Successful scripted comedy is, for the most part, built on firmly established characters that an audience grows to loathe, love or basically care one jot about. Which is why Inside No 9 is such a wonderful anomaly.
The BBC Two anthology series – written by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith – invites the audience into six standalone and terrifyingly bonkers worlds where the only constant is the number on the door of the house / booth / train carriage.
The first episode in the returning series, which begins tonight, is every bit as farcical, dark and hilarious as the comedy we've come to expect from Pemberton and Shearsmith.
'La Couchette' sees irritable Dr Maxwell (Shearsmith) trying and failing to fall asleep on an overnight train from Paris to Bourg St Maurice. He has an important job interview the following morning at the World Health Organisation.
Any chance of actually getting to sleep is thwarted by Kath and Les (Julie Hesmondhalgh and Mark Benton), who enter the six-berth carriage in a hail of muttering and debate over whether 'crab sticks' are in fact 'crab's dicks' as they travel to their daughter's wedding.
With the obnoxious - and gassy - Jorg (Steve Pemberton), Australian backpacker Shona (Jessica Gunning) and posh English boy Hugo (a not-at-all-typecast Jack Whitehall) all causing a ruckus in the carriage, the mix of bawdy, bleak and more nuanced comedy is something which Pemberton and Shearsmith have become maestros of.
What to Read Next
Simply, The League of Gentleman pair - arguably one of the country's finest writing duos - make setting a half-hour comedy in such a confined space look easy.
Here's what to expect in episodes one to three of Inside No 9:
1. La Couchette
On board the sleeper from Paris to Bourg St Maurice, a motley collection of passengers try to get a quiet night's sleep as the train makes its way across France.
But as the sleeping compartment fills up, the chances of that begin to look highly unlikely. In Deuxième Classe, everyone can hear you scream...
Starring: Jack Whitehall, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Mark Benton, Jessica Gunning.
2. The 12 Days of Christine
Christine Clarke brings a new man back to her flat from a New Year's Eve party, and immediately her life starts to unravel. Who is the terrifying stranger that keeps appearing in the flat at night?
Starring: Sheridan Smith and Tom Riley.
3. The Trial Of Elizabeth Gadge
Two of England's most notorious and feared witch-finders are summoned by Sir Andrew Pike to the unassuming village of Little Happens in order to try an old woman.
Elizabeth Gadge stands accused of consorting with the Devil, most lewdly and on divers occasions. If she is found guilty, she will burn.
Starring: David Warner, Ruth Sheen, Paul Kaye, Jim Howick, Sinéad Matthews, and Trevor Cooper.
Inside No 9 starts tonight on BBC Two at 10pm.
