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{{Infobox television
| image = Monty Python's Flying Circus Title Card.png
| genre = {{Plain list|
* [[Sketch comedy]] * * * }}▼
| animator = Terry Gilliam
| runtime = approx. 25–30 minutes
| company = [[BBC]]
| creator = {{Plain list|
* [[Graham Chapman]] * * * * * }}
| writer = {{
* [[Monty Python]]
* [[Neil Innes]]
* [[Douglas Adams]]
}}
| director = {{
* [[Ian MacNaughton]]
* [[John Howard Davies]]
}}
| starring = {{Plain list|
* Graham Chapman
* John Cleese (series 1–3)
* Eric Idle
* Terry Jones
* Michael Palin
* Terry Gilliam
* [[Carol Cleveland]]
}}
| theme_music_composer = [[John Philip Sousa]]▼
| opentheme = "[[The Liberty Bell (march)|The Liberty Bell]]"
| composer = {{Plain list|
* Neil Innes
}}
| country = United Kingdom
| network = {{Plain list|
* [[BBC One|BBC1]] (1969–1973) * }}
| first_aired = {{Start date|1969|10|5|df=y}}
| last_aired = {{End date|1974|12|5|df=y}}
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| num_episodes = 45
| list_episodes = List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes
| producer = {{Plain list|
* John Howard Davies (series 1) * }}
|
* James Balfour
| related = ''[[Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus]]''<br />▼
* Alan Featherstone
''[[And Now for Something Completely Different]]''▼
}}
▲| theme_music_composer = [[John Philip Sousa]]
| editor = {{Plain list|
▲| opentheme = "[[The Liberty Bell (march)|The Liberty Bell]]"<br> recorded by [[Band of the Grenadier Guards]]
* Ray Millichope
▲| composer = Neil Innes<br />[[Fred Tomlinson (singer)|Fred Tomlinson Singers]]
* Robert C. Dearberg
}}
| related = {{Plain list|
▲* ''[[And Now for Something Completely Different]]''
}}
}}
'''''Monty Python's Flying Circus''''' (also known as simply '''''Monty Python''''') is a British [[surreal humour|surreal]] [[sketch comedy]] series created by and starring [[Graham Chapman]], [[John Cleese]], [[Eric Idle]], [[Terry Jones]], [[Michael Palin]], and [[Terry Gilliam]], who became known collectively as "[[Monty Python]]", or the "Pythons". The first episode was recorded at the [[BBC]] on 7 September 1969 and premiered on 5 October on [[BBC1]], with 45 episodes airing over four series from 1969 to 1974, plus two episodes for German TV. A feature film adaptation of several sketches, ''[[And Now for Something Completely Different]]'', was released in 1971.
The series stands out for its use of [[Surreal humour|absurd situations]], mixed with risqué and innuendo-laden humour, [[Visual gag|sight gags]], and observational sketches without [[punch line|punchlines]]. Live-action segments were broken up with animations by Gilliam, often merging with the live action to form [[Segue#In film or broadcast news production|segues]]. The overall format used for the series followed and elaborated upon the style used by [[Spike Milligan]] in his groundbreaking series ''[[Q... (TV series)|Q...]]'', rather than the traditional sketch show format. The Pythons play the majority of the series's characters
The programme came about as the six Pythons, having met each other through university and in various radio and television programmes in the 1960s, sought to make a new sketch comedy show unlike anything else on British television
The show became very popular in the [[Television in the United Kingdom|United Kingdom]], and after initially failing to draw an audience in the United States, gained American popularity after [[PBS]] member stations began airing it in 1974. The programme's success on both sides of the Atlantic led to the Pythons going on live tours and creating three additional films, while the individual Pythons flourished in solo careers. ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' has become an influential work on comedy as well as in popular culture. The programming language [[Python (programming language)|Python]] was named by [[Guido van Rossum]] after the show, and the word [[Spamming|spam]], for junk email, took its name from a word used in [[Spam (Monty Python sketch)|a Monty Python sketch]].
== Premise ==
''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' is a sketch comedy show, though it does not adhere to any regular format. The sketches include live-action skits performed by [[Graham Chapman]], [[John Cleese]], [[Eric Idle]], [[Terry Jones]], [[Michael Palin]], and [[Terry Gilliam]], along with animations created by Gilliam, frequently used as linking devices or interstitial between skits. During the first three series, Cleese would be dressed in a tuxedo and introduce the show with the phrase "And Now for Something Completely Different
===Title===
The title ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' was partly the result of the group's reputation at the BBC. [[Michael Mills (British producer)|Michael Mills]], the BBC's Head of Comedy, wanted their name to include the word "circus" because the BBC referred to the six members wandering around the building as a circus, in particular, "Baron Von Took's Circus", after [[Barry Took]], who had brought them to the BBC.<ref>The term ''flying circus'' first being applied to Baron von Richthofen's [[Jagdgeschwader 1 (World War 1)|Jagdgeschwader 1]].</ref> The group added "flying" to make it sound less like an actual circus and more like something [[Manfred von Richthofen#Flying Circus|from World War I]]. The group was coming up with their name at a time when the 1966 [[The Royal Guardsmen]] song ''[[Snoopy vs. the Red Baron (song)|Snoopy vs. the Red Baron]]'' had been at a peak. [[Manfred von Richthofen|''Freiherr'' Manfred von Richthofen]], the World War I German flying ace known as The Red Baron, commanded the [[Jagdgeschwader 1 (World War I)|Jagdgeschwader 1 fighter squadron
The words "Monty Python" were added because they claimed it sounded like a really bad theatrical agent, the sort of person who would have brought them together, with [[John Cleese]] suggesting "[[Pythonidae|Python]]" as something slimy and slithery, and [[Eric Idle]] suggesting "Monty".<ref name="Palin 2008 650">{{cite book |last=Palin |first=Michael |title=Diaries 1969–1979 : the Python Years / Michael Palin |publisher=Griffin |year=2008 |page=650 |isbn=978-0-312-38488-3}}</ref> They later explained that the name Monty "made us laugh because Monty to us means [[Lord Montgomery]], our great general of the Second World War".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpL12ilpDnQ&t=6m20s |title=Live At Aspen |website=[[YouTube]] |date=3 February 2009 |access-date=10 January 2013}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}}</ref> The BBC had rejected some other names put forward by the group, including ''Whither Canada?''; ''The Nose Show''; ''Ow! It's Colin Plint!''; ''A Horse, a Spoon and a Basin''; ''The Toad Elevating Moment'' and ''Owl Stretching Time''.<ref name="Palin 2008 650"/> Several of these titles were later used for individual episodes.
