The League of Gentlemen (1999–2002)

An interweaving narrative chronicling the antics of such diverse characters as: a transsexual taxi driver, a family obsessed with hygiene and toads, a fiery reverend, a carnival owner who kidnaps women into marriage, and a xenophobic couple who run a local shop for local people.

Stars:

Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith

7 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Mark Gatiss	...	Various (19 episodes, 1999-2002)
Steve Pemberton	...	Tubbs Tattsyrup (18 episodes, 1999-2002)
Reece Shearsmith	...	Edward Tattsyrup (18 episodes, 1999-2002)
Jeremy Dyson	...	Various Characters (11 episodes, 1999-2002)
Paul Hays-Marshall	...	Barbara Dixon (9 episodes, 1999-2000)

Storyline

An interweaving narrative chronicling the antics of such diverse characters as: a transsexual taxi driver, a family obsessed with hygiene and toads, a fiery reverend, a carnival owner who kidnaps women into marriage, and a xenophobic couple who run a local shop for local people.

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Plot Keywords:

taxi driver | shop | transsexual | taxi | local shop | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 June 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Herrasmiesliiga

Filming Locations:

Hadfield, High Peak, Derbyshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 30 min (18 episodes) 60 min (1 episode)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Reece Shearsmith's wannabe magician character Dean Tavalouris is named after the esteemed 'Godfather' production designer Dean Tavoularis.

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Quotes

Dr Singleton Boothby: All my doors are open to you, Chinnery. Except the ones that are closed.

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Crazy Credits

In the final episode of the second season a carribean version of the theme was played.

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Connections

Referenced in What the Pythons Did Next... (2007)

User Reviews

The Christmas Special

The League of Gentlemen is one of the most consistently entertaining series of recent years. Without a doubt, its finest hour (literally) came in the Christmas Special. This hour-long TV movie is based on the Amicus "portmanteau" horror films of the 1970's (cf. Tales from the Crypt, Asylum, The Uncanny et al.). Typically, these films would see a host (generally Peter Cushing) encounter a series of hapless individuals who would relate their horrific experiences, before the "unexpected twist" framing-story climax. This Christmas Special sticks religiously to that formula, with lugubrious vicar Bernice lending an unsympathetic ear to cheese-dreaming Charlie, vagrant Matthew and incompetent vet Dr Chinnery. Each of the three tales is as darkly comical as we've come to expect from the League, with Charlie's tale mixing line dancing and voodoo, Matthew's tale spoofing Hammer vampire movies, Romero's Martin and German expressionist films, and Chinnery's tale a piece of classic Victorian melodrama involving a cursed pair of monkey's testicles. But what raises this special far above the level of a beautifully made and affectionate pastiche is that all the tales (and particularly the first two) are not only genuinely frightening, but more convincingly so than most of Amicus' own efforts. The gory, unremitting horror of the climax of Charlie's tale, and the truly creepy sequences set within the Lipp household in Matthew's story have a real power to them. And the final, terrifying twist - 'It's nice to see you again, all grown up...'

• is one of the most disturbing moments in TV history (no wonder it ended up

in Channel 4's Top 100 Scary Moments programme).

Lavish, dark and compelling, The League of Gentlemen Christmas Special stands alongside Threads and Ghost Watch as innovative and frightening television, and is perhaps the best one-off programme made by the BBC in the last decade.