Monty Python's Flying Circus
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Monty Python's Flying Circus (also known as Flying Circus, MPFC or just Monty Python during the fourth season) was a popular, surreal BBC sketch comedy show from Monty Python, and the group's initial claim to fame. The show was noted for its impossible or highly improbable events, risqué humour, sight gags, and sketches without punchlines, and also featured the animations of Terry Gilliam which were often sequenced or merged with live action.
The first episode was recorded September 7, 1969, and broadcast October 5 of the same year on BBC One. 45 episodes aired over four seasons.
The show often targeted the idiosyncrasies of British life (especially professionals), and was at times politically charged. The members of Monty Python were highly educated (Oxford and Cambridge graduates), and their comedy was often pointedly intellectual with numerous references to philosophers and literary figures. It followed and elaborated upon the style used by Spike Milligan in his series Q5, rather than the traditional sketch show format. The team intended their humour to be impossible to categorise, and succeeded so completely that the adjective "Pythonesque" had to be invented to define it and later, similar material. Despite this, Terry Jones once commented that the fact that they had created a new word in the dictionary shows how miserably they had failed. Their humour could be categorised as absurdist or surrealist.
The series' famous theme tune is the first segment of John Philip Sousa's "Liberty Bell".
This article discusses the series itself. For information about the formation of the group, the conception of the show and other Python media, see Monty Python.
Titles considered instead of Monty Python's Flying Circus
- It's...
- Them
- A Horse, a Bucket and a Spoon
- Bun, Whackett, Buzzard, Stubble and Boot
- Gwen Dibley's Flying Circus
- Sex and Violence
- Owl-Stretching Time
- 1 2 3
- Vaseline Parade
- The Horrible Earnest Megapode
- The Plastic Mac Show
- The Nose Show
- The Toad-Elevating Moment
- The Venus De Milo Panic Show
- The Year of the Stoat
Recurring characters
In contrast to many other sketch comedy shows, Flying Circus made up new characters for each new sketch and had only a handful of recurring characters, many of whom were involved only in titles and linking sequences, including:
- The "It's" man (Palin), a dishevelled man with torn clothes and long, unkempt beard who would appear at the beginning of the programme, often after climbing up a mountain or performing a long task and say, "It's..." before being abruptly cut off by the opening titles, which started with the words 'Monty Python's Flying Circus'. "It's" was an early candidate for the title of the series.
- [Monty Python - Flying Circus theme] ([file info])
- *
- * Problems listening to the file? See [Media helpmedia help].
- 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," was used variously as a lead-in to the opening titles and a simple way to link sketches (though oddly enough, the first time the phrase appeared in the show it was actually spoken by Eric Idle). It eventually became the show's catch phrase, serving as the title for the troupe's first movie.
- The Gumbies, a group of slow-witted individuals identically attired in high-water trousers, braces (suspenders), and round, rimless glasses, with tiny Chaplin-style moustaches and handkerchiefs on the tops of their heads (a stereotype of the British holidaymaker). They hold their arms awkwardly in front of them, speak slowly in loud, low voices punctuated by frequent grunts and groans, and have a fondness for bashing bricks together. They often complain that their brains hurt. All of them are surnamed 'Gumby' (D.P. Gumby, R.S. Gumby, etc.). The Gumbies are also parodied in an episode of The Goodies titled "Scatty Safari" where they are chased of the middle of the road like wayward cattle.
- (First series) An armoured knight (Gilliam) carrying a rubber chicken, who would end sketches by hitting characters over the head with it.
- A nude organist (played in his first two appearances by Gilliam, afterward by Jones) who provided a brief fanfare to punctuate certain sketches (usually parodies of the television show How) or as yet another way to introduce the opening titles.
- Mr. Praline, a slightly disgruntled man in a plastic rain slicker, played by John Cleese. His most famous appearance is in the Dead Parrot sketch; most fans do not realize his multiple appearances are the same character since his name is never mentioned on screen.
- Biggles (Chapman, and in one instance Jones), a fictional WWI pilot from a series of stories by W. E. Johns.
- So-called pepperpots: screeching middle-aged, lower-middle class housewives played by the cross-dressing Python men. The Pythons played all their own women, unless the part called for a younger, more glamorous actress (in which case usually Carol Cleveland, but occasionally Connie Booth, would play that part). "Pepper Pot" refers to what the Pythons believed was the typical body shape of middle-class British housewives, as explained by John Cleese in "How to Irritate People".
- Luigi Vercotti (Palin), a mafioso entrepreneur, accompanied in his first appearance by his brother Dino (Jones), but thereafter appearing alone.
