I loved 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' as a youngster, even though, strange as it may seem now, I used to be frightened by it. Unlike say 'The Frost Report', the show was not actually about anything. Each episode had the look and feel of a nightmare; we saw terrible sights such as heads lopped off with razors, people puking their guts out, ten-ton weights falling on people, and human brains consumed with spoons. It was a brave person who stayed up late to watch this show. Characters would often cross over into different sketches, such a knight who kept hitting people with a rubber chicken, and 'The Colonel' who demanded items be terminated if they were too silly.
The Pythons, as if you did not know, were John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, and Eric Idle. It was an inspired collection for a comedy team; Cleese and Chapman were good at sketches in which there was lots of verbal abuse, Palin and Jones excelled at items which sent up film genres, Gilliam provided some disturbing animations, while Idle contributed well-written skits involving word play.
In the first season, each episode opened with a bedraggled Palin emerging either from the sea or jungle to issue the following warning: "Its...". Flowers would then climb the screen, their petals opening to reveal the name of the show, to the strains of 'Liberty Bell' by Souza. The very first show kicked off with a sketch in which a city gent ( Jones ) asks a Yokel farmer ( Chapman ) just what his sheep are doing up in the trees. The farmer says that they have realised that their lives consist of standing around and waiting to be eaten, so they have decided to do something about it. We then cut to two Frenchmen ( Palin and Cleese ) in berets who demonstrate the commercial possibilities of flying sheep. From the reaction of the audience, its clear they are baffled rather than amused. 'Python' took time to catch on, but when it did, the public could not get enough of it.
Season 2 is generally thought of as the best. 'The Ministry Of Silly Walks', 'The Spanish Inquisition', 'The Piranha Brothers', and 'The Semaphore Version Of 'Wuthering Heights' originated here. Clips of the show were regularly requested on 'Ask Aspel', a children's show hosted by Michael Aspel.
After two excellent seasons and a movie, plus a couple of fun German specials, 'Python' went into decline, and John Cleese's departure was the final nail in the coffin. Season 4 was the last. Fortunately, the team reunited to make movies which, if anything, were funnier than the show, particularly 'Life Of Brian' ( 1979 ). The last one - 'The Meaning Of Life' ( 1983 ) ended with a clip of the title sequence of the very first television show, taking 'Python' full circle. Chapman's death in 1989 closed the door on Python for good. A brief reunion in 1999 - 'Python Night' - was a disaster, with Eddie Izzard unwisely trying to stand-in for the deceased star.
I must squeeze in a quick mention of lovely Carol Cleveland, with whom I was madly in love in the early '70's. Her bra coming off at the end of 'Scott Of The Sahara' had a profound impact on me!
The Pythons, as if you did not know, were John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, and Eric Idle. It was an inspired collection for a comedy team; Cleese and Chapman were good at sketches in which there was lots of verbal abuse, Palin and Jones excelled at items which sent up film genres, Gilliam provided some disturbing animations, while Idle contributed well-written skits involving word play.
In the first season, each episode opened with a bedraggled Palin emerging either from the sea or jungle to issue the following warning: "Its...". Flowers would then climb the screen, their petals opening to reveal the name of the show, to the strains of 'Liberty Bell' by Souza. The very first show kicked off with a sketch in which a city gent ( Jones ) asks a Yokel farmer ( Chapman ) just what his sheep are doing up in the trees. The farmer says that they have realised that their lives consist of standing around and waiting to be eaten, so they have decided to do something about it. We then cut to two Frenchmen ( Palin and Cleese ) in berets who demonstrate the commercial possibilities of flying sheep. From the reaction of the audience, its clear they are baffled rather than amused. 'Python' took time to catch on, but when it did, the public could not get enough of it.
Season 2 is generally thought of as the best. 'The Ministry Of Silly Walks', 'The Spanish Inquisition', 'The Piranha Brothers', and 'The Semaphore Version Of 'Wuthering Heights' originated here. Clips of the show were regularly requested on 'Ask Aspel', a children's show hosted by Michael Aspel.
After two excellent seasons and a movie, plus a couple of fun German specials, 'Python' went into decline, and John Cleese's departure was the final nail in the coffin. Season 4 was the last. Fortunately, the team reunited to make movies which, if anything, were funnier than the show, particularly 'Life Of Brian' ( 1979 ). The last one - 'The Meaning Of Life' ( 1983 ) ended with a clip of the title sequence of the very first television show, taking 'Python' full circle. Chapman's death in 1989 closed the door on Python for good. A brief reunion in 1999 - 'Python Night' - was a disaster, with Eddie Izzard unwisely trying to stand-in for the deceased star.
I must squeeze in a quick mention of lovely Carol Cleveland, with whom I was madly in love in the early '70's. Her bra coming off at the end of 'Scott Of The Sahara' had a profound impact on me!