Inside No. 9 (TV Series) Dead Line (2018) User Reviews

Hate the pompous "saw it a mile off" reviews

[graeme-86220 · 9/10 · 10 November 2018]

I didn't see the programme live and, being an avid non-twitter and non-social media person, didn't see any of the comments before watching on Catch Up. I was truly fooled! Having had issues with catch up downloads before, I was rewinding, forwarding, re-starting and re-loading the programme. Only when I went direct to BBC site to find the same, did I eventually twig. Those who tell you the trick only worked live are wrong!

After that it became the "usual" fare of surprises, tricks, and oddities from the pair who never stop surprising us. Best catch since the final episode of The Sopranos.

No programme like this was going to be perfect but it was a great nod (and comment) to Black Mirror who are regarded as their rivals in surprise. Why are you looking for a complete storyline? The several storylines are there and complete by connecting the dots - exactly as intended. Stylised BBC announcers (and screenshots) were there to give the clue to what was happening, not intended as acting!

Lovely mix of surprises and gore - exactly what Shearsmith and Pemberton always deliver; not every episode of League of Gentlemen worked fully.

Black Mirror would be proud

[safenoe · 8/10 · 8 December 2020]

I wish I saw this episode live, but still worth watching on its own. Traditionalists of Inside No. 9 may be a bit let down by the premise of this Halloween special, but the intersection between reality and the tricks of production is worth the treat.

I still have to catch up with seasons 3 and 5.

Spooky as hell!!

[michaelbennett-78957 · 9/10 · 16 June 2021]

Very Ghost Watchy! Spooky episode that plays on being slightly far fetched in places. Self aware of what it is and very clever In doing so.

A Halloween special indeed that gives you jumps scares over a storyline but the meta feeling of the episode is brilliant. Hidden ghosts all over the place and the hand camera footage homage works great!

Fantastic!

[aom-13082 · 10/10 · 17 April 2019]

I love this entire series and was intrigued as to what a live addition would entail; I was completely fooled to begin with, but absolutely amazed by the outcome...

The thought process behind this episode is truly mindblowing; Pemberton & Sheersmith you are amazing!!

A great attempt

[eppingdrwho · 3 February 2020]

This episode made as a live episode was certainly ambitious. The disjointed nature of it which is purposeful adds to the feel of the piece. It takes a bit of thought to unravel the true meaning of the presentation.

Mindblow. A LIVE show

[luningyuan-23687 · 8/10 · 28 October 2018]

ABSOLUTELY brilliant idea. Totally got me. if U are doing a LIVE drama show, this episode is your guide. However, it is technically not a good story, and this is the reason I didn't give 9 or 10 stars. they just want haunting audiences. but still good idea.

Nice Live Halloween Episode That Tries To Scare

[jeremycrimsonfox · 9/10 · 17 November 2019]

I have heard of this episode and had to check it out. So, if you are new to this series, Inside No. 9 is an anthology series created by the BBC that mixes comedy and horror as each episode told a different story. For this one, Dead Line, the executives asked creators Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton if they can do a live show for a Halloween Special for BBC 2. And boy, did they manage to pull a good scare on us.

Basically, the show starts off with the episode in question, but five minutes in, the sounds goes mute for thirty seconds, only for it to go out at the seven minute mark, causing the BBC 2 technical difficulties screen to come up. However, after a few more seconds of muted footage, the technical difficulties screen reappears with the announcer saying they have a few gremlins in the studio and cannot continue the live episode, so she says it will air at a later date, and instead, the people watching were treated to a re-airing of series one episode "A Quiet Night In". However, this is where the episode starts to get creepy. 20% of the audience was said to tune out after the announcement, but for the 80% who stayed, they would in a scare.

Not long after the rerun begins, things get messed up, as less than a minute after the episode starts, we see some weird stuff appear in the background as the music starts to slow. After a scary image of what looks like a ghostly figure in a dress appears, the episode messes up, and the technical difficulties screen appears for the third time, as the announcer saying they are having problems with Inside No. 9, and will let the people know if they get any information. However, this is where the bulk of the episode begins, as the announcer gets nervous and asks if someone is there, only to scream, then it cuts to live footage of the studio being used. The two creators who played the two men are in their dressing rooms are upset with the live broadcast being cancelled, however, this is where the episode gets creepy, as it switches between the live footage of the two to achieved shows, the most prominent one being an episode of "Most Haunted" about Granada Studios, which is the theme of the episode, as soon, things go wrong, as spooky things start happening.