- Brief black-and-white stock footage of middle-aged women sitting in an audience and applauding. The film was taken from a Women's Institute meeting. This lasted only two or three seconds.
- Richard Baker, a well-known newsreader, who would occasionally appear on the show to deliver short newscasts on ridiculous subjects.
Some of the Pythons' targets seemed to recur far more frequently than others. Reginald Maudling, a contemporary Conservative politician, was singled out for perhaps the most consistent ridicule. Then-US President Richard Nixon was also frequently mocked. The theme tune was John Philip Sousa's march "Liberty Bell" (see that article for an MP3 recording of the MPFC version of the march). Regular supporting cast members included Carol Cleveland, Connie Booth, Neil Innes and The Fred Tomlinson Singers (for musical numbers).
Popular character traits
Although there were few recurring characters, and the six cast members played many diverse roles, each had some that he had perfected.Chapman
Graham Chapman was well known for his roles as straight-faced men, of any age or class (frequently an authority figure such as a military officer, policeman or doctor) who could, at any moment, engage in "Pythonesque" maniacal behaviour and then return to their former sobriety (see sketches such as "An Appeal from the Vicar of St. Loony-up-the-Cream-Bun-and-Jam" "The One-Man Wrestling Match" and "The Argument Clinic"). He was also skilled in abuse, which he brusquely delivered in such sketches as the latter and "Flying Lessons". His dignified demeanour was put to good use when he played the straight man in the Python features Holy Grail and Life of Brian.Cleese
John Cleese usually played the authority figure, or rather the ridiculous authority figure. Terry Gilliam claims that John Cleese is the funniest of the Pythons in drag, as he barely needs to be dressed up to look hilarious (see the Mr. and Mrs. Git sketch). Cleese is also well known for playing very intimidating manics (see the "Self-Defence Class"). Cleese's character of Eric Praline, the put-upon consumer, featured in some of the most popular sketches, such as the "Dead Parrot" and the "Fish Licence". He is perhaps most famous for the "Ministry of Silly Walks", where he goose-stepped around while pretending to be a member of the eponymous government department. It can be said that another trademark of his is the usage of the line "You bastard!"Gilliam
Many Python sketches were linked together by the often-hilarious cut-out animations of Terry Gilliam (the only Python member from America), including the opening titles featuring the iconic giant foot that became a symbol of all that was "Pythonesque." Gilliam's unique visual style was characterised by sudden and dramatic movements and errors of scale set in surrealist landscapes populated by engravings of large buildings with elaborate architecture, grotesque Victorian gadgets, machinery, and people cut from old Sears Roebuck catalogues, supported by Gilliam's airbrush illustrations and many famous pieces of art. All of these elements were combined in incongruous ways to obtain new and humourous meanings in the tradition of surrealist collage assemblies.
The surreal nature of the series allowed Gilliam's animation to go off on bizarre, imaginative tangents. Some running gags derived from these animations were a giant hedgehog named Spiny Norman who appeared over the tops of buildings shouting, "Dinsdale!", further petrifying the paranoid Dinsdale Piranha, and The Foot of Cupid, the giant foot that suddenly squashed things. The foot is appropriated from the figure of Cupid in Agnolo Bronzino's "An Allegory of Venus and Cupid".
Other memorable animated segments include the killer cars, Conrad Poohs and his Dancing Teeth, the carnivorous houses, the old woman who cannot catch the bus, the rampage of the cancerous black spot, and a giant cat that stomps its way through London, destroying everything in its path.
Although he was primarily the animator of the series, Gilliam sometimes appeared before the camera, as more grotesque characters and parts that no-one else wanted to play (generally because they required a lot of make-up or involved uncomfortable costumes). The most recurrent of these was a knight in armour who ended sketches by walking on-set and hitting another character on the head with a plucked chicken. Gilliam also played Cardinal Fang in The Spanish Inquisition sketch.
