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* [[John Howard Davies]]
}}
| starring = Graham Chapman<br />John Cleese (series
| country = United Kingdom
| network = [[BBC One|BBC1]] (1969–1973) <br />[[BBC Two|BBC2]] (1974)
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''[[And Now for Something Completely Different]]''
| theme_music_composer = [[John Philip Sousa]]
| opentheme = "[[The Liberty Bell (march)|The Liberty Bell]]"<br /> recorded by [[Band of the Grenadier Guards]]
| composer = Neil Innes<br />[[Fred Tomlinson (singer)|Fred Tomlinson Singers]]
}}
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'''''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 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]] |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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* 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".
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