Inside No. 9: Season 3, Episode 4 Empty Orchestra

Ooh, it's a nice one, next 😊

danny gibson

This one always wins the worst of the entire show in lists.

Thanks bud 👍 hope you enjoyed.

After Work Reactions

I forgot how much I liked this episode (that being said I don't think I hate any episodes of this show which is rare for me with a show) but this was a really well done drama story with I think a good ending to sweeten the taste of the last story :)

mrtheevilmage

The more I watch this episode the more I enjoy it! I think the riddle of the sphinx would've been a very hard episode to top in terms of the twist and how dark it is so instead they added a lighter episode with a more feel good ending instead.

Alice Shepherd

Thanks for the upload. Always look forward to watching these on a Sunday.

Josh

Some interesting views on this one. My first time watching nearly all of them. I see the argument for it being a departure from the style. So far my take has been of the show. Maybe it'll have a twist or it'll just be plain twisted in general. The most common thread is watching a bunch of shitty people doing a bunch of shitty things to one another while waiting for that reveal. Whether that will be more basic or elaborate. This didn't feel all that different to me on that very basic level. Arguably, there were less shitty people and the twist was comparatively tame. So I'd say this was more watered down example of what is loved about this show.

Daryl

Ah, see, I didn't read it that way! It's very possible but seems a bit convoluted to me! I didn't see Janet messing with the lights and as she'd told Fran directly anyway and she clearly believed her, I didn't see any need for any further "evidence" so to speak. But it's very possible. My theory was that it was just a bit of dramatic symbolism. They could've gone with red hands but they went with green lips instead as they were caught having an affair.

Ash Jeffries

You make a great case, and that's why I've always been careful to say that as much as I dislike this episode, that's based on my personal subjective dislike and I would never call it bad; because it isn't.

ALW

To be fair, I struggle with Riddle of the Sphinx as well; don't get me wrong, I think it's quite good and very clever but not the amazing episode a lot of fans claim it is. You and I share a love of Cold Comfort though, that's an absolute masterpiece!

ALW

In a show that has murderers, cannibals, and all around terrible people, the character of Connie in this episode was one I hated most! I think because she felt very real, the type of person most of us would have met in real life, just a bully. To see her mercilessly bully Janet, an innocent, shy deaf woman, was so uncomfortable, but that made it all the more satisfying for her to get her comeuppance in the end. Reece's character was more pathetic than cruel, but it's fitting that he didn't get away with it in the end either!

Ben

If this episode is anything, it's divisive. People do seem either to feel it's a great episode or that it just didn't work. I am in the former category and I think there are far weaker episodes than this throughout IN9's run. This is a really strong one for me because it was the first time Reece and Steve chose to write something where the good guys are rewarded and the bad guys are punished. It feels redemptive, it has a happy ending, and no one dies. There isn't even much of a twist. But it is a very well written and quietly clever character piece. And whilst it might not have been what people thought they wanted or certainly expected from Reece and Steve, it does underline just how amazingly versatile they are as writers. For me, Inside No. 9 is at its best when it takes its audience by surprise. The weaker episodes for me are when the story / twist is there by intention, and there's an attempt to be as "compelling" as we might expect, but it falls flat because the episode lacks momentum, the twist is predictable or it doesn't make sense. It might be that the characters are wholly unlikeable (Last Gasp) or that it just isn't very funny but is clearly trying to be. Empty Orchestra uses the songs partly to tell the story which is a cool idea and it really works. We have two villains, one particularly nasty, but everyone else is lovely. It's funny by-the-by, not trying to be funny, it's heart-warming (Duane and Janet), and I love the setting. I do get why you might not like the setting if you don't like karaoke. That's fair enough. And everyone's entitled to their opinion too, so if it's just not a strong episode for you then, fine. I do think a poor reception based on lack of darkness / lack of a twist / lack of anything macabre or twisted or quintessentially Reece and Steve rather overlooks the entire point of the episode though. They say in the audio commentary for this episode that they deliberately went for something different. They do every week, but with Inside No. 9, and with their previous work, there are certain things expected of them. I love how Empty Orchestra turned expectation on its head. This wasn't a conventional but underwhelming affair - it was so far removed from anything they'd given us before and I think that's why it's so divisive. Josh - great reaction but I'll give you my two cents on a couple of moments towards the end that it seemed didn't quite land (I could be wrong - just how it seemed): - The green glow-in-the-dark that suddenly appears on Connie and Greg's mouths wasn't literal in my view. I think it was just a bit of dramatic symbolism - they could've had their hands glowing red but they went with green lips instead as they'd been caught having an affair. That's how I read it anyway. - Janet telling Connie she could read lips wasn't supposed to be a revelation to the audience. As you've said, most deaf people (and people in general) read lips. But Connie was so vile and so self-absorbed (Greg also guilty of the latter) that they carried on in full view of Janet not even considering that she might be picking up on it. So whilst most of us acknowledge that Janet is just as receptive to it as anyone else, Connie did need reminding of the patently obvious - that just because Janet is deaf doesn't mean she's oblivious to what's going on around her. It was a commentary on Connie's ignorance more than anything. I love this episode and re-watch it fairly regularly. It isn't their typical output even for a show as varied and genre-straddling as this, but it's so well-written, beautifully performed, and has real heart.

Ash Jeffries

Also you seemed a bit confused Josh about the lipstick on the two cheaters at the end. At the beginning of the episode when Reeces characters enters the room he changes the lights and one of them is UV lights which obviously the lipstick can be seen under, so the deaf girl probably changed the lights again at the end to show Fran they were having an affair.

LucyW

Absolutely! but I think it does prove that it's a bad idea to build up episodes for Josh as he reacts to this series, because he will inevitably have expectations. I had high expectations for 12 Days of Christine ... and thankfully they were met! I also had high expectations for Riddle of the Sphinx... and they were not met. At the end of the day, these are just stories, and we each individually get something out of them. I found this one very relatable, but I don't need an episode to be relatable to enjoy it. I can't relate to Tom & Gerri or Quiet Night In, but I loved them. Cold Comfort is my favourite episode so far, but I'm glad to see some of my other favourites are ones I never really hear about.

Ben

That's what's SO good about this series, Ben....there's bangers for everyone 😊

danny gibson

But that's a good thing.. opinions are supposed to be your own. And one of the main reasons this and other anthologies like Black Mirror do so well is because there is inevitably something for everyone along the way :)

Austin Stratton

Well, here's my massively unpopular opinion ... I prefer this episode to Riddle of the Sphinx! Maybe it's because "Sphinx" was built up too much, maybe it's because the cannibalism element was too far for me, maybe it's because I genuinely like the music in this episode, or maybe because I found Janet to be an endearing and relatable character ... I'm not sure why to be honest, but as a relative newcomer to Inside No. 9, and as someone who has been watching them out of order, there are some episodes I know are considered classics and some that are considered sub-par, and sometimes those opinions simply don't match mine.

Ben