The League of Gentlemen (TV series): Difference between revisions

''Welcome to '''Royston Vasey'''. You'll never leave.''

 

 

Set in the town of Royston Vasey (or Spent, in the original radio version), the show focuses on the very strange lives of the inhabitants: their warped obsessions, quirks and relationships. Also notable in that almost all characters are played by one of only three actors: Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith, and [[Mark Gatiss]].

 

 

Not to be confused with;

* The short lived band started by guitarist Robert Fripp that, through some excessively odd reason, share many qualities with this show...

* ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]''

* [[Aerith and Bob]]: Chloe & Radclyffe.

* [[Affably Evil]] - Hilary Briss

* [[And I Must Scream]] - {{spoiler|The animals in Papa Lazarou's circus, who are really his human victims.}} They do scream, actually, but no one can hear them...

* [[Animal Motifs]] - Harvey Denton is obsessed with toads, and collects them. He also greatly resembles one, and the interior of the Denton home has a sort of a dull green colour scheme, like a lily pond.

** Alvin: "Home is the hunter!"

* [[Cats Are Mean]] - Cat enthusiast Dougall Siepp is a scary guy.

* [[Celebrity Paradox]] - Mick McNamara claims that an episode of Tom Baker-era ''[[Doctor Who]]'' was filmed at the Stump Hole caverns. So why does Mick, and approximately one third of the town, look exactly like that guy who played Dr. Lazarus in "[[Doctor Who/NS/Recap/S3 E6 The Lazarus Experiment|The Lazarus Experiment]]" and wrote the episode "[[Doctor Who/NS/Recap/S2 E7 The Idiots Lantern|The Idiot's Lantern]]"? And why does another third of the town so greatly resemble the guy who played Strackman Lux in "[[Doctor Who/NS/Recap/S4 E8 Silence in The Library|Silence in the Library]]" and "[[Doctor Who/NS/Recap/S4 E9 Forest of the Dead|Forest of the Dead]]?" And why {{spoiler|does Dougal Siepp so greatly resemble the Ninth Doctor?}}

* [[Characterization Marches On]] - In Series 2, Herr Lipp was essentially a creep and a sociopath; in the Christmas Special, though still a nasty pederast, he at least shows some compassion and sacrifices himself to save Matthew. By the time we get to the Movie, he is a kind and caring guy (even his turn to violence is intended to save the locals from what he believes to be endless misery) who is incidentally campy, a far cry from the selfish date-rapist he originally was.

* [[Cheshire Cat Grin]] - Hilary Briss gives these a lot.

* [[Christmas Special]], complete with [[Bad Santa]]

* [[Corpsing]] - Shearsmith, with Pauline, during the live show.

* [[Corrupt Hick]] - Edward and Tubbs Tattsyrup who also supply some [[Brother-Sister Incest]]

* [[Cult]] - Solutions, Inc. in the [[Christmas Special]].

* [[Dirty Old Man]] - Pop

* [[The Ditz]] - Mickey, who is clearly mentally handicapped.

* [[He Who Must Not Be Seen]] - "that Merrill." Frequently mentioned by Vinnie and Reenie, but never actually appears.

** David Tattsyrup becomes a [[The Voice]] variant after Tubbs and Edward take him back in.

* [[Homage]] - Edward frequently references ''[[The Wicker Man]]'', and Chloe & Radclyffe obviously parody ''[[The Shining]]''. Papa Lazarou's introductory episode features a few quotes from ''[[Freaks]]'', and Geoff's subplot in Season 2 parodied ''[[Deliverance]]''. In fact, at least one [[horror Movie]] gets referenced per episode.

* [[Hospital Hottie]] - One of the few times an actual woman appeared on the show was when Al brought home a nurse named Patricia as a date. Unfortunately, Pop ruined everything by loudly talking about how great the film version of ''[[Watership Down]]'' is, discussing porn, and trying to steal Patricia.

* [[She Is All Grown Up]] - In the wrongest way possible.

* [[Shout-Out]]

* [[Show Within a Show]] - The plays of the Legz Akimbo theatre troupe...

** [[Stylistic Suck]] - ...are awful.

* [[Take Our Word for It]] - We never find out what is in Hilary Briss's "special stuff". His surname [[Meaningful Name|may be a clue...]]

* [[There's No B in Movie]] - [[Meaningful Name|Meaningfully named]] Harry Portrait and Ally Welles, who are obsessed with horror movies. However, some of the films they watch are quite good, such as ''[[The Shining]]'', ''[[Alien]]'', and Stephen Loncraine's version of ''[[Richard III]]'', starring Sir Ian McKellen. As long as it has killin's, they're happy.

* [[Tomato Surprise]] - {{spoiler|Iris and Mrs. Levinson are actually mother and daughter. The stage show ups the ante by revealing that they're really father and son.}}

* [[Too Dumb to Live]] - Basically the premise of the "crime-fighting supercar" skit.

* [[Too Much Information]] - Much of Barbara's shtick is telling people all the details of her operation. Similiarly, Iris tells a few too many things about her and Ron's sex life.

* [[Torches and Pitchforks]] - {{spoiler|An angry mob burns down the Local Shop at the end of the second season.}}

* [[Transparent Closet]] - Herr Lip reveals to Justin that "I am a queen." Justin pretends to be astounded out of politeness.

* [[The Twink]] - In Season 2, Herr Lip has a crush on a not-quite-legal schoolboy named Justin Smart. In the [[Christmas Special]], he has a similiar crush on a boy named Matthew Parker.

* [[Sliding Scale of Comedy and Horror]]

* [[Sorry I Left the BGM On]] - Used as a [[Running Gag]] when the ''League'' theme music is repeatedly revealed to be [[Cell Phone|mobile phone]] ringtones.

* [[Talking to Himself]] - There's one scene where Geoff, Edward, and Papa Lazarou all discuss the fact that they are played by the same actor.

* [[Throwing Your Sword Always Works|Throwing Your Bardiche Always Works]]