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| “ | Oh, that's just Migg, he's not real... Come on! Gerri's put the kettle on. | „ |
| ~ Tom's final words in the episode, explaining his actions to Stevie. |
Tom is the titular main protagonist of the Inside No. 9 episode "Tom & Gerri". He is a schoolteacher and novelist struggling with the trauma of losing his wife Gerri and as a result allows himself to succumb to depression after befriending a homeless man named Migg and allowing him to move into his home, in the process he beings slowly losing his grip on reality.
He was portrayed by series co-creator Reece Shearsmith who also played Ray, Hector, Mr. Warren, George and Dr. Jacob Tyler from the same series, as well as Edward Tattsyrup, Papa Lazarou, Geoff Tipps, Ross Gaines, Bernice Woodall, Judee Levinson and Cathy Carter-Smith in The League of Gentlemen, Mr. Jelly, Maureen Sowerbutts, Jeremy Goode and Silent Singer in Psychoville, Malcolm Webster in The Widower and one third of the Vogons in the film adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy.
Biography[]
Tom was a novelist who made ends meet as a schoolteacher and happily lived with his girlfriend Gerri, an aspiring actress in a flat they shared. Everything changed however one day when Gerri was tragically killed in an accident on her way to an audition. Although Tom was supported by his colleagues during his difficult time, particularly his best friend Stevie. Tom grew into denial about Gerri's death and still saw her around him constantly and believed she was alive.
One night Tom was approached by a homeless man who resided outside of his close named Migg who told him that he found his wallet. Taking pity on the man and feeling grateful that he gave back his wallet and even bought him a bottle of whisky, Tom agreed to let him spend the night and use his bath and soon enough Migg fully moved in, subtly manipulating Tom into becoming more and more withdrawn from the rest of the world until he was left in a meek and pathetic state who would ultimately cower before his now successfully growing friend's feet until "Gerri" reappeared to him, telling him that Migg wasn't real and just an excuse he came up with to allow himself to give up on life, the hallucination convinced Tom the right course of action was to kill Migg and he did just that, drowning his new friend in the bathtub and seemingly improving his quality of life afterwards.
A few days later Stevie came to visit Tom and tried explaining to him the truth about Gerri but Tom denied it, still feeling her presence around him, this culminated in Stevie trying to use the bathroom only to discover Migg's body. A horrified Stevie tried to confront Tom about what he'd done however Tom replied unfazed that it was just Migg and that he wasn't real before telling Stevie to come back into the sitting room as "Gerri" had put the kettle on.
Personality[]
Tom was a rather quiet and shy man who although somewhat apathetic to the problems of those less fortunate than him wasn't a bad person and genuinely loved his girlfriend. He grew more withdrawn and struggled with his mental health after Gerri's death and was in denial about what had happened for weeks. He also had a compassionate side as he allowed Migg into his home and was happy to let him get his life in order although didn't realise that he was also being used by the latter as he grew into a more submissive and pitiful state around him. He also had a somewhat decent social life, enjoying the company of both Stevie and Migg even if he did become more distant with the former during his heavier struggling period.
Appearance[]
Tom was a handsome man in his upper 30s or so of a short stature and pale skin. He had a full head of short brown hair and blue eyes. Although at first clean shaven and smartly dressed he let himself go and grew out a wild beard when his depression and trauma overcame him, in the end however when he began clearing his life up and trying to move on he returned to his original style of dress.
Trivia[]
- Tom as a character originated from a play Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton originally wrote in the early 90s while studying at university and sharing a flat. The story came to be from Reece growing increasingly stressed and upset from his inability to secure part time work and his time on a mentally draining restart course, during which time he and Steve would supposedly lounge around the flat for most of their time. This time in their lives also was responsible for the creation of League of Gentlemen characters Pauline Campbell-Jones and Papa Lazarou.
- Tom's name and the episode's title is an obvious reference to the pop culture icons Tom & Jerry.
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 Villains
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League of Gentlemen Psychoville Inside No. 9 | ||