League of Gentlemen: Series Four

[Marv Orange]

I also thought the film was a mess.  Characters coming into the real world is always frought with difficulties because of course it's still in a fictional context, but the characters are acknowledging their own ficticiousness.  Or something.  Basicly, suspension of disbelief is inevitably lost.  I also felt that it the film didn't seem to know exactly where it was going or what it was supposed to be.  It did have some good bits in it though.

Not to mention that they spent time introducing and following non RV characters which I doubt anyone wanted to see. Plus a god awful ending.

[SagarFish]

"I didn't find series 1 and 2 to be too compromised between dark and trad - I thought they got the tone just right. But series 3 just seemed too dark at the expense of actual jokes. That said, all this talk has made me want to watch it again. It was certainly helluva lot more interesting and worthwhile than any other comedy at the time or since."

I agree with all that.

Went to see them live and thought it was a bit lazy though to be honest, most of the time it was exactly the same sketches done on stage, whereas I didn't think I was asking too much for something a little new, seens as 99% of the audience had seen it all before

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Yeah, the live show was a massive let down, even by the standard of most TV-to-stage transitions. Having been so impressed with the attention to detail on the TV shows and in the spin-off book - which in the tradition of old comedy books was entirely full of all new material - I thought they would do the same live.

The live show was the first sign in my eyes that they might be playing to the galley (or is it gallery, I'm never sure?) rather than going with their instinct. While I completely understand that a live show should use some of the characters and situations which the audience recognise, it's still a bit fucking rich to ask them to shell out to see the same old sketches re-done, only with less subtlety*

EDIT: * Oh, Python already did that didn't they? Maybe LOG simply thought they were following in the same grand tradition.

[Jemble Fred]

'People with pure comedy running through their veins' = people who want to make comedy for its own sake, and see it as an end-in-itself artform. Unlike, say, Alison Jackson, where humour is just one component of her work.

I never really felt LoG lived and breathed comedy - the comedy content always seemed secondary to the horror/cinematic aspect.

No, I don't feel that at all.

Yes, I have to admit that LoG always seemed to me to be quite passionate comedy spods, with as much knowledge and good taste in comedy as they have in horror films and cult TV etc.

[variant]

Gatiss was on puffing his new book

What was said about the new book? I take it this is the Vesuvius Club follow-up?

For the record I loved S1 & 2, thought S3 and the film were Ok and expected nothing more or less from the stage shows (better than most Bottom efforts, not as good as the Mighty Boosh show, believe it or not).

I think the Christams Special is the best thing they've done.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I think the Christams Special is the best thing they've done.

Agreed. It's close to perfection. One of the most consistently brilliant pieces of comedy of the last twenty years.

[asv]

Gatiss was on puffing his new book

What was said about the new book? I take it this is the Vesuvius Club follow-up?

Was indeed the follow-up discussed in Mayo's book-group section, seemed to have gone down very well.  I always fancied picking up that first one, I presume its worth checking it out?  Mayo does a podcast (The Daily Mayo, hilarious title) on which the discussion might be, think Five Live do a listen again as well (but not 100% sure).

[Ja'moke]

It reminded me why they irritated me from the start.

Why were you irritated by them from the start? I remember thinking, before I'd seen or heard any of their material, that in their tuxedos they looked like a bunch of smug Oxbridge twats - exactly the sort of thing that gives the Edinburgh Fringe a bad name.

But then I heard the radio series and ate my preconceptions with a large family tub of humble pie.

Reece Sheersmith used to go to the same school that I went to (not at the same time) here in Hull and the school is really not that good and doesn't have a great reputation and its impossible for anyone that went or goes there to become smug I reckon, if so that smugness would be beaten out of you if not by the other kids then by the teachers lol, but I can see where people would get that impression from them, as you said in their tuxedos and that. Also Reece's Mum goes in the local pub around here and my Dad's talked to her a couple of times...that's my claim to fame lol.

[variant]

I presume its worth checking it out

The Vesuvius Club is definitely worth a read. A comedy-spy-horror is how best to describe I suppose. Lots of Oscar Wilde type moments. Pushses suspension-of-disbelief a little bit too far by the end.

Aaww I'm crap at reviewing stuff. So, I'll just say 'Yes, I enjoyed and am looking forward to the next one.'

[purlieu]

I think the Christams Special is the best thing they've done.

Agreed. It's close to perfection. One of the most consistently brilliant pieces of comedy of the last twenty years.

This is interesting, as I really don't enjoy it at all (in fact I'd forgotten about it until these posts).

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Really? I thought they reached the peaks of their powers with that special.

The Herr Lipp/vampire story is great, but the final Victorian tale with Chinnery's veterinary ancestor and a bonkers Freddie Francis is a beautiful piece of work. Even Lazarou popping up at the end worked as a nice creepy climax.

Nah, I really do think it's wonderful.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Yup - the Christmas special is fantastic (despite pulling a Lazarou by pulling a Lazarou).

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

They only pulled a little Lazarou.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Average Friday night in Royston Vasey..

[rupert pupkin]

Really? I thought they reached the peaks of their powers with that special.

The Herr Lipp/vampire story is great, but the final Victorian tale with Chinnery's veterinary ancestor and a bonkers Freddie Francis is a beautiful piece of work. Even Lazarou popping up at the end worked as a nice creepy climax.

