Steve Pemberton

Psychoville episode 1 review

If you loved The League of Gentlemen's dark brand of humour, then the demented stylings of Psychoville might be for you... I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Psychoville, but I wasn't expecting it to be this good. As an introduction to a series, this is one of the strongest, in any genre, I've seen in some time.

Guardian Review

So hurrah then for Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith. Tonight's Psychoville was very funny, very dark and equally mysterious. You might even say vague, but according to Shearsmith this was fully intended. So let's go with it...

The spooky meets the ridiculous in this comedy penned by League of Gentlemen writers Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton. Full of grotesque characters such as deeply disturbed midwife Joy Aston (played by Dawn French) and MR Jelly, the horrifically angry clown (Shearsmith), Psychoville is part comedy, part mysterious drama. With gags about dwarf porn and farting, and a grossly inappropriate mother-son relationship, there is a very League feel to it. Funny, but quite possibly very wrong.

The League of Gentlemen's Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton join forces once more as writers and stars of this weird, black comic drama...and at this point it would be handy to give a plot precis but, frankly, I have no idea what's going on. A handful of apparently unlinked, disparate people in different parts of the country are sent wax-sealed letters bearing the words "I know what you did". But what did they do? No idea, though the recipients include a barmy midwife obsessed by the doll from her childbirth classes (Dawn French), a telekinetic dwarf, and a wildly inappropriate children's entertainer, Mr Jelly (Shearsmith) - a cross between the evil clown from Stephen King's It and The League of Gentlemen's infamous creation, Papa Lazarou. There are some funny bits, the gothic atmosphere is very Royston Vasey-ish, and the cast is stellar, but I suspect Psychoville will take a wee while to get going properly.

There was only one hitch with The League of Gentlemen - it just wasn't weird enough. Which is why League members Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton have invented another unusual town, which is home to a deranged midwife who looks just like Dawn French, a blind recluse who has an unusual hobby, a telekinetic dwarf, a hook-handed clown, a serial-killer obsessed man-child and, er, Christopher Biggins.

Steve Pemberton Interview

Steve Pemberton talks about Psychoville. "What we've done is something for like-minded people. Hopefully there's enough of them out of there. The viewer has to put a bit of work in, I'm afraid."

Shearsmith and Pemberton: Ungentlemanly conduct

Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, of The League of Gentlemen fame, just don't do 'nice comedy'. Their humour is often disturbing, so prepare for more shocks in their new TV offering.

Another oddity from the minds of Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, the pair who blessed us with The League Of Gentlemen. This time we're spookily flitting between a group of characters that includes a deranged serial killer fanatic, a deranged midwife, a deranged millionaire and - are you spotting a theme? - a deranged clown whose lives seem to be linked by a blackmail letter. As you might expect, this series opener is dark, macabre and gross in places but it does have an intriguing narrative thread. Plus Dawn French is in it - always a good thing.

Half of The League Of Gentlemen bring us a new grotesque comedy show that's nothing like The League Of Gentlemen. Apart from, well, the scary clown. And the nurse who likes the fake baby, who could have been a direct lift... if she wasn't played by Dawn French. And the other characters. But otherwise it's totally different.

It's a series, you see - all the characters are loosely linked in that they receive missives from a mysterious letter writer (who has a good gag in the first minute). So that's different. Apart from all those characters in the last one being loosely linked by living in the same town. Ach, who are we kidding? It's The League Of Gentlemen. And that's a good thing.

Psychoville BBC2, 10pm

It's weird, and it's not going to be to everyone's taste, but it packs enough mystery and clever writing into this first half hour to make you curious to see more.