=== Recurring characters ===
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The most frequently returning characters on the show include:
* '''The "It's" Man''' (Palin), a [[Robinson Crusoe]]-type castaway with torn clothes and a long, unkempt beard who would appear at the beginning of the programme. Often he is seen performing a long or dangerous task, such as falling off a tall, jagged cliff or running through a mine field a long distance towards the camera before introducing the show by just saying, "It's..." before being abruptly cut off by the opening titles and Terry Gilliam's animation sprouting the words 'Monty Python's Flying Circus'. ''It's'' was an early candidate for the title of the series.
* '''A BBC [[continuity announcer]] in a [[dinner jacket]]''' (Cleese), seated at a desk, often in highly incongruous locations, such as a forest or a beach. His line, "[[And Now for Something Completely Different|And now for something completely different]]", was used variously as a lead-in to the opening titles and a simple way to link sketches. Though Cleese is best known for it, Idle first introduced the phrase in Episode 2, where he introduced a man with three buttocks. It eventually became the show's [[catchphrase]] and served as the title for the troupe's first movie. In Series 3 the line was shortened to simply: "And now..." and was often combined with the "It's" man in introducing the episodes.
* '''The [[Gumbys]]''', a dim-witted group of identically attired people all wearing [[gumboot]]s (from which they take their name), high-water trousers, [[Braces (clothing)|braces]], [[Fair Isle (technique)|Fair Isle]] [[Sweater vest|tank top]]s, white shirts with rolled up sleeves, round wire-rimmed glasses, [[toothbrush mustache|toothbrush moustache]]s and knotted handkerchiefs worn on their heads (a stereotype of the English [[working class culture|working-class]] holidaymaker). Gumbys always stand in a hunched, square posture, holding their arms stiffly at their sides with their balled hands curled inwards. They speak slowly in loud, throaty voices punctuated by frequent grunts and groans, display a poor understanding of everything they encounter, and have a fondness for pointless violence. All of them are surnamed Gumby: D.P. Gumby, R.S. Gumby, etc. Even though all Pythons played Gumbys in the show's run, the character is most closely associated with Michael Palin.
* [[File:Gumbys-present-architects-sketch.jpg|thumb|Gumbys on parade]]'''The Knight with a Raw Chicken''' (Gilliam), who would hit characters over the head with the chicken when they said something particularly silly. The knight was a regular during the first series and made another appearance in the third.
* '''A nude [[organist]]''' (played in his first two appearances by Gilliam, later by Jones) who provided a brief fanfare to punctuate certain sketches, most notably on a sketch poking fun at ''[[Sale of the Century (
* '''The "Pepper Pots"''' are screeching middle-aged, [[lower-middle class]] housewives, played by the Pythons in frocks and frumpy hats, and engage in surreal and inconsequential conversation. "The Pepper Pots" was the in-house name that the Pythons used to identify these characters, who were never identified as such on-screen. On the rare occasion these women were named, it was often for comic effect, featuring such names as Mrs. Scum, Mrs. Non-Gorilla, Mrs. Thing, Mrs. Entity, or the duo Mrs. Premise and Mrs. Conclusion. "Pepper pot" refers to what the Pythons believed was the typical body shape of middle-class, British housewives, as explained by John Cleese in ''[[How to Irritate People]]''.{{sfn|Larsen|2008|p=13}} [[Terry Jones]] is perhaps most closely associated with the Pepper Pots, but all the Pythons were frequent in performing the drag characters.
* Brief black-and-white [[stock footage]], lasting only two or three seconds, of '''middle-aged women sitting in an audience and applauding'''. The film was taken from a [[Women's Institutes (British)|Women's Institute]] meeting and was sometimes presented with a colour tint.{{sfn|Larsen|2008|p=292}}
Other recurring characters
* "[[The Colonel (Monty Python)|The Colonel]]" (Chapman), a British Army officer who interrupts sketches that are "too silly" or that contain material he finds offensive. The Colonel also appears when non-BBC broadcast repeats need to be cut off for time constraints in [[broadcast syndication|syndication]].
* Arthur Pewtey (Palin), a socially inept, extremely dull man who appears most notably in the "[[Marriage Guidance Counsellor]]" and "[[Ministry of Silly Walks]]" sketches. His sketches all take the form of an office appointment with an authority figure (usually played by Cleese), which are used to parody the officious side of the British establishment by having the professional employed in the most bizarre field of expertise. The spelling of Pewtey's surname is changed, sometimes being spelled "Putey".
