Inside No. 9 (TV Series) Last Gasp (2014) User Reviews

A breath of fresh air.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 11 October 2018]

Last Gasp is the lowest rated episode from the first series, unfairly so I think, it has many fine, clever moments, and it manages to show just how far people will go in pursuit of greed.

It's unpredictable, unusual, funny, funny in the way you'd expect from a black comedy penned by Shearsmith and Pemberton. The story is very twisted, it shows how people will turn their backs on loved ones for money, as is the case here. The performances are great, Tamsin Greig in particular, the switch in her character is great, so well done.

It's fair to say it isn't one of the best, but it's enjoyable nonetheless. 7/10

Stab at celebrity worship

[safenoe · 8/10 · 25 November 2020]

The reviews and ratings aren't laudatory for the Last Gasp, but it's definitely worth watching, and the writers doesn't take prisoners when it comes to the absurd extremity of celebrity worship for sure. Money plays an important role in this, alongside the Make-A-Wish theme in this episode.

Huffle Puff

[southdavid · 7/10 · 28 June 2021]

The fourth episode of the first season of "Inside Number 9" is a bit of a curio, if you look back at it now. It's a solidly amusing episode, with some dark moments, but no real twist in the tail and even more surprisingly, no Reece Shearsmith.

Famed popstar Frankie Parsons (David Bedella) dies whilst blowing up a balloon at the birthday party for Make-A-Wish girl Tamsin (Lucy Hutchinson). Whilst waiting for the artists manger to arrive, Tamsin's father Graham (Steve Pemberton), Make-A-Wish organiser Sally (Tamsin Greig) and Parsons' security Simon (Adam Deacon) start to investigate whether the singers literal last breath has a marketable value. Paranoia grows between the three, both about how to divide the profits and how best to look after the precious balloon.

More of a straight comedy, this episode, with Tamsin Greig (as always) being a highlight. She relishes the delivery of some of the inappropriate things that Sally says and also gets to do the meta jokes with clarifying that the girls name is Tamsin, and not Tasmin. Sophie Thompson plays Tamsin's mother Jan who, though the episode sets her up as the better parent, actually is the one who has co-opted her dying daughters final wish, to orchestrate a meeting with her favourite singer. Pemberton is broader that we've seen him be before, but it is unusual that Reece Shearsmith doesn't appear at all. I assumed throughout that he was going to be playing the manager, whose arrival is talked about for most of the episode but then doesn't even have any lines when he does turn up.

It's a fine episode, with some amusing moments, but it's not near the top of the list, when it comes to the most memorable episodes.

A Fun Little Tale

[eppingdrwho · 29 January 2020]

This story is not the strongest in the season but is supported by some strong cast performances including the wonderful Tamsein Grieg. The music complements the humour of the tale.

Empty and unfulfilled

[norxilla · 6/10 · 7 March 2024]

I wasn't the biggest fan of this episode. It didn't have the same thoughtfulness as the past scripts. I initially liked the concept and I really liked the absurdity of celebrity, but this concept wasn't developed very well and it ultimately ended up falling flat. The actors did their best with the constraints of the characters, but it did feel a little empty.

There wasn't much of a twist, Frankie coming back to life was a slight one, but it was quite cliché that Tamsin let the balloon go free. I think what let it down the most was the weakness in the concept. It left me with quite an empty, unfulfilled feeling. Still my favourite show! But this is the nature of anthologies - we all have our favourites.

This Episode is Actually One of my Favorites of the Series

[dylankoury · 9/10 · 21 June 2019]

I personally am surprised that this episode is rated so poorly, really my only criticism would be a stronger ending, but the writers lay so many subtleties of the relationships of the family members that I just think are brilliant.

Throughout the episode you may begin to pick up on the fact that Tamsin is not actually a fan at all of pop star Frankie J Parsons. From the moment we meet her in her room, the walls are covered with posters, but they are of One Direction and other boy bands, not the celebrity that apparently was her one wish she wanted. When Mr. Parsons died, all Tamsin had to say was that he was nice, something you might say about someone you only just met, not a celebrity you were obsessed with.

The real fangirl was the mother, who checked herself out in the mirror before Frankie arrived, got out all her CDs for him to sign, and when he died sang along to his music as a tribute. Tamsin did not sing to the music or even seem to recognize it. In fact, Frankie J Parsons based on the song we heard seemed more of a Frank Sinatra type singer, not the type of music the average teenage girl would be interested in.

And that is the brilliance of the episode. This was never about Tamsin, she didn't get her one last dying wish, this was all what the mother wanted, and for her life Tamsin has had no control. So while I am not a huge fan of the ending, it does give Tamsin the ability to defy her parents and make her own choice.

I believe many viewers didn't get the end

[Thor98 · 10/10 · 16 January 2021]

That might be the reason, why the ratings for this episode aren't as good as the ones for the others.

In the scene in the beginning, when Frankie J Parsons dies, you can clearly see the tape icon in the upper right corner, which signals the tape has reached its end. That's the reason why the scene ends with a tripple beep sound, followed by a short image interference.

Near the end, Graham and Sally watch the tape (in front of the house), probably more than once. Graham then films the balloons flying off, which is only possible if he rewound the tape a bit, otherwise the recording wouldn't start and he'd get a beeping sound again.

So the fact that he films the balloons means that he, by doing so, erases the earlier recording of Frankie blowing up the balloon. As a result, they can neither sell the tape (like Sally suggests), nor can they sell one of the two fake ballons they had left, cause they're worthless without the recording.

I believe that this is the real irony of the story which makes it so much better for the viewer and so much worse for the greedy ones.

Last Gasp

[riekefarr-1 · 10/10 · 23 June 2021]

I thought this episode was AWFULLY good. Does anyone know who sang the song One Day?

This Last Gasp episode leaves the viewer a little deflated...

[zchoudhury · 5/10 · 26 February 2014]

This, I am hoping, is the weakest of the series. A story that doesn't really go anywhere and the ending is a disappointment. I understand it is a critique of celebrity and the whole culture attached to it but it lacks laughs, horror, twists, etc that we have come to expect from Mr Shearsmith & Mr Pemberton!! So far, up until this one, the episodes have been very dark, brilliantly acted and great stories with unexpected twists. Episode two being absolutely superb and a great moment in television history! Like I say, I hope this Last Gasp episode is the weakest of the series so I can get back to loving and enjoying the last two episodes of this darkly great series (although not on par with TLOG or Psychoville, but they were unbelievably brilliant so that would be difficult!!)

Last Gasp

[Prismark10 · 4/10 · 9 March 2019]

A few hours before I saw this episode, I was in some store that displayed a signed poster of one of the Ali v Frazier fights. I remarked to my son that the poster is obviously a reprint and not from the original fight.

I am sure that the store paid a lot of money for this poster and I can believe that it has Frazier's autograph. The question is when did Ali do his autograph? It would have to be in the early 1980s or before because after that his Parkinson's worsened. His autograph is perfect. The poster did not look it has been around for more than 30 years.

Last Gasp examines the monetary value of celebrity culture. We really do live in a time when celebrities are reluctant to give away a free autograph knowing it will end up in sale on ebay.

Pop singer Frankie J Parsons comes to visit an ill girl, Tamsin who is celebrating maybe her last birthday. The visit was arranged by the Wish-Maker charity. While blowing some balloons, Parsons keels over and dies.

Tamsin's parents and Parson's entourage see pound signs in the balloon that contains his last breath and start squabbling.

Last Gasp left me deflated. It lacked a certain cleverness that I expect from Pemberton & Shearsmith. I even saw the twist coming.