The lowdown: 'The League of Gentlemen' was broadcast on BBC2 between 11 January 1999 and 24 October 2002,
with a total of 18 episodes plus two specials, over three seasons. The comedy series starred Mark Gatiss, Steve
Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith as various characters, with many of the characters first appearing in the stage 
show of the same name that began in 1994. The TV series was revived as a feature film, 'The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse', in 2005. The series featured the bizarre inhabitants of an English town called Royston Vasey, and the 
first two seasons were more like a series of sketches centering on various residents of the town, although the third 
season was structured more like a traditional sitcom, with each episode focusing on one character with the interlinking 
plots coming together in the final episode. 

Christopher Eccleston has a brief cameo in the final episode of series three, 'How The Elephant Got Its Trunk'. He
plays a character called Dougal Siepp, who opens a cat theatre in competition with the Kenny Harris Dog Cinema,
where he was once assistant manager, before a falling out with Kenny. Kenny's cinema only shows dog-related
films, and he is horrified when Dougal opens a theatre which features live cats. Eccleston appears only in two very
brief scenes, and without his characteristic Northern accent.

The verdict: 'The League of Gentlemen' is an acquired taste, and not everybody will appreciate its humour. It is
definitely not the typical family-oriented British sitcom that many people love, but you enjoy edgier British humour
such as 'The Young Ones' you should enjoy this. And the three 'League' actors are superb in their multiple roles.

Trivia: The fourth member of the League, Jeremy Dyson, was primarily a writer for the show, but had several
on-screen cameos throughout the series.

 
 
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