventive series, 'Sardines' can appear pedestrian in pace compared to the next episode for example. The confined setting and the stellar cast act well together. It is an episode which needs to be viewed several times to be truly appreciated.

I started reviewing the individual episodes of "Inside Number 9" at the start of the fourth season, so now, with the sixth just finished it feels like the right time to return to the start and pick up on the ones I missed. Starting, naturally, with the first episode.

In the middle of a family party to celebrate Rebecca's (Katherine Parkinson) engagement, a game of sardines, a variant on hide and seek, where searchers must hide alongside anyone they discover, causes a number of participants to relive an incident from the past that they hoped was long buried. Began by an uncomfortable pairing of Rebecca and Ian (Tim Key) the game continues until all twelve participants are squeezed into a wardrobe.

This really was "Inside Number 9" laying down a marker for what the show would be like. Dark and uncomfortable, but laugh out loud funny and with a twist at the end to take the show to a really dark place. This episode was a prime example, layering in aspects of its story without explicitly telling you and allowing you to work it out on your own from the little bits of dialogue and the reactions.

What time has done for this episode is demonstrate how good the casting was. Anne Reid, Timothy West, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Tim Key, Marc Wooton, Ophelia Lovibond, Luke Pasqualino, Ben Willbond Anna Chancellor and Katherine Parkinson - that's quite the impressive collection of talent, particularly for the first show in a new series. (Admittedly, one where the creators had "The League of Gentlemen" and "Psychoville" under their belts).

It's a very good start.

Agree that this needs a few viewings to appreciate. The ending was brilliant, with Ian transforming from wardrobe flower to being firmly in control. I wondered whether this was a kind of reverse Murder on the Orient Express, with all of the final wardrobe occupants somehow deserving of their implied end. There was adultery and some unpleasant traits in some, in addition to the obviously culpable father, but I'm not sure this was an intended theme. A great start to this wonderful series.

I'd never heard of this series, untill someone told me: if you like Black Mirror, you'll love this series!

So I gave it a try and the very first episode was just brilliant. The great acting, really good camera work and the Roald Dahl-esk twist made it a true piece of art.

It made me think of Tales of the Unexpected, the series from the 70's, which is also really good.

It brings very high hopes for the other episodes, especially since a lot of people seem to rate this one lower than average.

If you've been living under a rock like I did and missed all seasons up till now, go ahead and watch it!

Sardines was the debut episode, and possibly my least favourite episode of Inside no.9, indeed I foolishly didn't watch the series after this until Series 3. If I'm totally honest I just didn't find this particularly funny, or hugely original, having re-watched it just now, my appreciation has grown for it, the subtleties of the writing are there, it just takes some time to open up, and get moving. Some fun moments, the balance of dark and humour is perhaps out of proportion, but the laughs do come, mainly from Anne Reid and Katherine Parkinson.

If I were suggesting Inside no.9 to someone that hadn't seen it, this would be the last episode I'd suggest, this one is for big fans of the show only. 6/10

The first episode of Inside No 9 promised dark comedy with a twist.

Sardines started uncertainly. I think the director was unsure about balancing the comedy with the dark undercurrent which was pushed in later on in the episode despite the attempts to seed it early on.

It based on the parlor game Sardines in a country mansion. One by one people hide in a cupboard hoping stinky John does not enter and wishing Ian was not such a bore.

However once dad gets in the cupboard, we figure out why John disliked washing with soap as a past event is recalled.

The episode is gently amusing and jolts you with a sudden twist. However better stories will emerge from this series.