Inside No 9: Tempting Fate. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Weruche Opia, Steve Pemberton, Reece Sheersmith, Nigel Planner, Ruben Cryer.

Be careful what you wish for, for in every deed in which you desire something, whether it is for the benefit of humanity or your own selfish longings, Tempting Fate can be the hardest of acts in which a person can bring the wrath of otherworldly beasts in which have no understanding or control.

There is always time for Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton to bring a moment of the darkness into the lives of their fans and Tempting Fate does not disappoint; darkness is by word for Inside No 9, it in this respect it is the perfect companion to the wonderful Tales of the Unexpected that provided television viewers with chills and the feeling of being stalked by the nightmares of a man with more than enough imagination for a whole group of thrill chasers to cope with. It is in that observance of humanity at its darkest, the chance to elevate oneself to a position of power through the medium of desire, to have whatever the heart may need and the soul being stupid enough to agree with, that we see people for the being they are.

Offer someone a wish and invariably the majority will ask for a million pounds, enough to make their lives comfortable, to change it someway for the perceived betterment of those they love, but then greed kicks in and they hesitate, a million becomes two, becomes ten and before you know it they have conquered the world through greed.

It is in this darkness of the human spirit that the concluding episode of series four of Inside No 9. delves, a found object of mystic origin, a curse ignored and the comeuppance delivered. Be careful what you wish for, for nobody truly wants to go out with a bang.

Tempting Fate, cross your fingers and hope not to meet a sticky end, for our lives are not dictated by the Heavens and the decrees of amulets and charms but by our own imagined needs, our wants, our fleeting dreams in which we believe we can tempt fate without ill effects.

Ian D. Hall