Now that we’ve looked at the shows that got the Pythons their starts it’s time to move onto the main event. On 5th October 1969 Monty Python’s Flying Circus aired its first episode on BBC one. It was an entirely unique comic vehicle that aimed for a style of humour that was impossible to define; it drew on the madcap comedy styles of At Last the 1948 Show and Do Not Adjust Your Set as well as hitting a similar structure to Spike Milligan’s groundbreaking show Q5. The show was a hit, especially with young people at the time and it went on to be one of the most successful and fondly remembered comedy groups of all time.
Following the success of At Last the 1948 Show John Cleese and Graham Chapman had been offered a show on the BBC, however John Cleese was hesitant at the idea of making a two man show and asked along Michael Palin who he had previously worked on The Frost Report and How to Irritate People. Palin agreed, but wanted to bring along his writing partner Terry Jones, who then suggested they also bring Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam and thus the most influential comedy troupe of all time was formed.
In terms of style one of their main ideas was not feeling the need to end sketches with a punchline, instead having the freedom to just leave when they felt it had reached its peak, however when they saw Spike Milligan doing the same on Q5 they knew they needed something else to make it work. This is where Terry Gilliam’s animations came in, they helped to link sketches together in a way that made the whole thing feel like a continuous stream of consciousness that is unparalleled by any other show before or after.
In terms of style one of their main ideas was not feeling the need to end sketches with a punchline, instead having the freedom to just leave when they felt it had reached its peak, however when they saw Spike Milligan doing the same on Q5 they knew they needed something else to make it work. This is where Terry Gilliam’s animations came in, they helped to link sketches together in a way that made the whole thing feel like a continuous stream of consciousness that is unparalleled by any other show before or after.
The first series opens well hitting their stride with confidence from the opening moments of Palin running out from the sea looking like Robinson Crusoe only to reach the camera and say “it’s...” before the opening credits cut him off.
From there the sketches come on in full force ranging from at least mildly amusing to downright hysterical, the first sketch proper being Mozart hosting a show looking at great deaths throughout time and featuring some real classics along the way like nudge nudge, the dead parrot, the dirty knife, the lumberjack song, vocational guidance counsellor and many others that are equally brilliant and equally silly.
Each of the performers gets a chance to show off their own particular comedy skills, Chapman is authoritative and straight laced until he flies off into insane nonsense at a moment’s notice, Cleese is physical and great at being indignant and shouting, Gilliam’s animations are some of the funniest things you’ll ever see and he wears a suit of armour and hits people with a chicken, Idle is quick talking and makes a convincing woman, Jones is flustered and alarmingly good at performing a strip tease and Palin is either slimy and conniving or innocent and timid. They are all brilliant at what they do and it’s a real joy to see them performing with the freedom they deserve.
Each of the performers gets a chance to show off their own particular comedy skills, Chapman is authoritative and straight laced until he flies off into insane nonsense at a moment’s notice, Cleese is physical and great at being indignant and shouting, Gilliam’s animations are some of the funniest things you’ll ever see and he wears a suit of armour and hits people with a chicken, Idle is quick talking and makes a convincing woman, Jones is flustered and alarmingly good at performing a strip tease and Palin is either slimy and conniving or innocent and timid. They are all brilliant at what they do and it’s a real joy to see them performing with the freedom they deserve.
This series is the origin of one of the funniest shows to ever be on TV and they’re all absolutely in their prime here. I cannot recommend watching this enough, I’ve seen these sketches countless times, can often quote them verbatim and yet I’m still able to find something in them that surprises me and makes me laugh like it’s the first time I’ve seen them. Just pure brilliance.