The Freaky Gentlemen (League of Gentlemen, The)

Member Name: carly_pussycat

Product:	League of Gentlemen, The
Date:	27/04/05 (548 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Dark, dark humour, Well developed characters

Disadvantages: None, unless you are humourless/unobservant and/or easily offended

My boyfriend Chris first introduced me to this series a couple of years ago. As we hadn’t been together long I didn’t hold out too much hope for his recommendation that I watch the program because although he knew I liked dark comedy he didn’t know exactly the kind of things I found find funny. He had recorded both series 1 and 2 onto tape so we proceeded to watch the first episode. Right from the start I was absolutely hooked – it was everything I wanted in a comedy show, something I never knew was permitted to be shown on TV!


WHO ARE THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN?

The League of Gentlemen consists of Jeremy Dyson, Steve Pemberton, Mark Gatiss and Reece Shearsmith. Jeremy is the main writer and Steve, Mark and Reece co-write and perform the parts of all the characters in the show.

The group started out in 1995 when they performed their sketch show on stage. In 1997 they gained themselves a regular slot on BBC Radio 4 which they called ‘On The Town With the League of Gentlemen’. Following this they shot to fame, securing themselves their first TV series on BBC2 as ‘The League of Gentlemen’ the first episode of which was originally aired on 11th January 1999.


WHAT IS THE PROGRAM ABOUT?

It is hard to explain exactly what The League of Gentlemen is like because prior to it I don’t think there was anything on TV that paralleled it. It is set in a small rural village named Royston Vasey. Imagine Emmerdale crossed with Little Britain (and perhaps Nighty Night for anyone who has seen it). Throw in a huge dollop of dark humour and various bizarre characters and you may be somewhere near.

The show features the diverse range of inhabitants of the village going about their everyday lives. It is similar to Little Britain in that it consists of numerous short sketches making up the whole show. However, unlike other comedy sketch shows, many of the characters interact with each other which allows the show to have some continuity to it. Episodes often end with a slight cliff-hanger which maintains the viewer’s interest for the next show.

All the main characters in the show are played by Steve, Mark and Reece. This is the part that really astounds me – just how they can look *so* different in many different roles. Admittedly there is a vast amount of makeup required for some of the characters but the actors can imitate so many unique voices, it is impressive to view this, never mind the humour.

So, the humour? Non Politically correct, sick, dark, twisted, bizarre, exaggerated, inane, peculiar…..take your pick because it’s all that, and more!

The theme tune perfectly sets the scene for what the show has in store. It is played by an orchestra and consists of low notes with a spiralling tune over the top. The tune reaches its crescendo near the end, at which point a visual joke normally occurs. The whole show is filmed in slightly soft focus and the picture is often fairly dark, but not so dark that you miss out on things, it simply adds to the sinister atmosphere. There is canned laughter over the soundtrack which I know some people dislike, but I personally don’t find it annoying as I think it contributes to the joke and makes me laugh even more. Often, it triggers me to pay attention because I may have missed a very subtle visual joke.


THE CHARACTERS

Throughout the three series and the Christmas special many characters have featured in The League of Gentlemen, but not all make regular appearances. It would be make for a rather long review (well, longer) if I listed them all, so I will simply list some of my favourites, and others which feature most frequently so you can familiarise yourself with who you might be likely to encounter in Royston Vasey.

* Tubbs and Edward – Proprietors of the Local Shop, situated on the outskirts of the village on a deserted stretch of hills, Tubbs and Edward are possibly the most bizarre characters in the show. They have upturned noses, reminiscent of pigs and can often to seen eating ‘foods’ such as raw onion (eaten like an apple), a pubic hair sandwich or a worm. They are fiercely defensive of their village and they don’t like change so they are determined to destroy all plans for the ‘New Road’ which may mean strangers in the shop. They had the same mother and father but have incestuously spawned a son ‘David’ who they keep locked in a darkened room, only kept alive by Tubbs sliding him her bosom under the door. In-bred is not even the word…..You may be mistaken for thinking the Local Shop was a souvenir shop or convenience store where you could freely browse the items at your leisure and perhaps buy a can of Coke, but you couldn’t be more wrong. Edward will often be heard asking ‘what’s all this shouting? We’ll have no trouble here’.