* The Reverend Arthur Belling is the [[vicar]] of St Loony-Up-The-Cream-Bun-and-Jam, known for his deranged behaviour. In one sketch (within Series 2, played by Chapman), he makes an appeal to the insane people of the world to drive sane people insane. In another sketch (within Series 3, played by Palin), which is among the pantheon of fan favourites,{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}
* A somewhat disreputable shopkeeper, played by Palin, is a staple of many a two-person sketch (notably "Dead Parrot Sketch" and "Cheese Shop"). He often speaks with a strong Cockney accent, and has no consistent name.
* Mr. Badger (Idle), a Scotsman whose specialty was interrupting sketches ('I won't ruin your sketch, for a pound'). He was once interviewed, in a sketch opposite Cleese, regarding his interpretation of [[Magna Carta]], which Badger believes was actually a piece of chewing gum on a bedspread in [[Dorset]]. He has also been seen as an [[Aircraft hijacking|aeroplane hijacker]] whose demands grow increasingly strange.
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* Arthur Nudge, a well-dressed mustachioed man, referred to in the published scripts as "Mr. Nudge" (Idle), who pointedly annoys uptight characters (usually Jones). He is characterised by his constant nudging gestures and cheeky innuendo. His most famous appearance is in his initial sketch, "[[Nudge Nudge]]", though he appears in several later sketches too, including "The Visitors", where he claimed his name was Arthur Name.
* [[Biggles]] (Chapman, and [[The Spanish Inquisition (Monty Python)|in one instance]] Jones), a World War I pilot. Derived from the famous series of fiction stories by [[W. E. Johns]].
* <span id="Luigi_Vercotti">Luigi Vercotti</span> (Palin), a [[Mafioso (criminal)|mafioso entrepreneur]] and [[pimp]] featured during the first series, accompanied in his first appearance by his brother Dino (Jones). He appears as the manager for [[Ron Obvious (Monty Python)|Ron Obvious]], as the owner of La Gondola restaurant and as a victim of the [[Piranha Brothers]]. With his brother, he attempts to talk the Colonel into paying for [[Pizzo (extortion)|protection of his Army base]].
* [[The Spanish Inquisition (Monty Python)|The Spanish Inquisition]] would burst into a previously unrelated sketch whenever their name was mentioned. Their catchphrase was 'Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!' They consist of Cardinal Ximinez (Palin), Cardinal Fang (Gilliam), and Cardinal Biggles (Jones). They premiered in series two and Ximinez had a cameo in "The Buzz Aldrin Show".
* Frenchmen: Cleese and Palin would sometimes dress in stereotypical French garb, e.g. striped shirt, tight pants, [[beret]], and speak in garbled French, with incomprehensible accents. They had one fake moustache between them, and each would stick it onto the other's lip when it was his turn to speak. They appear giving a demonstration of the technical aspects of the flying sheep in episode 2 ("Sex and Violence"), and appear in the [[Ministry of Silly Walks]] sketch as the developers of "La Marche Futile". They also make an appearance in ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]''.
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Other returning characters include a married couple, often mentioned but never seen, [[Ann Haydon-Jones]] and her husband Pip. In "[[Election Night Special]]", Pip has lost a political seat to [[Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)|Engelbert Humperdinck]]. Several recurring characters are played by different Pythons. Both Palin and Chapman played the insanely violent Police Constable [[Pan American World Airways|Pan Am]]. Both Jones and Palin portrayed police sergeant Harry 'Snapper' Organs of Q division. Various historical figures were played by a different cast member in each appearance, such as [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] (Cleese, then Palin), or [[Queen Victoria]] (Jones, then Palin, then all five Pythons in Series 4).
Some of the Pythons' real-life targets recurred more frequently than others. [[Reginald Maudling]], a contemporary [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] politician, was singled out for perhaps the most consistent ridicule.{{sfn|Larsen|2008|p=288}} Then-[[Secretary of State for Education and Science]], and (well after the programme had ended) Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]], was occasionally mentioned
== Series overview ==
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{{See also|Monty Python}}
Prior to the show, the six main cast members had met each other as part of various comedy shows: Jones and Palin were members of [[The Oxford Revue]], while Chapman, Cleese, and Idle were members of [[Cambridge University]]'s [[Footlights]], and while on tour in the United States, met Gilliam. In various capacities, the six worked on a number of different British radio and television comedy shows from 1964 to 1969 as both writers and on-screen roles. The six began to collaborate on ideas together, blending elements of their previous shows, to devise the premise of a new comedy show which presented a number of skits with minimal common elements, as if it were comedy presented by a [[stream of consciousness]]. This was aided through the use of Gilliam's animations to help transition skits from one to the next.<ref name="Gilliam animation">{{cite news |title=Terry Gilliam Reveals the Secrets of Monty Python Animations: A 1974 How-To Guide |url=http://www.openculture.com/2014/07/terry-gilliam-reveals-the-secrets-of-monty-python-animations.html |access-date=18 August 2019 |work=Open Culture |archive-date=18 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818145141/http://www.openculture.com/2014/07/terry-gilliam-reveals-the-secrets-of-monty-python-animations.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Casting ==
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=== Chapman ===
[[Graham Chapman]] often portrayed straight-laced men, of any age or class, frequently authority figures such as military officers, policemen or doctors. His characters could, at any moment, engage in "Pythonesque" [[mania]]cal behaviour and then return to their former sobriety.<ref>Sketches "An Appeal from the Vicar of St. Loony-up-the-Cream-Bun-and-Jam", "[[Colin "Bomber" Harris vs Colin "Bomber" Harris|The One-Man Wrestling Match]]", "Johann Gambolputty..." and "[[Argument Clinic]]"</ref> He was also skilled in abuse, which he brusquely delivered in such sketches as "Argument Clinic" and "Flying Lessons".
