TV Review Inside Number 9 Dead Line The Greatest TV Hoax Ever

Tweet

Spoiler alerts Halloween matches April First for hoaxes and jokes and last night saw one of the best ever. The BBC has presented Halloween Hoaxes before. A TV Ghost-hunt featuring non-acting TV presenters, including Michael Parkinson ended with the ghosts killing everyone and shocked viewers staring at a dead screen for a few minutes. That was in 1992 and generated complaints. Inside Number 9 is a comedy horror show, with different stories and characters every week. It is often surreal and gory, and last night they promised a live show (it is normally pre-recorded). It started straight-forwardly. A man finds a mobile phone and tries to call numbers on it to get it back to its owner. A dotty old lady hints that the owner is dead, then the owner phones up and a creepy vicar arrives at the man's flat trying to get the phone. Weird but straight forward. Then the sound goes off. The show is silent for a few minutes before an announcer tells us the BBC are sorry for the loss of sound. The episode then cuts to an earlier episode as if that is shown in substitution. That too is silent, but fans know it was filmed silent. The announcer apologizes again but she is disturbed by strange noises. Random looking images of TV shows from a rival channell (Granada TV) interrupt the main show, including a ghost hunt feature (a real documentary) claiming the TV studio Inside Number 9 is now using, was haunted in the 80's and 90's with various shows having mishaps. The cast of Inside Number 9 come back on, out of character bemoaning the loss of sound and how it ruined their live show. They hope to get to try making it again. Then one of the guest stars, Stephanie Cole (playing herself) cuts her own throat. Security guards at the studio die, all hell breaks loose. Fade to black. Clever and unsettling, in a what on Earth is going on way rather than funny. Many viewers were fooled by the loss of sound and switched off the show. Others went on Twitter to complain. The cast actually join in the Twitter talk live on air. Weird and brilliant. The cast & writers were previously involved in the equally weird League Of Gentlemen comedies. Youtube - Papal Lazarou from The League Of Gentlemen Arthur Chappell