And now...
...For something completely different. Monty Python’s Flying Circus is turning forty years old this month. You wonder where all the years went off to?
Now you’re thinking about why I am doing a blog on something that is a known comedy. It's got nothing to do with science fiction or horror. But you have to admit one thing: their kind of humor is certainly out of this world.
It’s a call for a celebration. And if you’re one of the many who got the series on the shelf, you might want to consider taking it out, brushing off the dusty corners and delight your afternoon with a few episodes. Make it an all-nighter if you want… make it a one night stand with Monty Python if you can.
I admit to not knowing any of this until I ran into a late night show on Tuesday hosted by Saturday Night Live alumni Jimmy Fallon. He’s apparently a big fan of the old shows which ran in part of 1969 until well into 1974. He loves it. And you can tell.
I noticed comedian John Cleese was making a game show sketch, and figured that he would only be appearing in the first five minutes of the show. He gave more than just a helping hand with the comedy bit. He’s very funny in it. He’s giving away all sorts of useless gifts. (In which three contestants had to give them back in the end of the sketch!) And there’s a very lovely, lucky Asian girl who traded a few good laughs along with two other contestants. It was great to see.
But I was even more impressed to see that Jimmy Fallon was able to persuade four of the five living members of the brilliant comedy series that was offbeat, outlandish in its not so typical approach. And Eric Idle sang a song “Bright Side of Life” which came from one of their three movies they did together “The Life of Brian”—which is considered by author and sharp-toothed critic Christopher Hitchens as the funniest comedy film ever made.
Even Terry Gilliam was in the show. And he’s usually busier with his films than the rest of the guys. Michael Palin, who was the only one not attending the show, was busy traveling. Or he could be wounded by Cleese’s sly remark regarding Sarah Palin from the previous campaign fumble, “Mike is no longer the funniest Palin in the world.”
Maybe not.
That’s when I first heard about their fortieth anniversary show that they will be presenting in the making starting on Oct. 18 and will be going on until the end of the month. This is the first time that there were more than several of the cast members having some sort of reunion and it’s a very lovely one seeing a bunch of old fogeys throwing insults and being childish.
But the series remains an inspiration. For any one of us. And that’s not a small thing to say. Much of its radiant brilliance rubbed off the right way with modern day comedians such as Robin Williams, Steve Martin and Kevin Klein. All of them have been inspired, to no small degree, by the craziness of the comedy that can’t be described very easily.
There’s a great intellect in the works when it comes to Monty Python’s Flying Circus… and it always feels like old friends kidding around whenever you see an episode. They’re having fun. And they’re poking at everything. Without making it topical. That’s why it seems to timeless—because their humor pushes outward from the box.
And there’s a right amount of stupid in the shows. Just the right amount that makes it funny. All the while you can scratch at the surface for the intellectual comedy bits that rolls off from their witty tirades. They know how to make the sketches work because they wrote it entirely, delivered it in their usual ways and know how to make the right timing.
The British likes to make a different approach to humor that is vastly different than the American way. It’s very gentle and subtle. Most Americans would say about their humor, “Isn’t it funny if this happened?” As opposed to the British approach which is: “Wouldn’t it be funny if this happened?” This is why Monty Python seems to be so out of this world with their humor because it seems boundless, suggesting everything and anything. And just being plain silly.
I remember when I first Monty Python on a PBS station when I was hitting eighth grade a little after I discovered Doctor Who on the same channel… and I was attracted to the drawings and cartoon bits that joined the shows together by Terry Gilliam. I was a kid. Who can blame me for liking the cartoon stuff? It’s funny.
They often broke off in different writing couples before getting together to put the ideas into works, often pointing intellectually at the number of issues revolving a common theme. They know how to play it off each other too.
But when I grew older, I soon learn to appreciate their more complicated humor in the writing and the subtle touches of physical comedy that remains an enduring factor to the legacy of the long defunct BBC comedy series. But there are a lot of good shows to recommend for an upcoming festival if you’re thinking about throwing yourself into a full afternoon of chuckles. There’s a lot of them to choose from. Monty Python is a f*cking gem.
Theodore Sturgeon once said that 90 percent of everything is crap. But Monty Python is part of the ten percent.
Why don’t you start off with some of the known shows with the Spanish Inquisition or the Fish Slapping Dance. Those have a lot of physical humor that remains very memorable. There is one of my favorite episodes called “Owl Stretching Time” which comes from the first season they did.
Naturally everyone’s favorite one is the Ministry of Silly Walks despite Cleese’s disassociation with it because people always asked him to do the silly walk. I have always had a soft spot for the “Confuse the Cat” sketch because I have a cat of my own. It’s with a very bizarre mischief that they play through in confusing the cat in order to nurse its health.
Bizarre?
That wouldn’t be the start of it.
But it is with this series that provoked a particular format of sketches that was anything unlike before or after… and there hasn’t been a comedy in the long run that has such an individual streak of funny in it. And it took six very brilliant and crazy guys to pull it off. The series inspired three great movies and a huge fan followings all around the world. Not bad for a show that lasted only three and a half seasons long.
In 2007, Time Magazine named it as one of the best hundred shows ever.
So go ahead and have a laugh. It’s on the Pythons. If you laughed, then their deed is done. Sing along with me, “I’m… a lumberjack and I’m okay…” And stroll down memory lane as I chuckle and laugh. It's supposed to the best medicine of all. Having a good laugh.
