The League of Gentlemen: The Complete Series 1

To call The League of Gentlemen a black comedy would be an understatement. Its bleak humor owes as much to Samuel Beckett as it does to Monty Python, so those who like their laughs served warm are in for a shock. The show is the most wickedly inventive comedy to come out of Britain since Eddie and Patsy staggered onto our screens in Absolutely Fabulous, and like that groundbreaking series it proudly ignores the boundaries of good taste. Part sketch comedy, part bizarre soap opera, the narrative jumps back and forth between more than a dozen major characters, all played by the three performers who cowrote the show. These characters range from the odd--a vet who accidentally kills all of his patients--to the thoroughly disturbing, like Edward and Tubbs, the inbred proprietors of the Local Shop, who are willing to go to any lengths to prevent the building of a new road through their beloved town.

As the series progresses many of the plot threads begin to twist together, revealing hints that some deeper and more sinister plot might be unfolding in Royston Vasey. The League of Gentlemen manages to be both hilarious and chilling, thanks to the terrific writing and performances that are as subtle as they are grotesque. You have never seen anything like The League of Gentlemen, but like butcher Hilary Briss's special customers, you're sure to be back for more. --Simon Leake