The League Of Gentlemen - Series 4 Review (2017)

Written by Jeremy Dyson And Mark Gatiss And Steve Pemberton And Reece Shearsmith 

Directed by Steve Bendelack 

Benjamin: "You know, Aunty Val. Sometimes you can't go back."

Val: "I know. I know."

Benjamin: "But you can visit."

Val: "Yes, you can visit."

It's a bit odd that these series of specials came out when they did. They were two years too early to commemorate the show's 20th anniversary but at the same time, it was also 15 years after the series had ended. Excluding the movie, which these specials don't acknowledge. 

At the time both Shearsmith and Pemberton had put out three full series of Inside No. 9 and Gatiss had completed work on both Sherlock and Doctor Who. To revisit this series with these specials was a way of giving audiences one last hurrah for many of the characters that stoked opinions.

First of all there was Reverend Bernice Wooddall, who had now become Mayor of Royston Vasey after brokering a deal with Papa Lazarou for her freedom (and other characters). Of course that freedom came at a cost with a spate of new disappearances getting more and more noticed.

Oh and then there was possible disappearance of Royston Vasey itself. There were plans to merge the village into a bigger and local xenophobes Edward and Tubbs had no problem holding a journalist (Lyndsey Marshal) and council worker (Gatiss) hostage in order to prevent such a thing. Let's just say the ending for the hostage wasn't particular pleasant for the negotiator (David Morrissey).

As for other stories in this three part event, poor Pauline was suffering from dementia with both Mickey and Ross trying to help her. Then there was the hapless Geoff killing Pauline by mistaking her for Mike's wife, Cheryl. Not a great way for Pauline to go.

Other than that, the creepy Pops returned to antagonise both of his sons, played by Gatiss and Shearsmith as well as his daughter in law (Sian Gibson) but he got a deserved comeuppance of his own. As for the Dentons, Harvey died and Val and the twins used Benjamin as a vessel for Harvey until they realised they preferred Harvey being dead. 

- Episode titles for this series were Return To Royston Vasey, Save Royston Vasey and Royston Vasey Mon Amour.

- Victims of the Wife Mine included Iris and Tubbs. Papa Lazarou was wisely relegated to a very brief cameo.

- Chinnery still inadvertently kills animals, Barbara was militant in their activism, Les McQueen ran a floor polishing business and Legs Akimbo were no more with Ollie relegated to being a teacher for Year 9.

- Charlie was shown to be in a relationship with a man named Gordon (Gatiss) while Stella had an abusive toy boy lover named Scott.

- Mickey was aware of Pauline and Ross having sex and even joked about it. Pauline nearly broke Ross's jaw when her memories were being triggered.

- Chronology: Several years since the events of the third series. Bernice in particular had aged a bit.

As a group of specials, this was a good bunch of episodes. I don't think we needed them as such but it was a nice revisit of a show that while still funny in large parts, has not aged well in others. Now I just have to go and revisit another show from this particular team.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of The League Of Gentlemen's Apocalypse (2005)

Written by Jeremy Dyson And Mark Gatiss And Steve Pemberton And Reece Shearsmith 

Directed by Steve Bendelack 

Bernice: "The League of Gentlemen! Extraordinary!"

After blitzing through the first three series in a week, it was time to see the antics of Royston Vasey on the big screen, lol. Yes, this show was popular enough at the time that a movie was the logical step to go.

Given the bizarre nature of the show itself, of course the movie would also have to take a similarly wild turn of events. What would happen if the real world and the fictional world of Royston Vasey clashed? Or more specifically if the writers just gave up on their grotesque creations?

We opened with poor Jeremy Dyson (Michael Sheen) being terrorised by Edward (Reece Shearsmith) and Tubbs (Steve Pemberton) before getting scared off a cliff by a more milder Papa Lazarou (Shearsmith). Yup, these three have entered the real world on a mission and they're not the only ones.

With a prophecy of impending destruction for Royston Vasey, Reverend Bernice (Shearsmith), Pauline (Pemberton) and Chinnery (Mark Gatiss) are willing to enter the portal to avert the apocalypse. However it's Geoff (Shearsmith), Her Lipp (Pemberton) and Hilary Briss (Gatiss) that get in there first and they're even more determined to save themselves.

There's kidnapping Steve Pemberton himself with Her Lipp impersonating the former to his family while Geoff found himself wanting to be the hero in The League's new project, The King's Evil. There's fun to be had with this plot as the main characters in that horror historical all had to make sacrifices to Dr Erasmus Pea (David Warner). They're also turned into a gnarly looking three headed demon for good measure.

The third act then had the most fun with Pemberton, Shearsmith and Gatiss all getting killed off in comically gruesome ways while the likes of Geoff, Chinnery, Herr Lipp and company all had to make a stand against Pea and save their very existence. There's a happy ending of sorts with free will bring afforded to these characters and the lines between reality and meta eventually concluded.

- Jeremy Dyson did survive and everyone got tails as a result. It was something he had mentioned at the start of the movie.

