The 5 least popular episodes of Inside No 9 (and why I still like them) 

I feel like Empty Orchestra is one of the palatte cleansers of Inside No 9, much like how San Junipero was for Black Mirror. Also, maybe it's because I'm a hopeless romantic but I absolutely swooned when Dwayne put Janet's hand on his chest so that she could feel his heartbeat. It was so sweet!

Of these, I actually really like Empty Orchestra. It was nice to have something that ended happily after so much intensity that season.

Even the less appealing episodes of this wonderful series are better than 99% of the nonsense on television

How can one not like Nana's party? The pacing is incredible, the characters are unexpectedly deep, Reece's performance makes me tear up a little every time I watch it and the ending never fails to have me laughing to tears. One of my most favourite episodes!

Nan's party was so on point for toxic families and the family gatherings

makes me so sad that empty orchestra is on here. i loved it so much

I absolutely loved "And the winner is...", I found the dialogue sharp & witty and the setting to be unique, a nice satirical fly-on-the-wall's eye view of a hidden process. I did kind of guess what the twist would be, but not from any clue in the episode itself, more from the meta-awareness that there would be a twist and the most likely one would be that someone was rigging the vote. It was still well played out though, even when I was 90% expecting it.

I really liked the last gasp's ending because it's like shes letting his soul (In his last breath in the balloon) go up to heaven

I love "Empty Orchestra". I fuckin' love music. Telling a story through the chosen songs just felt right - "I Know Him So Well", perfect choice.

What I love about And The Winner Is... is that the ending makes the first watch quite satisfying as throughout the episode, Jackie is mistreated by everyone, and in the end, she's the one who gets the last laugh.

"Empty Orchestra" is one of my favourites because of the comeuppance at the end, the inclusion of a deaf actor and the storytelling through song. I love their dark endings, but variety is important. Reece & Steve are amazing writers and actors. They are not afraid to experiment and they are generous to the guest actors. An occasional episode might disappoint, but that is always down to personal preference, not their talent.

Understudy is fantastic. The acting and performances are really fun. Last Gasp is also great because it shows humanity at its absolute worst. I've had a similar situation where my extended family started fighting over the money left behind by a dead relative, before the body was cold.

12 days of christine was what got me hooked to the show. it's just simple and emotional. such a ride!

Empty Orchestra is my third favorite episode. Adore how genuinely uplifting the story is when it meets it's end.

A lot of these episodes are the ones that get better after rewatching them

"And the winner is" is one of my very favourites. It's really funny and has a lovely twist.

I love that you gave 'No Reece' as a genuine reason for people not liking Last Gasp! I don't think I dislike any episode either but if I had to choose, the Reeceless one would be my least favourite

I wholeheartedly agree about Empty Orchestra. What a glorious episode. I love the ending.

Thanks for this!! I love Nana's Party and the Understudy - they are still good in their own right just maybe not as strong as the other episodes. Sometimes I refrain myself from reading such "rankings" just because I don't want them to spoil my appreciation for the less popular stories.

I can't sing since you been gone in anything other than a drunken brummie accent now thanks to Empty Orchestra! Great video :)

I liked the 'egregious' reference you slipped in there. I also really enjoyed Empty Orchestra. It had 'don't you want me baby' in my head for days and it was so sweet seeing Steve's character so happy at the end of the show.

I can't believe that some people don't like The Understudy! It's one of my favourite episodes, the lighting, the acting, the set design and the twist was all amazing!

Kirstie being first on screen in The Understudy could be a reference to the witches

You know I've always loved Nana's party, the use of music when everything is revealed made me shed a tear. However, I love your channel even more and I hope you keep producing content until the sun burns out x

It's actually just bad luck to say "McBeth" out loud while being inside a theatre because of that myth of that one time it was on and it went really badly with accidents and even a death I believe. Theatre people are a superstitious bunch, so it kinda makes sense. By the way, if you accidentally mention the play inside a theatre, the only way to not doom the play about to happen is to run around the whole building three times. Which would be hilarious if you're already in costume.

