Monty Python's Flying Circus: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 20:09, 26 September 2024

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{{Infobox television

| image = Monty Python's Flying Circus Title Card.png

| genre = {{Plain list|
* [[Sketch comedy]]<br
* />[[Surreal humour]]<br
* />[[Satire]]<br
* />[[Black comedy]]

}}

| animator = Terry Gilliam

| runtime = approx. 25–30 minutes

| company = [[BBC]]

| creator = {{Plain list|
* [[Graham Chapman]]<br
* />[[John Cleese]]<br
* />[[Eric Idle]]<br
* />[[Terry Jones]]<br
* />[[Michael Palin]]<br
* />[[Terry Gilliam]]

}}

| writer = {{PlainlistPlain list|

* [[Monty Python]]

* [[Neil Innes]]

* [[Douglas Adams]]

}}

| director = {{PlainlistPlain list|

* [[Ian MacNaughton]]

* [[John Howard Davies]]

}}

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

}}

| theme_music_composer = [[John Philip Sousa]]

| opentheme = "[[The Liberty Bell (march)|The Liberty Bell]]"<br /> recorded by [[Band of the Grenadier Guards]]

| composer = {{Plain list|

* Neil Innes

|* composer = Neil Innes<br />[[Fred Tomlinson (singer)|Fred Tomlinson Singers]]

}}

| country = United Kingdom

| network = {{Plain list|
* [[BBC One|BBC1]] (1969–1973)
* <br />[[BBC Two|BBC2]] (1974)

}}

| 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)<br
* />[[Ian MacNaughton]]

}}

| cinematography = James Balfour<br />Alan Featherstone

| editor cinematography = Ray Millichope<br />Robert C.{{Plain Dearberglist|

* 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|

| related =* ''[[Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus]]''<br />

* ''[[And Now for Something Completely Different]]''

}}

}}

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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.

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Other recurring characters include:

* "[[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}}, the vicar politely joins a honeymooning couple at an outdoor café, repeatedly insisting he does not wish to disturb them; he then sits down, opens a suitcase full of props, and calmly proceeds to smash plates on the table, shake a baby doll in their faces, bounce a rubber crab from a ping-pong paddle, and spray shaving cream all over his face, all whilst loudly chanting nonsense syllables. Rev. Belling's odd version of 'not being disturbing' serves to convert the couple to his bizarre sect of Christianity.

* 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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=== 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 PythonPythons's first film, ''[[And Now for Something Completely Different]]'', a selection of skits from the show released in the UK in 1971 and in the United States in 1972, was not a hit in the USA.<ref name="new yorker 1976"/> During their first North American tour in 1973, the Pythons performed twice on US television, firstly on ''[[The Tonight Show]]'', hosted by Joey Bishop, and then on ''[[The Midnight Special (TV series)|The Midnight Special]]''. The group spoke of how badly the first appearance went down with the audience; Idle described ''The Tonight Show'' performance: "We did thirty minutes [thirty minutes' worth of material] in fifteen minutes to no laughs whatsoever. We ran out onto the green grass in [[Burbank, California|Burbank]] and we lay down and laughed for 15 minutes because it was the funniest thing ever. In America they didn't know what on earth we were talking about."<ref name="Teod">{{cite news |last1=Teodorczuk |first1=Tom |title=John Oliver Hears Monty Python's Many Secrets |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/john-oliver-hears-monty-pythons-many-secrets |newspaper=The Daily Beast |date=25 April 2015 |publisher=The Daily Beast Company LLC |access-date=7 October 2019 |archive-date=25 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925034700/https://www.thedailybeast.com/john-oliver-hears-monty-pythons-many-secrets |url-status=live }}</ref>

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|website = [[CNN]]|date = 9 April 2015|access-date = 7 October 2019|archive-date = 7 October 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191007060005/https://www.cnn.com/2015/04/09/entertainment/feat-monty-python-holy-grail-40-years/index.html|url-status = live}}</ref> The popularity of ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' helped to open the door for other British television series to make their way into the United States via PBS and its member stations.<ref name="StewartStewart1999">{{cite book|author1=David Stewart|author2=David C. Stewart|title=The PBS companion: a history of public television|url=https://archive.org/details/pbscompanionhis00stew|url-access=registration|access-date=29 September 2010|date=May 1999|publisher=TV Books|isbn=978-1-57500-050-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/pbscompanionhis00stew/page/n211 216]}}</ref> One notable American fan of ''Monty Python'' was singer [[Elvis Presley]]. Billy Smith, Presley's cousin noted that during the last few months of Elvis' life in 1977, when Elvis was addicted to prescription drugs and mainly confined to his bedroom at his mansion [[Graceland]], Elvis would sit at his room and chat with Smith for hours about various topics including among other things, Presley's favourite ''Monty Python'' sketches.<ref>{{cite book|last=Guralnick|first=Peter|year=1999|title=Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley|publisher=Back Bay Books |isbn=978-0-316-33297-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780316332972 |pages=212, 642}}</ref>

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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 / farewell show, ran for 10 shows at [[The O2 Arena]] in London in July 2014. The final performance on 20 July was live streamed to cinemas worldwide. A re-edited version was later released on Blu-ray, DVD and double Compact Disc; the CD version is exclusive to the deluxe version of the release which contains all 3three formats on four discs housed in a 60-page hardback book.

