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League of Gentlemen: the Complete Collection
Reviewed by: Andrew
B & Tory Favro
Tory: As soon as
this boxed set arrived we ripped it open to start watching! The first
thing I need to say is that this is one good looking set. The booklet
style of holding the DVDs and the photography within would make it the
best-looking presentation of a DVD that I have ever seen (thus far – no
lie!). This boxed set holds within all three series of LoG and also the
Christmas special. If you consider yourself a fan of the series, you
really need to buy this asap or hint yourself silly in getting it for
Xmas.
League of
Gentlemen Series 1
Andrew B:
"A word of warning... if you are not a local, steer clear of the Local
Shop of Royston Vasey!"
The
League of Gentlemen, an extremely black comedy that is based in the
fictional isolated town of Royston Vasey finally arrives on DVD to the
cheers of fans or for those seeking a darker side to their order of
comedy. Easily one of the most ingenious comedy series of all time, The
League of Gentlemen is played by three extremely talented actors (Mark
Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith) who play every major role
in each episode. The characters themselves are extremely disturbing and
appear to each have a mental illness not to mention that there
appearances are quite grotesque.
The
first episode (entitled "Welcome to Royston Vasey") introduces
viewers to this bizarre English town when one of the towns former
inhabitants, Benjamin Denton arrives home to meet a few of his friends
for a hiking weekend. Dropped off at his uncle and aunts home by Babs
the preoperative transsexual cab driver, his weekend soon turns into a
strange experience that lets viewers know why he left this isolated town
in the first place. Whether it's the twisted inbred sadomasochists urine
infested local shop owners Edward and Tubbs Tattysrup, the Dentons and
their toad collection or the lovely Babs, the transsexual cabby, there
is a character for everyone in this strange series. The series plays
like a horror sitcom and as the episodes progress, viewers are slowly
introduced to more characters and the inner workings of Royston Vasey.
The
DVD is also littered with extras that include an audio-commentary by the
cast and how they developed these strange and wonderful characters from
initial character development to early stage performances. Not to
mention various character biographies, a photo gallery and 20 minutes of
unseen material that include a plethora of outtakes.
The
video quality of The League of Gentlemen Series 1 is flawless and
contains a 16:9 aspect ratio that even though it is an extremely dark
comedy, contains some exceptional picture quality and extremely sharp
colours. The only downside is that there is occasional artefacting
throughout the series but unfortunately this happens rarely.
The
League of Gentlemen the entire first series contains Dolby Digital 2.0
and is extremely clear and audible. Add a beautifully created music
score by composer John Talbot and you have a match made in comedy horror
heaven. This comedy may not be for everyone but if you are looking for
something different on your comedy menu, then The League of Gentlemen
may very well be for you.
Episode Listing
Episode 1
Welcome
to Royston Vasey
Episode
2
The
Road to Royston Vasey
Episode
3
Nightmare
in Royston Vasey
Episode
4
The
Beast of Royston Vasey
Episode
5
Love
Comes to Royston Vasey
Episode
6
Escape
from Royston Vasey
League of Gentlemen Series 2
Andrew
B
The
cult hit "The League of Gentlemen" returns with the complete second
series of this unusual black comedy. As with the previous season, the
series is based in the isolated town of Royston Vasey where nothing is
what it seems. In order for the creators to keep the series fresh and
interesting, they have introduced a variety of new characters such as
Papa Lazarou (who "guest starred" from season one), the bizarre Herr
Lipp and the Mayor of Royston Vasey. Fortunately the creators have also
kept our old favourites such as the Dentons and Mr. Chinnery to name a
few.
The
episodes have taken a darker twist since the first series (if that is
possible) as the first episodes starts with a visit from Papa Lazarou
and his circus that leads to one of the funniest nose bleeds in history
as just about everyone in Royston Vasey unexpectedly gets a nose bleed.
When the scariest freaks in the world (Papa Lazarou's circus) is scared
by the denizens of Royson Vasey, then you know something is extremely
messed up in this town.
