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

Creators:

John Cleese
Terry Gilliam
Graham Chapman
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | unknown

Release Date:

5 October 1969 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Music

Tagline:

And now for something completely digital...

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Monty Python | Comedy Troupe | Sketch Comedy | Television | Animal In Title

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)

Series Directed by
Ian MacNaughton		(46 episodes, 1969-1974)
John Howard Davies		(5 episodes, 1969)

Series Writing credits
Graham Chapman		(46 episodes, 1969-1974)
Eric Idle		(46 episodes, 1969-1974)
Terry Jones		(46 episodes, 1969-1974)
Michael Palin		(46 episodes, 1969-1974)
Terry Gilliam		(44 episodes, 1969-1974)
John Cleese		(43 episodes, 1969-1974)
Neil Innes		(2 episodes, 1974)

Series Produced by
Ian MacNaughton	....	producer / junior producer: Mafia Films Inc. (42 episodes, 1969-1974)
John Howard Davies	....	producer (4 episodes, 1969)

Series Original Music by
Neil Innes		(1 episode, 1974)

Series Cinematography by
James Balfour		(20 episodes, 1969-1971)
Alan Featherstone		(18 episodes, 1969-1973)
Stanley Speel		(6 episodes, 1974)
Terry Hunt		(2 episodes, 1970)
Max Samett		(unknown episodes)

Series Film Editing by
Ray Millichope		(40 episodes, 1969-1973)
Robert C. Dearberg		(6 episodes, 1974)
Howard Dell		(3 episodes, 1969-1971)

Series Production Design by
Robert Berk		(18 episodes, 1970-1974)
Chris Thompson		(6 episodes, 1969-1973)
Richard Hunt		(5 episodes, 1970-1971)
Geoffrey Patterson		(4 episodes, 1969-1970)
Ken Sharp		(4 episodes, 1970-1971)
Roger Liminton		(3 episodes, 1969)
Ian Watson		(3 episodes, 1972)
Valerie Warrender		(3 episodes, 1974)
Jeremy Davies		(2 episodes, 1969)

Series Costume Design by
Hazel Pethig		(37 episodes, 1969-1973)
Andrew Rose		(6 episodes, 1974)

Series Makeup Department
Magdalen Gaffney	....	makeup artist (21 episodes, 1970-1973)
Joan Barrett	....	makeup supervisor / makeup artist (13 episodes, 1969-1970)
Penny Norton	....	makeup artist (7 episodes, 1970-1971)
Maggie Weston	....	makeup artist (6 episodes, 1974)

Series Art Department
Bob Blagden	....	graphic designer (9 episodes, 1970-1973)

Series Sound Department
Peter Rose	....	sound (14 episodes, 1970-1971)
John Delany	....	sound (12 episodes, 1969-1972)
Richard Chubb	....	sound (12 episodes, 1972-1973)
Ron Blight	....	sound recordist (6 episodes, 1974)
Paul Roberts	....	assistant sound editor (6 episodes, 1974)
Mike Jones	....	sound (5 episodes, 1974)
Jack Sudic	....	sound (2 episodes, 1969)
Doug Smith	....	sound (unknown episodes)

Series Visual Effects by
John Horton	....	visual effects designer / visual effects (19 episodes, 1970-1974)
Bernard Wilkie	....	visual effects designer (6 episodes, 1972-1973)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
James Purdie	....	lighting technician (21 episodes, 1970-1974)
Otis Eddy	....	lighting technician (20 episodes, 1969-1971)
Bill Bailey	....	lighting technician (6 episodes, 1972-1973)
James Balfour	....	camera operator / film camera (5 episodes, 1969)
Joan Williams	....	still photographer (2 episodes, 1970)
Peter Willis	....	camera operator: rostrum camera (2 episodes, 1972-1974)

Series Animation Department
Terry Gilliam	....	animator (46 episodes, 1969-1974)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Hazel Pethig	....	costume supervisor (3 episodes, 1969)

Series Music Department
John Philip Sousa	....	composer: theme "Liberty Bell March" (17 episodes, 1969-1974)
Fred Tomlinson	....	choral director (6 episodes, 1969-1972)
Bill McGuffie	....	musical director / musician: piano, "Someone Else I'd Like to Be" (2 episodes, 1969-1974)

Series Other crew
Patricia Houlihan	....	researcher (15 episodes, 1970-1972)
Sarah Hart Dyke	....	researcher (9 episodes, 1969-1970)
Brian Jones	....	production assistant (6 episodes, 1974)
Suzan Davies	....	researcher (4 episodes, 1972-1973)

Production Companies

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
• Python (Monty) Pictures

Distributors

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (1969) (UK) (TV) (original airing)
• A&E Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• A&E Home Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• BBC Video (????) (UK) (DVD)
• BMG Video (????) (UK) (DVD)
• DeVillier Donegan Enterprizes (USA)
• Independent Film Channel (IFC) (2011) (USA) (TV)
• Paramount Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (2008) (Japan) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Tokyo Channel 12 Television Ltd. (1976) (Japan) (TV)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2007) (Finland) (DVD)

Other Companies

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)  taping location

Also Known As:

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:

Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG | 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

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

One of the first things the Pythons decided was to get rid of the obligatory, though often disappointing punch line of most comedy sketches. The "Restaurant Sketch" (or "Dirty Fork Sketch") pokes fun at this.

Quotes:

BBC Interviewer:The activity you see behind me is part of the preparations for the new Naval Expedition to Lake Pahoe. The man in charge of this expedition is Vice Admiral Sir John Cunningham. Sir, John, hello there.
Vice-Admiral Sir John Cunningham:Ah, hello. Well, first of all I'd like to apologize for the behaviour of certain of my colleagues you may have seen earlier, but they are from broken homes, circus families and so on and they are in no way representative of the new modern improved British Navy. They are a small vociferous minority...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: Episode #26.146" (2010)

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...