Monty Python's Flying Circus [split topic]

[Sex Festival Organizer]

Right, since I was the one who dredged this thread up from the forum's murky depths, I might as well be the one to put it to deep sleep again with my thoughts on the entire series, which I've now finally watched.

Season 1: Not terribly funny, and very much a work of a bunch of talented guys finding their feet, but there are some highlights. One of which is not Upper Class Twit of the Year, which I found interminable, and is not helped by Cleese's breathless commentary.

Season 2: Now we're talking, the boys have found their feet and there's a lot of funny stuff here (Inquisition, swollen feet, the Architects sketch and so many more), and this is in my opinion the best season by far. However, is it here or in season 3 that Graham Chapman ends up swinging upside-down from a rope beneath a BBC studio? That's probably their worst sketch ever, even though I liked the repeated cries of, «Bring the BBC rope! Bring the BBC rope!» in the very beginning, as if a BBC rope is somehow better than a regular rope.

Season 3: After the fifth or so episode, which were amusing enough, this turned into a bit of a slog for me, and apart from Sam Peckinpah's "Salad Days", I can't think of any LOL-worthy moments. I am probably being unreasonably harsh here, and might have forgotten lots of good stuff, but from episode 10 and out, I was practically begging for it to end.

Season 4: Apart from The Golden Age of Ballooning, this was much better than I've been led to believe, and there's stuff here, including the whole Michael Ellis episode, that is among the best of the entire series.

Also, it turns out that my favourite MP sketch ever, The Philosophers' Football Match, isn't even here, but is from the specials they made for German TV, which I definitely did not know. And speaking of that, I love this from Wikipedia:

[McChesney Duntz]

However, is it here or in season 3 that Graham Chapman ends up swinging upside-down from a rope beneath a BBC studio? That's probably their worst sketch ever, even though I liked the repeated cries of, «Bring the BBC rope! Bring the BBC rope!» in the very beginning, as if a BBC rope is somehow better than a regular rope.

Neither - it was near the end of episode 12 of the first series. There are definitely worse sketches than that one - apart from the "BBC rope" amusement, there's the upside-down caption and Eric Idle's pronounciation of "Otta-waaar" in the post-sketch discussion. But not the greatest, that much is true.

Season 4: Apart from The Golden Age of Ballooning, this was much better than I've been led to believe, and there's stuff here, including the whole Michael Ellis episode, that is among the best of the entire series.

YES. Thank you.

[Sex Festival Organizer]

Neither - it was near the end of episode 12 of the first series. There are definitely worse sketches than that one - apart from the "BBC rope" amusement, there's the upside-down caption and Eric Idle's pronounciation of "Otta-waaar" in the post-sketch discussion. But not the greatest, that much is true.

Really? I could have sworn it was much later, but it seems my mind is playing tricks on me (again). And of course «the worst ever» is deeply subjective, but I thought that once Chapman had fallen down the hole, it just went nowhere, except for him swinging to and fro, for a very, very long time.

[Revelator]

Regarding series/season 4: "Michael Ellis" gets an advantage from using Cleese/Chapman material originally written for the first draft of "Holy Grail." Even better are "Light Entertainment War" and "Party Political Broadcast." The latter benefits from sketches co-written by Douglas Adams ("Patient Abuse") and Neil Innes ("Most Awful Family in Britain"). I sometimes wonder what might have happened if six more episodes were produced with Innes on board and Gilliam continuing to appear onscreen more often. The series might have become as carnivalesque as the "Awful Family" sketch was.

At the start of the fourth series the group was initially thrown off balance by the absence of the Cleese/Chapman team, so Palin/Jones had to write more, not always with the best results ("The Golden Age of Ballooning" and "Hamlet"). Perhaps by the sixth episode the team had found its equilibrium and would have been able to craft six more good quality episodes before filming Holy Grail. But we'll never know of course.

The first series seems to be taking more of a beating nowadays, but I think it still works very well, albeit on a more conventional level, with far more self-contained sketches. The third series is where the shape of each episode becomes more important than the individual sketches, which is why I regard it as the best.

[DrGreggles]

Light Entertainment War is one of my favourites.
My initial viewings of MPFC were rather as hoc, and for years I never knew which series which shows came from.
I remember being rather shocked that it was from the supposedly inferior series 4.

[markburgle]

Whatever anyone claims is the worst Monty Python, I'm just going to come back with Mr Neutron and win every time

[the science eel]

The third series is where the shape of each episode becomes more important than the individual sketches, which is why I regard it as the best.

I'm in the middle of it now. I don't see much difference between this and the second, quality wise. But there isn't a single episode in the third without a 'whoops Duckie!'/'you're a pooftah' bit. I didn't notice any of those sorts of jokes in either of the first two series.