=== Cleese ===
[[John Cleese]] played
Cleese often played foreigners with ridiculous accents, especially Frenchmen, most of the time with Palin. Sometimes this extended to the use of actual French or German (such as "The Funniest Joke in the World", "Mr. [[Adolf Hitler|Hilter]]", or "La Marche Futile" at the end of "The Ministry of Silly Walks"), but still with a very heavy accent (or impossible to understand, as for example Hilter's speech).
=== Gilliam ===
[[File:Angelo Bronzino - Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time - National Gallery, London.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.1|The famous Python Foot can here be seen in its original context in the bottom-left corner of ''[[Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time]]'' by [[Bronzino|Agnolo Bronzino]], in the [[National Gallery, London]].]]
[[File:Foot detail from Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time by Agnolo Bronzino.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.1|Close-up of the foot]]
Many Python sketches were linked together by the [[Cutout animation|cut-out animations]] of [[Terry Gilliam]], including the opening titles featuring the iconic giant foot that became a symbol of all that was 'Pythonesque'.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Designer's Dictionary of Color |author= Sean Adams |publisher= Abrams |year= 2017 |isbn= 9781683350026 |page= 104}}</ref> Gilliam's unique visual style was characterised by sudden, dramatic movements and deliberate mismatches of scale, set in [[surrealism|surrealist]] landscapes populated by [[engraving]]s of large buildings with elaborate architecture, grotesque [[Victorian era#Technology and engineering|Victorian]] gadgets, machinery, and people cut from old [[Sears Roebuck]] catalogues. Gilliam added [[airbrush]] illustrations and many familiar pieces of art. All of these elements were combined in incongruous ways to obtain new and humorous meanings.
The surreal nature of the series allowed Gilliam's animation to go off on bizarre, imaginative tangents, features that were impossible to produce live-action at the time. Some running gags derived from these animations were a giant [[hedgehog]] named Spiny Norman who appeared over the tops of buildings shouting, "Dinsdale!", further petrifying the paranoid [[Piranha Brothers|Dinsdale Piranha]]
Notable Gilliam sequences for the show include Conrad Poohs and his Dancing Teeth, the rampage of the cancerous black spot, The Killer Cars and a giant cat that stomps its way through London, destroying everything in its path.
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* [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]] in the "Michael Ellis" episode
Gilliam soon became distinguished as the go-to member for the most obscenely grotesque characters. This carried over into the ''Holy Grail'' film, where Gilliam played King Arthur's hunchbacked page 'Patsy' and the bridgekeeper at the Bridge of Death as well as the 'deaf and mad' jailer in ''Life of Brian''.
===Idle===
[[Eric Idle]] is known for his roles as a cheeky, suggestive playboy ("[[Nudge Nudge]]"), a variety of pretentious television presenters (such as his over-the-top portrayal of [[Philip Jenkinson]] in the segments connecting the "[[Cheese Shop sketch|Cheese Shop]]" and "[[Sam Peckinpah's "Salad Days"|Salad Days]]" sketches), a crafty, slick salesman ("Door-to-Door Joke Salesman", "Encyclopedia Salesman") and the merchant who loves to haggle in ''[[Monty Python's Life of Brian]]''. He is acknowledged as 'the master of the one-liner' by the other Pythons, along with his ability to deliver extensive, sometimes maniacal monologues with barely a breath, such as in "The Money Programme".<ref>Chapman, et. al., p. 14</ref> He is also considered the best singer/songwriter in the group; for example, he played guitar in several sketches and wrote and performed "[[Always Look on the Bright Side of Life]]" from ''The Life of Brian''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Palin |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Palin |date=2006 |title=Diaries 1969–1979: The Python Years|publisher=[[Weidenfeld & Nicolson]] |___location=London, England|page=473 }}</ref> Unlike Jones, he often played female characters in a more straightforward way, only altering his voice slightly, as opposed to the falsetto shrieking used by the others. Several times, Idle appeared as upper-class, [[middle-aged]] women, such as Rita Fairbanks ("Reenactment of the Battle of Pearl Harbor") and the sexually
Because he was not from an already-established writing partnership prior to Python, Idle wrote his sketches alone.<ref>{{cite book |title= Dictionary of Atheism, Skepticism, and Humanism |first= Bill|last=Cooke |publisher=[[Prometheus Books]]|___location=Amherst, New York|year= 2006 |isbn= 9781615923656 |page= 349}}</ref>
=== Jones ===
Although all of the Pythons played women, [[Terry Jones]] is renowned by the rest to be 'the best Rat-Bag woman in the business'.{{citation needed|date=March 2012}} His portrayal of a middle-aged housewife was louder, shriller, and more dishevelled than that of any of the other Pythons. Examples of this are the "[[Dead Bishop]]" sketch, his role as Brian's mother Mandy in ''[[Life of Brian]]'', Mrs Linda S-C-U-M in "Mr Neutron" and the café proprietor in "[[Spam (Monty Python)|Spam]]". Also recurring was the reserved upper-class
=== Palin ===
[[Michael Palin]] was regarded by the other members of the troupe as the one with the widest range, equally adept as a [[
Palin also often plays heavy-accented foreigners, mostly French ("La marche futile") or German ("Hitler in Minehead"), usually alongside Cleese. In one of the last episodes, he delivers a full speech, first in English, then in French, then in heavily accented German.
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== Production ==
The first five episodes of the series were produced by [[John Howard Davies]], with Davies serving as studio director, and [[Ian MacNaughton]] acting as ___location director. From the sixth episode onwards, MacNaughton became the producer and sole director on the series. Other regular team members included [[Hazel Pethig]] (costumes), Madelaine Gaffney (makeup) and John Horton (video effects designer). Maggie Weston, who worked on both makeup and design, married Gilliam in 1973 and they remain together. The series was primarily filmed in London studios and nearby locations, although ___location shooting to take in beaches and villages included filming in [[Somerset]], [[Norwich]] and the island of [[Jersey]].