Idle
Eric Idle is perhaps best remembered for his roles as a cheeky, suggestive, slightly perverted, upper middle class "playboy" (see sketches such as "Nudge Nudge"), his role as crafty, slick salesmen (see the "Door-to-Door Joke Salesman" "Encyclopaedia Salesman," or his role as the shop keeper who loves to haggle in Monty Python's Life of Brian). He is also acknowledged as 'the master of the one-liner' by the other Pythons. He is also considered the best singer in the group. Though certainly not reaching Jones' level in drag, Idle was arguably the most feminine-looking woman of the Pythons. His appearances as upper-class, middle-aged females are particularly convincing.Jones
Although all of the Pythons played women, Terry Jones is renowned by the rest to be 'the best Rat-Bag woman in the business'. His portrayal of a middle-aged housewife was louder, shriller and more dishevelled than that of any of the other Pythons (see "Dead Bishop" sketch or his role as Mandy in Life of Brian, or Mrs. Linda S-C-U-M in "Mr. Neutron"). He also often played an upper-class reserved man, such as in the famous "Wink, Wink, Nudge, Nudge" sketch.Palin
While all of the Pythons excel at comic acting, Michael Palin was regarded by the other members of the troupe as the one with the widest range, equally adept as a straight man or wildly over the top character. He portrayed many working-class northerners, often portrayed in a disgusting light (see "The Funniest Joke in the World" sketch, or the "Every Sperm Is Sacred" segment of Monty Python's The Meaning of Life). On the one hand, he played weak-willed, put-upon men such as the husband in the marriage counsellor sketch, or the boring accountant in the "Lion Tamer" sketch. However, he was equally at home as the indefatigable Cardinal Ximinez of 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 (see the "Blackmail sketch") but with an underlying hint of self-revulsion (as when, in one sketch, he wipes his oily palms on his jacket, makes a disgusted face, and then continues). One of his most famous creations 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) because the defects in the products are inherently obvious (see the "Dead Parrot", the "Cheese Shop"); his spivvy club owner, Luigi Vercotti, in the "Piranha Brothers" and "Army Protection Racket" is another classic variant on this type. Palin is also well known for his leading role in the The Lumberjack Song.Most famous sketches
The troupe's best-known sketches include:These sketches all appear in the first two series. A possible explanation for their fame is their inclusion in the feature film And Now For Something Completely Different, which was made between series 2 and 3. However, it was little more than a regurgitation of popular sketches intended to be shown in countries that had not seen the TV series, and did very badly in most (the one country where it was a modest hit was the UK itself, despite — or perhaps because of — the familiarity of the material). A further reason could be that when the show was repeated, it was often cancelled before the later series were shown.
The 'lost' sketches
John Cleese was reportedly unhappy with the use of scatological humour in Python sketches. The final episode of the third series of the show included a sketch called 'Wee-Wee Wine Tasting', which was censored following Cleese's objections. The sketch involves a man taking a tour of a wine cellar where he samples many of the wine bottles' contents, which are actually urine. Also pulled out along with the 'Wee-Wee' skit (for reasons unknown) was a sketch where Cleese had hired a sculptor to carve a statue of him. The sculptor (Chapman) had made an uncanny likeness of Cleese, except for that his nose was extremely long, almost Pinocchio size. The only clue that this sketch was cut out of the episode was in the "Sherry-Drinking Vicar" sketch, where, towards the back of the room, a bust with an enormously long nose sits. It is unlikely that these sketches will be released on DVD or broadcast on television, although copies of the script for these sketches can usually be found on the Internet.Some material originally recorded went missing later, mostly because of censorship. Sometimes it was just part of a sketch, such as the use of the word "masturbating" in the Summarize Proust sketch, first muted, later cut out entirely. Some sketches were deleted in their entirety, like the Political Choreographer or the satan animation connecting "Crackpot religions" to "How not to be seen". Bits of the satan animation can still be seen at the end where that particular episode is repeated in fastforward. Also it was later rediscovered from black & white 16 mm film prints. Critics feel that a properly restored DVD release is long overdue.
Stage incarnations
At several stages during and after the television series, the members of Monty Python embarked on a series of stage shows. These mostly consisted of sketches from the series, but also included other famous sketches such as the Four Yorkshiremen sketch, which subsequently became part of the Python repertoire. The shows also included songs from collaborator Neil Innes.Recordings of three of these stage shows have subsequently appeared as separate works:
- Monty Python Live at Drury Lane (aka Monty Python Live at the Royal Theatre, Drury Lane), released as their fifth album in 1974
- Monty Python Live at City Center, released in 1976
- most famously, Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl, released as a film in 1982.
The Flying Circus closes
John Cleese left the show after the third series, so he did not appear in the final six episodes that made up series four, although he did receive writing credits where applicable. Neil Innes and Douglas Adams are notable as the only two non-Pythons to get writing credits in the show — Innes for songs in episodes 40, 42 and 45 (and for contributing to a sketch in episode 45), and Adams for contributing to a sketch about something completely different in episode 45. Innes frequently appeared in the Pythons' stage shows and can also be seen in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and (briefly) in Life of Brian. Adams had become friends with Graham Chapman, where they later went to write the failed sketch show pilot Out of the Trees.Two episodes were produced in German for WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunk) — both were titled Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus (the literal German translation of the English title). The first episode, advertised as Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus: Blödeln für Deutschland, was produced in 1971, and performed in German. The second episode, advertised as Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus: Blödeln auf die feine englische Art, produced in 1972, was recorded in English and later dubbed in German. The original English recording was transmitted by the BBC in October 1973.
