Bernie Clifton’s Dressing Room – Inside No.9 Series 4 Episode 2 – The DVDfever Review

Bernie Clifton's Dressing Room

Bernie Clifton’s Dressing Room is the second episode of Inside No.9 Series 4, and is a much stronger episode than last week’s return, this time centering on the two leads as ‘Cheese and Crackers’, a Little and Large-style ’80s double act who came to came to the fore just as that sort of humour was giving way to alternative comedy, so they rather missed their moment, and they’re still rather bitter about that.

Despite Tommy (Reece Shearsmith) and Len (Steve Pemberton) being a comedy pairing, this shows the drama behind the laughter, and a strong drama it is. Len’s an alcoholic, while Tommy’s a successful businessman who prefers peppermint tea, and only one of them really wants to get the band back together.


Bernie Clifton’s Dressing Room isn’t where the episode is based, but a bone of contention between the two. Can they let bygones be bygones and join forces together for one last hurrah?

With lots of cheesey jokes thrown into the drama, the episode still gives you a hell of a pang in your stomach while you watch it, seeing these two meet again with so much unresolved from 30 years earlier, since we’ve all fallen out with people in our younger years when we wish we hadn’t, and you can imagine yourself meeting up with them again, as a result.

Bernie Clifton’s Dressing Room is simply stunning, and I give this a 9 for this week’s Inside No.9. In fact, it always tends to be that the second episode in each series is the best, following A Quiet Night In, The 12 Days of Christine and The Bill.

Bernie Clifton’s Dressing Room is available to watch on BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast.

Inside No.9 Series 4 is available to pre-order on Blu-ray and DVD, ahead of the release date of February 12th.

Also available to buy:


Inside No.9 Series 4 Trailer – BBC Two


Score: 9/10

Director: Graeme Harper
Producer: Adam Tandy
Writers: Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith

Cast:
Tommy Drake: Reece Shearsmith
Len Shelby: Steve Pemberton
Leanne: Sian Gibson


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