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The League Of Gentlemen - Series 3 (2002)
Opening with a funky new theme tune, the six episodes feature--among others--ex-con Pauline and Mickey in a touching tale of transvestisism; Lance the one-armed comedy shop owner yearning for a new limb; foul-tempered Geoff Tipps trying to make it as a stand-up comic in "Lundun"; some eye-popping fetishist behaviour at the local B&B; seedy goings-on in the massage parlour; and, most horrendously of all, the dreaded return of Papa Lazarou. It all proved too much for some viewers--too grotesque, too offbeat, too surreal. Packed with knowing references to obscure movies and filled with the most unpleasant characters ever to grace a "sitcom", this is certainly an uncompromising series, and one that invites fascinated speculation on what dark delights await in their upcoming movie. On the DVD: The League of Gentlemen, Series 3 two-disc set maintains the high standard of extra features established by the previous series. Here there's more raucous "Local Gossip" with the four gents on the first disc, plus a second disc of insightful background material including: a 30-minute making of documentary by Adam Buxton (of Adam and Joe); a candid video diary from Steve Pemberton; a truly dire magic tutorial from Dean Tavalouris (Reece Shearsmith); Joby Talbot's music score; an interview with costume designer Yves Barre; outtakes and deleted scenes; plus a Mike King Enterprises editing suite, enabling you to muck about with the ending sequence and ruin it completely. --Mark Walker
RRP: £19.99
Our Price: £7.49 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
The third series of The League of Gentlemen takes the portmanteau horror approach of their Christmas Special and extends it daringly across the entire six episodes. Here, each half-hour instalment is a self-contained story featuring various familiar and less well-known inhabitants of Britain's most accursed town, Royston Vasey. But each individual tale leads--horribly, inevitably--towards a single shocking event, the full circumstances of which are only realised in a final, macabre twist. It's all far too bleak to be called comedy, just too damn funny to be anything else. This is a team who have always defined their own rules, nowhere more boldly than here.
Their best work yet.
Review date: 2008-02-10 Rating: 10 out of 10
Seriously people, open your minds. If you are one of the people saying series 1&2 are great and 3 is awful you probably do not understand the humour in any of them.
I love series 3, best yet. Darker, funnier (more intelliegent humour, more 'subtle' jokes and of course good old fashoined sketches). Some say the ending is sad, I think it is actually happy. I won't spoil it for people yet to buy the series - so buy it!
Similar Products
- League of Gentlemen Series 2 (2 disc set) [1999]
- The League Of Gentlemen [1999]
- The League of Gentlemen -- Christmas Special [1999]
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Reviews
good but bad
Review date: 2007-12-31 Rating: 8 out of 10
in my opinion series 3 is a dissapointment because all the lose ends wer tide up in series 2 eg the demise of tubbs and edward the nosebleeds they didnt need to follow it up in such an appaling way the only 2 i liked were episode 6 and 2 and 3 the rest is not worth wathing as it doesnt hav a laughter track so your not sure what is funny and wat is not so you end up not laughing atall.
it is a shame that 4 of britains stars can dissapoint the fans and themselves
Neither one thing nor the other
Review date: 2007-09-23 Rating: 6 out of 10
I'm in two minds about this; on the one hand I want to wet myself laughing and on the other hand I want to hate it with a passion. Like everyone else who had seen Series 1 & 2, I was chomping at the bit to see what Series 3 had in store and then I saw it... not quite sure what happened there. You watch it and you can see that it wants to be the League of Gentlemen, but it can't quite get there.
Working against it are several factors; you've lost Tubbs and Edward (no, I don't count their brief cameo at the start of episode 1), you've lost the toad loving Denton clan and you've lost Hilary Briss (the mass-murdering butcher). The loss of these core characters becomes even more evident in the nature of the episodes themselves; focusing on one or two sets for the whole episode rather than the usual sketch-show nature doesn't work; especially when you're watching characters that aren't the League's best (I'm thinking here of the B&B characters and the under-developed charity shop owners) Also, they split up the Trinity: Geoff, Mike and Brian have to be kept together. Mike seems to get forgotten and Brian doesn't even feature in the same episode. The three of them work together simply because they don't work together; if you haven't got Geoff battling Brian for Mike's attention, then you lose the essence of the characters.
But there are reasons to like this series. Firstly, we still have Pauline and her dim-witted sidekick Mickey (though a return of Cathy Carter Smith would have been welcome). I also love the insanity of Barbara (the botched post-op transsexual) giving birth to the next generation of locals- it don't make sense, but that's why it works. Plus, the League do save one the best for last; lock up your wives, it's the return of Papa Lazarou. Possibly one the League's best creations, this circus running/peg selling/wife stealing villain always brings a smile to my face and never more so then when he finally reveals to Brian just why he needs so many wives. I also like the way in the final episode that they link up all of the individual stories of the series; who'd have thought that one bag could do so much?
As I say, the roots are there; you can see the League of Gentlemen humour there, the potential is there and it wants to be funny. But for some reason, it just never get realised and you're left wondering what just happened. If you're a League fan, you have to see it. If you are new to the League, start at the beginning and maybe just miss out this instalment.
Oh dear!
Review date: 2006-12-30 Rating: 2 out of 10
I absolutely loved series 1 and 2, The league of gentlemen was a very funny show until this. It's Very unfunny just pure trash. The team are working hard on a forth series in 2007 and I hope they go back to the classic funny comedy like series 1 and 2. The only person I'd recommend this to is someone I really hate.
League of Gentlemen Series 3
Review date: 2006-07-23 Rating: 10 out of 10
A work of stupefying brilliance. The League of Gentlemen have produced a body of work which ticks all the boxes - funny, disturbing, repellant, sympathetic, and most disturbingly, highly recognisable. Let's face it. We have all met Pauline, Mickey, Stella and all the gang in our own lives (maybe not Tubs) and this series leaves the line between what is real and what we are watching horribly blurred. A work of genius. God bless British television - in the US this would have been produced with glossy beautiful actors with alpine teeth. And god bless the League of Gentlemen.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Steve Pemberton
Reece Shearsmith
Mark Gatiss
Director(s):
Recording label: 2 Entertain Video
Manufacturer: 2 Entertain Video
EAN: 5014503112929
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: Box set, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2003-11-10
Number of discs: 2
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 170 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2000-06-19
Language: English (Original Language)