INSIDE №9 — ‘And the Winner is…’ ✭✭✩✩✩

A jury convene to choose a winner for an upcoming television awards ceremony…

Dan Owen
Dans Media Digest
Published in
3 min readJan 31, 2018

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Ironically, having just won a Comedy.co.uk award for ‘Comedy of the Year — 2017’, this week’s Inside №9 concerned how winners are chosen for big industry awards. A small jury were convened to pick the year’s ‘Best Actress’ for the fictional Royal Academy of Motion Pictures Arts, officiated by fair-minded Clive (Steve Pemberton): there was hip director Gordon (Noel Clarke), old luvvie Rupert (Kenneth Cranham), struggling screenwriter Clive (Reece Shearsmith), TV critic June (Fenella Woolgar), Hollywood diva Paula (Zoe Wanamaker), and shy “member of the public” Jackie (Phoebe Sparrow).

“And the Winner is…” wasn’t the best episode of Inside №9, and easily the worst of this excellent fourth series, but there were still amusing lines and a twist ending that somehow managed to elude me. It was a chance for Shearsmith and Pemberton to craft another half-hour where a mix of characters trade quips and air petty grievances, as we slowly come to recognise their individual flaws. It just took awhile to really get going, and then didn’t end anywhere particularly worth the journey.

Gordon’s angry he’s the token black juror, asked for his particular opinion of the only black nominee; Clive’s early promise as a “scribbler, dreamer” has wilted since his breakthrough in 2003, so he’s desperate for Gordon’s help getting his new script Blood Oranges into production; Rupert’s refined tastes are above reproach; June comes to believe she’s wasted her talent writing about TV; Paula hasn’t seen any of the performances because she sees the whole thing as a pointless exercise; and couch potato Jackie’s simply overwhelmed to have been invited along to give her opinion on anything.

Most of these characters were “types” we’ve seen before (which was one of Paula’s comments about the nominees they were asked to debate), but the script managed to given most of them something worthwhile to do. I was a little disappointed Jackie was painted in such broad strokes as a “normal” woman whose opinion is only tolerated by the others, and this episode furthered the misconception that being a critic is a soulless job that’s beneath good writers. I, of course, beg to differ.

Still, while I’m sure these characters represented aspects of the film and TV industry Shearsmith and Pemberton dislike, or have encountered first-hand during their years working for the BBC, at least their ire was reasonable spread amongst almost everyone. (Gordon and Rupert seemed to get off reasonable lightly, with most of the barbs aimed on the qualities associated with critics and viewers.)

The episode again ended on a twist, but it wasn’t something that’ll have your rushing to watch it again with new insight. It was just a nice parting shot, easing you into the credits with something extra to consider about you’d just seen. “And the Winner is…” scratched a few itches about the state of the industry, and the silliness of awards in particular (like the nominees being another example of “the star, the dame, the girl-next-door, the ingenue”), but the subject matter won’t have been something people like Jackie really care about. Or is that just as unfair to say?

Cast & Crew

writers: Reece Shearsmith & Steve Pemberton.
director: Graeme Harper.
starring: Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith, Noel Clarke, Kenneth Cranham, Fenella Woolgar, Zoe Wanamaker & Phoebe Sparrow.

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Published in Dans Media Digest

A pop culture site focused on Film & TV reviews, opinion pieces, news, and features.

Written by Dan Owen

Freelance writer and TV addict raised on films • Socials and links: https://linktr.ee/danowen

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