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>

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== Reception ==

=== Initial reviews ===

After the broadcast of the first episode, British newspapers printed brief reviews of the new program. Reviewers had mixed opinions. One wrote that the show was "absurd and frivolous", and that it did not "offer anything very new or exciting".<ref name="CovEvTel06101969KAB">{{Cite news |last=K.A.B. |date=1969-10-06 |title=Who do they think can watch? |pages=3 |work=Coventry Evening Telegraph |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112937414/who-do-they-think-can-watch/ |access-date=2022-11-12 |archive-date=12 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112142134/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112937414/who-do-they-think-can-watch/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Another described the show as "enjoyably Goonish", saying that not all of the material was "scintillating" but that "there was enough packed into the 30 minutes to raise a few laughs."<ref name="LeicMerc06101969TJD">{{Cite news |last=T.J.D. |date=1969-10-06 |title=Play that needed a touch of Hitchcock |pages=8 |work=Leicester Mercury |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112937585/play-that-needed-a-touch-of-hitchcock/ |access-date=12 November 2022 |archive-date=12 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112142133/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112937585/play-that-needed-a-touch-of-hitchcock/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Reading Evening Post's columnist was more enthusiastic, calling the show "much-needed comedy" and noting that "The real laughs, for me, came from the crazy cartoon and photo-montage work".<ref name="ReadEvPost06101969Slater">{{Cite news |last=Slater |first=Ralph |date=1969-10-06 |title=At last! A few laughs |pages=2 |work=Evening Post |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112937736/at-last-a-few-laughs/ |access-date=12 November 2022 |archive-date=12 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112142139/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112937736/at-last-a-few-laughs/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="ReadEvPost06101969Slater">{{Cite news |last=Slater |first=Ralph |date=1969-10-06 |title=At last! A few laughs |pages=2 |work=Evening Post |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112937736/at-last-a-few-laughs/ |access-date=12 November 2022 |archive-date=12 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112142139/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112937736/at-last-a-few-laughs/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

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."<ref name="Guardian20101969Reynolds">{{Cite news |last=Reynolds |first=Stanley |date=1969-10-20 |title=Comedy and not so funny |pages=6 |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112937919/comedy-and-not-so-funny/ |access-date=12 November 2022 |archive-date=12 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112143910/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112937919/comedy-and-not-so-funny/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A week later, the Observer's reviewer gave the series a "strong recommendation", saying "The material, despite a tendency to prolong a good idea beyond its natural length, is of a high standard, but what lifts the show out of an honourable rut is its extraordinary use of animated cartoons."<ref name="Observer26Oct1969Melly">{{Cite news |last=Melly |first=George |date=1969-10-26 |title=Watching the bits and pieces |pages=33 |work=The Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112938068/watching-the-bits-and-pieces/ |access-date=12 November 2022 |archive-date=12 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112143908/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112938068/watching-the-bits-and-pieces/ |url-status=live }}</ref> However this positive view was by no means unanimous. An Evening Standard reviewer complained that "last week it almost crushed my enthusiasm and loyalty forever by transmitting a number of dismal skits that were little more than broad, obvious slapstick."<ref name="EvStand19691105Shulman">{{Cite news |last=Shulman |first=Milton |date=1969-11-05 |title=Whatever happened to Monty Python? Well, I'm glad you asked that question... |pages=21 |work=Evening Standard |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112938360/whatever-happened-to-monty-python-well/ |access-date=12 November 2022 |archive-date=4 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240504070043/https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-standard-whatever-happened-to-mo/112938360/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

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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]]

*# 122: –"[[Dead Parrot]]"
* 12: "[[The Spanish Inquisition (Monty Python)|The Spanish Inquisition]]"

*# 15: – "[[Ministry of Silly Walks]]"

*# 31: – "[[Nudge Nudge]]"

*# 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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=== Legacy ===

{{main|Monty Python#Cultural influence and legacy}}

[[Douglas Adams]], creator of ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' and co-writer of the "[[Patient Abuse]]" sketch, once said "I loved Monty Python's Flying Circus. For years I wanted to be John Cleese, I was most disappointed when I found out the job had been taken."<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0010930/bio?ref_=nm_dyk_qt_sm#quotes| title = Douglas Adams – Biography – IMdb| website = [[IMDb]]| access-date = 30 June 2018| archive-date = 8 April 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150408152518/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0010930/bio?ref_=nm_dyk_qt_sm#quotes| url-status = live}}</ref>

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== See also ==

{{Portal bar|Television}}

* ''[[At Last the 1948 Show]]''

* ''[[Do Not Adjust Your Set]]''

== References ==

=== Citations ===

'''Notes'''

{{Reflist}}

=== General and cited references ===

{{refbegin}}

{{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 }}

** Larsen, Darl. ''Monty Python's Flying Circus: An Utterly Complete, Thoroughly Unillustrated, Absolutely Unauthorized Guide to Possibly All the References Fromfrom Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson to Zambesi'', Volumes 1 and 2. Scarecrow Press, 2013. {{ISBN|9781589797123}} (vol. 1) and {{ISBN|9781589798076}} (vol. 2)

{{refendRefend}}

== 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}}

{{Portal bar|Television}}

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