Pre-production of the series had started by April 1969. Documents from the BBC showed that the viability of the show had been threatened around this time when Cleese reminded the BBC that he was still under contract from David Frost's [[David Paradine Productions]], who wanted to co-produce the show. The BBC memos indicated the potential of holding off the show until 1971, when Cleese's contract with Paradine expired, but ultimately the situation was resolved, though the details of these negotiations have been lost.<ref name="irish times 50th"/>
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==Broadcast==
=== Original broadcast ===
The first episode aired on the BBC on Sunday, 5 October 1969, at 10:55 p.m.<ref name="irish times 50th"/> The BBC had to reassure some of its workers (who were considering going on strike and who thought the show was replacing a late-night, religious/devotional programme) by asserting that it was using the alternative programming to give clergymen time off on their busiest day.<ref name="irish times 50th"/> The first episode did not fare well in terms of audience, capturing only about 3% of the total UK population, roughly 1.5 million, compared to ''[[Dad's Army]]'' that had 22% on the Thursday of that same week. In addition to the lowest audience figures for shows during that week, the first episode has had the lowest [[Appreciation Index]] for any of the BBC's light entertainment programmes.<ref name="independent BBC">{{cite web | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/bbc-bosses-almost-lost-faith-in-disgusting-monty-python-1693829.html | title = BBC bosses almost lost faith in 'disgusting' Monty Python | first = Robert | last = Verkaik | date = 1 June 2009 | access-date = 7 October 2019 | work = [[The Independent]] | archive-date = 7 October 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191007145926/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/bbc-bosses-almost-lost-faith-in-disgusting-monty-python-1693829.html | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="irish times 50th">{{cite news | url = https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/monty-python-bbc-archive-reveals-the-secrets-behind-the-sketches-1.4042455 | title = Monty Python: BBC archive reveals the secrets behind the sketches | first = Mark | last = Lawson | date = 7 October 2019 | access-date = 7 October 2019 | newspaper = [[The Irish Times]] | archive-date = 7 October 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191007122423/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/monty-python-bbc-archive-reveals-the-secrets-behind-the-sketches-1.4042455 | url-status = live }}</ref> While public reception improved over the course of the first series, certain BBC executives had already conceived a dislike for the show, with some BBC documents describing the show as "disgusting and [[nihilism|nihilistic]]".<ref name="independent BBC"/> Some within the BBC had been more upbeat on how the first series had turned out and had congratulated the group accordingly, but a more general dislike for the show had already made an impact on the troupe, with Cleese announcing that he would be unlikely to continue to participate after the making of the second series.<ref name="independent BBC"/> Separately, the BBC had to re-edit several of the first series' episodes to remove the personal address and phone number for [[David Frost]] that the troupe had included in some sketches.<ref name="telegraph bbc"/>
The second series, while more popular than the first, further strained relations between the troupe and the BBC. Two of the sketches from the series finale "Royal Episode 13" were called out by BBC executives in a December 1970 meeting: "The Queen Will
Cleese remained for the third series but left afterwards. Cleese cited that he was no longer interested in the show, believing most of the material was rehashes of prior skits.<ref name="auto">{{cite book|title=[[The Pythons Autobiography by the Pythons]]|first1=Graham|last1=Chapman|authorlink1=Graham Chapman|first2=John|last2=Cleese|authorlink2=John Cleese|first3=Terry|last3=Gilliam|authorlink3=Terry Gilliam|first4=Eric|last4=Idle|authorlink4=Eric Idle|first5=Terry|last5=Jones|authorlink5=Terry Jones|first6=Michael|last6=Palin|authorlink6=Michael Palin|editor-first=Bob|editor-last=McCabe|publisher=[[Orion Publishing Group]]|date=2003|___location=London, England|isbn=0-75285-293-0|page=226}}</ref> He also found it more difficult to work with Chapman, who was struggling with [[alcoholism]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Richard |last=Ouzounian |authorlink=Richard Ouzounian |url=http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar%2FLayout%2FArticle_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1152963371205 |title=Python still has legs |newspaper=[[Toronto Star]] |date=16 July 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929171724/http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar%2FLayout%2FArticle_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1152963371205 |archive-date=29 September 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The remaining Pythons, however, went on to produce a shortened fourth series, of which only six episodes were made prior to their decision to end the show prematurely, the final episode being broadcast on 5 December 1974.
