But without a likeable and believable couple in Pemberton and Rush, the episode wouldn’t be anything like as involving. They are supported by some excellent young actors as the children and grandchildren of the household, and Shearsmith does one of his wonderfully acerbic, almost unpleasant but with a soft undertone, characters. ‘ Love’s Great Adventure’ is an episode that lives or dies by the performance of its two lead actors, Pemberton and Debbie Rush. Subscribe Debbie Rush as Julia, Love’s Great Adventure (Series 5, Episode 3) Granted, he is a little bit more mean to everybody than you might expect from a director’s commentary, but considering the obviously poor quality of the film within the episode (with some very good bad acting from everyone involved), that does not seem entirely strange either. But Jacobi’s tone is so bright and enthusiastic that you forget that. There are clues that all is not what it seems, as the VHS tape is wound back, and the man talking with Fulcher does not know enough to be a film historian. Throughout the episode, Jacobi absolutely nails the tone of a typical DVD commentary on an old show.

9, but we wanted to single out his first guest appearance, because part of the genius of this one was that we never see him – the entire appearance is voice-only. Derek Jacobi as Dennis Fulcher, The Devil of Christmas (Series 3, Episode 1)ĭerek Jacobi has put in two great performances for Inside No. It is a tour de force that, if you haven’t seen it, really is as good as everyone says it is. Smith also has to age Christine by twelve years, showing how she changes and matures over that time, and how her relationships come together, fall apart, and come together again, all within half an hour. Without a completely real, likeable and sympathetic performance from Smith, the whole story would have fallen apart entirely. The revelation that we have been seeing a dream of sorts representing Christine’s life flashing before her eyes as she dies has to be got across quickly to the audience and at the same time they need space to emotionally process such a dramatic and tragic twist. ‘ The 12 Days of Christine’ is a really high concept episode. Perhaps one of the reasons this is such a deservedly talked-about performance is that without it, the whole episode would have fallen on its face. 9’s masterpiece is a highlight of the show. What can we say about Sheridan Smith’s central performance in ‘ The 12 Days of Christine’ that hasn’t already been said? And all thoroughly deserved, as her standout performance in Inside No.

Sheridan Smith as Christine, The 12 Days of Christine (Series 2, Episode 2) Easily the most memorable performance from a first season that included some great ones, Tabitha’s eerie calm, dangerous friendliness and perfectly sadistic smile reminds us just how badly McCrory is missed. While Shearsmith does a great job hamming it up as her brother Hector, McCrory’s Tabitha is exactly the right blend of weird gothic creepiness and just enough groundedness and reality to be convincing as a real character (rather than, say, a fraud like Alison Steadman’s similarly excellent performance as a fake medium in ‘ Séance Time’). And that is where the late Helen McCrory’s perfect performance comes in. It was really important that the episode set out its tone clearly so that the audience were prepared for genuine creepiness. In this episode, however, we are confronted with pure gothic horror, an actual case of demon possession and a very dark ending that loses its power if we don’t fully believe in what we are watching. ‘Tom and Gerri’ featured a twist which revealed some of what the audience had seen was not real, but that was a psychological story the unreality was all in Tom’s head. ‘ The Harrowing’ is the first overtly supernatural episode of Inside No. Helen McCrory as Tabitha, The Harrowing (Series 1, Episode 6)

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