pitcairn55
Member
29/10/16
Film Extra Credit 2
The League of Gentlemen Christmas Special
My last little piece of Christmas viewing of the month is also for me unequivocally the best piece of Christmas viewing there is ever likely to be.
For the uninitiated, the League of Gentlemen is a British comedy troupe who started in the mid-nineties, first on stage and then radio, before moving on to TV. Their three TV series represent my all time favourite British comedy. It’s weird, dark and sinister, and always very, very funny. Members Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton have done quite a lot of serious acting over here in the UK since the League stopped regularly performing together, but Mark Gatiss is probably the best known internationally, for his involvement with Doctor Who, and his role as Mycroft Holmes in Sherlock. He’s also had a small part in Game of Thrones, playing Tycho Nestoris. Gatiss is a big horror fan, and wrote and presented a fantastic three part documentary series called A History of Horror for the BBC back in 2010. He followed this up two years later with a one off documentary film called Horror Europa, which I somehow managed to miss.
Anyway, The League of Gentlemen’s finest hour was their one Christmas special, from 2000. It’s a comedy horror anthology, with three different stories linked by the fact that they are all presented as confessions to the village priest. It features murderous secret societies, cursed veterinarians, and in the best and most hilariously disturbing story, German vampire choirboys. It’s wonderful, very strange, and if you have even a slight interest in offbeat British humour, unreservedly recommended.
Films I've watched so far
Film Extra Credit 2
The League of Gentlemen Christmas Special
My last little piece of Christmas viewing of the month is also for me unequivocally the best piece of Christmas viewing there is ever likely to be.
For the uninitiated, the League of Gentlemen is a British comedy troupe who started in the mid-nineties, first on stage and then radio, before moving on to TV. Their three TV series represent my all time favourite British comedy. It’s weird, dark and sinister, and always very, very funny. Members Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton have done quite a lot of serious acting over here in the UK since the League stopped regularly performing together, but Mark Gatiss is probably the best known internationally, for his involvement with Doctor Who, and his role as Mycroft Holmes in Sherlock. He’s also had a small part in Game of Thrones, playing Tycho Nestoris. Gatiss is a big horror fan, and wrote and presented a fantastic three part documentary series called A History of Horror for the BBC back in 2010. He followed this up two years later with a one off documentary film called Horror Europa, which I somehow managed to miss.
Anyway, The League of Gentlemen’s finest hour was their one Christmas special, from 2000. It’s a comedy horror anthology, with three different stories linked by the fact that they are all presented as confessions to the village priest. It features murderous secret societies, cursed veterinarians, and in the best and most hilariously disturbing story, German vampire choirboys. It’s wonderful, very strange, and if you have even a slight interest in offbeat British humour, unreservedly recommended.
Films I've watched so far