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|df = dmy-all
}}
</ref> which was cut before the sketch ever went to air. However, when this sketch was included in the album ''[[Monty Python's Previous Record]]'' and the ''[[Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl|Live at the Hollywood Bowl]]'' film, the line remained intact. Both sketches were included in the Danish [[DR K]] re-airing of all episodes ("Episode 31", aired 1 November 2018, 6:50 pm).<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.dr.dk/tv/se/monty-python-s-flying-circus-eps-1-45/monty-python-s-flying-circus-3/monty-python-s-flying-circus-27 |
Some sketches were deleted in their entirety and later recovered. One such sketch is the "Party Political Broadcast (Choreographed)", where a [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] spokesman (Cleese) delivers a party political broadcast before getting up and dancing, being coached by a choreographer (Idle), and being joined by a chorus of spokesmen dancing behind him. The camera passes two [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] spokesmen practising ballet, and an animation featuring [[Edward Heath]] in a tutu. Once deemed lost, a home-recorded tape of this sketch, captured from a broadcast from [[Buffalo, New York]] [[PBS]] outlet [[WNED-TV]], turned up on [[YouTube]] in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|title=Monty Python – political choreographer|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8Ija4Dec7o|publisher=Spiny Norman|access-date=17 June 2013|author=Monty Python|date=18 December 1971}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}}</ref> Another high-quality recording of this sketch, broadcast on [[WTTW]] in Chicago, has also turned up on YouTube.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lost Sketch- Choreographed Party Political Broadcast from WTTW-11|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KO4_feIKO0|work=Lost Sketch- Choreographed Party Political Broadcast – Monty Python's Flying Circus WTTW Channel|publisher=MontyPythoNET|access-date=23 January 2012|author=Monty Python|date=18 December 1971}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}}</ref> The Buffalo version can be seen as an extra on the new [[DVD region code#2|Region 2]]/[[DVD Region code|4]] eight-disc ''The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus'' DVD set.{{citation needed|date=March 2012}} The [[DVD region code#1|Region 1]] DVD of ''Before The Flying Circus'', which is included in ''The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus Collector's Edition Megaset'' and ''Monty Python: The Other British Invasion'', also contains the Buffalo version as an extra.<ref>{{cite web|title = DVD Talk Review: The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus – Collectors Edition Megaset|date = 18 November 2008|url = http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/35399/complete-monty-pythons-flying-circus-collectors-edition-megaset-the/|access-date = 20 May 2014|archive-date = 27 February 2014|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140227093053/http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/35399/complete-monty-pythons-flying-circus-collectors-edition-megaset-the/|url-status = live}}</ref>
Another lost sketch is the "Satan" animation following the "Crackpot Religion" piece and the "Cartoon Religion Ltd" animation, and preceding the "[[How Not To Be Seen]]" sketch: this had been edited out of the official tape. Six frames of the animation can be seen at the end of the episode, wherein that particular episode is repeated in fast-forward. {{cns|date=January 2025|A black and white 16 mm film print has since turned up (found by a private film collector in the US) showing the animation in its entirety.}}
At least two references to cancer were censored, both during the second series. In the sixth episode ("It's A Living" or "School Prizes"), [[Carol Cleveland]]'s narration of a Gilliam cartoon suddenly has a male voice dub '[[gangrene]]' over the word cancer (although this word was used unedited when the animation appeared in the movie ''[[And Now for Something Completely Different]]''; the 2006 special ''[[Monty Python's Personal Best|Terry Gilliam's Personal Best]]'' uses this audio to restore the censored line). Another reference was removed from the sketch "Conquistador Coffee Campaign", in the eleventh episode "How Not to Be Seen", although a reference to [[leprosy]] remained intact. This line has also been recovered from the same 16 mm film print as the above-mentioned "Satan" animation.
A sketch from Episode 7 of Series 2 (subtitled 'The Attila the Hun Show') featured a parody of [[Michael Miles]], the 1960s TV [[game show]] host (played by Cleese), and was introduced as 'Spot The Braincell'. This sketch was deleted shortly afterwards from a repeat broadcast as a mark of respect following Miles' death in February 1971. Also, the controversial "Undertaker" sketch from Episode 13 of the same series, with its references to [[Human cannibalism|necro-cannibalism]] ({{nowrap|"[...] are}} you suggesting we should eat my [dead] mother?"), was removed by the BBC after negative reviewer response. Both of these sketches have been restored to the official tapes, although the only source for the Undertaker sketch was an NTSC copy of the episode, duplicated before the cut had been made.
Animation in episode 9 of series 3 was cut out following the initial broadcast. The animation was a parody of a German commercial, and the original owners complained about the music use, so the BBC simply removed part of the animation, and replaced the music with a song from a Python album. Terry Gilliam later complained about the cut, thinking it was because producer Ian McNaughton "just didn't get what it was and he cut it. That was a big mistake."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sotcaa.org/history/ukonline/python_frame.html?/history/ukonline/python/python_tv_03.html|title=Edit News: Monty Python's Flying Circus|website=Some Of The Corpses Are Amusing|access-date=1 May 2019|archive-date=2 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702003938/http://sotcaa.org/history/ukonline/python_frame.html?/history/ukonline/python/python_tv_03.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
Music copyright issues have resulted in at least two cuts. In season 2 episode
A Region 2 DVD release of Series 1–4 was released by [[Sony Pictures Home Entertainment]] in 2007. This included certain things which had been cut from the US A&E releases, including the "masturbation" line, but failed to reinstate most of the long-lost sketches and edits. A Blu-ray release of the series featuring every episode restored to its original uncut broadcast length was released by Network for the show's 50th anniversary in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://montypython.networkonair.com/flyingcircushd | title=Monty Python's Flying Circus | access-date=23 July 2019 | archive-date=23 July 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723131156/https://montypython.networkonair.com/flyingcircushd | url-status=live }}</ref>
Rediscovered sketch Ursula Hitler, once deemed impossible to find, was re-released with the 50th anniversary sets in 2019. Also some of the extra American broadcast {{nowrap|material
=== American television ===
