Papa from the Darkness.

I don’t know how far the British comedy sketch show League of Gentlemen travelled beyond these shores. It might be that it was considered too narrow in appeal and too domestic in style to attract big bucks abroad, and so there might be an unreasonably high number of people over there who’ve never heard of it.

The term ‘sketch show’ is inappropriate. It suggests something safe and comfortable, and League of Gentlemen was far from being either. It took risks and crossed boundaries as a matter of routine. It defined dark, and the darkest character of all was Papa Lazarou. The name gives him his image: Papa = power; Lazarou suggests something resurrected from the crypt. He turns up mysteriously; nobody knows where he comes from or how he got there; he collects wives. His declaration of triumph is ‘you’re my wife now,’ and it’s entered the language among the cognoscenti. Let me introduce you to him.

This probably isn’t the best example, but it was the only clip I could find on YouTube so it’ll have to do. And give praise for Reece Shearsmith, a greatly underrated actor. It’s best watched late at night just before retiring.