"Inside No. 9" Nine Lives Kat (TV Episode 2022) Poster

(TV Series)

(2022)

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6/10
I'd rather have a bowl of alcopops.
southdavid15 May 2022
The third episode of this season of "Inside Number Nine" is a clever, if perhaps slightly too meta for its own good addition to the series.

Katrina (Sophie Okonedo) is a hard boiled, no nonsense, Police Detective. Downing Vodka with her Coco pops for breakfast, she's joined by Ezra (Steve Pemberton) who helps her go over the details of her latest case, the disappearance of a young boy. If that all sound a little cliché the writers are way ahead of you.

I don't put spoilers in my reviews, so this might need to be carefully danced around, as saying pretty much anything else about the plot of the episode is a spoiler. I will say that, thematically, it harks back to the "League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse" in some of its ideas, though the execution is very different. That a twist from that initial conceit is coming won't be a surprise - the way that the twists were built on worked for me, to a point, but the ending didn't work that well, and calling out the ending not working very well within said ending doesn't make up for it.

The three guest stars are all good though, and Okonedo, Siobhan Redmond and Robin Weaver all get to show a couple of different sides to their characters before their stories end.

It's a humorous, clever episodes, with some horror moments, but crucially not perhaps strong enough of any one of those three aspects to make this anything more than a standard episode.
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8/10
Stranger Than Fiction
benjaminchristopher12 May 2022
This episode reminds me of the Emma Thompson/Will Ferrell film "Stranger than Fiction", similar concept but this is obviously done in Inside No.9 fashion and I'm sure it won't let fans down!

This had more twists than all M. Night Shamalan movies! Had great social commentary as many of the episodes do, where tv/streaming is at nowadays. But thank goodness we still have strokes of genius like this left on regular TV programming.

After 7/8 years they are still pulling out the stops, this season is much better than their last so far in my opinion. Keep em coming!
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7/10
Very Stephen King.
Sleepin_Dragon15 May 2022
The story of a missing boy, told from different angles.

Multi layered, complex, very zany, it seems that every series has one episode, where you need to each several times to understand what's going on, this is such an episode, I watched it a second time before reviewing, as I came away scratching my head after watching it live.

I felt as though Shearsmith and Pemberton were poking fun at the absurdities of some of the recent intense, heavy crime dramas, where the plots are often absurdly complex, and near impossible to follow.

No laughs here, it's all about the mystery and intrigue, not my favourite of this series, but still enjoyable and entertaining, 7/10.
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6/10
Serling redux
LCShackley11 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Although there are some new twists and layers in this plot, it is pretty much a retread of a concept done by Rod Serling in a November 1971 episode of "Night Gallery" called "Midnight Never Ends." The characters on screen are at the mercy of an author, who cannot figure out how to advance the plot. The twist here is that the characters begin to take their fate into their own hands. There are a lot of funny jabs against the clichés of television mystery stories. Steve plays a fairly normal character for a change, while Reece plays a cop with a peculiar problem. Two familiar female faces round out the cast. The episode starts with a few scary moments, but as the plot progresses, it becomes more comedic than horrific.
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6/10
Bizarre...
joewilson7014 May 2022
Oh dear..... Just when I thought this episode was cliched, you know, hardened female cop, who the men wont listen to as she's a woman who's smarter than them etc, predictable....but.. It turns it on it's head... so the first half is interesting..... But then they couldnt think of an ending so went bizarre...... A case of overthinking methinks..... more bizarre than good.
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6/10
Nine Lives Kat
Prismark1012 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The story Death and the Compass and Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author looks like the inspiration for this episode.

Katrina is a cop who pours vodka on her coco pops, lives alone in her flat with a cat. She was kicked out of the police force and is obsessed by a missing child case.

Her former colleague Ezra (Steve Pemberton) flits in and out of the flat almost like a ghost.

Later a man called Barnabus (Reece Shearsmith) shows up but he seems to be living inside Ezra's head.

With such a cliched beginning, I kind of got the idea that these characters were not real. So it was not as original, cerebral or clever as intended.