This is an interesting episode that actually feels scary. The special cuts from the live footage to news footage and clips from Most Haunted that are connected to Granada Studios, and the scares are something that seem inspired by the controversial Ghostwatch. The reason this is a 9 is because sadly, the scares were fully effective when the show was watched live. However, it is on the internet, so if you're interested, give it a watch. Just be sure the kids are in bed because this is scary (even when it's not live).

Aside from some disjointed moments, this is an audacious and deceptive 'trick and treat'!

[Condemned-Soul · 8/10 · 29 October 2018]

'Inside No.9' duo Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith planned something special for Halloween - a live episode of their well-received horror/comedy anthology series. That in itself is worthy of praise, but what the pair of seasoned writers truly had up their sleeve was truly remarkable.

It starts out rather normally as befits the show, with the viewers seeing the main stars getting into new roles. Then 5 minutes in, horror strikes - we lose audio. How typical and disappointing. Anything can go wrong on a 'live' edition of anything, but sound of all things?! And so it breaks away and we get an apology as they try and resolve the problems. Then the unthinkable happens - they abandon the live broadcast and replace it with a backup episode (the truly ingenious 'A Quiet Night In'). But then that cuts out! By now, viewers are furious (including myself), but then all is not as it seems, and it is all just another stroke in the duo's master plan, the most sneakiest of tricks.

It then goes very meta, the actors are themselves, taking to twitter, voicing their frustrations along with viewers, and slowly realising that all is not as it seems in the studio as they see themselves on BBC2. Saying anymore threatens to spoil what occurs after, but lets just say Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith add comedy and frights into their real Halloween surprise that is bold in its creation.

What they accomplish is nothing short of praise-worthy. They tricked the audience and risked losing them with the 'sound faults' before delivering a clever horror experience centred around themselves and the studio. Its a bit disjointed because of the (at first) seemingly random extracts from other shows and the news... but it has vital purpose, and in hindsight it must be appreciated the next setup going on whilst we get ghost story exposition on the studio they're in. They tried something new, deceived their fans skilfully, then presented a treat of an episode that is audacious and utterly insane. They are a solid writing/acting pair that will be difficult to beat in terms of doing a 'live' episode, and 'Dead Line', for all its disjointedness, is ultimately a winner that you'll appreciate afterwards the more you give thought to the work they put in.

8/10

Dead Line

[bobcobb301 · 7/10 · 22 June 2019]

Well, they did trick me. I really thought there were technical issues.

Another clever episode here. Maybe not the best script, but it was entertaining for sure.

So creepy

[lizxypopcornkid · 9/10 · 5 March 2021]

I'll admit it did copy Rec with the night vision at the end but apart from that it was utterly horrific. So creepy ! How Emily in Paris gets nominated for golden globes but this doesn't I'll never understand.

Excellent

[Kerriecarlisle · 10/10 · 2 November 2021]

So brave and such a different direction.

The amount of people who turned off is hilarious.

The guys really pulled it out of the bag. I'm never disappointed by an episode.

Guys I applaud you for doing it live.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 5/10 · 28 October 2018]

If you read back through my reviews you will see nothing but huge love for the series, Inside no.9 has been the blackest of black comedies, delivering tantalising episodes. I take my hat off to Shearsmith and Pemberton, as well as Stephanie Cole, for having the bottle to do a live episode. They delivered it very well, with no muck ups, as is the norm.

I hate being critical, I didn't really like this one, I found it very disjointed, with the jumping about making it almost impossible to follow, the cutaways were just too obscure to fit in. Even horrors need a trace of plot, I didn't really see one. I will rewatch in the future, and if I seen it differently I will change this review.

I did love the bit with the continuity announcer, that was great. The whole ghosthunter vibe was there, but it needed a longer format to truly work.

Pemberton and Shearsmith, I simply adore you both even more for doing a live episode.

Manifestation Street

[southdavid · 8/10 · 30 October 2018]

A bold television event that was a daring as it was clever, though unfortunately will lose much of its impact at a second viewing. Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton have created a modern day "Ghostwatch" where their supposed live episode suffers technical issues and is forced off the air - only for behind the scenes views of the cast bemoaning the situation, altered clips from a previous episode, both real and fabricated news reports and some scenes from an old "Most Haunted" tell a story about vengeful ghosts haunting Granada Studios.

It's the commitment that needs to be most applauded. I'd love to know how many viewers they lost across the "sound errors" that took us back to the continuity announcer and then to air a couple of minutes of their first season episode before jumping back to the announcer and into the actual show. Though I'm sure that all but the most casual viewers of the show had their suspicions as the events unfurled it was lengthy enough that everyone watching must have considered that what they were seeing was genuine. From there it's quite a basic, though atmospheric ghost story. Similar to "The Haunting of Hill House" it's mostly based on paying attention to the backgrounds of the shots and seeing the ghosts looming, though a few are more blatant than in that show.

