Recent TV series, there have been too many accidents.
First of all, no one cared about the "Imperial Gift of Small Works" became a blockbuster and achieved a counterattack.
The second season of "Love Death Machine", which is highly anticipated, has fallen off the altar.
But in these flowing works, there is a player who has always stood tall -
Secret Nine Season 6
Inside No. 9 Season 6
Director: Guillermo Morales / Matt Lipsi
Writers: Steve Pemberton / Rees Sher smith
Starring: Steve Pemberton / Rees Shelsmith / Kevin Bishop
Gemma Welland / Rosa Robson
Genre: Comedy/Suspense/Thriller
Release: 2021-05-10 (UK)
Episodes: 6
Episode length: 30 minutes
Produced by the BBC, Douban 9.3, more than 70% of the audience hit five stars.
Not only that, the first five seasons of this show also have an excellent reputation.
While the famous "Black Mirror" in the same period flopped season after season, the low-key "Secret Story 9" always maintained its original first-class level.
Over the years, it has received numerous awards.
These include the Comedy Award at the 35th Banff World Media Festival Rock Awards, as well as the 2014 Freesat Awards for Best TV Sitcom and Best Original Broadcast.
The show has also been named 'Best Tv Comedy' by the Comedy.co.uk Awards for four consecutive years and won the title of "Comedy of the Year" in 2017 and 2018.
Back to the work itself.
Secret Story 9 is a British noir comedy written and starring "Ghost Duo" Reese Shelsmith and Steve Pemberton.
The "Crazy City" that caused heated discussion at that time was also from the hands of these two people.
Mad City
Each episode of Secret Story 9 is a standalone story with a new style, setting, setting, setting, and characters.
But these different stories, without exception, all contain the same element: the number 9.
This 9 may be the number of a building, the page number of a book, or a pair of number 9 sneakers.
But apart from the number 9, there is really no fundamental connection between sets.
Pempburton said the design was to give the audience a joy similar to finding easter eggs.
Screenwriters bury information in their work, while viewers are responsible for discovering their ingenuity in front of the screen.
Once the two interact, the audience can get a better viewing experience.
At the same time, every episode of "Secret Story 9" will have a hare decoration in a scene.
This inspiration comes from a previous work by Shel Smith and Pemberton, an episode of Mad City.
and Alfred Hitchcock's film Soul Reaper.
However, like the number 9, the rabbit itself has no special significance.
While the theme and tone of each episode is different, all plots basically have elements of comedy, horror, or black humor.
In addition, the most enjoyable thing is the reversal of the gods that are necessary for each episode.
Let's take a look at the first episode of the latest season.
The story begins with Alo, played by Pemberton, appearing with a mask.
He stopped in front of a warehouse numbered 9 and looked down at the note in his hand.
The note read "6".
Just as he was about to leave, a gust of wind blew the note to the ground.
When he picked up the note again, "6" turned upside down to "9."
This seems to be the right way to open.
Arlo entered the warehouse and gave his purchase to a woman.
While they were chatting, another man and a woman entered the warehouse with weapons.
It turned out that the group was planning a robbery.
At three o'clock this afternoon, a wagon full of diamonds will depart from somewhere.
Their goal is to get the driver out of the car to buy coffee, to stun him, to steal the car keys, and to remove the box containing the diamonds.
However, things are not as simple as planned.
In this robbery gang, someone is plotting to drop the diamond package so that they can steal it themselves.
Someone turned out to be an undercover agent sent by the police.
It also involves a four-corner love affair with dog blood.
Guys, that's too much information.
Except for the idiot Arlo, who can't even tell the difference between 6 and 9, it seems that each character has a lot of secrets hidden in them.
But it can be expected that this team is destined to fall apart.
When everyone's selfishness is gradually revealed, the trust that was left over from each other will cease to exist.
The undercover police officer was slashed by the gang boss after his identity was revealed, and the father and son who tried to drop the diamond were also facing a series of accidents.
In the end, the chaos ends in Quentin's "Falling Dogs"-style four-person shootout.
The leader of the victory gang killed the other three and left triumphantly carrying a chest containing diamonds.
Leaving Alo alone, who had just watched the battle, pitifully clutching the plastic bag that he had gone out shopping today.
But what the boss didn't know was that the diamond had actually been successfully dropped by the father and son.
The real diamonds are in Arlo's plastic bag.
The story is not over yet.
Arlo, who found the diamond, shouted "Echo" to the empty warehouse in surprise.
A man who looked exactly like Arlo came out of the curtain.
He helps the injured Arlo leave, and the first episode ends.
To be honest, this episode really didn't reach a very impressive level.
As the screenwriter said through the mouth of the character, it is six seasons, and it is normal to dry up.
In terms of plot, there are many details that are not explained enough.
For example, the "echo" that appears at the end, what role he played in this robbery, or this theatrical performance, we don't know.
His appearance seems to be just to realize the reversal tradition of "Secret Story 9", but it does not give the audience a feeling of surprise enough like the previous reversals.
However, there are still many things that can be exaggerated in this episode.
Its innovation in form completely shows the talents of Sher Smith and Pemberton.
Confessions of mirrors break the fourth wall (a form that has been tried in London Life and Miranda), the extensive use of puns, the banter and innuendo of Italian improvisational comedy...
Many of them are not easy for us Chinese audiences to get, but they are the most high-end and most authentic British humor.
Secret Story 9, which lasted for six seasons, was well received by numerous critics.
They praised the creativity of the script, as well as the ingenuity of the plot setting and the depth of the story's theme.
For example, the first episode of the first season, "Sardines", involved incest, child sexual abuse and murder.
"Tom and Jerry" focuses on the plight of people with mental illness.
In addition, the episode is based on a screenplay written by Shel Smith and Pemberton when they were looking for a job.
The story is set in their own apartment, and the protagonist, Tom, is a character who resonates with many job seekers.
"Christine's 12 Days", which tells the story of a woman's 12-year journey, shows the key moments in her life.
"The Sofa Bed" explores the intimate relationship in the cramped environment of sleeper cars.
Examples include some of the conflicts that can occur when we are in close contact with strangers, and the potential impact of these factors on the way we handle relationships.
Each story in Secret Story 9 also has a different tone.
The main style of the previous episode may be gothic horror, and the next episode may choose to take the "slapstick comedy" (farce) route.
Being able to achieve the greatest possible diversity in the category of comedy is what Shel Smith and Pemberton are good at.
Pemberton said in an interview: "As a screenwriter, you have to have the desire to mislead the audience. ”
Perhaps it is the creator's obsession that makes "Secret Matter 9" continue to surprise people.
For six entire seasons, the show didn't have major productions, and it didn't rely on any fancy publicity to attract audiences.
Relying on a cleverly conceived script, in the process of story development, the audience is given the ultimate speculative fun and viewing experience.
*Author of this article: Eat Eat Eat