Honestly, between empty orchestra and the song between Edward and Tubbs in the 2018 league of gents live show, I think Steve's a pretty decent singer (of course in the case of empty orchestra he's intentionally bad but the acting throughout each song is excellent as always)

Saying "Macbeth" is only unlucky if you're actually in a theatre, I believe, anywhere else its fair game.

You better believe I clicked on this the fraction of a second it showed up, cheers!

Almost every episode is worth a re watch. They get better the second time you see them

Madness!! The Understudy is in my top 10 (and ranks quite high!) Interesting how each episode is so different, they appeal to different viewers. That type of variety is hard to find in other shows. There’s really nothing else like No. 9 atm.

You can’t call yourself a singer unless you’ve sang half pissed in a karaoke booth/party.

I don’t think that they’ve made a bad episode to date. There are some I like less than others, but they are all good. Even if I’m rewatching them I never skip any. Thank you for your analysis

Your channel is helping me get through some tough times. Thank you

I love that you’ve shed some light on these episodes. I love all of them but have personal favourites rather than wanting to rank them so it’s nice to see analysis of the less talked about ones. Your channel is really good and I hope it continues to grow.

Great video. Just watched Last Gasp. Loved the cynicism of humanity. Very dark. Reminded me of the way families argue over wills and estates, brings out the worst. Kid was great.

I love how much effort you clearly put into each video - especially as inside no9 is such a little talked about topic on RU-vid. Love your videos, thank you! x

Been waiting on this and as great as I hoped! Thank you so much for giving some love and respect to these underrated episodes . They are all still astonishing pieces of work and knew you would do them justice. Giullem Morales praised Steve's performance in Empty Orchestra (and was full of praise for Steve as an actor) on Instagram a couple of days ago. (Personally both Empty Orchestra and Nana's party are amongst my favourite episodes-)

Yay! A new video! You’ve quickly became one of my favourite creators, I love listening to your voice.

So I found your channel recently, was extremely intrigued and being from the US finally splurged on britbox 2 days ago. I’ve now watched all of inside no. 9 and I’m absolutely in love with this series! So thank you so very much 😊

It's nice to see alot of love for 'And the winner is' & 'the empty orchestra' . That they are atypical is in their favour, adding variety to a series line up.

On guessing the twist in And The Winner Is, I "guessed" it to an extent. Because it's Inside Number 9 I knew there had to be a twist, and the "ordinary member of the public" was the only character not accounted for. She went way overboard on pretending not to really know anything, and I strongly suspected from very early on that she was hiding something and was perhaps pulling the strings somehow. I do remember feeling underwhelmed by the reveal. Not because I "knew" who she was, but because I knew "something big" being up with that character would be the twist :)

thank you so much for feeding my special interest with a 40-minute IN9 video, a true hero. (spoilers?) I absolutely love all of these episodes! I'm surprised people don't like them aha. -nanas party had me cackling. I yelled, because, i too have a very oblivious nan! I liked that it wasn't overly gruesome or dark; just a family tragedy. -...now this might be my special interest in Shakespeare but god did i love this episode. and it threw me off because i expected macbeth when all of a sudden the 'banquo' so to speak took the lady M role! I think it's one you gotta start with. -Empty orchestra was a little boring but HEY *HEY*!!! DISABLED ACTOR PLAYING A DISABLED CHARACTER. have to stan that! As a (though invisible) disabled person i had more of an angle to laugh and relate to it, and i liked watching it unravel. -The Winner is had the best twist it could have. and hey! acting commentary! It was slower, I'll admit, but i liked the character dynamics -last gasp is funny, to me. it may just be sick sense of humour, but hey!!!! its got its moments!!! plus, Tamsin Gregg.

I *LOVE* Empty Orchestra! And I also love that you have taken the time (and indeed love) to do these videos. Thank you so much

YES YES YES, an episode about Edward and Tubbs! Once again I must thank you for your insightful analysis and my housemate applauds your sense of humour (as do I). I'm using your vids to get him more into #9, with great success.

