The League of Gentlemen: Series 01  (1999)

Theatrical Release Information:
The League of Gentlemen: Series 01

Orginally telecast by BBC2 from January 11 through February 15, 1999, season one of the dizzily irreverent British sitcom The League of Gentlemen consists of six half-hour episodes. As was the case in the BBC radio series On the Town that preceded it, the TV version takes place in the bizarre provincial town of Royston Vasey, with all principal characters played by Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, and Reece Shearsmith. Appropriately titled "Welcome to Royston Vasey," the opening episode finds Benjamin Denton (Gatiss) paying a visit to his insanely obsessive Uncle Harvey (Pemberton) and Auntie Val (also Gatiss); meanwhile, parole officer Pauline (Pemberton) tangles with her chimplike parolee Mickey (Gatiss), pig-snouted shopkeepers Tubbs (Pemberton) and Edward (Shearsmith) take extreme measures to ward off strangers, three mentally deficient buddies tell jokes that no one understands, cab driver Barbara Dixon (guest star Paul Hays-Marshall, with voice dubbed by Pemberton) discourses on "her" upcoming sex-change operation, and incompetent vet Dr. Chinnery (Gatiss) refuses to euthanize sick animals -- but ends up with blood on his hands all the same. Similar demented daffiness ensues in the subsequent episodes "The Road to Royston Vasey," "Nightmare in Royston Vasey," "The Beast of Royston Vasey," "Love Comes to Royston Vasey," and "Escape From Royston Vasey." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide