NEW YORK POST . SUNDAY. JUNE d. 2000 .,. . , .' . Sunday., ------And now for something completely different ••. THE NEI,I\I"i TV pn ON

; -, Up your nose: The " brilliant :~ and disgusting" league of -Gentlemen are (I-r) , , Jeremy Oyson. There 's a fourth gent - Reece 1• Shearsmith - but he's oH practicing to be a stalker.

The League of Gentlemen is on its way to By MICHAEL GILTZ American TV after taking Britain by storm. ' : 11 ',' \'rl llf ~ r'l\,l'" fl)r Th,· · 1 ."II V,1I1' .. f Forget the Minister of Silly Walks - here j ;""11"1111 ' 11" /\ 11 1111'1''''' 8 M 11I1I1I·.",,·, .. lu ' \\\I"'II ' l'will comes Her Lipp, a German tour guide with a ''o· :d. ,.. lind " ~1 ""1 V ,'\ II".,,:' III," lilli' ,"" 'III,dy , ... 1,1", ... 1\ :, hllllalidt' ~t' I;' fondness for young boys. Of course, the ... 11 11 . 11 III tit., lU-\, Gentlemen don women's clothing at every I t ddHll~ fi ll t'ulIH'dv (\'l1lr:.1 .JUllt' If) :1110 U.S. a udlt'lIt,t':" han' It lut flf opportunity - they are British, after all. (:ald"n:.! lip to £III. "1'\\ ph,,· l'pi :.; odl·S have :-:t' II ~C a COOlf'd\,.M 1\ ltl'..;t {' r a· ~ I1\· (;clltlt-m:1I1 n \' til tl i .... l·II :--:-: thl' :1I1"(·d ill thl' lJ.K. s nags..:ill).,! ut lll'r ( ntics :-:: (· ttl~· iiII' ·'dis· .1l·rt· 11I ~· IhsHIl. who fllliv ... how Tht· founh :J lJ t\FTA Uhe Uritis h lUrlllll1( and-o r -hilarintls.- appca ~s m', scrcen in hri(:r mt'mllt'r - Ih'cCl' E 111 III \' I rt1 r Bl':-Il COOled \' Thl' fo ur-mt'mrn.·r truupe C;lmens. -II upl'fuJly. wi th a Silt'a r <.; mith - is and (:ntic:l1 an'laim uf ";1 i~ aho ul tn bunch " ·10- Iwlly hutton til' a nipl'l.· till "' 1'1'rlfllll~ hi" huli (i:1~.- Onl\' the Ll':lJ,!uc tlr 1IIIt': , ';\ '''lIrf. d:lll' ",UlTl l1wr '!!lIr in lilt' till' hal·k . \\" ,'1'1' ill ... , li:l l! ' ... t. dk'·I·. t;,·,;tll'l1H·l1 s pends it "" (JII' '" IIrt11 ... h P:II "'r said U.I~ . ttlt.'n...... ; 1 Chris tlll;ls glillJ,! al~llI l thaI III th.· A'Tnnli'lg ttl thl' nlhl·r ..... ~ pan' til11t, ~Ialkillg " fl/l'''.o.;. "Thl' 1.1':lgII C uf spl'cial .. ct roJ r filming III 1I111111 l'l1l . Ill," 111 F lnn' I1('t' fill' the :-oO\l' TIll'y'rc nil \\'olHic rillj.!' ir {;"IIIIt'lIh' Il " is "cunsistent· AlIg'u",t. and ;t dC\'{'r snap· II,' :lnd fi.· II O\\· (;.'nllt·I1It'11 pll' po ... ,' tlr trving tit such :1 di ~ t incti\,t'l\' British Iv hi·dli;1Il1. intl'l'l1Iittl'lltlv bunk wil l ht' on S:lIt· h\' till' Stc\'e Pl'lIIll1'rtull and glillll' .... ,· Anlhony· Hopkin ... ~{'rics <:;I n tra\'cl. $incc the Illj.!lltll1:1ri:dt. IInt'n dis. end IIf rhe \·t':lr. . ~ I :lrk Giltiss :l re gatht'rt'd fi llllll l ~ "1I :lnninal.- ~t O ~l s h uw is alreadv airiJ1g- fi r :-:t' l til gu :-: l ill~ . nnd cC' l't:linl.v "The' btlok I'" hound in in till' 1.01101l1l "I'fin' "I' 01 h"I' nddhall shf1\\,~ J.,! t't air i'u F r :'lIIl·l'. 11111 III ;111\' ('UII\'I'nlilll1:d hUl1l an ... kill.- IIl ... i ... ts t·;I1 .. · tlll'ir 11I :IIl:ll.!f'lIu·n l t'llTIljl: I' W I'" d l':lIl S : l ~ ~taJkl·r .... Fi n land . 1t:!1 .\'. '\lIs tr:ll i;1 NEW YORK POST , SUNDAY, JUN E 4, 2000 TVSundav Calch-phrases 10 walch for on Festival in 1997, which led to 9 bumpy but ~uC'C'l~ f;sful The league of trnnJo;ition frum li ve net tu rodio show. Genllemen "Rlldio prf'~f' lIt l'l nil sorts of problems," says rat her­ tall Gentlem.n ~la .. k • This Is a local Gatiss_ '"You end up having shop for local to say, '1 am holding this jade sword in my hond people! whilst wearing a red hot .... The BBC soon C'nuJ:"ht on to • Okey-dokey, pig their cult following nnd in a pokey! ofTered the group n TV series. -It's a classic route to s ue­ • There's nothing ces8.~ says Pemberton, for you here. "going back 40 or 50 years. Spike ~lillig.n , 1'he Goo n • What's all this Show' [with Peter Sellcr. /. they all followed the s.me shouting? We 'll path." have no trouble They didn't .11 cnd up wit.h characters as strange here. 85 Harvey and VnL a seem­ ingly normnl coupll.' whn • Are you local? have l 'C'ry stringent rules for houseguests, including color-coded towels for the nnd Canada (among other drying of ... arious body parts countries), the answer is and 8 downstairs toilet that clearly yes. mus t ne\'er be used for MThc L cagUl.' of pi1s~in~ "solids." Gentlemen" is a S0:1 11 n pCnl ut thry (III crull·1i up ur !'IortJ4, u Guth ic n lllll'oy quittin", thl'ir day juhs ~ct in the IicLionol northern Bond the Lellgue of lown of Huy~lon Vmulry. Gentlemen folluwed. tTho tii h"l l Ic:u..linK intn town Pemberton is n't working­ ; rcads ominously "Htlj'ston anymore for the London :Vassey - You 'll Never office of \ariety; Dyson is . Leave!") doing a reading ot a book· iT hiS h:lmlct has morc shop in Leeds rather than f than its fair share of working behind the counter I sadists. swingers. toad- and Gatiss is still writing ~ wo r shippcr s . xenophobes the occasional ~Doct o r Who" ;nnd nudists. no\'el - but only when he ; Amo n,:::: the many not;lblcs wants to. i I nro : Edward nnd Tubbs. Now the pcrfonners (ull in their early 305) are trying to ;: ~~~c\~c fc~~O~f'~~'~ ~ rs ~\~: ~ find the balance for !' uCt'ess . . customers: Hilary Driss, the 2 ~ I u('a) butcher who adds :Hl ~e; ~~i} ! s~~!~~f~ r' I~J~~ addictive "s pecial" inj.!'rcdi· typical U.S. sitcom), some ' ent-to his meal; H C' rr LI PP. cntic8 are urging them to . 0 German lour guide Wit h a quit while they're ahe.d, fu"dncss for the lowl la ds; "There i3 the 'Fawlty and :\1r. Chinnery, t-!'t film i~ The ~1 "l\ l y" o lit I tlH.' like' with lIoly Grall: snyl'l Gntiss, {' o l1tinu i ll~ stul'y lil1(,~ nhout "because that's the one llie: ; pcn ersl', frustrated where they'vc got no muOl"Y." Ii ve~ of it ~ recurring charnc­ Their fondest dream hu\\,­ ters': Three little pigs: Next from the oddball team of Brit l'\'C'r is ('ven mure pervcrse: Ud ianLly weird - the Is a scrapbook - "bound in human skin," "What we really wnnt is for :- hlJ\¥'s scc~l1d ~ COSOI1 begnl1 JoO omeo nc in the States to \\'lth a truly bizarre plot episode nnd made on e"tra ing- theater in \\'akcfi(' ld. huy the rights and remnkc feJturing- a macabre circus s huw or two out of the bits whi le Dyson studi("