The UK's finest comedy show.

kdidymus

Not since the days of Fawlty Towers have we (the UK) had more reason to be proud of our contribution to television comedy.

The League of Gentlemen (LOG for short) gained notoriety several weeks before its first screening. I sat down to watch the first episode back in 1999 and half an hour later my sides still hurt.

Not only are the characters believable (er, actually with the possible exception of Papa Lazarou) but the attention to detail is breathtaking. For weeks after the first episode was screened I heard echoes of the catchphrases wherever I went. Sure the humour wears off slightly after the umpteenth viewing but then who can honestly say Fawlty Towers is still as funny as when you first saw it? What gives the LOG lastability is that every time you watch it you notice things you didn't see before.

The truth is, we all live in Royston Vasey (which in case you didn't know is the real name of UK comic Roy "Chubby" Brown). Next time you go shopping, gaze through the window of your local charity shop. You see those two old ladies' with a fixation on carrier bags? Don't they ring any bells? Next time you go to the pub, isn't there a little man with a permed hair cut cracking awful jokes? Probably. Most of the characters are based on people the writers encountered at some time. That's what makes the comedy so refreshing. We can all relate to the LOG.

Harvey Denton with his penchant for toads and neatness, the Denton twins who bear a striking resemblance to the Grady girls in The Shining, Pauline who is as strange a re-start officer as any you'll find at your local job centre and Doctor Chinnery, the local vet who is, well, crap. They're all in there.

I've spoken to people from the USA who love the show. There are parts they don't understand but that's because LOG is a very English comedy. If you've never seen it, get yourself down to Blockbuster and hire it. If you have breath in your body I promise you won't be disappointed. Open your mind, sit back and relax. If you thought YOUR town was strange, wait until you've seen Royston Vasey. You'll never leave!

score /10

kdidymus 23 January 2002

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0622031/