Story-telling | Contextual Research: Inside No. 9 'Tom and Gerri' (TV Drama)

I chose to look at this episode of 'Inside No. 9' (‘Tom and Gerri’ directed by David Kerr) as it shares three key themes with my script: homelessness, loss of a loved one, and alcoholism.  Written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, Inside No. 9 is an anthology of 30-minute dark comedy-dramas, with elements of the thriller genre intertwined with it. Since every episode is different from the last, Shearsmith and Pemberton are free to explore a wide variety of themes, characters and locations, giving each the darkly comical twist, which is reminiscent of their other works, such as The League of Gentlemen.  Whilst the tone of Inside No. 9 is different to what I wish to convey in The Way, I felt it would give an interesting insight into how different genres handle the same issues and it could give me some ideas as to how I could explore these themes.

The episode opens as we would expect, by establishing the scene of a fairly low-end, uninteresting flat above a cornershop.  We are introduced to Tom and Gerri, played by Reece Shearsmith and Gemma Arterton, and we immediately see a contrast between the two characters, who are in a romantic relationship with one another: Tom seems to be a more pessimistic character, looking at the negative side to the part Gerri is auditioning for, and assuming that the ‘tramp’ is begging for money, whilst Gerri focuses on the audition as a potential for income, and dismisses the idea that the tramp is begging, and suggests he is waiting for someone, showing her as more of an optimist than Tom.

We do see that this is still a loving relationship, and they seem to come together through their differing points of view.  This opening scene establishes Tom’s distrusting and judgemental attitude toward the tramp, who we later find out is called ‘Migg’, which gives an indication of the class difference – Tom, who is working as a teacher, a typically working/middle class profession, is looking down at Migg as he is homeless.  This is the sort of attitude I feel would suit Nick when he encounters Derek in ‘The Way’, which develops as Migg rings on the doorbell to give Tom his wallet back.

Tom is very distrusting of Migg by checking if any money is missing, being reluctant to give him £40 and by preparing to defend himself, but we get a sense of guilt as well which hints at their future relationship.  The use of shot-reverse-shot acts as a sort of mirror between the two, hinting at a bond, which Tom initially tries to stop by slowly closing the door on him.  I feel that mirroring shots would be useful to highlight both opposing and complementary views of each other – I would like to mirror my shots between Nick and Derek, as well as Angela to highlight the similarities between Nick and Derek, and Angela and Derek.  The initial meeting between Tom and Migg is repeated when Migg returns later, but we see that Tom is beginning to sympathise with him through the repeating the shot-reverse-shot which places them on the same level as one another.  Yet there is still a level of awkward distaste toward Migg by Tom, evident through the lie about getting out the shower and general rudeness toward him.

The two only begin to truly bond when Migg claims he knows Charles Bukowski, whom Tom mentions, and Tom’s interests are sparked.  It is clear that Migg is not telling the truth here, not answering Tom’s questions directly, but we see that Tom has fell for it and that Migg appears to be manipulating Tom into giving him company by telling him these stories and drinking with him.  The scene transitions to the next by paralleling Migg and Tom – Migg sitting on the sofa, cuts immediately to Tom waking up the next morning.  The episode begins to take a mysterious turn from here after Tom seems to have found his common ground with Migg and the two have become friends, as this is the beginning of Tom spiralling out of control as he misses work, starts excessively drinking and eventually loses his job, as Migg seems to be cleaning himself up, utilising Tom’s flat for food and washing himself.

It seems as though the two are switching roles, and the episode seems to be building up to Migg being a figment of Tom’s imagination, as he seems to be the only person to see him.  However, this is a double-bluff, as we learn at the end that Migg is real and that Tom has killed him, and it was Gerri that Tom was imagining, since we learn that she had died.  Migg was used as a metaphor to pinpoint the reasoning for Tom’s downward spiral on, when in fact, he was dealing with the loss of Gerri through befriending Migg and drinking to excess.  Whilst I want to avoid a twist like this for now, as they are difficult to write in an effective manner, I feel that using metaphor to explain personal tragedy would add a level of depth and sophistication to my writing.

In an interview for the BBC website, Shearsmith and Pemberton reveal that Tom and Gerri was originally written as a play whilst the two were living together on benefits, but was adapted into the smaller timeframe for television.  They describe the mindset of being unemployed, drawing from their own experiences.  Pemberton emphasises how they “[couldn’t] quite manage to leave the flat, [couldn’t] be bothered to tidy the flat”, and he questions the purpose of going out when you cannot fathom the motivation to as a result of being on the dole.  They also highlight the “misery” of having so little to do as a result of their financial situation, referring to the board games littered around the set which reflected their living conditions during this difficult time.  This is one of the things that drew me to focus on this episode of Inside No. 9, as I saw links between both Tom and Migg with Derek in my screenplay, and how their financial issues reflect their moods and attitudes toward life.

To conclude, ‘Tom and Gerri’ is a good example of a drama that has included elements of comedy and psychological tension to depict a man’s struggle after the loss of the woman he loves.  These themes translate toward ‘The Way’ differently, but this still provides an interesting exploration of loss, alcoholism and financial struggles.


Bibliography:

BBC (2014) What was the inspiration for Tom & Gerri?, Tom and Gerri, series 1, inside no. 9 - BBC Two. Available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01sk9mp (Accessed 24th October 2016)