The League of Gentlemen - C/D? (now with added Psychoville)

Geoff Tipps is pretty hard to beat imo

The whole ebay thing in the 2nd episode was hilarious

Wow, it really is good. Could well shape up to be better than LoG.

Second episode left me a bit underwhelmed. It was developing things a bit though...

didn't think either episode was that great but the beany babies thing excellent and the guy who plays the accomplice/reader to the blind guy is fantastic. he seems so out of place, in a good way.

Posh Kenneth! And quite funny in FM too (which was quite hard).

Just watched ep 2 now: I think this is the best thing on British TV in years. So beautifully, horribly well-observed.

David looks exactly like a similarly sinister and terrifying chap who went to my school. Brr.

Pemberton is on fire in this show imo. his characters are easily the funniest & most fucked up.

soo is anyone still watching this? final episode next week.

I thought the episode of the mum and son which took place entirely in the apartment (only 1 or 2 different shots iirc?) was really well done.

I think it was a single shot, reference to Rope maybe (there were some other Rope and Psycho references in there too)

oh i see.

Old blind guy/tea leaf relationship has brought the most lols during the series imo

Yeh, the Rope one was done in two shots, I understand -- with a really, really obvious join :)

Apparently the thinking behind it was to make a really cheap episode so they could afford a run of seven shows rather than six. I'm not entirely sure I buy that theory, mind.

Anyway, I think this is one of the best things I've seen on TV this year ... not that I watch a great deal of TV, mind you. But original, funny, dark and disturbing drama like this is a treat, and I should probably be reminded of that next time I go off on one about the fucking BBC.

Yeah I'm really enjoying this - I think the last episode brought the most belly-laughs, but the whole conceit is great and darkly amusing throughout.

Thought the point of the rope one was mostly to act as a vehicle for reuniting the three of them for one episode, with a bit of an onstage feel. But yes, probably very budget-light as well which probably helped.

besides the blind guy/tea leaf thing i'm not liking this, it just seems so recycled, but that's not really the problem. the problem is that it doesn't make me laugh.

Stuff is revealed to the audience so rapid-fire in this, I liked how it kind of "broke up" the series a bit.

xpost

i thought the rope episode was the best one.

Still loving this. A tampack!

"Mum, I've done another bad murder"

Only seen one episode of this so far, but i intend to see the others asap. seriously looks like it could be the best show i've ever seen on telly. Even Dawn French manages to be excellent in it!

Still watching, still loving. I've actually been annoyingly evangelical about it.

Even Dawn French manages to be excellent in it!

Ha, yes! That was my one slight stumbling point to begin with, but she -- and the writing -- are so good that you forget it's her.

I've actually been annoyingly evangelical about it

I've not been evangelical enough; I wish I'd gone on more about it at work. It does seem to have been a little low-key, doesn't it?

Dawn French is a very good comedy performer who is largely given piss-poor material to work with.

Clever that her sidekick from Vicar of Dibley is her rival in this.

I think the latest episode was the least funny so far, due to having to squeeze quite a bit of plot in. Still some beautifully macabre bits though, like the Freddie Fruitcake blood transfusion.

Yeh, that was compellingly horrific. I kind of got the impression it was an idea they'd had some time ago - the whole setup, right down to the tears of blood -- and had been looking for a story within which to make it work.

Dawn French is a very good comedy performer who is largely given piss-poor material to work with

This might be true, but it doesn't stop her making my teeth itch with annoyance most times I see her on TV.

Just seen the final one. Wtf?

"Weakest link goodbye" had me in stitches!

it was all about the clown in the cubicle for me.

best telly of 2009 so far.

I would recommend Catterick if you liked psychoville. it was really underrated as well.

Guess they're making a second series then.

David in the citizen's advice bureau was top notch.

David in the citizen's advice bureau was top notch.

yuh easily the funniest bit of the episode.

Also lold when tea leaf bailed on the old guy when he revealed his schemes.

'could you move the body?... He's saying no'

"Who's this clown?": biggest laugh of the year.

