Lip Service

A ridiculous twist. One of the cases that if you look a little beyond the glossy surprise ending, you soon realize how contrived it is. There is no way what happened at the end could have been so easily covered up, or pulled off of in the first place. This is not to mention the morally dubious implications. I know it's not a morality tale, but Inside No 9 has usually maintained its own version of a dark, but meaningful moral universe. Here it is all justified with one of the most tired stereotypes of conspiracy theory: The government did it, because it's what governments do. This show has had its share of recycling common tropes (shades of The Conversation here), but it's usually done with inventive and panache, sometimes better than their influences (e.g. The 12 Days of Christine, Once Removed). Unfortunately, not the case here.

Felix is convinced his wife is having an affair, he hires someone to give him some professional help.

First off, I watched this episode twice, as I knew it was right up my Street, easily the best of this series, and perhaps moves into the show's top ten episodes.

It's good old fashioned storytelling at its best, it's not trying to be overly clever, or too smart, it's just an engaging character driven story.

The writing is spot on, but the acting here was first rate, how brilliant was Sian Clifford here, she never fails to impress.

Best of all, the ending, that was an absolute masterpiece in writing, a twist that I am quite literally blown away by, Shearsmith and Pemberton show once again that they are the best in the business.

Wow, 9/10.

Like all episodes, it is difficult to rate on the basis of one viewing. Not all the nuances are obvious as one concentrates on plot.

Listen to the piano score that accompanies this play which I found reminiscent of the soundtrack from The Conversation from which, I'm sure, this episode drew some inspiration.

I am too new to this kind of anthology series and this episode particularly as I am not so well in english. But this episode I must say has several sudden striking moments that keeps viewers wonder all the time.

This entire episode is worth it for the horrifying, howling menace Mr Shearsmith stuffs into the word '...out' in the phrase '...stamp out,' about 3 minutes in.

Marvellous what they can do, these two. There's a swinging, borrowy plot in the high paranoid style, nodding to some favourite films of the seventies. There's some fussy character work from the two creators, a beautifully sombre set that heightens the cramp factor and a rolling gait to the whole show that keeps you one step ahead of worrying about 'real-world credibility'.

I love Pembo and Shearsy and a substantial part of the pleasure in watching them work - in this series especially - is picturing them in a writing room together, making the sausage.

If you ever bump into them on the tube around East Finchley, DO call them Pembo and Shearsy, they love it.