Black comedy is something that you find a lot of in British sitcoms. And I think that one of the most iconically dark series is The League of Gentlemen. I think what made this series so popular was that is was surreal and cynical in a way that a lot of stuff wasn't. At least not in the mainstream. Britcoms had definitely made good use of dark comedy before, as well as surrealism, but League of Gentlemen has an almost sketch comedy feel to it that makes it unique. The focus of the series is on the town more so than any particular character, and the humour is derived from the general atmosphere in Royston Valley. The cast of characters is pretty big, even if they are played mainly by three guys.
This is another series that I admire greatly, even if it wouldn't be one of my favourites. I'm a lover of surreal humour, so I do appreciate the use of insane and often nonsensical comedy here, but if in being honest, it does tend to feel one note after a while. Like don't get me wrong, the black comedy is great. The writing is clever and fresh and I still really like this show and respect how influential it's been. It's just that for me, there are a lot of characters, and they all feel kind of one dimensional. That might sound odd to say about a Britcom, but I think that the best sitcoms have big personalities at the centre of then, with a fairly wide variety of traits that lend themselves to different situations. But here, each of the characters are kind of just jokes in themselves. And that's fine, it's just that after a while, I feel like some of the fun is lost. But there are enough characters to make up for this, and some of them are incredibly funny (Papa Lazarou is awesome), so it really isn't much of an issue. It's definitely a small problem I have with a very funny show. Again, I don't love it, but I understand the appeal of it, because it is crazy and it is funny and it is endlessly quotable. So I get the cult following, I really do. The League of Gentlemen is a strong series, one that I think stands on its merits fairly well. Overall, it's a pretty great show.
No comments:
Post a Comment