I recently finished watching through all of Inside no.9 (to season 4 anyway) and I also really enjoyed all the episodes, even though it was some more than others. I understand the 'I saw the twist coming' reason for disliking an episode but honestly I think it's really hard to pull off a good twist with fore-shadowing and effective set up without giving it away to some. There were more episodes I saw the twist coming than didn't, wether it was from the start or half-way through but the journey of the story was often better than the twist anyway. The thing that gave it away for me in 'And the winner is...' was the emotional walking out. Knowing the typical formula of the show and the obviously twisted industry personalities being ironically honest in their portrayal, this action felt suspicious. Honestly, I wasn't upset by realising it as the performance was excellent. The series often stands on its storytelling and characters even if the twist doesn't hit but I can understand people getting frustrated if they only really watch it waiting for that surprise. Overall, it was a fantastic watch and I can't wait to see what else they do.

I didn't realise that 'The Understudy' was unpopular. I love that one!

Three of my favourites are on here hahah! Love the channel.

Hello I’m late to the party but happy I arrived. I’ve been a fan of inside no 9 for a while now and it’s very nice to revisit the episodes through you before I rewatch for the 100th time. One thing I would like to add from my pov about the episode “Empty Orchestra” is that one of the twists is that it shows the disabled are just like everyone else and by NOT creating some big reveal or dramatic cliche based around the fact she was deaf and able read lips, it normalizes the story and normalizes her handicap and all who live with physical disabilities. The Latin definition for orchestra is “the place in front of the stage where prominent persons sit” and each character were all different in so many ways, wore so many different costumes and had different battles in their lives, yet all in it together just like we do. So let’s sing and celebrate and pass the microphone! Much love from Music City Nashville TN. ❤

I was one of the people who could predict the ending and honestly it was a case of, ‘there’s going to be a twist, what could it be’ and just figuring it out but I attempt to figure out of all of them before the end of the episode and this is the only one I have done successfully

I consider And The Winner Is... to be a good breather episode. Low drama, no risks, and still a surprising twist.

Thank you so much for all of these League of Gentleman run downs! Also I love your puns/jokes/commentary.

Thank you so much for this and all your videos, it’s really nice to have so much smart and entertaining discussion on Inside No. 9 which is still criminally underrated. I really appreciated hearing your thoughts on these, as like yourself there isn’t an episode of No 9 that I completely dislike, including these five. Nana’s Party I’ve always appreciated for having an anti-twist, the whole episode you’re waiting for a knife to go into the head under the cake, and it never happens, and I think that’s a brilliant bit of trolling on the part of Reese and Steve. I also love Reese’s character, he’s so funny and kinda sweet too. I didn’t know The Understudy wasn’t popular, I’ve always liked it! Macbeth is my favorite Shakespeare play, the characters are really well written and fun to be around, and the “fuck me, it’s a ghost!” line makes me laugh until my sides hurt every time! Empty Orchestra did rub me the wrong way a little bit on first watch because I’ve always wanted a traditional musical No. 9, but I’ve come to appreciate it more and more over time, mainly because of its characters and also the ending which is really satisfying and sweet. And The Winner Is... might be one of my favorites when it comes to the more comedic episodes of No. 9, so many sparkling one liners and quips that go by so fast it, like every other episode, really benefits from rewatches. Also it’s lovely to see Noel Clarke in a No 9, as I’ve loved him since he was Mickey Smith haha. And then there’s Last Gasp, which does have the least amount of positives for me tbh, I will say Tamsin’s character is a big highlight, and the set up is strong, however I did find the ending to lack punch. I think it would’ve been interesting if they got greedy, decided to blow up a couple more identical balloons to pass off as ones the celebrity had blown up, and found that the reason he died was because that bag of purple balloons had been contaminated at some point, and so the greedy people die the way the celebrity did, leaving only a little girl and a camera they didn’t know was on to tell the story. But that’s basically just a rewrite and at the end of the day it’s a funny episode with strong performances, as they all are really. I think it’d be almost impossible for Steve and Reese and the whole team at IN9 to make a Bad episode, there’s just too much talent there. Thanks again for all the wonderful videos, they are greatly appreciated!