At the time of the original broadcasting of ''Monty Python'' in the United Kingdom, the BBC used [[Time-Life Television]] to distribute its shows in the United States. For ''Monty Python'', Time-Life had been concerned that the show was "too British" in its humour to reach American audiences, and did not opt to bring the programme across.<ref name="new yorker 1976">{{cite magazine |last1=Hertzberg |first1=Hendrik |title=Naughty Bits |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1976/03/29/naughty-bits |access-date=2020-03-17 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |date=March 29, 1976 |archive-date=21 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921070417/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1976/03/29/naughty-bits |url-status=live }}</ref> However, the show became a fixture on the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] beginning in the fall of 1970, and hence was also seen in some American markets.<ref name="FlyingCircusCanada">{{cite web|url=http://torontoist.com/2011/09/vintage-toronto-ads-jack-of-hearts-flying-circus/|title=Vintage Toronto Ads: Jack of Hearts' Flying Circus|author=Jamie Bradburn, with reference to a ''[[Toronto Star]]'' article of 2 February 1971|publisher=St. Joseph Media|date=20 September 2011|access-date=2 April 2020|archive-date=27 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027041055/https://torontoist.com/2011/09/vintage-toronto-ads-jack-of-hearts-flying-circus/|url-status=live}}</ref>
The
Despite the poor reception on their live appearances on American television, the Pythons' American manager, Nancy Lewis, began to push the show herself into the States. In 1974, the [[PBS]] member station [[KERA-TV|KERA]] in [[Dallas]] was the first television station in the United States to broadcast episodes of ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'', and is often credited with introducing the programme to American audiences.<ref name="dallas_news">{{cite news|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/columnists/alan-peppard/20110825-alan-peppard-bob-wilson-hailed-in-kera-documentary.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519004645/http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/columnists/alan-peppard/20110825-alan-peppard-bob-wilson-hailed-in-kera-documentary.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 May 2014|title=Alan Peppard: Bob Wilson hailed in KERA documentary |author=Peppard, Alan |newspaper=The Dallas Morning News |date=25 August 2011 |access-date=25 January 2013}}</ref> Many other PBS stations acquired the show, and by 1975, it was often the most popular show on these stations.<ref name="new yorker 1976"/> ''And Now for Something Completely Different'' was re-released to American theaters in 1974 and had a much better box office take that time. That would also set the stage for the Pythons' next film, ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]'', released near simultaneously in the UK and the United States in April 1975, to also perform well in American theaters.<ref name="Teod"/><ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.cnn.com/2015/04/09/entertainment/feat-monty-python-holy-grail-40-years/index.html|title = 40 years of 'Holy Grail': The best of Monty Python|
With the rise in American popularity, the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] network acquired rights to show select episodes of ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' in their ''[[Wide World of Entertainment]]'' showcase in mid 1975. However, ABC re-edited the episodes, thus losing the continuity and flow intended in the originals. When ABC refused to stop treating the series in this way, the Pythons took them to court. Initially the court ruled that their artistic rights had indeed been violated, but it refused to stop the ABC broadcasts. However, on appeal the team gained control over all subsequent US broadcasts of its programmes.<ref>
The show also aired on [[MTV]] in 1988.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cHoAoaVBz0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211220/2cHoAoaVBz0 |archive-date=2021-12-20 |url-status=live|title=MTV Monty Python Warning|date=31 May 2007|work=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> ''Monty Python'' was part of a two-hour comedy block on Sunday nights that also included another BBC series, ''[[The Young Ones (TV series)|The Young Ones]]''.
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In April 2006, ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' returned to non-cable American television directly through PBS. In connection with this, PBS commissioned ''[[Monty Python's Personal Best]]'', a six-episode series featuring each Python's favourite sketches, plus a tribute to Chapman, who died in 1989. [[BBC America]] has aired the series on a sporadic basis since the mid-2000s, in an extended 40-minute time slot in order to include commercials. [[IFC (American TV channel)|IFC]] acquired the rights to the show in 2009, though not exclusive, as BBC America still airs occasional episodes of the show. IFC also presented a six-part documentary ''[[Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyers Cut)]]'', produced by Terry Jones's son Bill.
==
{{main|Monty Python#Life beyond the Flying Circus|List of Monty Python projects}}
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Recordings of four of these stage shows have subsequently appeared as separate works:
# [[Monty Python Live at Drury Lane]] (aka Monty Python Live at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane), released in the UK in 1974 as their fifth record album
# [[Monty Python Live at City Center]], performed in New York City and released as a record in 1976 in the US
# [[Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl]], recorded in Los Angeles in 1980 and released as a film in 1982
# [[Monty Python Live (Mostly)|Monty Python Live (Mostly): One Down, Five to Go]], the troupe's reunion
Graham Chapman and Michael Palin also performed on stage at the [[Concerts at Knebworth House|Knebworth Festival]] in 1975 with [[Pink Floyd]].<ref>[https://vintagerock.wordpress.com/category/monty-pythons-flying-circus Monty Pythons Flying Circus.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204062908/https://vintagerock.wordpress.com/category/monty-pythons-flying-circus/ |date=4 February 2016 }} | Vintagerock's Weblog.</ref>
===French adaptation===
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</ref><ref>{{cite news
| date = 31 January 2005
| author = Davis, Clive
| title = Monty Python's Flying Circus – At Last, in French
| url = http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14936-1464143,00.html
| work = The Times Online
| access-date = 4 January 2010
| archive-date = 4 May 2024
▲}}
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240504070043/https://www.the-tls.co.uk/
</ref>▼
| url-status = dead
Language differences also occur in the lyrics of several songs. For example, "[[Sit on My Face]]" (which translated into French would be "Asseyez-vous sur mon visage") becomes "cum in my mouth".<ref>{{cite news| last = Logan| first = Brian| title = Ce perroquet est mort: Monty Python in French? Brian Logan meets the team behind a world first| newspaper = The Times | ___location = London| page = 18| date = 4 August 2003| url = http://timesonline.co.uk}} [https://search.proquest.com/docview/246028389 Accessed through ProQuest], 1 March 2012.</ref>▼
▲}}</ref>
