"Monty Python's Flying Circus" (1969) TV series 1969-1974

Creators:

Graham Chapman
John Cleese
Terry Gilliam

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | unknown

Release Date:

5 October 1969 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Music

Plot:

The original surreal sketch comedy showcase for the Monty Python troupe.

Plot Keywords:

Monty Python | Sketch Comedy | Comedy Troupe | Cult Comedy | British Comedy

Awards:

3 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Graham Chapman	...	Various / ... (46 episodes, 1969-1974)
Eric Idle	...	Various / ... (46 episodes, 1969-1974)
Terry Jones	...	Various / ... (46 episodes, 1969-1974)
Michael Palin	...	It's Man / ... (46 episodes, 1969-1974)
Terry Gilliam	...	Various / ... (46 episodes, 1969-1974)
John Cleese	...	Announcer / ... (40 episodes, 1969-1973)
Carol Cleveland	...	Various / ... (34 episodes, 1969-1974)

Also Known As:

Gwen Dibley's Flying Circus (UK) (working title)
Monty Python (UK) (new title)
Owl-Stretching Time (UK) (working title)
Monty Python's Flying Circus (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
Monty Pythonin lentävä sirkus (Finland) [fi]
Monty Pythons flygande cirkus (Sweden) [sv]
Monty Pythons flygende sirkus (Norway) [no]
Monty Pythons flyvende cirkus (Denmark) [da]
Os Malucos do Circo (Portugal) [pt]

Runtime:

30 min (45 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Arabic | French | German | Italian | Mandarin | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M (DVD rating) (disc 8) | Australia:PG | USA:TV-14 | Japan:R | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Singapore:M18 | UK:12 (some epiosodes) | UK:15 (1985-1994) | UK:PG | Finland:K-18 (self applied) (DVD) (2007) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

BBC Television Centre, Wood Lane, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

At least two sketches can trace their origins back to How to Irritate People (1968) (TV), a TV special that John Cleese starred in and wrote with Graham Chapman prior to "Flying Circus". First, the "Silly Job Interview" in which Cleese rings a bell and has people scoring Chapman's reaction came directly from the special. Also the infamous/famous "Parrot Sketch" was adapted largely from a sketch Chapman wrote for the earlier show about a car salesman who flatly refused to admit that there was anything wrong with the car that was literally falling apart on stage.

Quotes:

Merchant Banker: [on phone] Hello? Ah, Mr. Victim, yes, I'm glad to say I've got the go-ahead to lend you the money you require, yes. Uh, we will, of course, need as security the deeds to your house, of your aunt's house, of your second cousin's house, of your wife's parents' house...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Pythonin hännällä (2006)

Soundtrack:

The Liberty Bell

Six blokes getting paid for being silly (oh yes, and changing comedy forever)

With hindsight, it seems possible that we can praise the Pythons too much. But you have to look at what they did in the context of its time.

They blew a massive hole in the conventions of not only television comedy, but television itself. They used (and abused) the medium to what was then the limit of its potential: no thirty-second "blackout" skits, no contrived punchlines (except in the name of self-mocking irony), performers falling out of character and addressing the audience, skits being intruded by characters from a previous sketch, or even an entirely different episode (so you had to pay attention!), stream-of-consciousness animated links, absurd props (the 16 ton weight)... and they claim they merely threw it all together when the BBC approached them to make a "satirical sketch show" in the vein of "The Frost Report" or "TW3".

Not only that, but they have influenced probably every comedy writer and performer of note ever since.

The Pythons are either authentic, top-drawer geniuses, or the six luckiest opportunists who ever lived - probably a bit of both! They caught the BBC with its knickers down and took advantage.

OK, so the shows look their age, and much of the material is rambling, patchy, hit-and-miss stuff. But we only remember the good bits, and it is those good bits which will ensure the place in television history of Messrs Chapman, Cleese, Gilliam, Idle, Palin and Jones for many years to come.

Lavishing praise on a thirty-two-year-old television series? It all seems a bit silly to me...