I liked Nana’s party. I absolutely enjoyed seeing all the skeletons come out the closet and I don’t know about anyone else but I found it rather tense when Pat and Carol were talking about their secrets with Jim (the hardcore pornography disguised as Countdown for the former and the love affair for the latter) in the presence of the fake birthday cake-Angela must have been fuming! Of course she wasn’t there anymore. This might make me sound horrible, but I absolutely love seeing middle class life fall apart. A lot of it can be so fake and to see it all come out in the open I find very satisfying! Plus this family does have plenty for me to get annoyed at-the most frustrating is Angela with her bloody tassels! On a side note if anyone else out there shares my pleasure of seeing middle-class sensibility collapse then I would highly recommend the film Carnage which completely throws a spanner at all things bourgeois. Overall I would say that Nana’s party is among one of my favourite episodes. Also btw I have finished watching season 1 of Psychoville. I’ve never finished a TV season so quickly! This has nothing to do with the small number of shows as it has taken me longer to finish shows with a smaller number of episodes. It was just so good, I was watching an episode a night where normally I would watch an episode then come back 2 or 3 days later however Psychoville had me gripped. It was just so weird, wonderful, funny, entertaining and doesn’t get the appreciation it deserves. Will there be a spoiler discussion of Psychoville any time soon? As for me it’s onto season 2.

I thought there was a line where Christy mentioned killing Laura. Empty Orchestra is technically amazing. Actually editing ongoing musical activity with dialogue and intercuts is something that Hollywood has never even attempted. That might not be enough to make the episode a Big Success, but it adds a layer that I suspect its detractors didn't 'get.'

Another amazing inside no.9 video, you're saving my sanity during this lockdown ahaha. Stay safe!! ❤️

Love all your content, thanks so much!!

Thanks for this great analysis of my favourite show. There isn’t a bad episode - they are consistently genius! Thanks for the love shown to Empty Orchestra: clever, insightful and the put upon triumph. And the use of Whigfield that doesn’t immediately sicken me!

Great Video, Empty Orchestra is one of my favourite. Looking forward to the LoG videos.

8:40 you’ve hit the nail on the head there as to why I love the show so much (aside from the amazing writing and acting) that I’ve never realised before. Almost every episode is about some usually untold, yet gleefully domestic or humane scenarios and occasions in life

Nana's party is one of my favs, Reece as Pat is absolutely hilarious, one of his best characters

Wonderful stuff as always, many thanks. I've always loved The Understudy and Nana's Party. Can't see why anyone should dislike them, hilarious and tragic as they are (though maybe the humour in the former is too actorly for some). Last Gasp's ending is really sweet. Not to doubt their storytelling ability but I do wonder if there was more they could have done with the video camera stuff set up at the start.

Empty Orchestra is one of my fav episodes ever personally, it's just a really interesting slice of life sorta thing with a great plot and twist, and was honestly a relief after the tenser episodes in that series.

Nana's Party was the episode that really got me into No.9. I watched 12 Days of Christine before it and I just didn't think it lived up to the hype. It's probably one of my favourite episodes, just because it's so different to other episodes.

Thank you for posting this Inside No. 9 doesn’t give enough credit or analysis it deserves. Easily the best show of the 21st century. Both of them excel at writing and are acting chameleons. Will definitely be watching all your videos and future ones

I just finished a proper binge of every episode...twice lol.... And it's easily become a favorite series and I absolutely agree that there hasn't been a bad episode. I actually like every one in this list but can see why some may not. Fantastic video, definitely subbing now 😊

Good to have you back.

I thought I had been listening for 10 minutes at the end. Then I looked what run time was. And I surprised to see I had been watching for 40 minutes. That shows that this video was amazing. Thank you for making it

i love your inside no 9 content sooooo much. (i also love your accent!)