[Sex Festival Organizer]

...Most Awful Family in Britain...

Ah, thanks for reminding me, and for the extra details. The Most Awful Family in Britain sketch is probably my second favourite, and I just love Terry Gilliam eating beans stretched out on the sofa, especially when he rolls off it at the end, arms and legs all stiff and awkward. And the short clip of the second worst family, with Idle doing the best «braying twit» performance ever (at least I think it's him, with dark hair on the left side of the table - it was hard to tell due to the poor image quality).

[the science eel]

Whatever anyone claims is the worst Monty Python, I'm just going to come back with Mr Neutron and win every time

Palin's 'BOX' business at the start, and Teddy Salad exploding halfway through giving an address are two of the funniest bits in the whole four series, as far as I'm concerned.

[Twonty Gostelow]

And the short clip of the second worst family, with Idle doing the best «braying twit» performance ever (at least I think it's him, with dark hair on the left side of the table - it was hard to tell due to the poor image quality).

Jones is the brayer, I think (if that's the one you mean).

Left to right, Chapman, Jones, Palin, Idle

[Spiny Norman]

I wanted to say I quite like the entire Anything Goes sketch.

But now I'm confused. Are we supposed to actually watch Monty Python's Flying Circus? Like, sit down, choose an episode, and watch it?

I thought it was just this thing that people talked about, you know, an excuse to show your face on television by pretending to analyse it and re-tell second hand anecdotes. I wasn't even sure if it was real. (But hey, neither was Steve Martin...)

[Billy]

See, aged 11/12 around the turn of the millennium, Flying Circus utterly blew my mind.

I'd watched a few of them in the mid-90s repeats and on video, but around 2000 Paramount Comedy Channel aired the lot and I was totally spellbound by every episode, a genuine feeling that I was watching utter uncontrollable magic and my heart would always sink when the (modern day) BBC logo would appear at the end to signify the end of each episode. The "start again" loony terrified the shit out of me, but it all peaked during the Undertaker Sketch - I didn't even realise the audience were meant to be booing the sketch, I thought they'd all just gone completely fucking insane and some sort of mad party was breaking out before my eyes. My heartbeat genuinely went into overdrive for a blurry repeat of a programme thirty years old even then.

I've not properly rewatched it all in a good fifteen years or so, but it was a little saddening to find the opposing most-of-Python-is-shit view on the net for the first time, along with the Family Guy episode where Peter makes Meg watch all the parts of Python "that aren't funny". The only other comedy shows to ever truly give me that childhood "Oh my god this is INCREDIBLE" feeling of giddy euphoria were The Young Ones in the late 90s, and, erm, Brass Eye in 2001 when I was twelve.

[Revelator]

I've not properly rewatched it all in a good fifteen years or so, but it was a little saddening to find the opposing most-of-Python-is-shit view on the net for the first time, along with the Family Guy episode where Peter makes Meg watch all the parts of Python "that aren't funny".

I have the Blu-Ray of the complete show and have been building up to a proper rewatch by first viewing the 2019 DVDs of At Last the 1948 Show and Do Not Adjust Your Set. But I still need to watch the Network release of The Complete and Utter History of Britain and get through all the non-Python stuff on the shelf. Sometime this year!

I've never understood the mentality of "only 20% of Python is good" people--and in 2014 Palin joined them by saying "a lot of Python was crap, it really was." For a moment or two I wanted to strangle the nicest Python. I was never very fond of Family Guy, so its potshots at MPFC just confirmed my dislike. But Gilliam of all people was a huge fan of Family Guy and praised it often in interviews. Old age does funny things.

[Twonty Gostelow]

I've never understood the mentality of "only 20% of Python is good" people--and in 2014 Palin joined them by saying "a lot of Python was crap, it really was." For a moment or two I wanted to strangle the nicest Python.

I hope that was Palin being self-deprecating, or tired of being interviewed, or self-flagellating about how he'd have written and performed differently with hindsight. My gut feeling is that he loves it as much as we dyed-in-the-wool fans do.
It's Cleese's attitude that annoys me most often, particularly his deriding the O2 shows with what he likes to think is psychologically healthy honesty. I went to one of the shows and it was probably the most joyous event I'd been to, and for everyone there as far as I could see, performers included.

[Sex Festival Organizer]

Jones is the brayer, I think (if that's the one you mean).

Left to right, Chapman, Jones, Palin, Idle

Yes, you're right, that's the guy, in the grey suit. Can't believe I missed the actual Idle on the right there.

[Glebe]

Season 1: Not terribly funny, and very much a work of a bunch of talented guys finding their feet, but there are some highlights. One of which is not Upper Class Twit of the Year, which I found interminable, and is not helped by Cleese's breathless commentary.

