Inside No. 9 (TV Series) Once Removed (2018) User Reviews

A superb black comedy.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 17 January 2018]

One thing that Shearsmith and Pemberton have managed to do over the years, apart from writing excellent scripts, is to get the cream of British talent in their show, Helen McCrory a prime example. When I saw that Monica Dolan was in this I couldn't wait, without doubt one of the best actors around, she was brilliant in this, as was Emilia Fox.

The story was brilliant, the writing impeccable, so clever, more twists and turns then an Alton Towers roller coaster. You really had no idea what was coming next, I loved the way the story was told, so original, so unique. You really do need to watch carefully, and wait until it finishes to know exactly what went on Inside number nine.

This has been my favourite from this series, thirty minutes of brilliant, black comedy.

Absolutely stunning TV

[DaveFilmlover · 10/10 · 20 January 2018]

Inside No 9 just gets better and better. Brilliantly wriiten and performed by all concerned. This is one of the best. You will never see the twist in the tail-or is it the twist at the top? So deliciously fiendish I had to watch it again and, no doubt will be watching it again for the little things I missed the first time. In an age of sleb orientated so called "reality shows" this on stands out as a shining beacon. Shearsmith and Pemberton pack more into 30 minutes and succeed, where others fail over 6 hours.

British Memento

[dcarvalhogarcia · 9/10 · 22 April 2021]

This episode just blew my mind with the backwards storytelling, and I definitely couldn't have predicted the twist at the end either! It was very funny as well, I love the use of double meanings throughout the entire episode.

(SPOILER) Also the irony that the contract killer managed to kill every person involved except for his target was glorious.

Utter Perfection

[eppingdrwho · 2 February 2020]

This episode is classic. It is one of the several best up to this point in the series. The style with use of flashbacks works brilliantly and the pace and writing help to create a brilliant gripping atmosphere. Nothing can be faulted in this modern masterpiece.

Once Removed

[Prismark10 · 10/10 · 16 January 2018]

This is how the going backwards television series Rellik should had worked.

Steve Pemberton & Reece Shearsmith have constructed a wonderful half an hour tale that literally uses the title of the television series.

A removal man walks into a house thinking it is just another normal day at the office. What he comes across is a nervous woman, a man rather flamboyantly dressed and an old man who thinks he is Andrew Lloyd-Webber who suddenly starts spewing blood. Then he sees the corpses.

We then go back a few minutes in time to see how we partially got here and then a few minutes further back and it all becomes clear.

Just a fiendishly written macabre black comedy.

Once Reviewed

[southdavid · 8/10 · 18 January 2018]

Back to more traditional fare for week three of season four of "Inside Number 9". Still just as funny, but with a macabre twisting story, that unfolds by showing us the end first - then using a 10 minutes earlier rewind mechanism, to slowly reveal what's actually occurred.

Talkative (... over talkative) Spike (Nick Moran) arrives at a large rural house to begin to assist with moving. There he meets May (Monica Dolan), seemingly the current owner, who despite the packing being nearly completed, seems eager for Spike to leave. This may initially be explained by the appearance of her father, whose dementia has him believing he's Andrew Lloyd Webber. However, a sudden turn of events leads to the discovery of two murder victims . . and that's just the end of the story.

Despite the darkness and violence, "Once Removed" is another very funny addition to the series. There are running jokes about erectile dysfunction and musical theatre, there's high farce and slapstick too. The time hopping invention works really well, managing to both explain what we've just seen, whilst also setting up reveals for the next one.

It does, perhaps, stretch incredulity beyond breaking towards the end. A confirmation telephone call would require an unusual amount of skill to pull off as well as it's done and there's a question about why one of the characters would return to the house, knowing the full story . . . but they are minor quibbles.

Even if it can't quite measure up to the previous two episodes, this outing confirms "Inside Number 9" in the top echelon of current UK television.

Great story cleverly told but is there a mistake?

[SidFiddler · 9/10 · 10 September 2021]

In the opening scene the house where the drama unfolds is shown as #9 but in fact it's #6 (the sign has been turned upside down) although we don't know that until later. Later we find out that May changed the house number from #6 to #9 (30 minutes earlier) in order to send the contract killer to Natasha's house instead of her own.

However, doesn't the fact that the house number is never changed back to #6 cause storyline problems?

1) the estate agent - he would go to the wrong house. This could be explained by saying he knows the house so wouldn't look at the number.

2) the removal man, Spike - he doesn't know the house so would be looking for #6, he wouldn't go to #9. This isn't so easily explained.

Why didn't May change it back to #6 when she returned anyway? She had the screwdriver and it would cover up what she had done were the police to arrive.

Harold Pinter would be envious

[safenoe · 10/10 · 28 October 2020]

Harold Pinter would be gasping with envy at this reverse chronology of this fine episode of Inside No. 9. The script was taught, and we were kept guessing until the end (or the beginning). There were some laughs amidst the carnage, and the story moved along quite briskly.

Stand out comedy/thriller/horror all in one

[balbip01 · 10/10 · 19 May 2023]

One of my favourite of the series... its like watching an Agatha Christie play which instead of playing over three hours condenses everything down into a half hour of brilliance. So much detail is crammed in that its really watching again after your first roller coaster viewing just to catch all the subtle details (and there are many...) - burning a hand on the Aga is so so British I burst out laughing.

All of the characters are played expertly, the dotty father, scheming mistress, smarmy estate agent (love the way they have him following the house seller all over the house...) and the others.....

If this was a one off it would be admired - the fact that its just one of 50 episodes is even better.

Once Removed

[bobcobb301 · 7/10 · 11 June 2018]

Was this the most entertaining Inside No. 9 ever? No, of course not, but at least they really tried to give us something different here. The time jumps, the comedy and then all of the unique deaths, this was something different.

The only problem with reverse time episodes is there is no real payoff in the end. We know what is going to happen.