PEOPLE DONT LIKE AND THE WINNER IS?? By far one of the funniest episodes

effing LOVE your channel! x

Great video as always! I think you nailed it - none of these episodes are bad, they’re just not what fans necessarily expect or want from Inside Number 9. I love Nana’s Party (it reminds me of my own family). It is close to home but no less enjoyable for it. Gallows humour indeed! Empty Orchestra is a perfect little romcom. As for The Winner Is, I think it is entertaining but I don’t like the twist. The reveal is far too cheesily done for the supposed greatest actress in Britain. In future I’m sure Thinking Out Loud will make this list, but I kinda love it. Stunning performances from Reece, Maxine Peake and Ioanna Kimbook, and some fantastic lines. They really fumbled the ending but that shouldn’t ruin the rest of the episode.

Thanks for your acute analysis as always. It can be lonely, being a critic! You always hit the spot. I agree, there are no bad episodes of Inside Number Nine. The creators are touched by genius. I love Empty Orchestra. It is gratifying that evil is punished and good triumphs. Being disabled myself, it’s moving that there’s no sense that she is a cipher, but rather a real three-dimensional character

There isn’t a single episode that I dislike! But of this list, ‘The Understudy’ is a favourite. Great episode.

I adore Empty Orchestra partly because while the murder and dark twists are fun, there pretty mentally draining and oh boy is it hard to sleep on those nights! Sometimes you just need a light hearted feel good comedy. Also as someone with a profoundly deaf aunt, the representation couldn't have been better, I really like how Janet being deaf was never the butt of the joke. Even in a scene where she sings quite embarrassingly they don't play it for laughs which is terrific. I really love how her perceived "weakness" ended up being Connie's comeuppance.

Empty Orchestra is such a lovely story. Everything turns out pretty much how you'd want it to, every character gets what they deserve, and it has such an optimistic ending. For a show as dark and disturbing as Inside No 9, especially in the same series as The Devil of Christmas, it made for a rare, relaxing breather episode.

I really like The Understudy. Firstly, the whole saying Macbeth being bad luck thing is only in a theatre, and most actors know it's bs, they just go along with it for fun. I think they actually had enough twists with the story go make it unique to people who are familliar with the play. Also, I don't think the main character ever really became a bad person. The only thing we're aware of him doing is breaking up with his gf to focus on hos career. Which is, maybe upsetting for the gf but not immoral, or even particularly unpleasant to do

You raised some good point great job, one of the few shows that at its worst is still good and mostly enjoyable

Oh wow! What a great channel! I just subscribed. I am having a tough time at the moment- death of a mother etc... Stuck in a country I don't want to be in, alone- I've been re-watching the League and it's really the only thing that I truly enjoy at the moment. It's gorgeous. I forgot how good it is!

I like every episode featured on this list. I thought Last Gasp was a fantastically darkly comical episode and Nanna's Party, the winner is are both perfect examples of how an ensemble cast can present a lot of comedic potential that always manages to hit their marks everytime I watch them. I want to also say that I loved The referee's a W***er its my favourite along with Empty Orchestra is a lovely episode, has great characters, awesome songs with meaning and who doesn't love a good musical great video

Yes!! 😃 I was so happy to see a new video from you and even happier to hear your take on the least- discussed episodes that I also love! My fave from your list was Empty Orchestra because it was so much fun. 💖 Would you mind typing the composer's name to me? I'm dying to find his RU-vid channel! Oh and I'm still planning a #9 video myself but have suffered the worst case of writer's block! 😡

Empty Orchestra and Last Gasp are actually two of my favourites that I watch over and over. I particularly like Empty Orchestra because it’s just so sweet and plays on our suspicion that something far more sinister might happen. Last Gasp has me *crying* with laughter.

I saw this was uploaded and became super excited! I really enjoyed empty orchestra, it had relatable characters and it had a really good plot imo. But I can see why it’s not as popular as other episodes. But with IN9 every episode has something great to offer even if they’re not everyone’s cup of tea there will always be something that makes it worth watching. Whether it’s the comedy, the mystery or just Reece and Steve. Personally I think at its worst it’s still better than most shows out there 😊

I love Nana’s Party for the whole family drama and crazy background...