Nah, I really do think it's wonderful.

Me too – creepy and funny, which is a bloody difficult trick to pull off.

[purlieu]

Heh, fair enough.  I do like the Chinnery one, but the other two bore the fuck out of me.

[Monkeyman1138]

I love series 3 and really like the movie, surely I'm not alone.

Chalk me up as another one with the same opinion.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

I liked the third series, but thought the film was crap for the usual reasons.

[Ja'moke]

I didn't mind the film, but The League Of Gentlemen Are Behind You Live Show was much better as it was mainly new material and had some of the more minor characters making appearances such as the Doctor that likes treating patients by playing childish games and also Dean Tavoularis who is a great character.

[depressed beyond tablets]

I haven't seen the film and i have no urge to see it. I just reckon i'll be disappointed. It's an entirely different format with 'greater forces' behind it. I love their work because i think the characters have great depth. This makes up for the lack of certain vocal abilities.

[BJB]

Which certain vocal abilites are you refering to?

[Entropy Balsmalch]

The problem for me with them has been they lost track of why they were good.

Basically, they wrote some very good sketches which when played out on screen for the first series where done with enough just grotesque to make them stand out from the rest but with enough slapstick not to make it too dark.

The first series, like the radio series before it, was just that - a series of sketches tied cleverly together with a vague link to give a series a sort of narrative drive.

However, from here on in they went downhill for this very reason - they to believe in the characters as something more than just two dimensional sketch architypes.

Series two showed tones of this, but still managed to hold it together - although mostly because they still had a vast bank of old sketches from the radio and before to fit in.

The Christmas Special was certainly more plot-centric than the previous two efforts, but held it together because those plots only had to last 20 minutes or so.

But in series 3 and most evidently in the film, their desperate attempts to creative a solid narrative meant the comedy was taking a back seat - the problem is, they couldn't do it in the confines of the series.

The film reeks of desperation and in fact revolves around their inability to write a proper screenplay - dipping in and out of the sort of post-modern kak film students turn out all the time.

I also agree with La La about finding them insufferable.

I came to the TV series with no prior knowledge of them and enjoyed series one greatly.

Upon buying the DVD and listening to the commentary though I began to loathe them.

I'd never heard such a bunch of self-congratulatory luvies backslapping and praising each others performances in the most stomach churning way.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Upon buying the DVD and listening to the commentary though I began to loathe them. I'd never heard such a bunch of self-congratulatory luvies backslapping and praising each others performances in the most stomach churning way.

This, sadly, is all too true. I remember being quite excited about listening to their commentaries, but I was already bristling with irritation by the end of the 1st episode.

I sincerely advise any LOG fans who haven't heard the commentaries to avoid them if you can, as they may well put you off for good.

By the way, Entropy, I agree with absolutely everything you said there. The problems of LOG in a nut-sac.

[depressed beyond tablets]

Which certain vocal abilites are you refering to?

Reece Shearsmith.

Any chance those commentaries are a pisstake?

[jennifer]

I think the commentaries are great, loads in there for 'fans', I genuinely don't know what you're on about

[samadriel]

Ditto -- I don't recall the commentaries being particularly egregious (no reference intended).  As for 'limited vocal qualities', I'd probably pin that'n on Gatiss, if any of them, considering that the 'Maxi Power' kid was basically Mickey with better grammar (actually, I thought perhaps was supposed to be one of Mickey's previously-unseen brothers; dunno though), and Geoff's club-owner contact in London was essentially the joke shop fella in a yellow t-shirt.

[Godzilla Bankrolls]

Gatiss has the greatest vocal range, shurely? He did Anthony Hopkins and Greg Evigan for TMWRNJ and his voiceover work isn't always instantly recognisable. Pemberton, on the other hand...

[samadriel]

Point, point.  I'm not down on any of them, in particular.  I do hope they have something decent left in them, 'cos I loved the majority of LoG to pieces, and it'd be great to see something fresh from 'em.  Lightning rarely strikes twice though...

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I think the commentaries are great, loads in there for 'fans', I genuinely don't know what you're on about

You don't think they come across as smug and self-congratulatory? I appreciate that when you get a bunch of writers and actors together to watch their own stuff, of course they're going to rabbit on about themselves (that's what commentaries are for, after all) but rarely have I heard such a self-satisfied commentary. Yes, there is a lot of interesting stuff in there for the fans, but it's off-set by their intolerable smugness. And I really like LOG too.

[DJ One Record]

Gatiss has the greatest vocal range, shurely? He did Anthony Hopkins and Greg Evigan for TMWRNJ and his voiceover work isn't always instantly recognisable.

He did David Attenborough as well in Shaun Of The Dead - "...eaten alive..."

You don't think they come across as smug and self-congratulatory? I appreciate that when you get a bunch of writers and actors together to watch their own stuff, of course they're going to rabbit on about themselves (that's what commentaries are for, after all) but rarely have I heard such a self-satisfied commentary. Yes, there is a lot of interesting stuff in there for the fans, but it's off-set by their intolerable smugness. And I really like LOG too.

Are they sort of along the same lines as the Spaced commentaries where almost every single comment about an aspect of the show is prefaced with "I like" or "I love" by any chance?