User Reviews

After a couple of more novel outings in this second series, Messrs Pemberton and Shearsmith go in a more routine direction with Nana's Party, a story which had potential but sadly fails to quite hit the mark.

Similar to last series Last Gasp in that It's setting being a middle class suburban setting. The story revolves around two chalk n cheese, middle aged sisters Angela (Claire Skinner of Outnumbered fame) and Carol (Lorraine Ashbourne) who with their respective spouses and the former siblings 14 year old daughter Katie, (Evie Gordon) throw a birthday party for their 79 year old mother Nana (Elsie Kelly). So far so ordinary, until we learn that Angela's prankster husband Jim (Steve Pemberton) plans on playing a practical joke on Carol's dull other half Pat, by hiding his wife under Nana's cake. What follows is a tumultuous day with high emotions coming to the fore and hidden secrets being revealed. One which will culminate in a party that will be life changing to say the least.

Overall there's nothing particularly outstanding in terms of innovation in with Nana's Party, which at least given the curious opening has initial promise. With it's seemingly cozy, humdrum setting there's the hope for something dark and sinister to crawl up beneath the mundane veneer. Needless to say there are some sublime comedic creations in among the dysfunctional family with Pemberton and Shearsmith both on reliably top form. Both being complimented by formidable supporting guest players who include Claire Skinner, an actress on marvellously prissy form portraying Angela who it appears has borderline OCD. She is sharply contrasted by Lorraine Ashbourne as her more extrovert, carefree lush sister Carol. An early indicator of the friction that is to come. Rounding off the cast are potential young up and comer Eve Gordon as the youngest member of the family, ably matched by a delightfully endearingly oblivious and eccentric turn by Elsie Kelly as the titular Nana of the story.

It's to both co-writers and stars credit that they maintain a steady even pace as events unfold with the requisite sense of foreboding permeating the majority of the tale. However it all culminates in a final coda that leaves you with a sense of "so what" rather than "Wow! Didn't see that coming". It's all really a bit anti- climatic with none of the bite and twisted viciousness we've come to expect from the pairing. The scenes involving An inebriated Carol's imparting of worldly wisdom to her teenage niece before her embarrassing flirtatiousness do indeed raise a grin, as does the two brothers in laws secretive talks regarding a certain video tape which ironically is revealed be the worst of their problems. With Nana's sweet doddery naivety, largely with her granddaughter being an added source of wonderful amusement.

An oddity and a bit misjudged rather than being awful it's an offering that might have worked better as a short one-off play, it's ultimately an out of place(all be it entertaining) segment which feels like mere filler than anything else. I wouldn't give it a miss but it owes more to Abigail's party than say Blue Velvet or American Beauty.

Domestic chaos for the next episode of "Inside Number 9", as murder and monsters are replaced by loveless marriages and tedious family members.

Uptight Angela (Claire Skinner) is throwing a party for her mother's 79th birthday. Her husband, Jim (Steve Pemberton) is desperate to get one over on his brother-in-law, Pat (Reece Shearsmith) and he believes his oversize fake cake is just the ticket. Pat has some tricks of his own in mind, but it's his wife, Carol (Lorraine Ashbourne) whose frustration at her lot in life, as well as her drinking problem, will make the afternoon uncomfortable.

It's a real kitchen sink melodrama this time, as the frustrations and jealousies within a family boil over. Reece Shearsmith is playing a character similar to ones he played in "The League of Gentlemen", though I'm struggling to nail down exactly which one. Claire Skinner is excellent as Angela, but Lorraine Ashbourne gets the showier role and nails it, as she runs through jealous sister, frustrated wife, embarrassing aunt and finally jilted lover, all in 30 minutes.

I've made no secret about the fact I prefer the episodes of the show that lean more heavily into the horror aspect, but even the slice of traditional sitcom fair is better than 90% of the rest of the BBC's comedic output.

This episode is not the boldest or the most innovative of the series but still makes for a fun half an hour watch. The cast make their best of a more mundane script.

It's as though Alan Ayckbourn penned this episode of Inside No. 9 where family tensions underly a grandmother's birthday party. It works for those who like Alan Ayckbourn, but for the diehard fans of Inside No. 9, maybe not so much. There was kind of a twist (more of a gasp) in the end.

I have really mixed feelings about this episode.

On the positive side, this is one of the episodes I think about when appreciating the show's ability to just write compelling scenes even before anything macabre has appeared. I'm not saying that it's thigh slappingly hilarious but I'm not asking it to be. With this sitcom-acquired talent, the characters have such personality and memorability despite their short screen time. There is no filler, no cliches without giving them their own twist and the narrative doesn't drag for a second.

It is both a plus and a minus how they went for the Festen approach. Amid the, occasionally embarrassing but apparently innocuous rituals of family get-togethers, secrets are threatened with exposure and here done so with subtlety and nuance. A lot of it put me on the edge of my seat and there is some great misdirect.

What made this leave the wrong sort of sour taste in my mouth is hard to phrase. I guess I feel they took the easy way out as writers. You'll see what I mean. There isn't really a twist, there's just a laugh at the protagonists' expense.

Seeing Noreen from Benidorm is indeed an additional treat.

Nana's Party was never really one of my favourites. I had no particular interest in any of the characters, Pat and Maggie did nudge me with brilliant bits, but really there was a failure to care about them and a slumping into cliches. The world felt a bit empty and like characters weren't being given proper time to fully develop. The ending is one of the worst ones. I never cared about their relationship, so it had no impact on me. The penultimate scene of chaos was the best bit.

It is unfortunately one of the more forgettable ones for me. Carol's character being lewd and crude, especially with their fourteen-year-old daughter was just horrible to watch. I did enjoy Maggie's fascination with the tablet though.