- Unexpected couple alert with Reverend Bernice and Pauline. I wish we had seen more of them tbh.

- There's some nice roles for Victoria Wood, Liam Cunningham, Simon Pegg and Peter Kay in this movie.

- Chronology: An unspecified time since the events of the Series 3 finale. 

The League Of Gentlemen's Apocalypse certainly had a lot of fun with the meta and while some characters were evidently neutered for the big screen (Papa Lazarou and Herr Lipp), overall this was a fun outing for this world. I had a good time with this one. 

Rating: 7 out of 10 

The League Of Gentlemen - Series 3 Review (2002)

 

Written by Jeremy Dyson And Mark Gatiss And Steve Pemberton And Reece Shearsmith 

Directed by Steve Bendelack 

Pauline: "Why are you doing this to me, Ross?"

Ross: "Because you made me hate my job."

At the time of airing, this really was the last stop at Royston Vasey and it had a story that be shown from multiple viewpoints before it's inevitable conclusion. Each episode looking into a different group of characters.

The first one saw former Restart officer Pauline getting out of prison and bunking up with the hapless Mickey. Despite being a lesbian, the two actually get together and their happiness was threatened by a vengeful Ross, who wanted to destroy both Mickey and Pauline. By the time we get to the last episode, he had a change of heart on the matter.

The second episode then put the focus on cruel joke shop owner Lance Longthorn (Gatiss) getting a woman's hand and finding it having a mind of it's own, which drove him mad. However it did lead to an act of unexpected heroism and another character avoiding death.

The third episode focused on the eternally angry Geoff (Shearsmith) changing careers but suffering massive facial disfigurement while Legz Akimbo tried to expand their very small audience with little success. There's also an annoying friend of Phil's added into the mix that even he ditched by the end of this one.

The fourth episode had the put upon Alvin excuse himself from his wife's sex party, just so he could spend time with his mistress, Judith (Shearsmith) at the garden centre. Add a sex game gone wrong and appearance from Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen resulting in mayhem and this was an enjoyable one.

I think the second half of this series had the better episodes with the penultimate episode having both Charlie and Judee setting up a massage parlour and the former falling in love with Tony while the latter fancied him. 

The last episode saw the return of Papa Lazarou, posing as charity shop worker Keith, who enjoyed tormenting Reenie and the unfortunate Brian. His great scheme did leave a bit to be desired but the series did end on a bittersweet note with some characters getting a happy ending and others being trapped inside circus animals. 

- Episode titles included The Lesbian And The Monkey, The One-Armed Man Is King, Turn Again Geoff Tipps, The Medusa Touch, Beauty And The Beast (Or Come Into My Parlour) and How The Elephant Got It's Trunk.

- Doctor Who fans got to see Christopher Eccleston in the last episode as Dougal  Siepp, who was opening a cat cinema.

- Characters like the Dentons, Edward and Tubbs and Reverend Bernice Wooddall are either missing or are very briefly seen in this series.

- I liked the debt collector characters who popped up in the second episode. Wish we had seen a little more of them.

- Barbara ended the series by giving birth to twins while Alvin and Judith got away with burying several bodies.

- Chronology: Nearly a year since the events of the Christmas special.

Honestly had we not gotten a movie and a few specials, this really would've served as a good ending for this series. Nearly everything got wrapped up enough with most characters while the rest got the macabre fate they did. 

Rating: 7 out of 10 

The League Of Gentlemen - Series 2 + Christmas Special Review (2000)

 

Written by Jeremy Dyson And Mark Gatiss And Steve Pemberton And Reece Shearsmith

Directed by Steve Bendelack 

Papa Lazarou: "You're my wife now."

Ah, it's the second series of this surreal and grotesque comedy series that probably introduced one of the show's most infamous and aged badly of characters.

Yes, I'm talking of wife collecting carnie minstrel Papa Lazarou (Shearsmith) and while the character's appearances are actually fewer than expected, there's no denying it's left an impression for better or worse. Frankly it's not a character that you'd get away with these days and for good reason.

Anyways, Lazarou and his creepy circus rocked up in Royston Vasey and even they weren't the strangest thing about this second series. Nope, a strange case of the residents getting nosebleeds attributed to creepy butcher Hilary Briss (Gatiss) along with the poor deformed David (Gatiss) seemed to get the villagers backs up more than the wife stealing minstrel.

Then there's the predatory German "vampire" Herr Lipp (Pemberton) who set his sights on unfortunate school boy Justin (Blake Ritson) and didn't take too kindly to the latter rejecting him. Again, Herr Lipp's another character that would definitely not work for today's environment. Even I cringed watching those scenes yet.

And what of the characters from the previous series? Poor Barbara had a faulty sex change but became a bride to the beastly David with Edward and Tubbs taking her when they couldn't get anyone else. Not that Barbara got to enjoy her honeymoon thanks to the extremely paranoid locals.

Then there was Pauline's fall from Restart grace. Humiliated by her callous replacement Cathy Carter Smith (Shearsmith), unable to cut it in the fast food industry and clearly not great at holding the officious Ross hostage either. Still, there's something oddly endearing about her friendship with Mickey. Just give the poor lad his fire engine.

