In episode 2, i do love the yorkshire coal-mining son clashing with his playwright father.
"You had to go poncing off to Barnsley."
That was a fantastic topsy turvy sketch, to this day is spot on for any kid telling their dad they dont want to do what they did. This is the timeless Python.
"...Good! Good? What do you know about it? What do you know about getting up at five o'clock in t'morning to fly to Paris, back at the Old Vic for drinks at twelve, sweating the day through press interviews, television interviews and getting back here at ten to wrestle with the problem of a homosexual nymphomaniac drug-addict involved in the ritual murder of a well known Scottish footballer. That's a full working day, lad, and don't you forget it!..."
It was a revolutionary and very funny show in its day. To this day, many of the sketches are among the funniest stuff television has ever created and many of the sketches have become classics. Of course, some of it may seem dated by now. The show is fifty years old, and the Pythons tried out lots of stuff and were quite anarchic for their time, so naturally, as (the ever critical) John Cleese has noted, there may have been "misses" and, and some of the humor was certainly then topical and may require a frame of reference to appreciate (such as the wonderful sketch of Sam Peckinpah's version of '"Salad Days"), but I remember certainly more "hits". The show remains very, very funny. :-) I
Monty Python's Flying Circus is basically what Monty Python originally was, the movies came later and were "offspring"; taking the surreal humor of the show to the silver screen. Their first movie, "Monty Python’s And Now for Something Completely" is basically a "best of" roundup of TV sketches re-done for the movie format, so to get an idea what the show was about, that movie is a good place to start.
I think this must be the first time I've met someone who hasn't heard of Monty Python's Flying Circus! It's like meeting someone who hasn't heard of Elvis Presley or The Beatles.
Yes, that was my first thought and I thought that somewhat strange as well, but then again: we all heard of Monty Python (or Elvis, or The Beatles) at some time for the first time. :-)
Being american one thing Montana Dave needs to learn...is that its pronounced Monty Python, not the rather peculiar Monty Pye-thorn, that i once heard Steve Martin, and others since, say.
Like 1975-79 SNL, Flying Circus is best seen via a "greatest hits" collection, and even then, this stuff is so well known that it may fall flat for you upon seeing it. IIRC, John Cleese himself even said that there were far more misses than hits.
Excellent point! I remember watching it in my teens and it was the funniest TV show ever (next to When Things were Rotten).
Some channel on DirecTV has been showing MPFC recently and after many hours of watching...well, maybe it was a show of its times? I laughed a lot less than I did 50 years ago.
Still some hilarity, but not as much as I thought I remembered.
Sadly, that just seems to be how sketch comedy is. I've had this same experience.
Yup, people seem to forget that this was a sketch show, & like all sketch shows, some are better than others, & the duff sketches always seem to go one forever. Is it true that the Americans got a greatest hits version? I loved a lot of the show, saw the films & bought the LPs, but we are talking around 50 years ago, & I'm not so keen now, but it would be nice to see some of the good bits that haven't been repeated to death.
Remember me and my brothers laughing hysterically at many of the skits which were showed on PBS back in the 70's. The occasional, brief nudity didn't hurt either. ;-)
I seem to recall a sketch where i think Eric Idle is up for multiple murders and he's beaten up policemen who are also in court, and they end up giving him a suspended sentence, and he's arguing that he should be getting more time and saying how embarrassed he was at their kindness
Im surprised there isnt more love for ...Bicycle Repair Man
Not even on youtube. I love the bit that hes sitting with 2 other supermen wen he gets the call to change into overcoat and glasses. Cracks me up.
I also loved "How not to be seen". Brilliant.
Cleese voice over: "...This is Mr Nesbitt of Harlow New Town. Mr Nesbit would you stand up please. (after a pause - nothing happens) Mr Nesbitt has learnt the value of not being seen. However he has chosen a very obvious piece of cover..." (The bush explodes and you hear a muffled scream).
Check it out.. in fact an example where the initial idea is superb and brilliantly worded. "Stand up please"...and then the bushes. But to conclude it/to get out of it ...they go into escalation mode, blowing up everything with maniacal laughing. So bit of a weak conclusion but the "journey" as Oct talks about, was perfection.
I can just about remember enjoying the skit where Eric Idle was a Hollywood mogul (think Darryl F. Zanuck) surrounded by his yes men, agreeing with everything he said. I think it was in the last series, the one without John Cleese.