The
comedy of The League of Gentlemen is at the best of times extremely
weird and is probably not suited to lovers of mainstream comedy. I loved
the first season of this strange black comedy but I found that season
two was generally a hit and miss. It appears that the creators have
tried to outdo themselves and unfortunately it didn't work too well.
Don't get me wrong, the show still had me in stitched but these were too
far and thin. To those that have never seen the League of Gentlemen, the
main characters in the town are played by three extremely talented
actors, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith.
As
with the previous DVD collection, the series also contains some
hilarious extras that include character biographies, cast commentary, a
photo gallery and over 20 minutes of unseen footage that must be seen to
be appreciated.
The
video quality of The League of Gentlemen the entire second series is
once against flawless and is shown in a 16:9 aspect ratio with
exceptionally clear and colourful picture quality. Unlike the previous
season, I found no traces of artefacting or any other DVD errors.
The
audio quality of the disc, although using Dolby Digital 2.0 has been
perfectly transferred to DVD without any problems such as lip syncing.
For a television made series, it comes across exceptionally clear and
add the music from John Talbot and you have a perfect addition to this
strange black comedy.
As
stated in the first season review, this comedy may not be for everyone
but if you are looking for something different on your comedy menu, then
The League of Gentlemen may very well be for you.
Episode Listing
-
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
League of Gentlemen Series 3
Andrew
B:
Uh
oh... those crazy residents from Royston Valley have returned and if you
thought series 1 and 2 were outrageous, then wait till you watch this
current incarnation. As with the previous series, three talented actors
(Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith) play almost the
entire population of Royston Valley with their acting chores divided
equally amongst themselves.
Although all three actors help with the writing and scripting of the
series, there is one more writer who has remains largely absent from the
ensemble as he prefers to remain anonymous... or his acting abilities
are too poor. For those that have never watched the series, the series
is based in a remote fictional English town called Royston Valley that
contains the strangest denizens of the United Kingdom.
Many
of the old inhabitants make a welcomed return in series 3 such as the
sadomasochists local shop owners Edward and Tubbs Tattysrup with a
variety of extremely entertaining and disturbing new comers.
As
each series of the League of Gentlemen progresses, the writers just get
more and more bizarre and probably two of the most enjoyable episodes
was episode one when the extremely repulsive Pauline discovers she is
pregnant and episode 5 that has Charlie and Judy open a massage parlour
called Spit and Polish.
It
should also be noted that this series is indeed black comedy and people
who are easily upset or disgusted should shy away from this disturbing
yet entertaining series. As with the previous series, the comedy of the
League of Gentlemen goes up and down from moments of side-splitting
laughter to a few chuckles here and there.
The
video quality of the disc is presented in a ratio 1.78:1 with above
average picture quality. The images are sharp, with the colours being
vibrant and bright. Apart from that, there were no major DVD errors that
I noticed during the viewing of this series.
The
audio quality is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo and the audio
sounds extremely clear and audible. Once again Joby Talbot lends his
musical talents to the main theme of the series that really gives me the
creeps during the introduction of each episode. Talbot also composes the
music during the episodes with his unique style of music that goes hand
in hand with the humour of this series.
The
League of Gentlemen series 3 contains some of the most hilarious extras
that I have seen in a long time that include audio commentary for each
episode, Easter eggs, deleted scenes and an in-depth interview with
costume designer Yves Barre.
This
series may not be for everyone but if you are after pure British comedy
without the taste of America than I would recommend you hire or buy this
series. The comedy is indeed black but was extremely entertaining for
this viewer.
Episode 1: The Lesbian and the Monkey
*
Episode 2: The One Armed Man is King
*
Episode 3: Turn Against Geoff Tipps
*
Episode 4: The Medusa Touch
*
Episode 5: Beauty and the Beast
*
Episode 6: How the Elephant got its Trunk
Tory
Favro:
And to
round off the equation we have the Christmas special that really has to
be seen to be believed. I really don’t want to spoil too much here but
the series is well worth the watch and the Christmas special is the
icing on the cake. Add to that the extras that are on the disc and you
have yourself a boxed set that simply is too delicious to be ignored. |
