Inside No. 9 (TV Series) Wise Owl (2022) User Reviews

Wise Owl

[Prismark10 · 7/10 · 7 June 2022]

A sombre end to a series that has been consistently more darker and serious than the previous ones.

Then again if you watched 1970s public information films. This will bring you out in a cold sweat.

Ronnie is a disturbed man who is planning to kill himself. Later he takes in someone's dead rabbit to stuff.

Interspersed are animation inserts about safety from Wise Owl.

Skilfully written, you know something tragic once befell Ronnie that left him disturbed.

It gets more horrible as it goes on. How Wise Owl's instructions can become sinister but there is light at the end.

I watched till the end credits. It's still made by BBC Comedy!

A strong and emotional episode to close out season 7

[joeltrunks · 8/10 · 2 June 2022]

It feels like the duo of Shearsmith and Pemberton have saved their best until last with an episode that ends up being quite shocking, but impactful under the guise of a children's cartoon scattered throughout.

Wise Owl is up there with the best this series has to offer and I'm so happy that there's still more to come with 2 more seasons being commissioned.

Joe Le Taxi-dermist

[southdavid · 7/10 · 9 June 2022]

Traditionally, "Inside Number 9" have ended their seasons with a horror episode. "Wise Owl" isn't quite that, though it is perhaps the darkest episode the pair have ever done.

Ronnie (Reece Shearsmith) is a disturbed man saved from ending his own life by the inadvertent intervention of his neighbour. His nights are disturbed by dreams related to a 70's style public safety cartoon "Wise Owl", which were popular in his youth, but are taking on more and more specific warnings, related to several dark moments of his past.

Again, performances on this one are strong. Ron Cook pulls double duty as Wilf, Ronnie's father but also the voice of the Wise Owl. His performance has quite a few shades to it that are revealed as the plot continues. The animated sections of the episode are the most memorable aspect of it, recreating the "Charlies says" style for the increasingly warped "Wise Owl" sections. I've said that he episode is not horror, but it certainly is a grim time and has some genuinely scary moments across the run time.

If this season has had a problem, for me it's been with the endings and this one too rather falls away, rather than building to a dramatic climax. It doesn't entirely undermine the episode, but it does, for me, keep it away from being a top tier addition.

Roll on season 8.

Unexpectedly bleak, fantastic episode.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 4 June 2022]

I'll be honest, a few minutes in, I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it, but boy, oh boy, I was totally wrong, this episode blew me away, this was thirty minutes of shocking, bleak, and somewhat disturbing telly.

I love how at the end of it, you see The BBC Comedy logo, and yes there are a few funny one liners, that one with the rabbit was side splitting, however this verges more into the horror genre, this was as far from a typical BBC comedy as you could get.

Shearsmith and Pemberton have truly done it again, this is yet another masterpiece in the series, this truly does fill you with all manner of emotions. Personally I've loved this series, and can't wait for the next.

Great to see Ron Cook, I've always hoped he'd appear on the show at some point.

If you grew up at the same time as I did, you'll definitely relate to the wise owl videos, those cartoons used to fill me with terror at School.

Outstanding, 10/10.

Moving, funny, shocking, amazing

[jeffabillard · 10/10 · 2 June 2022]

I don't know how these guys keep coming up with such amazing stories that tell so much in 30 minutes yet could fill a 2 hour movie without any padding.

If you're old enough to remember the 70's/80's "Charlie Says" educational cartoons where a Bagpuss type cat warned a young boy not to talk to strangers, you'll delight at the Wise Owl creation in this story.

Why he is an increasingly creepy Wise Owl in each cartoon interlude becomes clear as we find out who voiced him in the past, along with a very disturbing dream by the main human character.

As well as the darkness and sadness, there are also gross laugh out moments, plus an ending that gives hope.

Roll on the next 2 seasons that have been green lit, and hopefully many more.

An amazing end to the season!

[becky-92346 · 10/10 · 7 June 2022]

Wise Owl (Inside No.9 S7 E6, 2022) follows a strange man dealing with a mysterious tragedy from the past. This episode is heavily inspired by the child safety videos from the 70s. This was an amazing episode to finish on, and I loved every second of it!

The animation in the safety videos was so creepy and really got under my skin! It was so unique and I feel like No.9 has really gone in a different direction this season and it's massively paid off. The animation and videos felt so 70s and really captured the fear a lot of children at the time felt from them!

The colour palettes fit the tone very well, as they were dark and brooding. The episode was full of disturbing imagery which made me feel quite nauseous! I see this as a good thing, and I feel it's what they were going for. Each live action scene was well lit too, despite the lighting being minimal.

I absolutely loved Reece's character in this episode, his performance in this role was a stand-out and I can't praise him high enough! I felt so sorry for his character, Ronnie; he didn't deserve what happened to him and was easy to sympathise with.

Lastly, the episode had incredibly spooky vibes and kept the mystery consistently high. It was unique and strange straight away, and felt so unnerving. It was all tied together well, in a disturbing and messed up reveal, but ended on quite an emotional note that made me cry which I didn't really expect!

A true masterpiece of horror and succinct storytelling

[alextaylor-40770 · 10/10 · 2 June 2022]

When watching the trailer for this series, the clips that interested me the most were the animated segments from this episode. I love the eerie, pennies-budget animation of the 70s animations they were referencing, and knowing how Reece & Steve's minds work you just knew it was going to be twisted...

