The League of Gentlemen Christmas Special: Season 2 Episode 7

Personally I can't wait to see your reactions to season 4 (3 episodes). Season 3 was just a slog to get through but 4 makes up for it :)

Michael Hartley

Agreed. Regardless of votes, Josh needs to add those two brilliant shows to the schedule. F*ck democracy!

Right Said Brett

Josh mate I'm so glad you are enjoying this and appreciating all the characters. It should be law you HAVE to watch Psychoville and Inside No 9 next without a vote.

Ben

I thought the Father Ted special was really weak - the worst episode in the run. Not much of a plot and not much happens.

SP

I was wondering what word they had bleeped...

SP

Either that or to have stuck to their original plan, which was to make the movie entirely about The King's Evil (the film within a film in the final movie). I wouldn't have minded not having any of the Roystan Vasey characters in the movie, if only the story itself was well executed. Alternatively, I would have been happy enough just to have a story set in Royston Vasey. Anything other than the meta shite they ended up going with.

Right Said Brett

I wish they'd made a Victorian horror movie, the atmosphere of the Mr Chinnery part was excellent.

[SPOILER ALERT] Is anybody else having nightmares about the monkey fucking the elephant? Just me, is it?

Tony Smyth

I still have my journal that I started in 1997 when I start secondary school, ending in 2003 when I left 6th form. There's a little bit in one of the blank pages where I’ve written "Another vet has touched the monkey's bollocks". I'd actually forgotten that line came from this episode and I used to cringe when I read it. I think I taped it when it was broadcast. I looked it up, December 27th, 2000. I was 14 - 2 months from my 15th birthday. It’s been at least 20 years since I’ve seen this episode and it’s an absolute gem. List of Xmas specials top 5: 1. Father Ted 2. League of Gentlemen 3. Mr Bean 4. Bottom 5. Blackadder

Ian Webster

I love how the warning only suggests a "racially sensitive scene that may cause offense", when the whole thing is brilliantly offensive to just about everything. It's interesting how offense is always cherry picked to cater to certain groups or situations while dismissing other offensive aspects, which makes the whole point of offense a bit pointless and hypocritical really.

Jay

it is common/stereotype that there is one black family in every small UK village/town :), i suppose they also detest the city life

girlsdrinkfeck

I agree the scores on this episode were fantastic.

After Work Reactions

Absolutely pathetic and typical of the BBC to bleep out "Mongs" from Bernice's line about who put up the Christmas decorations.

Rob Walters

Fantastic reaction, Josh! My favourite single episode of this show, but it's an hour long almost so I'm cheating really! :-D The entire series is littered with film references, but this one has more than its fair share in particular - Hammer Horror films in general, Eyes Wide Shut, and there's also I think a thread of Charles Dickens throughout it, not just with some of the obvious "period" allusions in flashback, but the overall structure of the episode, the three visits, the way Bernice changes from miserable, mean, and misanthropic at the start, to feeling hopeful and wishing Chinnery love and success at the end - synonymous with the sort of journey and redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol." Of course, it ends in typical, horrifying, nightmarish League fashion, and it's genuinely unsettling I think - Papa Lazarou is often more overtly comedic despite his sinister appearance, the focus on how pathetic he is, and how much of a charlatan he has wont to be, but he's utterly terrifying here! Some fantastic lines in this episode, too many to quote, but I think my favourite is: "Are you the vicar?" "No, I'm the fucking gardener!" :-D Joby Talbot's score is exquisite in this episode, his usual quirky, curious, darkly comedic style given grander, more filmic treatment, and I don't think he gets enough praise for his contribution to this show - he's a genius. Looking forward to Series 3, which is a brilliant one, but one which may catch you off-guard initially. It's very different, each episode builds on the last, it's more overly plot-heavy, has no laughter track, and whilst each episode itself is great in its own way, the six episodes together are more than the sum of their parts - the series is supremely clever, satisfying, and utterly, utterly brilliant. I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

Ash Jeffries

Mi hed asplode Herr Brett. All ist klar. There are many sexy boys in my vicinity and I can't speak German so you're going to have to finish this one off by yourself.

Tony Smyth

I agree, it completely caught me off guard as up until now I’ve never seen a League episode getting censored. In case you were wondering Josh I'm pretty sure the offending word was “mongs” an admittedly very offensive term for the mentally handicapped but then at that point in the story Bernice wasn't exactly supposed to be portrayed as the bastion of decency/political correctness when she said it was she? lol.

King Bloo

Yeah, the movie was such a terrible disappointment. If it had been more like the Christmas Special, it would have been amazing. Such a missed opportunity.

Right Said Brett

Josh; hopefully you now retroactively view the burial of Justin at the end of series 2 a little differently. We now know that Herr Lipp is a vampire, so one presumes that he buried Justin ("Justin, Justin, my very own Justin") for his transformation into a vampire.

Right Said Brett

I think that The Christmas Special acts as the perfect bridge and gateway for the stylistic shift of series 3 (the lack of studio audience and a more dramatic, plot focused approach).

Right Said Brett

Everything about this show makes me want to watch every episode again and again and again, ...but the movie was shite... like a brown fish in a yellow river.*

Tony Smyth

I consider Joby Talbot (the series' composer) to have outdone himself for this special. His score is majestic and cinematic. He adds so much personality to the show but in this special in particular, his work is quite simply divine.

Right Said Brett

Why has BritBox censored the language in the episode?! Disgraceful!

Right Said Brett

Indeed. I always think of the episode as more of a Halloween Special than a Christmas one. It's essentially a loving homage to the old Hammer Horror anthology films (one of which had a very memorable segment about a killer Santa).

Right Said Brett

Josh; you didn't seem to pick up that the cult with the masks was a parody of Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. Also, the one member who said "UND A BOTTLE O OOORRRRANGE DUICE" was Pam Doove (the lady who did the terrible advert audition in a previous episode).

Right Said Brett

Even though this is a Christmas themed episode I think that it is definitely the best episode you could have watched prior to Halloween in a few days time, timing worked out great!

King Bloo

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Series 3. It takes a very different turn stylistically.

Sam Reeves