What the Pythons Did Next... (TV 2007)

A look at the careers of John Cleese, Eric Idle, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam in the years after Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Director:

Jon Riley

Stars:

Miriam Margolyes, Phill Jupitus, Barry Cryer

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Miriam Margolyes	...	Narrator (voice)
Phill Jupitus	...	Himself
Barry Cryer	...	Himself (as Barry Cryer OBE)
Jonathan Margolis	...	Himself
Carol Cleveland	...	Herself
Steve Pemberton	...	Himself
Harry Shearer	...	Himself
Neil Innes	...	Himself
John Howard Davies	...	Himself
Tim Brooke-Taylor	...	Himself
Andrew Sachs	...	Himself
Prunella Scales	...	Herself (as Prunella Scales CBE)
Barry Norman	...	Himself (as Barry Norman CBE)
Simon Jones	...	Himself
Robert Hewison	...	Himself

Storyline

A look at the careers of John Cleese, Eric Idle, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam in the years after Monty Python's Flying Circus.

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Plot Keywords:

comedy troupe

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 January 2007 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Objective Mono

Technical Specs

Runtime:

48 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

References Out of the Trees (1976)

User Reviews

The documentary featuring none of the pythons...

In 1974 Monty python decided to quit after 4 TV series. So each of the pythons went their separate ways. This is the tale of "What the Pythons did next...". Fawlty Towers for John Cleese, Michael Palin went traveling, Terry Gilliam became a director in his own right, Eric Idle revisited Monty Python to make Spamalot, Terry Jones went into history, and Graham Chapman is dead. (Not really a spoiler I dare say.)

This is all nice and informative, but it doesn't go very deep. For example, there is no mention of Cleese's work on the Amnesty fund raisers (known as the Secret Policeman's Balls), or Graham Chapman's "Jake's Journey", which supposedly was actually very promising. Also left out is anything reuniting the pythons after 1974, except for the three movies: no word on their record collection, the live shows, or other occasional reunions as in 1989 and 1999. Come to think about it, I don't think any of the pythons appeared in this documentary except in archive footage? That's not good...

Also missing is some basic information. Michael Palin starred in Brazil, OK that's just a detail. And it is fun to finally see a few glimpses of "Out of the Trees" by Graham Chapman, but for some reason they forgot to mention Douglas Adams here? And wasn't Fawlty Towers based on a hotel where the pythons once stayed back in the days of the Flying Circus? The research department must have been sleeping.

There are a few glimpses of really obscure projects, but the whole thing doesn't really chart any unknown territory.