...But this episode was above and beyond at every corner, every twist and turn as the pitch black story slowly revealed itself. One of the only common themes in every episode of Inside No 9 is that you are dropped into the story somewhere in the middle, and by the end of the episode you've practically been given two stories - The events that follow from the beginning and the unravelling of the background and events that led to that point. They don't always pull it off in a satisfying way, but in Wise Owl they have created something that is beat-for-beat perfect.

Every time a new piece of the puzzle is placed there is a punch to the gut, sheer emotion that they haven't achieved since 'The 12 Days of Christine'. But this is more than that - Not only have they packed a heart-wrenching story and some of the most terrifying horror I have ever seen into a neat 30 minutes, but the way they intertwine the two is something you just cannot do without the talent and experience that Reece & Steve possess.

I just cannot stop thinking about it, this is an absolute masterpiece.

Wise Owl

[bobcobb301 · 7/10 · 9 July 2022]

A solid episode, but I was hoping for a bigger twist here instead of a moral dilemma story. I also feel like there were other ways to tell this kind of journey and they made some odd writing choices.

Eerie, harrowing and a top 3 episode of the series

[callumdrewwinkworth · 10/10 · 2 June 2022]

The 70s animation provides a brilliant ominous through line. The taxidermy theme provides many red herrings, where it could have reduced to a more conventional horror (a la The House that Jack Built, Psycho), but delivers a hilarious and poignant final punch line.

The lighting is exquisite and unsettling throughout.

Perhaps the paedophilia theme could have been treated a touch more subtly and been left more ambiguous, but it can easily be forgiven due to the time constraints.

Beautiful, unsettling, cathartic. The best of inside no 9.

The dark side of the 70s

[desdan-69314 · 10/10 · 3 June 2022]

This was brilliant and I have not much to add to other reviews, save to mention the two scenes that sent real shivers up my spine. Firstly, the scene in the hospital where the Owl tells Ronnie to keep quiet about what happened - for the first time shifting in tone from patronising to sinister . And secondly, the hideous cut to the Owl clutching a bottle of whisky, telling the kids its OK to light the candles - and worse. I personally did not see much comedy in this episode, save for Steve Pemberton's mullet, a sly misdirection as to the time period. Ronnie's pudding bowl haircut was also a throwback to the seventies but rational as he remained trapped as a child. Just so good.

Astonishing

[steve_beaumont-14233 · 10/10 · 3 April 2023]

I think this might be one of the best episodes they've ever done. Which is saying something really, considering how high the bar has previously been set with this series.

There are three or four moments within the episode where you change your mind as to where the conclusion is heading. The subject matter that is eventually revealed is incredibly sensitive and very hard to approach respectfully. However, they've really hit the right mark here and have ended up delivering a fantastic piece of television. For any Inside No. 9 fans this is right up there as a stone-cold classic, and in my view the best of another brilliant series.

Simply Superb

[tp-25527 · 10/10 · 2 June 2022]

Next to the Christine Christmas episode, this one is the best of them all. Well-crafted, brilliantly acted and executed. Simply...superb. This is TV watching at its finest.

One of Number 9's darkest yet greatest stories

[mariobowser-80792 · 10/10 · 4 June 2022]

Before watching, this was far and away the episode I was looking forward to the most in Series 7 purely for the animated segments. Did the episode disappoint? HELL NO!!!!

This story is clever, phenomenally acted by Shearsmith, has some amazing animation and is surprisingly emotional and very dark. Be prepared before going in as it is a very dark and disturbing watch but it is phenomenal. It is currently my third favourite episode of the show only behind 12 Days of Christine and Bernie Clifton's Dressing Room.

Please watch.

Move over, Apache

[srrrrdjw · 9/10 · 6 May 2023]

I blame Shearsmith and Pemberton for the following chain of events: I watched this episode, then when I was putting my favorites in order I listened to the inside inside No 9 bit online, heard Shearsmith drop the name of a public information film (Apache) which I then, for some reason, also looked up. What's really disturbing to me is that Apache - a mind boggling exercise in poor taste itself - is maybe a little less or just a tiny bit more disturbing than Wise Owl. But Wise Owl, of course, didn't miss the mark, it hits it so accurately that you find yourself laughing and at the same time feeling so very empty inside. The context of revisiting the actual participants in these accidental horror anthologies of the 1970s and 1980s is useful in both viewing and interpreting Wise Owl. But you might find that it's best to just appreciate it for what it is and what you hope it's not.

Top 2 episodes of all 7 seasons!

[epadcolm · 10/10 · 9 June 2022]

Huuuuge fan of inside number 9. This episode along with the Random Act of Kindness the previous week in season 7 are my top 2 episodes of the entire show. Simply Brilliant!

Tales of the unexpected

[safenoe · 9/10 · 20 June 2023]

This episode, Wise Owl, wraps up season 7 of Inside No. 9, and wow, what an episode to remember. It's bleak and unpredictable, and kind of reminds me of Tales of the Unexpected. In fact, in the Inside Inside No. 9 podcast on this episode, Reece mentions Roald Dahl. The Wise Owl public service announcements had an undertone of foreboding that got louder and darker as the episode progressed.

The ending reminded me of Bad Boy Buddy, an Australian movie that definitely ain't for children. But here children is the focus, and the big reveal is quite shocking for sure, and gets under the skin. We'll never look at public service announcements in the same way again.