League of Gentlemen Series 2 (2 disc set)

Comedy

Reece Shearsmith
Mark Gatiss

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