Our Stigmata

The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse

The transition between small screen and silver is a tricky one, and film versions of popular television shows are usually seen as a way of reviving interest when the writers have run out of ideas and the jokes themselves have run their course. When the programme is a sketch show -- as TLoG started out -- it becomes hard to carry off. When the programme has developed a cult following that prevents new viewers from joining as time progresses, then it's pretty much impossible. The assumption is that this will be one for the die-hard fans, completely inaccessible to the rest of us.

The reason that this film works (and it works well) is the emotional depth with which these one-joke characters are treated. You've never related to Herr Lipp before, because his one-joke is simply confused innuendo. You will relate when you watch this film, as he discovers in the 'Real World' that he can be much more. One of the most surprising dramatic moments of the film comes when Mark Gatiss (I think) tells him 'You're one of the easiest characters to write', bringing home to him everything he's not.

It's true with the other characters, who are given room to grow and expand into roles you wouldn't have previously found them in. And the best thing is that the comedy doesn't suffer for it. Die-hards will be pleased that the jokes are all still as funny, but the film is accessible to new-comers. The characters are introduced in what could easily be segments of the show, so we know what to expect from them, and then they develop before we can tire of them or feel left out.

It's a fitting end to the series (if indeed this is the end), and a reminder that the League of Gentlemen team are very talented writers. Yes there is toilet humour, and innuendo, but there's also so much more.