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It’s a pity, really, that Germaine (Helen Monks) is home-schooled, because it means that she missed the science lesson about the centre of the universe. Clue: it isn’t, as she appears to think, her. So it’s with slightly too much glee that she bounds up the stairs to interrupt Grampy’s moment of solace with the … >
This week’s episode of Inside No. 9 is the third of the second season, which makes it literally Episode No. 9. It’s probably reaching to read too much into such things, particularly as the programmes were almost certainly recorded out of sequence, but there’s still a pleasing symmetry in that there’s a return to roots … >
‘Chin up’, Cynthia Coffin (Julie Walters) remarks sagely. ‘Final furlong.’ Perhaps she’s seen the episode guide: only two parts of Indian Summers left, and most of the characters are finally showing their hand, or at least displaying their loyalties. Certainly, things are getting a bit strained between her and Ralph, who can’t hold a conversation … >
There’s a party going on. The kind of function where the adults are dysfunctional beside a sad little barbeque and the kids get their game on in the front room. Della is keen that the family get out there and socialise because, as she notes, lying on top of someone doesn’t count as socialising – … >
People complain about telly not being nearly as good as it used to be. Annoyingly, those sort of people are exactly the type who probably aren’t taking a chance on this anthology programme in the style of Tales of the Unexpected and Comedy Playhouse, which is not only as good as telly used to be, … >
There’s a heatwave going on, and cousin Cathy is coming over to visit. Della doesn’t have the good china to dig out, but the guest does get to have a can of fizzy coke, a privilege not awarded to the rest of the family. Cathy is immediately funny and interesting (‘She’s had experience of life … >
It’s odd, the boxes we put people in. Joe Pasquale is generally thought of as a squeaky-voiced light entertainment performer, Todd Carty is often considered a depressed barrow boy (or an overly cheerful school kid, depending on your age), and Monty Python is regarded as the summit of all sketch shows. It’s this last that’s … >
With one right of passage (your first period) covered in the previous episode, we’re onto another: buying decent underwear. Germaine (Helen Monks) hopes the lingerie department will introduce her to a grown-up world of lace and frills. Matriarch Della, a romantic not given to romanticism, is more pragmatic. When you’re a teenager on an estate … >
‘La Couchette’ opens up the second season of Inside No. 9, and here you should stop reading if you haven’t seen the episode. A group of disparate characters have been shoved into a confined space, and they are not exactly ideal bedfellows. There’s a lot packed into what’s deceptively a gossamer-light plot involving a dead … >
This first episode of Channel 4’s Raised by Wolves is a triumphantly confident opening to a series. Sure, there was a pilot last year, but that is in no way required viewing to get up to speed: it can be assumed that this episode wouldn’t have been much different even if it was the first … >