Séance Time

The second series of Inside No. 9 was written in 2014 by the programme's creators Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith.[1][2] The idea for "Séance Time" began with the "trigger" of a séance, and the plot grew out of this,[3] while the episode's title was taken from a line performed by David Warner in the film From Beyond the Grave.[4] Shearsmith had previously taken part in a séance with The League of Gentlemen in a putatively-haunted house. He had heard tapping and seen movement on a ouija board, and believed he had experienced something supernatural until Mark Gatiss confessed that he was responsible.[5] Shearsmith said that he and Pemberton had always wanted to do a séance-inspired story, but had never been able to find a new angle from which to approach the theme. "Séance Time", he thought, "felt a bit different" from how séances had previously been portrayed.[5] The writers were unsure how to conclude the episode, and considered 15 to 20 different endings before settling on the one they used.[6] The title of "Séance Time" was inspired by the line "It's séance time!", spoken by David Warner's character in the 1974 film From Beyond the Grave.[4]

As each episode of Inside No. 9 features new characters, the writers were able to attract actors who might have been unwilling to commit to an entire series.[7] "Séance Time" starred Sophie McShera as Tina—though Tina was played by an uncredited extra in the opening shot of a house's exterior[8]—Shearsmith as "Hives"/Terry, Alison Steadman as "Madam Talbot"/Anne, Dan Starkey as "Blue Demon Dwarf"/Clive,[note 1] Cariad Lloyd as Gemma, Alice Lowe as Amanda, Pemberton as Pete and Caden-Ellis Wall as William.[note 2][10] The writers felt the episode featured a number of good roles for women.[11] Members of Inside No. 9's crew, include the episode's third assistant director Saloum N'Jie, appeared as uncredited extras playing members of a television crew.[12] Though there were only a small production crew seen in the episode, this mirrors real crews of the kind featured.[13]

Among the episode's guest stars were Dan Starkey (left, pictured 2015) and Sophie McShera (right, pictured 2014).

Shearsmith had previously worked with Steadman on Agatha Christie's Marple, while she and Pemberton had met, though the pair had not worked together.[14] She was ill upon arrival for filming, which led to Pemberton worrying that production would have to be suspended. As a result of Steadman's illness, her character's croaking voice was mostly her own.[15] One journalist commented on the appropriateness of the casting, given the influence of Abigail's Party—in which Steadman starred—on "Nana's Party", the previous week's episode.[16] The actor was one of a number (the others being Jane Horrocks and Claire Skinner) who appeared in Inside No. 9's second series who had also starred in Life Is Sweet.[17] During filming, Steadman expressed happiness to be working with Pemberton and Shearsmith. She explained that they are excellent writers as they are "off the wall".[18]

Pemberton knew McShera through his friend Siobhan Finneran, who co-starred with McShera in Downton Abbey. He felt that McShera would be able to bring a "mousey quality" to the role of Tina. Shearsmith felt that her performance was funny while retaining realism.[19] The writers found the role of "Blue Demon Dwarf" difficult to cast, but were very happy with the performance of Starkey,[20] who kept some of his character's props.[21] The writers also praised Lowe, who they felt was able to make a lot of a comparatively small part. The character of Amanda, they said, was to seem bored and aloof, attempting to get away with doing as little work as possible, while also favouring people seen as more important.[22]

The name Hives, used by Shearsmith's character, was taken from a Laurel and Hardy butler of the same name.[23] Meanwhile, Hives's costume and mannerisms were inspired by those worn and adopted by Noel Edmonds in undercover practical jokes.[24] A related influence for the episode was a prank-gone-wrong seen on YouTube, in which a joke's target punches a costumed person when the latter surprises the former.[25] Pemberton's character spoke with a cockney accent, something unusual for Pemberton, who normally does not affect accents when acting.[26] In addition to playing Pete, Pemberton provided the deep voice spoken by "Madam Talbot" during the séance.[27]

Shearsmith (pictured, 2003), as well as co-writing the episode, starred as "Hives"/Terry.

Shearsmith said that he and Pemberton sometimes aim to produce episodes with genuinely scary scenes, comparing "Séance Time" to "The Harrowing", the sixth episode of Inside No. 9's first series, which was also particularly horrific. He said that the writers and crew had similar aims in terms of atmosphere in "Séance Time" as they had in "The Harrowing".[5] The episodes also shared similar openings, with a lone woman walking towards a large house.[8] Thematically, Shearsmith felt that the episode served to tie together a number of ideas with which he had been "obsessed" for years, including horror, ghosts and magic.[5] The episode's director, Dan Zeff, got behind the idea of genuine horror, and Shearsmith was happy with how the initial séance was portrayed. A large number of horror clichés were used, but the reason that these clichés are present is subsequently revealed.[28]

Props utilised to heighten the horror included a trick candle—swapped back-and-forth with a real one—which could shoot a large flame. This was operated by a technician hiding under the table on which it was placed.[29] A doll seen on screen, the writers claimed, was probably visible only to Terry among the characters.[30] For the white eyes of "Madam Talbot", Steadman wore partially white contact lenses. Had she worn fully white lenses, she would have been unable to see, and this would have led to more work for the production crew. Instead, her partially white eyes were made fully white in post-production.[31] Also added in post-production was the wetness of Terry's clothes in the final scene.[32]

The writers hoped to fool viewers into thinking that they were doing a straightforward séance episode, and so there is little humour prior to the episode's first twist.[33] For Steadman, the writing meant that both the audience and the character of Tina are fooled together.[18] Nonetheless, humour remained elsewhere in the script; Lloyd looked forward to performing a particular joke involving blue paint.[34] Terry refers to his colleagues variously as "Pepe and His Friends", a reference to a variety act with a similar name,[35] and a "warm prop", a disparaging name which, according to the writers, has been used in the film industry to refer to extras.[9]

Inside No. 9's second series was filmed from the end of 2014 into early 2015.[1][2] "Séance Time" was the second episode of the second series to be filmed, and the filming was completed shortly before production ceased for a Christmas break. The episode was filmed at Langleybury, a country house in Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire. The same house was used for "The Harrowing", as well as in Shearsmith and Pemberton's pre-Inside No. 9 television series Psychoville.[33]

On its first showing on BBC Two, "Séance Time" was moved from Inside No. 9's usual slot on a Thursday evening.[36] It was instead shown on Wednesday 29 April; this showing was at 10pm in most of the UK, and at 11.20pm in Northern Ireland.[37] The freelance journalist Dan Owen suggested that this, combined with their refusal to release the series on Blu-ray, suggested that the BBC had little faith in Inside No. 9. He nonetheless called for a third series,[16] a request echoed by other commentators.[38][39][40] In their commentary on the episode, Pemberton said that he and Shearsmith had plans for a potential third series, and hoped to be able to get on with producing it.[41] "Séance Time", along with the other episodes from the second series, was released on DVD on 5 May 2016,[42] and a third series was announced in October of that year.[43]

• Pemberton, Steve; Shearsmith, Reece (2015). Séance Time (episode commentary). Steve & Reece IN9 (via SoundCloud). Retrieved 10 April 2016.