Actually, while the basic premise is very funny and there are lots of funny bits in it, it is a bit draggy.

is it here or in season 3 that Graham Chapman ends up swinging upside-down from a rope beneath a BBC studio? That's probably their worst sketch ever, even though I liked the repeated cries of, «Bring the BBC rope! Bring the BBC rope!» in the very beginning, as if a BBC rope is somehow better than a regular rope.

The Minister falling through the Earth's crust? That's always been one of my favourites!

I sometimes wonder what might have happened if six more episodes were produced with Innes on board and Gilliam continuing to appear onscreen more often. The series might have become as carnivalesque as the "Awful Family" sketch was.

Ah, thanks for reminding me, and for the extra details. The Most Awful Family in Britain sketch is probably my second favourite, and I just love Terry Gilliam eating beans stretched out on the sofa, especially when he rolls off it at the end, arms and legs all stiff and awkward.

Always think of that sketch as a kind of proto-The Young Ones!

I wanted to say I quite like the entire Anything Goes sketch.

Just watched The Secret Policeman's Ball courtroom sketch again the other day, it amalgamates a number of Python sketches and ends with that, nice to see Cleese (and Peter Cook!) singing that at the end!

I've never understood the mentality of "only 20% of Python is good" people

Also it's scattershot nature of it was part of it's appeal too. It's the overall effect!

[mjwilson]

I'm in the middle of it now. I don't see much difference between this and the second, quality wise. But there isn't a single episode in the third without a 'whoops Duckie!'/'you're a pooftah' bit. I didn't notice any of those sorts of jokes in either of the first two series.

Seems to up the casual racism too (by today's standards anyway).

[the science eel]

Norwegian box reduced to £60 until tomorrow aft

https://networkonair.com/all-products/3077-monty-python-s-flying-circus-norwegian-blu-ray-edition

[Phil_A]

Norwegian box reduced to £60 until tomorrow aft

https://networkonair.com/all-products/3077-monty-python-s-flying-circus-norwegian-blu-ray-edition

And with perfect timing the site is broken.

It was down to £50 as well!

[Ptolemy Ptarmigan]

Been on it for an hour and there were glitches on every page and items not going into the basket before it crashed altogether.

That's probably why they extended it - it was 6pm to 10pm originally.

[Phil_A]

It's back now (and it's £60 again, bah!)

[Ptolemy Ptarmigan]

It's back now (and it's £60 again, bah!)

Checkout page still kept failing at every stage, but eventually got the order done.

I think the £50 / £60 issue was something to do with one page showing the price without 20% VAT. That caught me out on a couple of other items that suddenly increased once they were in the basket.

[Magnum Valentino]

Happened to me when I bought it at £100, depending on certain circumstances it would also display at £90 and add the tenner at checkout.

[Famous Mortimer]

50 quid for me at the mo. Nice! I get paid tomorrow an' all.

[Ignatius_S]

The sale has been extended to 5pm today, due to the technical issues yesterday.

[Mr_Simnock]

Norwegian box reduced to £60 until tomorrow aft

https://networkonair.com/all-products/3077-monty-python-s-flying-circus-norwegian-blu-ray-edition

Very possibly the finest example of a restoration to an older TV series by an absolute mile. The lengths they went to in every single aspect of it is staggering, Python will never look better. The HD bits of the Ron Obvious sketch for example look like they were filmed yesterday, remarkable job.

[Jake Thingray]

Could anyone clarify, please -- does the Series 1-4 Norwegian Blu-ray Edition box include Andrew Pixley's accompanying books, or do they only accompany the individual releases of each series?

[BJBMK2]

Could anyone clarify, please -- does the Series 1-4 Norwegian Blu-ray Edition box include Andrew Pixley's accompanying books, or do they only accompany the individual releases of each series?

The Pixley books are included in the Norwegian Blu Ray box.

[Jake Thingray]

Right then, thank you for clarifying.

[Satchmo Distel]

My vote for best ever section would be Mr. Hilter. Worst: hugely subjective but I can't stand the sketch of Aussies saying 'Bruce' repeatedly. 'Suits you' has always annoyed me too. Unfair on Idle, whom I admire and have seen live, to single those out but it's my gut feeling.

Another sketch that was only in the German special IIRC: fish slapping on the bridge. Not hugely funny but I can see why they enjoyed doing it.

I wouldn't trust any Palin or Cleese quote where they slag it off to appear self-depracating. Yes, Fawlty Towers and maybe Ripping Yarns are better, as are all three Python films, but these Python series were where they were pushing boundaries every week and producing gold under great time pressure.