Now you’re thinking about why I am doing a blog on something that is a known comedy. It's got nothing to do with science fiction or horror. But you have to admit one thing: their kind of humor is certainly out of this world.
It’s a call for a celebration. And if you’re one of the many who got the series on the shelf, you might want to consider taking it out, brushing off the dusty corners and delight your afternoon with a few episodes. Make it an all-nighter if you want… make it a one night stand with Monty Python if you can.
I admit to not knowing any of this until I ran into a late night show on Tuesday hosted by Saturday Night Live alumni Jimmy Fallon. He’s apparently a big fan of the old shows which ran in part of 1969 until well into 1974. He loves it. And you can tell.
I noticed comedian John Cleese was making a game show sketch, and figured that he would only be appearing in the first five minutes of the show. He gave more than just a helping hand with the comedy bit. He’s very funny in it. He’s giving away all sorts of useless gifts. (In which three contestants had to give them back in the end of the sketch!) And there’s a very lovely, lucky Asian girl who traded a few good laughs along with two other contestants. It was great to see.
But I was even more impressed to see that Jimmy Fallon was able to persuade four of the five living members of the brilliant comedy series that was offbeat, outlandish in its not so typical approach. And Eric Idle sang a song “Bright Side of Life” which came from one of their three movies they did together “The Life of Brian”—which is considered by author and sharp-toothed critic Christopher Hitchens as the funniest comedy film ever made.
Even Terry Gilliam was in the show. And he’s usually busier with his films than the rest of the guys. Michael Palin, who was the only one not attending the show, was busy traveling. Or he could be wounded by Cleese’s sly remark regarding Sarah Palin from the previous campaign fumble, “Mike is no longer the funniest Palin in the world.”
Maybe not.
That’s when I first heard about their fortieth anniversary show that they will be presenting in the making starting on Oct. 18 and will be going on until the end of the month. This is the first time that there were more than several of the cast members having some sort of reunion and it’s a very lovely one seeing a bunch of old fogeys throwing insults and being childish.
But the series remains an inspiration. For any one of us. And that’s not a small thing to say. Much of its radiant brilliance rubbed off the right way with modern day comedians such as Robin Williams, Steve Martin and Kevin Klein. All of them have been inspired, to no small degree, by the craziness of the comedy that can’t be described very easily.
There’s a great intellect in the works when it comes to Monty Python’s Flying Circus… and it always feels like old friends kidding around whenever you see an episode. They’re having fun. And they’re poking at everything. Without making it topical. That’s why it seems to timeless—because their humor pushes outward from the box.
And there’s a right amount of stupid in the shows. Just the right amount that makes it funny. All the while you can scratch at the surface for the intellectual comedy bits that rolls off from their witty tirades. They know how to make the sketches work because they wrote it entirely, delivered it in their usual ways and know how to make the right timing.
The British likes to make a different approach to humor that is vastly different than the American way. It’s very gentle and subtle. Most Americans would say about their humor, “Isn’t it funny if this happened?” As opposed to the British approach which is: “Wouldn’t it be funny if this happened?” This is why Monty Python seems to be so out of this world with their humor because it seems boundless, suggesting everything and anything. And just being plain silly.
I remember when I first Monty Python on a PBS station when I was hitting eighth grade a little after I discovered Doctor Who on the same channel… and I was attracted to the drawings and cartoon bits that joined the shows together by Terry Gilliam. I was a kid. Who can blame me for liking the cartoon stuff? It’s funny.
They often broke off in different writing couples before getting together to put the ideas into works, often pointing intellectually at the number of issues revolving a common theme. They know how to play it off each other too.
But when I grew older, I soon learn to appreciate their more complicated humor in the writing and the subtle touches of physical comedy that remains an enduring factor to the legacy of the long defunct BBC comedy series. But there are a lot of good shows to recommend for an upcoming festival if you’re thinking about throwing yourself into a full afternoon of chuckles. There’s a lot of them to choose from. Monty Python is a f*cking gem.
Theodore Sturgeon once said that 90 percent of everything is crap. But Monty Python is part of the ten percent.
Why don’t you start off with some of the known shows with the Spanish Inquisition or the Fish Slapping Dance. Those have a lot of physical humor that remains very memorable. There is one of my favorite episodes called “Owl Stretching Time” which comes from the first season they did.
Naturally everyone’s favorite one is the Ministry of Silly Walks despite Cleese’s disassociation with it because people always asked him to do the silly walk. I have always had a soft spot for the “Confuse the Cat” sketch because I have a cat of my own. It’s with a very bizarre mischief that they play through in confusing the cat in order to nurse its health.
Bizarre?
That wouldn’t be the start of it.
But it is with this series that provoked a particular format of sketches that was anything unlike before or after… and there hasn’t been a comedy in the long run that has such an individual streak of funny in it. And it took six very brilliant and crazy guys to pull it off. The series inspired three great movies and a huge fan followings all around the world. Not bad for a show that lasted only three and a half seasons long.
In 2007, Time Magazine named it as one of the best hundred shows ever.
So go ahead and have a laugh. It’s on the Pythons. If you laughed, then their deed is done. Sing along with me, “I’m… a lumberjack and I’m okay…” And stroll down memory lane as I chuckle and laugh. It's supposed to the best medicine of all. Having a good laugh.
posted by K.M. Paters at 11:22 AM
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