Ian Rankin's Reichenbach Falls had a similar conceit.
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A bit samey
Makkers118 May 2022
Inside no9 lost its edge a while ago. This one can be grouped with the many other forgettable ones. Left me unimpressed. You just knew the plot's quirkiness has more to it than meets the eye.
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6/10
hmmm
fingazmc22 June 2022
By no means is this a bad episode, but I think it's too meta to be just half an hour. If this was an hour long or even a film it could of been brilliant.

Unfortunately because of this it's my least favourite episode.
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10/10
Once again, amazing!
becky-9234618 May 2022
Nine Lives Kat (Inside No.9 S7 E3, 2022) follows a troubled woman who is set on solving a missing child's case on her own without assistance. I loved this one! It was super unique and incredibly mindbending, also very creepy!

This episode is once again carrying on the amazing cinematography for this season and it really added to the atmosphere! The colour palettes were dark and ominous, however the shots were also very well lit and clear which I appreciated!

The characters were all written well and in-depth, and this was definitely a strong episode in terms of dialogue and acting! Sophie Okonedo was amazing as Kat and super captivating, I loved every second she was on screen! The humour worked well in this episode too and the lines were delivered well!

The editing was very reminiscent of ITV crime dramas and instantly recognisable. The editing also created a blur between reality and fiction which added deeper meaning and tension.

Alongside this, the score was very similar to those of crime shows too, and really helped to set the tone. The sound design was effective and had me on edge and pretty spooked!

This was a super creepy episode and I was genuinely scared watching it, parts really reminded me of Insidious (2010)! I have a lot of dreams where it's constantly dark and this really got to me when watching the episode. In addition, the shot in the credits made me jump and I absolutely loved it.

Lastly, the structure was very interesting and I liked how the story built up and unfolded, adding new layers to the plot. The episode, as with most inside no.9 episodes, had so many twists and turns, which never fail to shock me and have an impact.
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7/10
Meta and meta
safenoe6 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
If there ever was an Inside No. 9 that takes meta to a new level, then Nine Lives Kat is it. The whiplash in the storylines was quite incredible, and I know, judging from some of the user reviews, this episode isn't really for everyone. Anyway, I like listening to the Inside Inside No. 9 podcast, although sadly they ended with the season 8, episode 1.

Nine Lives Kat is the half way point of season seven, and being filmed with pandemic restrictions was impressive.

The ending is very meta on top of meta. I loved the line disparaging amazon and kindle e-books which was quite hilarious for sure.
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5/10
It's just a bit naff isn't it?
declantill12 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This episode has its moments for sure and in spurts, is probably my favourite episode this season, but the ending is ever so uninspiring. Mainly because we simply do not care about the real author. If it was somehow Kat/Ezra/Barney we would care, but not the person it was selected to be.

It seemed like they pushed so hard in certain areas that they cornered themselves and left zero room for work in.

I thought by freak coincidences that his son was indeed going to be abducted or had been abducted but he was going to go back to kat for her help on the case and crack it after eating humble pie, like Sherlocks mind palace.

It's just an underwhelming episode. I'd of also liked if they played more on 'writing is hard' as a big middle finger to fans (ironically like me) who think they should do this or that or do better etc.

They're good enough to do better.
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10/10
This may will be my favourite since the heights of series 4
solomonbowden12 May 2022
What an absolute gem, relentlessly alluring, twisted & smart. What a blast!! Their most original concept for a long while. I couldn't of love it anymore, it's a puzzle I loved loved loved putting together (and I did not see anything coming, whatsoever).
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5/10
Nine Lives Kat
bobcobb30110 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This attempt a mindbender fell completely flat here. It just did not work from a scare perspective or in a good storytelling way. The twist at the end came off as incredibly predictable too.
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5/10
Stilted acting, confusing ending, uninspired writing
andiwillkiss15 May 2022
Fun writing tip: pointing out that something isn't very good doesn't make it less bad. Probably the worst episode so far for this season of Inside No 9 which is a shame.
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