That was magnificent -- both the final episode and the series in general. The fact it wasn't perfect -- I got the impression they were trying to squeeze way more ideas into it than they really had space for, particularly towards the end -- only makes me love it more.

I think if I'd have been watching it for the plot rather than for the lolz I'd have been really fucked off with the ending as virtually everything turned out to be a gigantic red herring with some ridiculous deus ex machina at the end of it. Pretty sure they were well aware of this and taking the piss though.

Yeah, a second series... in 2011. With a one-off special next winter.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/psychoville/appointment/

halloween special on sunday (which i guess is the one-off special mentioned in last post):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vw45s

They're also doing a thing on radio where they go to a haunted pub for a real life paranormal adventure.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vhfjn

I am irrationally excited about this. Psychoville's the best thing I've seen on British telly in years.

Really excited for series 2 now.

This was okay, very well done on the creepiness front, could have done with a few more laughs.

I haven't watch it yet - waiting till I actually have a proper moment.

I hear a lot of people complain that League Of Gents/Psychoville could do with more laughs - this is often directed at things like LOG S3. But I preferred S3 for its intricate plotlines and studied acting more than S1 for its shock-gags. LOG are definitely unique in that the humour comes as much from horror as it does traditional comedy.

Did anyone listen to the radio thing though? I was really disappointed. I wasn't expecting the gents to actually meet any ghosts, but it seemed way too short to cover what they wanted, and very thin on content at that.

No I'm a big fan but there were several moments in this that they got so engrossed in the horror that they forgot to actually try and be funny in the first place. Some good one liners but the situations weren't quite there. It was similar to the majestic LoG Christmas special but not as good.

LOG Christmas is, I think, my favourite thing they've done (Psychoville episode 4 close runner up)

Finally watched this last night... Matt, you're right, there were very few gags but I still thought it was excellent. It's more like watching one of those camped-up '70s Tales From The Crypt-style portmanteau movies than a comedy, but I'm now well and truly psyched for series two!

I've started rewatching series 1, forgotten quite how good it is. "The killer has written 'fuck pig' on the wall in his or her own excrement!"

The perfect Xmas gift:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Reece-Shearsmith-League-Gentleman-Stars-Canvas-/180592257142?pt=UK_Art_CanvasGiclee_RL&hash=item2a0c232876#ht_508wt_936

the tivo is listing a new episode on 5/5

NOT NOW, SILENT SINGER

Silent Singer is by far the best and most intriguing (and possibly funniest in it's own twisted way) thing about the new series. According to Reece Shearsmith's Twitter there are supposed to be number clues dotted throughout all the episodes. Enjoying these, but the episodes feel VERY short. Could do with being 45 minutes long.

Tina Turner wasn't quite as funny as a lot of people are making out, although apparently it was next-to unfilmable as the crew and actors couldn't stop laughing.

Watched the first episode and yes very creepy but, clown funeral aside, it just wasn't very funny.

i'm willing to forgive Psychoville for not being very funny. In fact it falls flat when they start relying on groansome jokes etc. LoG's best bits is when they introduce jokes over a wider narrative.

and Reece is in both in In The Earth and A Field In England on film4 tonight

Think S4 was the one they did years later, about 5 years or so ago xp

the episode guides talk about the town being bulldozed for a new road, and that rings a bell.

series 3 feels a bit o_O in 2024

I remember really liking S3 at the time. I liked the dark / experimental way it was morphing into more of a 'Tales of the Unexpected' type affair, rather than going for the more obvious laughs - something they'd continue with Inside No 9. I don't know how I'd feel about it now, it's been ages since I saw it and the comedic landscape's changed considerably since then. The Christmas Special will always be my fave

Not very funny is my memory of it.

I find the whole show borderline unwatchable now, despite loving it at the time. Always lukewarm on stuff past S2 though.

series 4 started last night and it's obviously going to be 6 episodes of throwbacks to previous characters before they literally bulldoze over it all.

Geoff Tibbs going to London to become a stand-up comedian is a great episode.