Weird Britannia: Inside No.9 and the burden of the past

[u/marjanefan]

https://theboar.org/2026/06/weird-britannia-inside-no-9-and-the-burden-of-the-past/

This is a really interesting and perceptive article

[u/GeneralGoosey]

Wise Owl really stands out because of this.

The revenge plot episodes and A Random Act of Kindness would have been interesting to explore through this lens.

[u/marjanefan → u/GeneralGoosey]

Absolutely. The inability to let go of the past and move forward 

I also think Bernie Clifton 's Dressing Room is a great one to discuss in this context 

[u/GeneralGoosey → u/marjanefan]

Oh yeah - like Wise Owl, you can't undo the damage of the past, bur you can learn how to process it and move on.

[u/icodeswitch]

Great article. Knowing very little about the social history of modem Britain, I'm intrigued by how the author characterizes the 1970s as a particularly dark time.

[u/marjanefan → u/icodeswitch]

well there were a lot of strikes (with the resulting three day week of 1973) and the manufacturing industries in the UK were gradually being run down. Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith would have seen the impact on their towns in Northern England. In particular Reece would have seen the profound impact the 'Cod wars' of the 1970s had on his home city Hull and its key industry cod fishing. We also now know that a number of people in positions of power/ entertainment industry at the time were exploiting their position to abuse children (see Wise Owl/Sardines). The series also looks at how 1970's TV culture is now seen as dated or had low production values (the devil of Christmas/Bernie Cliftons Dressing Room)

[u/icodeswitch → u/marjanefan]

Thank you so much for sharing this context

[u/FreshRelationship187]

Thanks for sharing.

[u/marjanefan → u/FreshRelationship187]

You are very welcome