▲Language differences also occur in the lyrics of several songs. For example, "[[Sit on My Face]]" (which translated into French would be "Asseyez-vous sur mon visage") becomes "cum in my mouth".<ref>{{cite news| last = Logan| first = Brian| title = Ce perroquet est mort: Monty Python in French? Brian Logan meets the team behind a world first| newspaper = The Times
== Reception ==
=== Initial reviews ===
After the broadcast of the first episode, British newspapers printed brief reviews of the new
As the series continued, reviews became more positive. After the third episode, the Guardian's television columnist described the show as "undoubtedly the high spot of a lot of viewers' weekend", saying the humour was "whacky rather than satiric
=== Awards and honours ===
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In a list of the 50 Greatest British Sketches released by [[Channel 4]] in 2005, five Monty Python sketches made the list:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/comedy_sketches/results.html |title=Channel 4's 50 Greatest Comedy Sketches |publisher=Channel4.com |access-date=14 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627084038/http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/comedy_sketches/results.html |archive-date=27 June 2009 }}</ref>
*
*
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*
In 2004<ref>{{cite news |title=25 Top Cult Shows Ever!|date=30 May 2004 |agency=TV Guide Magazine Group }}</ref> and 2007, ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' was ranked #5 and #6 on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever.<ref>[http://www.tvguide.com/news/top-cult-shows-40239.aspx TV Guide Names the Top Cult Shows Ever – Today's News: Our Take] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812080754/http://www.tvguide.com/news/top-cult-shows-40239.aspx |date=12 August 2012 }} [[TV Guide]]: 29 June 2007</ref>
''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine included the show on its 2007 list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time".<ref>{{cite magazine | url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/completelist/0,,1651341,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070911082724/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/completelist/0,,1651341,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=11 September 2007 | title=The 100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME |magazine=TIME | access-date=14 July 2009 | date=6 September 2007}}</ref>
In 2013, the programme was ranked #58 on TV Guide's list of the 60 Best Series of All Time,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/news/tv-guide-magazine-60-best-series-1074962/|title=TV Guide Magazine's 60 Best Series of All Time|work=TV Guide|date=23 December 2013|access-date=22 October 2015|archive-date=13 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113171839/http://www.tvguide.com/news/tv-guide-magazine-60-best-series-1074962/|url-status=live}}</ref> while the [[Writers Guild of America]] ranked it #79 – along with ''[[Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series)|Upstairs, Downstairs]]'', ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' and ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' – on their list of the 101 Best Written TV Series.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wga.org/writers-room/101-best-lists/101-best-written-tv-series/list|title=101 Best Written TV Series|website=Writers Guild of America West|date=June 2, 2013|access-date=13 June 2023|archive-date=29 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200429170702/https://www.wga.org/writers-room/101-best-lists/101-best-written-tv-series/list|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Legacy ===
{{main|Monty Python#Cultural influence and legacy}}
[[
[[Lorne Michaels]] counts the show as a major influence on his ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' sketches.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0584427/bio?ref_=nm_ql_1| title = Lorne Michaels – Biography – IMDb| website = [[IMDb]]| access-date = 30 June 2018| archive-date = 28 January 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160128112302/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0584427/bio?ref_=nm_ql_1| url-status = live}}</ref> Cleese and Palin re-enacted the [[Dead Parrot sketch]] on ''SNL'' in 1997.
The show was a major influence on the Danish [[cult following|cult]] sketch show ''[[Casper & Mandrilaftalen]]'' (1999)<ref>{{cite news |last=Hansen |first=Helle Kastholm |url=http://ekstrabladet.dk/ekstra/ekstra-kendte/lars-hjortshoej-mine-boern-saetter-mig-paa-plads/6593764 |title=LARS HJORTSHØJ: Mine børn sætter mig på plads |language=da |work=[[Ekstra Bladet]] |publisher=[[JP/Politikens Hus]] |date=April 2, 2017 |page=16 (4th section) |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501050649/http://ekstrabladet.dk/ekstra/ekstra-kendte/lars-hjortshoej-mine-boern-saetter-mig-paa-plads/6593764 |archive-date=May 1, 2017}}</ref> and Cleese starred in its 50th episode.<ref name="dfi-mandrillen">"[http://www.dfi.dk/faktaomfilm/film/da/77461.aspx?id=77461 Casper & mandrilaftalen]". ''Casper & Mandrilaftalen (DK, 1999)''. [https://web.archive.org/web/20171007011850/http://www.dfi.dk/faktaomfilm/film/da/77461.aspx?id=77461 Archived] from the original on October 7, 2017.</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=K'nyt: Cleese i Mandrillen |language=da |work=[[Dagbladet Information]] |date=September 4, 1999 |page=9 (1st section) |quote=I aftes, fredag, optrådte den store engelske komiker John Cleese som gæst i 'Casper og Mandrilaftalen'. }}</ref>
In computing, the term [[Spam (electronic)|spam]] and the name of the [[Python (programming language)|Python programming language]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.python.org/doc/faq/general/|title=General Python FAQ — Python 2.7.10 documentation|work=python.org|access-date=15 August 2014|archive-date=18 May 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060518171158/https://www.python.org/doc/faq/general/|url-status=live}}</ref> are both derived from the series.
== See also ==
* ''[[At Last the 1948 Show]]''
* ''[[Do Not Adjust Your Set]]''
== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}
=== General and cited references ===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
** Larsen, Darl. ''Monty Python's Flying Circus: An Utterly Complete, Thoroughly Unillustrated, Absolutely Unauthorized Guide to Possibly All the References
{{
== External links ==
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* {{Official website|http://www.montypython.com}}
* {{IMDb title|title=Monty Python's Flying Circus|id=0063929}}
* [http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/montypython/montypython.htm Museum of Broadcast Television] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060404194447/http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/montypython/montypython.htm |date=4 April 2006 }})
* [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/469243/index.html British Film Institute Screen Online]
* [https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1960s/monty-pythons-flying-circus/ ''Monty Python's Flying Circus''] – Nostalgia Central
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{{Graham Chapman}}
{{Terry Jones}}
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