Nothing better than a Weelin inside no. 9 video to stave off the self isolation boredom. Tbh The Understudy is one of my favourites really and one of the big faults I think of is the cgi, but as you’ve mentioned they don’t have an MCU style budget so I can live with it. About ‘And the Winner is…” I’ve never ‘seen and ending coming’ in any No. 9 I think Reece and Steve are just way too smart for me. Great video as per 👍🏻

“Stay local” might be my new favourite lockdown slogan :P It’s nice to see some light shed onto the less popular episodes (I was a bit surprised at some of the ones that ended up low-ranked. Never knew Last Gasp was so unpopular!) I always read the “sister’s name” line in Nana’s Party to mean Carol either miscarried or terminated a pregnancy (and if it’s the latter there’s the possibility that Jim pressured her into it, which makes things considerably more grim.) Got to admit the opening of that one bothered me a little (would a stripper really arrive in what looked like an emergency vehicle? What was the line “doesn’t look good, does it? Hope I’m not too late” supposed to mean in context?) but I still love how the guy just happily launched into his routine, apparently without taking in anything that was going on around him!

Excellent video!! Looking forward to your next work. I love Inside No. 9 and The League of Gentlemen. Psychoville is on the to-watch list. Anyone have recommendation for similar dark comedy show?

I love The Understudy! One of my favourite episodes!!

I absolutely love Empty Orchestra, it's one of my favourites. Sometimes I want an episode where the good guys win.

I enjoy all of these episodes. In fact, I really like Last Gasp and The Understudy, and I love Nana's Party

I like Nana's party and Empty Orchestra.

New subscriber! I really like your vids and the work of TLOG guys. I've commented on another vid of yours with questions about this show. I have a couple more: in the 'Empty orchestra' : how did they end up with that stuff on their faces that blew their cover? Also, what the hell was on Reece's chin in 'And the winner is'?

a new WeeLin 9 video? put a smile on my face thank you!

Best Episodes for me: '12 Days of Christine' ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 'Once Removed' ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 'Bernie Clifton's Dressing Room' ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

omg i loved nana's party its prolly one of my fave episodes of the entire series

I absolutely LOVE your reviews , would you ever consider doing black mirror

I also really like The Understudy. But I have studied Macbeth a ridiculous amount of times throughout school

Totally with you on the reading of Last Gasp's ending. I'm surprised that anyone thought Tamsin was supposed to be doing what she does to get revenge on the adults. From what we see of her, it would be pretty out of character, and it's much more fitting.

I just want to say I really appreciate that even though you acknowledge it feels a bit silly, you still give a spoiler warning for that Shakespeare play that I honestly had no idea saying its name was bad luck. I remember someone once said that a movie like Planet of the Apes doesn't need a spoiler warning, due to the fact that it has been out for so long, and not apparently it's any individuals own fault for not seeing it yet. Shakespeare's plays have been out for centuries though, and yet believe it or not, new people are born every single second who have not seen his plays, or the Planet of the Apes, and believe it or not, it's actually not their fault

Thanks for another good video :) Like you, I liked them all, but here's what I ranked them in my rankings out of all 31 episodes and why they weren't higher: Nana's Party: 24th: Lacked a good twist. I was suspicious of the daughter going off to do 'homework' throughout, but the ending failed to pack as big a punch as other episodes. The Understudy: 20th: I think Reece's character's visions took away from the main narrative and was somewhat predictable. Empty orchestra: 30th: Lacked the shock value of other episodes and (even though San Junipero and Hang the DJ are my favourite Black Mirror episodes) was still a bit too happy in a cliche manner for its ending. And the winner is: 22nd: It dragged a bit. Last Gasp: 19th: There wasn't enough of a twist at the end and there was a lot of drag in the middle. I think that when an episode doesn't have a big twist/punch, it fails to get itself onto the same level as those top episodes that really left our (or at least my) jaw dropped in shock and desperate to watch it again!

My least favorite episode would be "The Harrowing" it had one plot twist which is her friend, unless there is anything else i haven't paid attention to. Anyway appreciate your reviews ❤️ we dont see much reviews for this show; because It's underrated and has no media coverage, sadly.