The final episode of Series 4 was recorded November 16, 1974, and broadcast on December 5. That same year, Devillier-Donegan Enterprises syndicated the series in the United States of America among PBS stations, and the show premiered on KERA-TV in Dallas, Texas. It was an instant hit, rapidly garnering an enormous loyal cult following nationwide that surprised even the Pythons themselves, who did not believe that their humour was exportable without being tailored specifically for the North American market.
When several episodes were broadcast by ABC in their "Wide World of Entertainment" slot in 1975 the episodes were re-edited, thus losing the continuity and flow intended in the originals. When ABC refused to stop treating the series in this way the Pythons took them to court. Initially the court ruled that their artistic rights had indeed been violated, but it refused to stop the ABC broadcasts. However, on appeal the team gained control over all subsequent US broadcasts of its programmes. The case also led to them gaining the rights from the BBC once their original contracts ended at the end of 1980 (a unique arrangement at the time).
The legacy lives on
Despite the end of Monty Python's Flying Circus, the Pythons have produced a number of other stage and screen productions together. See Monty Python for a comprehensive list.In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, Monty Python's Flying Circus was placed fifth.
In April 2006, MPFC returned to non-cable American television on PBS. To celebrate, PBS brought the group together to take part in Monty Python's Personal Best, a six-episode series featuring each Python's favorite sketches.
Trivia
- The title Monty Python's Flying Circus was partly the result of the group's reputation at the BBC. Michael Mills, 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. The group added "flying" to make it sound less like an actual circus and more like something from World War I. "Monty Python" was added because they claimed it sounded like a really bad theatrical agent, the sort of person who would have brought them together.
- All of the Beatles were fans of Monty Python. Ringo Starr made a cameo appearance after the credits of the Flying Circus episode 'Mr. & Mrs. Brian Norris' Ford Popular', playing himself. Besides George Harrison's work mentioned above, he also appeared as a mountie during the Lumberjack Song at the Python's City Center venue. The last song on the warm-up tape before Harrison's concerts was the Lumberjack Song.
- A number of sketches for Monty Python's Flying Circus were filmed on location in and around the English coastal towns of Torquay and neighbouring Paignton.
- It was while staying in Torquay at the Gleneagles Hotel with the Python team in 1971 that John Cleese found inspiration for Fawlty Towers, his popular 1970s sitcom. Incidents during the Pythons' stay are said to include the owner, Donald Sinclair, having thrown Eric Idle's suitcase out of the window thinking it was a bomb. Cleese later described the eccentric owner as "the most wonderfully rude man I have ever met," although Mr Sinclair's widow has since said her husband was totally misrepresented in the comedy.
- The theme song, John Philip Sousa's Liberty Bell March, was chosen by the troupe because it could not be associated with the programme's contents, and that the first bell strike followed by the melody gave the impression of getting "straight down to business" (down is a keyword here, because Gilliam's animation sequence ends with Cupid's foot stomping down accompanied by the sound of flatulence). It was also chosen because this song (along with most of Sousa's other works) was in the public domain, so the troupe didn't need to pay royalties, as there was no more money in the budget for theme music. There has been little agreement on who chose the music for the show's theme, with almost all of the Pythons claiming responsibility at various points. The song has now become inextricably linked with the show, to the point that when orchestras play the song today, it's not unusual for audiences members to laugh.
- The Python episode "Michael Ellis" was largely developed from the original script for Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The troupe initially intended much of Holy Grail to be set in the modern day, with the search for the Grail leading the knights to Harrods. When the decision was made to set Holy Grail entirely in medieval times, the segments taking place in modern times were cut and largely reworked into this episode. Sketches from this episode that were originally envisioned for the film include the "Rag Week" sketch, the ant-buying sketch and the toupee hall sketch. Other discarded Holy Grail sketches would appear in the episode "Hamlet", most notably the bogus psychiatrists sketch and the headless boxer sketch.
- The "Mr. Pither's Cycling Tour" episode is the only one to tell one story from beginning to end, although other episodes, including "Michael Ellis" and "Mr. Neutron", are almost as linear.
- As a kind of coda to the group's career, at the very end of their last film, The Meaning of Life, the opening titles for this series are briefly seen.
Episodes
See List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes.See also
Monty PythonMonty Python's Flying Circus (stage version)
External links
- [Museum of Broadcast Television]
- [British Film Institute Screen Online]
- ['Lost episode' script]
- ["Monty Python's Flying Circus"] - Nostalgia Central
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