* Pauline – A 50 (sorry, 48) year old lesbian restart officer in the Job Centre. Pauline’s job is to re-educate the unemployed (or Dole Scum as she likes to refer to them as) to the standard that they can attend interviews to get back to work. She can often been seen wearing fuchsia pink overapplied lipstick, orange foundation (yes, worse than those women in Boots) and looking like she’s sucking on a wasp. Bossy, authoritarian and ‘egregious’ Pauline delights in making their lives hell; especially know-it-all Ross. She initially enjoys patronising dirty mullet-sporting Mickey love, but later finds herself more closely acquainted with him than she might have hoped.

* Mr Chinnery – Ill-fated vet, nothing ever goes right for poor Chinnery. Despite trying his best to cure the village’s animals, he can often be found lost for words with a sheepish expression on his face. All is revealed in the Christmas Special episode.

* Babs – Sole driver for Babs Cabs ‘Barbara’ is a pre-op transsexual. She often treats passengers in her bright pink cab to a full and frank explanation of how the operation will proceed ‘well they split the penis….’ Never was the phrase ‘too much information’ more apt. The fantastic thing about Barbara is that we never see ‘her’ face. We are, however, treated to gratuitous shots of ‘her’ legs in a dress and furry feet in stiletto heels. Many a time we have seen the hairs on her chest supporting a dainty gold necklace saying ‘Barbara’. Barbara also conveniently acts as a connection between the villagers, which I like because it seems more believable that the characters actually live in the village together.

* The Dentons – House proud Harvey and Val Denton are delighted when their nephew Benjamin comes to stay. However, their rigorous cleaning schedule and ridiculously strict household rules are often the downfall of poor Ben, and after long he is desperate to escape the incestuous little village. Harvey and Val have twin daughters, who are rather sinister and appear to be somewhat psychic. Harvey can often be found warning Ben about ‘endless sojourns in the bathroom shaking hot white coconuts from the veiny love tree’.

* Papa Lazarou – Papa Lazarou does not appear until the second series, but what a fantastic entrance he makes. He brings with him a freak show including midgets, a giant, a bearded lady and his numerous wives. It is hard to fathom exactly *what* Papa Lazarou is all about, but for this reason he is one of my favourite characters. He approaches strangers’ front doors enquiring in his hoarse voice ‘Hello Dave? Is Dave there?’ and persists until either they let him in or he breaks in. He looks slightly like a pimp, only he his face is painted jet black and he has a white ring around his mouth. He wears all the rings of his wives and speaks in undecipherable ramblings apart from his harsh voice rasping “you’re my wife now!”

* Mike, Geoff and Brian – Local office workers who always end up going out together after work. Mike and Brian’s conversation tends to flow, with Geoff feeling left out. Geoff clearly has a problem with anger management and always manages to create tension in the group, resulting in a rather forced relationship between the three of them.

Those are but a few of the characters, and some of my favourites. Other characters putting in a regular appearance include past-it rocker Les McQueen, Hilary Briss – the butcher with the ‘special stuff’, Mrs Levingson and her cleaner Iris, Pops and his sons, Vinnie and Reenie who run the charity shop and Herr Lipp, the German exchange guide with a penchant for young boys.

The characters are gradually built up over the course of the three series. The characters described in detail above are the ones that appear most frequently in the first series (with the exception of my dear Papa Lazarou). The majority of the characters are well formed and multi dimensional. The acting is superb and often it takes me a little while to figure out which actor is playing which character because they can vary their appearances immensely (especially Steve Pemberton, despite that dimple in his chin!)


