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League of Gentlemen Series 2 (2 disc set) [1999]

RRP: £19.99
Our Price: £12.60 (subject to change)

Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

The three young comedians known collectively as The League of Gentlemen develop their unique comic-grotesque creations still further in this second series. Helped by elaborate makeup, Mark Gattis, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith throw themselves into their many disguises with unbounded enthusiasm. What is even more impressive is that, together with co-writer Jeremy Dyson, the Gentlemen manage to locate these alarming characters within coherent story arcs that interlock over the course of a series as well as inside the individual six episodes. Here we have the apparently inexplicable plague of fatal nosebleeds that affects the remote Northern town of Royston Vasey, the attempts of the incestuous shopkeepers Edward and Tubbs to find a bride for their monstrous offspring, the misadventures of some lost plastics salesmen, and the hostage crisis at the local Restart centre. Achingly funny and entirely disturbing, this is comedy less dependent on brilliant one-liners than on recognisable yet distorted situations. One-off creations like Papa Lazarou's sinister circus or the patronising theatre group Legz Akimbo are as fine as the sustained characterisation of the anal toad-obsessed Denton family. --Roz Kaveney

On the DVD: the first disc contains Season 2's six episodes complete with commentary from the four Gentlemen themselves. It's equally as fun and fascinating as their commentary for the first season and reveals many of the hidden movie references and in-jokes that would otherwise be missed. The second disc has a 30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary made for the BBC, plus a series of outtakes and alternative versions of certain scenes. Also included is Creme Brulee's "Vodoo Lady" in its glorious entirety, a singalong version of the Dentons' house-cleaning song and excerpts from Joby Talbot's comic-Gothic score. There are text features on the "Local People", a scrapbook of location photographs, and Royston Vasey's Territorial Army recruiting poster. Spreading it all across two discs seems a little on the stingy side, however. --Mark Walker

Did the plan work, Edward?
Review date: 2006-12-20 Rating: 10 out of 10

Never, in any comedy show I have ever watched, has a character so utterly sinister and yet so deeply hilarious as Papa Lazarou made such an impact with such little screen time. The first episode, when the circus comes to town and women are carted off with cries of "Dave... you're my wife now!" is comic perfection of the highest order. I laughed my bum off.

The League of Gentlemen are back, and this time they crank up the creepy lever a couple of notches. They find new ways to kill animals in spectacularly violent, explosive ways. They find new 'issues' to write plays for the kids about. And they throw in some plot lines.

The plot, such as it is, has several strands and runs throughout the series. There's the fatal nosebleed epidemic, which initially seems to have been brought on by the arrival of Papa Lazarou but in fact has another, more 'local' source. Then there's Tubbs' and Edward's attempts to find a 'no-tail' for their half-beast son David, including a trip to a supermarket in a stolen rural ambulance and ultimately an alliance with botched transsexual Barbara. Pauline is back, plumbing the depths of despair after being fired from Restart and trying, with the help of Mickey, to get back on her feet. And melodramatic middle-class beauty salon owner Judy Levinson reveals just how close she and her maid Iris are...

Whilst the first series of League of Gentlemen is rightly considered a classic, it's the second - and in fact the third - which rank as the quartet's masterpieces. Characters are given the kind of depth that Little Britain just cannot even get near; and the writers are not afraid of killing off major characters to change the 'scenery' every so often. In fact, by the end of series two, several major characters have been axed - leaving space for a new batch in series three.

The genius of Royston Vasey is in just how beautifully it is all stitched together. In some respects it follows a sitcom format (and characters tend to stay within their own set-ups - Judy Levinson never meets Bernice, for example - mainly because they're played by the same actor!), but because the characters and plotlines are all interlinked, the viewer is given a sense of a wider environment in which everything is happening.

Watch the second and third series back to back, if you have a spare day (and aren't susceptible to nightmares) - it will pay you back again and again.

Reviews

We didn't burn him!
Review date: 2006-01-08 Rating: 10 out of 10

Brilliant stuff one of the best comedies around. Well worth buying as it will keep you entertained for a long time and you will be quoting a lot of it to your pals who won't have a clue what you're talking about if they havn't seen it but if they have they will laugh. There are deleted scenes, cast commentaries and a documentary on the show included in this dvd on a second disk. Great comedy.

Brilliant
Review date: 2005-08-01 Rating: 10 out of 10

Amazing

Tell them the circus is coming to town!
Review date: 2005-07-26 Rating: 10 out of 10

As original and darkly funny the first series of The League of Gentlemen was back in 1999 (written by Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith and starring the latter three in all the main roles), there was a standard set for this weird comedy and its future series. Luckily, the second series made in 2000 not only matches this standard, it goes beyond it.

Whereas the first series had the ongoing plot of a new road being built through Royston Vasey, this time there is an even darker story of a sinister and deadly nosebleed epidemic claiming innocent lives, and Hilary Briss (Gatiss), the town's butcher, appears to be the main suspect. But, as ever, nothing is as it seems.....

Meanwhile, other continuing plots involve:
Tubbs (Pemberton) and Edward Tattsyrup (Shearsmith) trying to find a bride - or "no-tail" - for their son David.
Restart officer Pauline Campbell-Jones (Pemberton) and her attempts to get her job back by holding Ross (Shearsmith) hostage, aided by one of her "dole scum" Mickey (Gatiss).
Geoff (Shearsmith) and his friends Mike (Pemberton) and Brian (Gatiss) surviving in the woods en route to a work convention.
German exchange teacher Herr Lipp (Pemberton) and his disturbing advances on student Justin.
Benjamin Denton (Shearsmith) who, having escaped the Local Shop, must now endure yet more torture from his toad-obsessed relatives Aunt Val (Gatiss) and Uncle Harvey (Pemberton) as well as their twin daughters Chloe and Radcliffe.
The antics of accident-prone vet Mr Chinnery (Gatiss).
The reunion of 1970s glam rock band Creme Brulee, without rhythm guitarist Les McQueen (Gatiss).
The travelling circus the Pandemonium Carnival and its ringleader, Papa Lazarou (Shearsmith), who sells pegs and collects wives for a living.

Ooooohhh children!!
Review date: 2003-11-26 Rating: 10 out of 10

The second installment of "League of Gentlemen" reaches further past the velvet rope as did its predecessor. Both are brilliant comedic aces, but the second series not only evolves into a true blue black comedy, but the character creativity is just superb! The nomadic Papa Lazarou and his miniature henchmen induced such powerful laughter in me that I could not help tears from brewing in my eyes :) It is a shame the second and third installments of "League of Gentlemen" were never released in the states. The best to my knowledge, series 1 and 2 were aired on BBC America and nothing more. There are no words to describe the amount of effort that is poured into this series. Just when you may possess a handle on Royston Vasey, you are immediately toppled onto your own head with Papa Lazarou staring straight at you!!

"hEY dave!"

Product Details/Specifications

Actor(s):
Mark Gatiss
Corrie Greenop
Jeremy Dyson
Steve Pemberton
Reece Shearsmith

Director(s):

Recording label: 2 Entertain Video
Manufacturer: 2 Entertain Video
EAN: 5014503104924
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: Anamorphic, PAL,
Release date: 2001-10-15
Number of discs: 2
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 180 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2000-06-19
Language: English (Original Language)

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League of Gentlemen Series 2 (2 disc set) [1999]

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