Monty Python's Flying Circus 

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

Creators:

Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Jones

Stars:

Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam

Top Rated TV #35 | 4 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
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

Storyline

The irreverent Monty Python comedy troupe present a series of skits which are often surreal, bawdy, uncompromising and/or tasteless, but nearly always hilarious.

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Plot Keywords:

class system | monty python | comedy troupe | sketch comedy | black comedy | 

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Taglines:

And now for something completely digital...

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

PythOnline.com

Country:

UK

Language:

English Arabic French German Italian Mandarin Spanish

Release Date:

5 October 1969 (UK)

Also Known As:

England, wie es sinnt und lacht

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (45 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite its ground breaking reputation and huge influence on a generation of comedians and writers, John Cleese believes that much of the show has not aged very well. He feels that only about one or maybe two sketches in each episode still retain their quality and impact and the rest of the writing and production is weak, rather amateurish and under rehearsed.

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Goofs

The Air Tube that operates Mr Tree's mouth can be seen in the profile shot, when light starts glinting off it.

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Quotes

Inspector Tiger: Now, alduce me to introlow myself. I'm sorry. Alself me to myduce introlow. Introme tolose mylow alself. Alme to you introself mylowduce. Excuse me a moment.
[bangs himself on the head]
Inspector Tiger: Allow me to introduce myself. I'm afried I must ask that no-one leave the room. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Inspector Tiger.
All: Tiger?
Inspector Tiger: [jumps] Where? Where? What? Ah. Me Tiger. You Jane.
[growl]
Inspector Tiger: Beg your pardon, allow me to introduce myself, I'm afraid I must ask that no-one leave the room.
Lady Velloper: Why not?
Inspector Tiger: Elementary. ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

One episode omits the entire opening sequence of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" in favour of a simple title caption - "The Cycling Tour".

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Alternate Versions

The VHS and DVD releases by A&E contain the full-length versions of the shows. Several episodes run over 30 minutes, and were subsequently edited by PBS to fit into a 30 minute time slot.

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Connections

Edited into Parrot Sketch Not Included: Twenty Years of Monty Python (1989)

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Soundtracks

The Liberty Bell
(1893) (uncredited)
Music by John Philip Sousa
Performed by The Band of the Grenadier Guards
(opening theme music)

User Reviews

Beating everything out of the meaninglessness of everything.

It is hard to put into words how much I like the "Flying Circus". Born just some years after it was produced, I can still remember how my whole class at school watched a replay of it on German TV at the end of the 80s (it was fortunately not dubbed, just subtitled) and we were always re-enacting the jokes the day after... Fortunately we had teachers who were also into Monty Python, including our English teacher who let us watch their movies. Now, almost 25 years later, they continue to make me laugh. But having grown up and having become a little bit more educated now allows me to produce an even sillier interpretation of their work. The thought underlying everything they did was basically that 99,9% of the things we humans do is practically meaningless. May it be starting or following a religion (Brian), undergoing expert treatment (Confuse-a-Cat Ltd. - a brilliant sketch), politics (Silly Walks) etc. And what made them even better is that they also took on the past with WW2 (the deadly joke, Hilter in England) and their medium TV/cinema in itself. Brian kidnapped by aliens - an early parody of science-fiction, isn't it? All this combined with to-the-point acting, sharp observations and top-notch writing - they were decades ahead of their time. If this did not deserve a 10/10 rating, I would not know what else.