WHO DOES THIS SHOW APPEAL TO?

Anyone with a dark sense of humour! I don’t think it is limited by the viewer’s age, but you certainly have to be quite sharp to catch some of the jokes. Although there are obvious humorous elements to the show (like Babs’ hairy legs) there are scores of jokes that can easily bypass you if you are only half watching it. In writing this review I watched the entire show again and picked up many more hilarious underlying jokes, perhaps not in what is being said, or seen, but merely what is being insinuated.

It certainly won’t appeal to people who are easily offended, or who don’t look further than what is actually being said. This show requires you to read between the lines and figure out some jokes for yourself, or indeed draw your own interpretations on what is going on if there appears to be no real meaning.

As I said before the show is certainly not politically correct, but I don’t think this is a bad reflection on the writers, I think they are merely sending up the people who tend to act in this way in real life. For example, there is a man who for one reason or another ends up talking to someone who has a disability. On one occasion he is talking to a man in a wheelchair and talks down to him. He proceeds to ask whether the man has a girlfriend, but then stops mid sentence as he finds it absolutely impossible to think that a disabled person could have a partner. He digs a larger hole for himself, talking about children and eventually artificial insemination ‘They can do things these days! Doctors! Come on, you at least have to try. You wouldn’t have to keep it!” I find these sketches absolutely hilarious but understandably some people may not. I do however enjoy the end of the conversation when the man in the wheelchair feels rather embarrassed for the foolish man and says ‘sorry I have to go, my wife is calling me’.


BEST BITS

Without giving away too much of the storyline I’d like to share my favourite moment from all the episodes.

It is the day of Mike’s wedding and Geoff is the best man. They are all gathered at the reception and everything is running smoothly. Geoff is dressed in a jester’s outfit and stands up to begin his best man speech. He begins with the standard jokes, belittling the groom in good humour, but of course it all seems to be in jest as they are close friends. However, as the speech progresses things appear to be turning a little sour. Geoff describes how he and Mike used to fool around so much in maths class to the point that they got split up. Everyone laughs but Geoff takes a more serious tone as he explains how he was moved to the remedial class. He goes on to explain that he and Mike worked for the same company after finishing school. Mike was soon headhunted and rose to the top to become Geoff’s boss.

Geoff’s anger boils up inside him and he launches a verbal attack on Mike. The room is silent as Geoff continues ranting. He blurts out that Mike slept with his fiancée Katie, and clearly Mike’s bride is devastated. He continues to recount a time in 1987 when both their mum’s were ill,

Geoff: “Mine, thank God she got better but yours, she died didn’t she Mike?”

Mike: (solemn gaze but no reply).

Geoff: (shouts directly at Mike) “DIDN’T SHE?!”

Mike: (whispers) “yeah”

Geoff: “Yeah. Your mum died and mine didn’t.”
(To Mike) “I won that.”
(To everyone) “At least I won the mums.”


VERDICT

If you failed to be offended by anything in this review then this program may well appeal to you. However, if you are easily offended or upset then it’s probably not for you. Personally I find the show absolutely hilarious almost from start to finish. The scenes that fail to amuse me are few and far between, and might I just add that I’m not an easy person to please in the comedy department.


WHERE CAN I SEE THIS FREAK SHOW?

Unfortunately it is not being shown on TV at the moment, as all three series and the Christmas Special have been aired on BBC2. You can buy The League of Gentlemen on video or DVD from most large video stores and they currently have all of them on Amazon at the moment for £15.99. The Christmas Special is £7.99 but is quite a rip off because although I believe it is an hour long it is only one episode on the DVD. Despite this I would still recommend it as the Christmas episode is like the key to unlock some of the mysteries of Royston Vasey as many secrets are revealed…………

For further information on The League of Gentlemen see their website at www.lofg.com


carly_pussycat - dooyoo UK ©

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