A night train crosses France with a mixed group of passengers in couchette number nine. Loutish drunk Jorg noisily annoys uptight professor Maxwell before bickering marrieds Kath and Les Cook arrive, to be joined by sweaty Australian back-packer Shona with free-loading lay Hugo in tow. As they are about to have sex a body tumbles from the top bunk but, for various reasons, some passengers are reluctant to immediately report the death. When the train arrives at its stop the motive of one of them becomes clear.
This episode contains examples of:
- All for Nothing: Maxwell kills Yves and prevents everyone from stopping the train because he believes Yves is his competition. He isn't.
- All There in the Script: The ending credits name the dead man as Yves.
- Big Fun: Shona.
- Bilingual Bonus: Maxwell and Jorg's conversations in German.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Maxwell.
- Bottle Episode: The entire episode takes place in the cramped space of an SNCF couchette cabin, mirroring the first episode of the previous series, which features twelve people locked in a wardrobe.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Jorg may be a drunken slob, but he's also an esteemed doctor good enough to be considered for a prestigious position with the World Health Organization.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Jorg is introduced as an annoying but secondary passenger who at the end turns out to be Maxwell's Unknown Rival.
- Foreign Cuss Word: Jorg yelling "verpiss dich!" ("fuck off!") at Les.
- Foreign Language Title: "La Couchette".
- Gasshole: Jorg.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Shona fits this image.
- Herr Doktor: Jorg, it transpires.
- It's All About Me: Hugo.
- Jerkass Has a Point: When Hugo points out that stopping the train would cause everyone to miss their appointments, they're forced to admit he's right.
- Lack of Empathy: Quite a few characters are rather cavalier about the fact that one of their fellow passengers has died, but Maxwell takes the cake; not only is he able to remain completely calm and at peace after murdering someone, but when everyone briefly thinks Kath has thrown herself under the train he just complains that she's made him miss his appointment.
- Lysistrata Gambit: Shona won't let Hugo into bed with her after he convinces the others not to report the body.
- Murder by Mistake: Maxwell murdered Yves believing him to be Jorg/Meyer.
- National Stereotypes: Maxwell attributes Jorg's constipation to "too much beer and bratwurst."
- Of Corpse He's Alive: While the characters don't deliberately do anything wacky with the corpse, it's still used for plenty of visual comedy.
- Potty Emergency: Jorg is in this state throughout most of the episode.
- Really Gets Around: Shona proclaims she'll sleep with anyone if they lend her their toilet paper.
- Shout-Out: Kath compares the situation to the Murder on the Orient Express.
- Sleep Mask: Maxwell has one, though it ultimately doesn't help him get any sleep.
- Thriller on the Express: The whole premise.
- Upper-Class Twit: Hugo.
- Wham Line: Maxwell quietly apologies to "Dr Meier", only to get one of these from Jorg:Jorg: Ja? Ich bin Doktor Meier...
- Women Are Wiser: Kath and Shona are the ones most insistent on reporting the body.
