Wanna Buy Some Pegs Dave? (The League Of Gentlemen - The Entire Second Series (DVD))

Member Name: utero

Product:	The League Of Gentlemen - The Entire Second Series (DVD)
Date:	10/11/01 (815 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: very funny, good extras, widescreen

Disadvantages: Doesn't promote itself as a 2 disc set

The first release of The League of Gentleman on DVD was a perfect example of how to do a TV Show presentation on the format. A year later sees the release of the second series and a substantial improvement in presentation and special stuff.

For those that have never seen the show then the best way to describe it is Emmerdale meet’s Deliverance. The show is set in the small northern village of Royston Vasey where we see the exploits of the weird and wonderful residents. Some people think the second series wasn’t as good as the first but personally I thought it was better for many reasons. The foremost reason for my view can be found in the first episode where we are introduced to Papa Lazarou who swaggers into town with his Pandemonium Carnival. He knocks on women’s doors and asks for Dave who isn’t there, he then bursts in because his wife wants to use the toilet then after some strange language he proclaims the unlucky women to be his wife with a grasp of her wedding ring and a sinister cry of “You’re My Wife Now!”

We are also introduced to Herr Lip, a homosexual German teacher on an exchange programme who has taken a fancy to his host’s handsome son. His best scenes come in later episodes when he tries seduction and is interrupted by his wife. Then there’s Vinnie and Reenie, the two OAP’s who run the charity shop. But they won’t sell anything unless it’s got a special mark!

If you like your humour extremely macabre and dark then this is for you. Some of the characters are funny because they are tragically sad and have no will left in life. This isn’t for everyone but then this isn’t your normal kind of show.

The DVD itself is a two-disc affair even though you might not know it on first glance. You have to look at the front cover closely to see the information that tells you of this fact. It’s almost as if they mastered the dvd then decided
they could throw on a lot more stuff for the fans. If that is the case then I’m not complaining one bit. It certainly seems that way because all the extras aren’t listed on the packaging.

The first disc contains all six episodes from series 2 totalling 175 minutes. Like the first series the show was shot in widescreen so we get a 1.77:1 anamorphic transfer. The show is shot in very low light conditions and on high definition video and obviously doesn’t have the budget of a Hollywood production. Having said that the transfer is pretty good with only minor soft spots and occasional grain but then again this could have something to do with the process the video goes through before broadcast.

As this is a TV show the sound is a simple stereo mix. Pretty straightforward stuff and there is no real advantage to playing it through a home cinema set-up. The show always has a good sound mix and as you’d expect it’s faithfully reproduced here.

The menus on the first disc are nicely animated and have creepy sound effects as well as animated transitions between menus. Each episode is chaptered as well which not a lot of TV shows bother to do when they come to DVD. Overall they are very nicely done.

The extras on this disc are pretty good, the entire series has a running commentary with The League of Gentleman (Jeremy Dyson, Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss and Steve Pemberton). This is a great track as you get all the info on how the series was shot and what the ideas and stories behind the characters are. It’s quite disturbing to learn that some of the characters in the show are based on actual people in real life. What I like about this track also is that they break off after each episode so you can dip in as and when you like. On the negative side, Director Steve Bendelack who could’ve given an opinion from the filmmaking side is sadly missing

Also on this disc is a brief two-minute clip that
employs the angle button on your remote control. It shows a clip from the show and highlights the process employed on the original video footage to give it a film look. The angle button toggles between the before and after shots. Not only that but they give you a brief text explanation of what the process is so you’re not completely in the dark!

The second disc in the package contains all the ‘special stuff’ that couldn’t be squeezed onto the first disc and fortunately you don’t have to be part of Hilary Briss’s
elite group to get a look at it.

Once again animated menus with creepy sound effects and music greet you although this is on a different theme from the first disc. Every selection is greeted by a sound bite from Papa Lazarou that is amusing no matter how many times you hear it.

Following the theme of the first series we get a batch of familiar extras starting with a comprehensive tongue in cheek set of biographies that feature the achievements and likes of the ‘Local People’. For example Mayor Vaughn’s favourite cussword is Mary Jane Rottencrotch and Chris Frost the Store Detective’s biggest find was 5 packets of fruit polo’s in the fingers of a false hand. CHALK IT UP!

‘Missing’ is 21 minutes of deleted footage, effects shots and alternate takes. All presented in 16x9 widescreen you get to se such things as Edward and Tubbs in bed together going over the highway code as well as some interesting shots that show scenes pre-effects with green screen etc. But best of all is an alternate set of takes featuring Papa Lazarou talking in his made up tongue with the classic line ‘Catnip Catnip’. Overall there’s not a great deal of amazing stuff here but it’s great that it’s included, something is better than nothing.

Also included is the 30-minute documentary on the show that was originally broadcast on BBC Choi
ce. Narrated by Griff Rhys Jones this covers a lot of ground such as the ideas for the show as well as behind the scenes footage and rehearsals for the show. The interviews featured talk about the writing process and the writer’s conflicts over whether or not one character should look like Baloo the Bear! The documentary has also been chaptered so you can dip into various sections as and when you like.

‘Series II Scrapbook’ is an extensive set of stills from the behind the scenes on the show complete with text explanations. You see various members of the crew and various stages of insanity on the set but overall it shows that a good time is had by all making it.

‘Territorial Army’ is a strange feature that takes you to a still picture of a TA poster recruiting people for the Royston Vasey T.A. with the slogan “It’s a F**king Man’s Life!” Completely bizarre and nothing really more I need to say.

Finally there is ‘Royston Vasey Tunes’ , a section containing a singalong version of the House Rules Song featured in the show as well as a full performance video for Voodoo Lady. Finally there is a brief collection of musical cues from the musical score composed by Joby Talbot. These aren’t full-length clips but a nice addition and perhaps any future series could have an isolated score track?

So there you have…..but wait…..I’m hearing another voice, his name is….Easter Egg. You can find out about it through me.

(Cue bizarre spirit possession ritual)

Now I am Easter Egg!

You’ll find you can select the section with the number two in it on the bottom corner of the main menu. This will ask you for the easy to remember phone number that Pop’s gave in series 2. Enter 4444244 and you’ll be taken to seven minutes of behind the scenes footage shot by a video camera that includes Papa Lazarou, the burning of th
e local shop and a full view of what Barbara looks like from the front!

So there you have it, Series 2 was well worth the wait. Presentation and extras wise it’s a great package and well worth the money. Of course if you’re a fan you don’t need me to tell you that it’s a very funny show. My only problem is that the Christmas special wasn’t included on the release but then again I’m sure we will see it appearing on the format at a later date.

I would go on but as Papa Lazarou says :-

“This has become a saga now”

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