Monty Python's Flying Circus: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:56, 4 June 2024

Revision as of 12:30, 20 June 2024

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| director = {{Plainlist|

* [[Ian MacNaughton]]

* [[John Howard Davies]]

}}

| starring = Graham Chapman<br />John Cleese (series 1-3)<br />Eric Idle<br />Terry Jones<br />Michael Palin<br />Terry Gilliam<br />[[Carol Cleveland]]

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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 themselves, along with supporting cast members including [[Carol Cleveland]] (referred to by the team as the unofficial "Seventh Python"), [[Connie Booth]] (Cleese's first wife), series producer [[Ian MacNaughton]], [[Ian Davidson (scriptwriter)|Ian Davidson]], musician [[Neil Innes]], and [[Fred Tomlinson (singer)|Fred Tomlinson]] and the Fred Tomlinson Singers for musical numbers.<ref name=telegraph>{{cite news|title=Fred Tomlinson, singer on Monty Python – obituary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/08/02/fred-tomlinson-singer-on-monty-python--obituary/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/08/02/fred-tomlinson-singer-on-monty-python--obituary/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=2016-08-02 |access-date=2016-08-15}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name=nytimes>{{cite news |first=Daniel E. |last=Slotnik |title=Fred Tomlinson, Singer Who Led a 'Monty Python' Troupe, Dies at 88 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/05/arts/television/fred-tomlinson-monty-python-singer-dies-at-88.html?_r=0 |work=[[New York Times]] |date=2016-08-04 |access-date=2016-08-15 |archive-date=8 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808223957/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/05/arts/television/fred-tomlinson-monty-python-singer-dies-at-88.html?_r=0 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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 at the time. Much of the humour in the series' various episodes and sketches targets the idiosyncrasies of [[Culture of the United Kingdom|British life]], especially that of professionals, as well as aspects of politics. Their comedy is often pointedly [[intellectualism|intellectual]], with numerous erudite references to philosophers and literary figures and their works. The team intended their humour to be impossible to categorise, and succeeded so completely that the adjective "[[wiktionarywikt:Pythonesque|Pythonesque]]" was invented to define it and, later, similar material. However, their humour was not always seen as appropriate for television by the BBC, leading to some censorship during the third series. Cleese left the show following that series, and the remaining Pythons completed a final, shortened fourth series before ending the show.

The show became very popular in the 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]].

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* '''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.

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=== Palin ===

[[Michael Palin]] was regarded by the other members of the troupe as the one with the widest range, equally adept as a [[wiktionarywikt:Straight man|straight man]] or wildly over the top character.{{citation needed|date=March 2012}} He portrayed many working-class northerners, often portrayed in a disgusting light: "[[The Funniest Joke in the World]]" sketch and the "[[Every Sperm Is Sacred]]" segment of ''[[Monty Python's The Meaning of Life]]''. In contrast, Palin also played weak-willed, put-upon men such as the husband in the "[[Marriage Guidance Counsellor]]" sketch, the boring accountant in the "[[Vocational Guidance Counsellor]]" sketch, and the hapless client in the "[[Argument Clinic]]". He was equally at home as the indefatigable Cardinal Ximinez of Spain in "[[The Spanish Inquisition (Monty Python)|The Spanish Inquisition]]" sketch. Another high-energy character that Palin portrays is the slick TV show host, constantly smacking his lips together and generally being over-enthusiastic ("[[And Now for Something Completely Different#Sketches|Blackmail]]" sketch). In one sketch, he plays the role with an underlying hint of self-revulsion, where he wipes his oily palms on his jacket, makes a disgusted face, then continues. One of his most famous creations{{citation needed|date=March 2012}} was the shopkeeper who attempts to sell useless goods by very weak attempts at being sly and crafty, which are invariably spotted by the customer (often played by Cleese), as in the "[[Dead Parrot]]" and "[[Cheese Shop sketch|Cheese Shop]]" sketches. Palin is also well known for his leading role in "[[The Lumberjack Song]]".

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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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.

== Subsequent projects==

{{main|Monty Python#Life beyond the Flying Circus|List of Monty Python projects}}

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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>

* # 2 – [[Dead Parrot]]

* # 12 – [[The Spanish Inquisition (Monty Python)|The Spanish Inquisition]]

* #2 – [[Dead Parrot]]

*# 15 – [[Ministry of Silly Walks]]

* #12 – [[The Spanish Inquisition (Monty Python)|The Spanish Inquisition]]

* #15 31 – [[Ministry of SillyNudge WalksNudge]]

* #31 49 – [[NudgeThe Lumberjack NudgeSong]]

* #49 – [[The Lumberjack Song]]

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>

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{{refbegin}}

'''Bibliography'''

* {{Cite book | last=Landy | first=Marcia | year=2005 | title=Monty Python's Flying Circus| publisher=Wayne State University Press | isbn=0-8143-3103-3}}

* {{Cite book | last=Larsen | first=Darl |title=Monty Python's Flying Circus: An Utterly Complete, Thoroughly Unillustrated, Absolutely Unauthorized Guide to Possibly All the References From Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson to Zambesi | publisher=Scarecrow Press | year=2008 | isbn=9780810861312 }}