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Old 09-24-2007, 07:17 AM
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psychooralien psychooralien is offline
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"The League of Gentlemen"

If you haven't encountered the League of gentlemen before *whats wrong with you*?? In short, its like what would happen if Kids in the Hall performed Twin Peaks playing all the characters (Mark as Log Lady or Bruce as Nadine the eye patch lady). And all this set in the moorland backwaters of Northern England much beloved by previous writers like James Herriot or The Brontes. The show has also been described as Twin Peaks-Mervyn Peake-Peak Practise which is also apt. You don't have to come from Northern England (like me) to 'get it' - most jokes are universal to those with similar senses of humour.

Anyway - the story is as follows. the League are Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith and Jeremy Dyson (writer who does not perform). The show started out at Edinburgh fringe (where it won the Perrier award), then BBC Radio 4 and then on to BBC TV. The 3 series so far follow the lives of various residents of Royston Vasey, the town you will never leave. All characters (male and female) are performed by Gatiss/Shearsmith/Pemberton.

this is an amazing feat and shows the versatility and talent of each performer.

Characters include a homicidal snub-nosed couple who run a local shop, a bigoted vicar, a lesbian ex-con once proud restart officer and an inept vet with strong shades of that Herriot creation Tristan Farnham amongst others. Papa Lazarou is one of the most enduring creations - he is like a bizarre hybrid of a black & white minstrel, Jerry Sadowitz, Pennywise from IT and a white-slave-trader. The show is also a must for any fan of horror and cult movies as the references to classics like "The Wicker Man", "Don't Look Now", "the Jungle Book", "The Railway Children" and more humble fare like 80s kids show "Pipkins" will keep film fans eager and happy for a long time. Above all its very funny and very clever - from visual jokes (animal face painting and draining the swede being favourites) to subtle in-depth homage (the portmanteau style of Xmas special echoes Amicus classics like "Asylum")

Series one and two followed a similar pattern whilst the Gents departed with form and took a brave step with series 3 making some dramatic changes. The Xmas special was perhaps key in this change also. Gone were some old favourite characters and new ones were introduced. Episode formula was less sketch driven and story lines were longer. And also a new theme tune was introduced with shades of "Scheulmadchen report" with it grooviness. But some 'fans' hated the changes (dullards) because they broke with the norm and indicated a bold change in direction. I personally **love** the new changes(like a lot of fans) and think that Series 3 contains some of the best work done so far. Thank god they got rid of the laughter track!!!!! Kudos to the guys for not being formulaic and always challenging expectations and actually *thinking* about what to bring along next. The work is thus fresh, complex and keeps you on your toes. Hooray to that as there is nowt as bad as stale comedy.
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Old 09-24-2007, 08:46 AM
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love this show..... seen them live and met them. they rule!!!!


i dress up as for Christmas as tubbs.... :D
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Old 09-24-2007, 08:56 AM
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love this show..... seen them live and met them. they rule!!!!


i dress up as for Christmas as tubbs.... :D

Do they ever do live shows these days?


I thought I caught them doing a radio show a few months ago, but I didn't hear it all, do they ever do radio?
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Old 09-24-2007, 09:39 AM
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they started on radio


i saw the christmas show they did around the time of the film




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Last edited by the_real_linda; 09-24-2007 at 09:43 AM.
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Old 09-24-2007, 09:43 AM
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they started on radio


i saw the christmas show they did around the time of the film
I know they started on radio, but do they still get played on radio?
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Old 09-24-2007, 09:55 AM
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probably on some bbc station like 7 or something and bbc radio 2 used to have comedy on a sat afternoon......... but i aint listened in ages


they could be on the bbc website somewhere i guess
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Old 10-05-2007, 02:35 PM
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i think british sitcoms are overlooked by a lot of the rest of the world but I do not know why. They are far superior to anything else. And the LOG is a classic aeroplane programme. As is the simpsons, the office and now, little britain.
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Old 10-14-2007, 06:58 AM
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I honestly think this show should burn.

I was forced to sit through an episode a few years back and I just don't see whats so good about it.
I mean what it is...a buncha old fat men pretending to be chicks right? I wasn't paying much attention to it at the time.
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