But as I say, for all its genius in premise, the actual second half of the show wasn't that scary, it was tense and still had a few laughs but I felt that (for once) perhaps less subtly would have been an improvement. It was also a little rushed - which again was the price paid for commitment to the subterfuge (I did wonder whether they might have even pencilled in a dummy show into the schedule afterwards and ran for another half an hour, but no). It also, won't ever work as well a second time. . not only because you're now aware of the deception but also because watching it on the I-player or Netflix won't buy into the illusion.

I'm going to stop now, because I'm getting too down on an episode of that was "must see" TV and that still is cycling around in my head hours after watching it. If you were there when it aired, I'd imagine it still is for you too.

INCREDIBLE! ONLY IF YOU SAW IT LIVE!

[reubenw123 · 10/10 · 3 September 2019]

This episode was genius. I watched it live and sadly if you didn't it wont be the same.

impressively scary

[doctorhenrywho · 10/10 · 12 November 2018]

Very impressed and really got me, went back and forward drying to decide wither it was a accident or part of the show initially.

Crazy

[cyorke-34660 · 10/10 · 15 February 2019]

This is genius. A live show that appears to go wrong and then the haunting of the studio they're filming in is shown, plus some very scary moments. Would've been better to watch live but nonetheless still worth 10/10. Watch it on Iplayer now

Inside #9 . dead line

[semen-02666 · 10/10 · 31 October 2018]

Guys, this is absolutely incredible product! Must see, definitely. Not to much comedy, though...

Extremely well done

[mattl-483-138705 · 10/10 · 24 October 2020]

Technical issues aside this was a great episode of Inside No 9.

Poor and disjointed

[MegaMaexn · 4/10 · 30 October 2018]

I was expecting something funny or even scary here, but the outcome was frustratingly disappointing. There is no story, there are no characters, there really is no episode here.... just random clips that evoke nothing but a WTF? Just like the previous series 'Inside No.9' continues to be hit and miss, and this is definitely a 'miss', so you should give it one too - sadly!

A Brexit Metaphor?!

[hortonstrip · 10/10 · 31 October 2018]

What a wild ride! Some true experimentalism on the BBC, harking back to shows like Sapphire And Steel and perhaps scaring an audience not pissing themselves laughing at the audacity of it all. If anyone was actually taken in by this glorious art (why would they be watching in the first place?) they were probably vulnerable older people - leave voters incapable of seeing the difference between transparent confection and "reality".

Did the BBC get any complaints?

Terrifyingly Good

[seaniesrevenge · 8/10 · 24 December 2021]

The Audio Cut Happens 9 Minutes In, They Replace It With A Night In, Which Has No Dialogue, The Continuity Announcer Gets Attacked, Then Backstage, The Cast Dies, Then Back To Episode, There Heads Explode, Another Breakdown, But The Breakdown Music Is Also Part Of The Credits, Amazing, Bravo.

Dead Line

[Prismark10 · 5/10 · 28 October 2018]

This Halloween special broadcast live did not work for me.

It does not help that I knew the old Granada studios were demolished in April 2018!

It starts off with an elderly man finding a mobile phone at the churchyard but as the episode continues the sound keeps going out. Then the episode is cancelled.

It really is Pemberton & Shearsmith going for a Ghostwatch type of vibe. We see old footage of a curse on the Granada Studios in Manchester where the live episode is supposedly being made.

At one point Reece Shearsmith tweets live on air trying to find out if footage of them in the make up room is being broadcast on television. Mark Gatiss actually responds.

I am sure some people will find it all a bit clever. I just expected something better.

Weak weak weak

[stuartpbottomley · 2/10 · 29 October 2018]

I love this series, until this episode they hasn't been a bad one. Every twist I saw coming a mile off, they was no clever rug pull, no story to follow apart from the odd framing scene. We can only hope this is a one off low quality episode and when the series returns it returns to the quality we are used too

Good idea but not for me!

[richardstirling · 4/10 · 25 June 2021]

I love inside No 9 however this episode was awful. Completely disjointed, and confusing but not funny or scary.

More of a number two

[frukuk · 2/10 · 29 October 2018]

After the bliss of "The Devil of Christmas" and "Diddle Diddle Dumpling", this was a massive disappointment. Was there any real story? Was it in any way scary? Was it anything beyond just a little too tricksy? Did it raise more questions than it answered? Well, did it?

I don't know how many ideas/scripts they discard as being too low quality, but they need to be discarding far more. Rather than make another series of 6, maybe make 1 or 2 episodes and really concentrate on making them as good as possible. There's a very good reason that John Cleese and Connie Booth only made two series of "Fawlty Towers".