La Couchette
| "La Couchette" | |
|---|---|
| Inside No. 9 episode | |
A poster for "La Couchette", with the tagline "In deuxiéme classe, everyone can hear you scream..."
|
|
| Episode no. |
Series 2 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Guillem Morales |
| Written by |
Steve Pemberton Reece Shearsmith |
| Produced by |
Adam Tandy (producer) Jon Plowman (executive producer) |
| Original air date | 26 March 2015 |
 "Wrong bed"Les and Kath try encourage Jorg to switch beds, but encounter a language barrier. Maxwell, frustrated by the noise, translates. |
"La Couchette" is the first episode of the second series of British dark comedy anthology Inside No. 9. Written by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith and directed by Guillem Morales, the episode is set in a sleeper carriage on a French train. English doctor Maxwell, who is traveling to an important job interview, climbs into bed. He is disturbed first by drunk, flatulent German Jorg, and then by English couple Kath and Les. Later, while the others sleep, Australian backpacker Shona brings posh English backpacker Hugo back to the cabin, but the pair make a surprising discovery. The episode stars Pemberton, Shearsmith, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Mark Benton, Jessica Gunning, Jack Whitehall and George Glaves.
The story was inspired by the intimacy of sleeper carriages, in which people aim to sleep in close proximity to strangers. "La Couchette" draws upon the literary tropes associated with stories, such as Murder on the Orient Express and Strangers on a Train, following characters unknown to one another while travelling. The various characters—played by actors somewhat typecast—correspond to British comedy archetypes, and much of the episode's story and humour derives from the characters' unlikability. Critics responded positively to "La Couchette", commending the cast and script, but noted that Inside No. 9 is something of an acquired taste. On its first showing, the episode was watched by 1.1 million viewers (6.1% of the audience).
The second series of Inside No. 9 was written in 2014, and then filmed from the end of 2014 into early 2015. As each episode features new characters, the writers were able to attract actors who might have been unwilling to commit to an entire series.Jack Whitehall, who was a fan of the show, says that he "may or may not have nagged Reece and Steve to find a Jack Whitehall-shaped hole in the second series", and was "very thankful" when they did. In addition to Pemberton, Shearsmith and Whitehall, "La Couchette" stars Julie Hesmondhalgh, Mark Benton, Jessica Gunning and George Glaves. Hesmondhalgh commended the cast, saying that, for her, it was a "no brainer" to appear in the episode. For Whitehall, working with Hesmondhalgh was "very exciting, but also quite weird", given the then-recent suicide of Hesmondhalgh's Coronation Street character, Hayley Cropper. Whitehall called Benton and Hesmondhalgh "an amazing little double act". The pair had previously played a husband and wife on the radio.
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