As for the Dentons, tormenting Benjamin was their only goal but they came afoul of both their victim and creepy twin daughters. Married couple Stella (Shearsmith) and Charlie (Pemberton) enjoyed tearing each other apart as did Iris and Judee Levinson. The reveal of their real connection did seem like they were going an EastEnders type of moment. 

The highlight of this second series would be the ghoulishly delightful Christmas special. The episode gave major roles to foul mouthed Reverend Bernice Wooddall and the unfortunate vet Matthew Chinnery. It's complete with some great flashbacks along with a last minute attempt of a redemption story of sorts for Herr Lipp. It's a shame it's the only Christmas special because it's so good and the best episode in the entire series.

- Episodes titles were Destination: Royston Vasey, Lust For Royston Vasey, A Plague On Royston Vasey, Death In Royston Vasey, Anarchy In Royston Vasey, Royston Vasey And The Monster From Hell and Yule Never Leave.

- Other recurring characters included charity shop workers Vinnie (Shearsmith) and Reeny (Pemberton). Less sucessful characters included Pamela Doove (Shearsmith) and letchy landlord Pop (Pemberton).

- We were also introduced to bondage loving couple Alvin (Gatiss) and Sunnier Steele (Chrissie Furness).

- Roy Chubby Brown (real name Royston Vasey) appeared in one episode as the village Mayor.

- We learned that Hilary Briss was married to a cow before he fled Royston Vasey.

- Chronology: Not long from where the end of the first series left off.

This second series definitely had some fun moments in spite of some very outdated characters. I did like the arc with the nosebleeds and the Christmas special was the best part of this series.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

The League Of Gentlemen - Series 1 Review (1999)

 

Written by Jeremy Dyson And Mark Gatiss And Steve Pemberton And Reece Shearsmith

Directed by Steve Bendelack

Tubbs: "This is a local shop for local people. There's nothing for you here."

Earlier this year I watched all nine series of Inside No. 9 (the best thing that Shearsmith/Pemberton have done for BBC2) and with spooky season approaching, I wanted to go further back with their other shows. Starting of course with this one, which they created along with Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson, the latter who doesn't act in this.

It's a show that truthfully has not totally aged well with certain character choices that would be poorly looked upon in a 2024 setting. However back in 1999, there was something rather subversive about this surreal but grotesque comedy series.

Playing a vast array of oddball characters, Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton certainly delivered some great performances with some of the most ghastly comedy creations. You would not want to live in Royston Vasey and you certainly wouldn't want to interact with the majority of the locals either.

The characters themselves are many with Gatiss, Shearsmith and Pemberton alternating between multiple roles, so breaking things down, I'm going to look at each actor and the characters of note. I'll mention other characters in my notes but here goes nothing.

Starting off with Mark Gatiss, the best characters in this first series include the well intentioned but accident prone vet Matthew Chinnery (animals don't live long when he's around), randy council estate cleaner, Iris, neat freak Val Denton and lovable but daft and unemployed Mickey M. Michaels. By far, they're the best characters of his in this first series.

As for Reece Shearsmith he's got undercover inspector Ross Gaines, the constantly bamboozled Benjamin, uppity Judee Levinson and the foul mother Reverend Bernice Wooddall. The latter especially taking the utmost delight in terrorising children and casting doubt in soon to be married couples. There's also local shop owner Edward Tattsyrup and his aversion to Royston Vassey having any sort of progress in it. 

Then there's Steve Pemberton. He often formed a great duo with Shearsmith and playing the week willed Tulip "Tubbs" Tattsyrup to Edward made for a great dynamic. I do think his best roles are vicious Restart officer Pauline Campbell-Jones, Val's toad obsessed husband Harvey and even trans taxi driver Barbara, who ended the series in Chinnery's care. 

In between these array of characters, there's constant reminders of Royston Vasey having some dark secrets, including many guest character deaths, creepy twin girls, a love cheat being strung up as a scarecrow. Yeah, it's a place you really don't want to live in.

- Episode titles were Welcome To Royston Vasey, The Road To Royston Vasey, Nightmare In Royston Vasey, The Beast Of Royston Vasey, Love Comes To Royston Vasey and Escape From Royston Vasey.

- Other characters included Shearsmith, Pemberton and Gatiss as quarrelling business friends Geoff, Mike and Brian as well as theatre company Legz Akimbo.

- Nowadays there's a content warning at the start of each episode, though Netflix removed the series in 2020, due to a certain character introduced in the second series.

- Influences for the show included a local asylum as well as places in East Sussex and County Durham.

- Jeremy Dyson does make a few cameos throughout the series, despite not being an actor.

- Chronology: It's a very timeless sort of show in a way. Almost like it's in a world of it's own.

This first series has not aged too well but there are definitely still some rather funny moments throughout the series if you're not too squeamish. For the most part, each episode does seem standalone with only a trickle of an overall arc in there.

Rating: 8 out of 10