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PBS To Air Six New Monty Python Specials
Freshly Exhumed wrote to mention a PBS release with good news for BritCom Fans. The Public Broadcasting Service is planning to air six new Monty Python specials. From the article: "Each of the exclusive-to-PBS six one-hour programs will focus on one member of the original Monty Python troupe - Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin and Terry Jones - and showcase favorite clips from the group's television series and movies, mixed with new footage. The five living Pythons - Cleese, Idle, Gilliam, Palin and Jones - will each produce and write their own episode, with the five collaborating on a sixth special to honor deceased member Chapman."
Frist NI pr0st for the Knights who say "Ni"!
Ni!
Ni!
Ni!
Trolling is a art,
With our powers of surprise, fear and...what was that other one?
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
"new material".
...
Any chance to see former Monty Ptyhon members with their favourite bits hanging out, with new material added, is a good thing.
Well, except for that dead guy - hope they don't trot out his moldy corpse, wire its jaw to a computer, and make him some kind of animatronic "I'm feeling better" kind of bit.
That would bring me down just a tad.
Care for a cup of tea? I hear Sartre's going to pop in today
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
"I don't think there's a punch-line scheduled, is there?"
Maybe PBS approached them?
My 3D Texturing Skinning work (under construction)
This Chapman is no more.
No no no. He's just asleep.
Their humor is not dead. It's just pining for the fjords.
...It is still amazing how well these shows have held up over 30+ years. Perhaps it is just sentimentality, but Monty Python is still one of the best comedy troupes, if not THE best, I have seen in my life.
Are we getting less funny? Or is familiarity part of the enjoyment? Or are they really just uniquely brilliant?
I DON'T LIKE SPAM!!
... which I hate do do, since I so much adore the Monty Python gang. Televised events of this nature seldom do well, and seldom excite me. An attempt to drudge up the past will only prove how far the mighty have fallen. We just might see ol' Graham "Wormy" Chapman on screen. Recently, I saw The Meaning of Life for the first time, and although parts were delightfully pleasing, I could tell that the quality of story was stepping aside for mere shock value, which is the dead end where all comic genius eventually comes to die. Part of what made the troupe so funny was that it was funny during their time. We see success from modern-day comedy troupes, such as Saturday Night Live, because they do their best to stay with the times. Context of creation period has a lot to do with the quality of the performance. (e.g., there's only so many Bill Clinton jokes that will fly nowadays). Trying to make Monty Python work for a modern era would be like trying to install vacuum tubes into a 939-pin socket... you'd have to have one hell of an adapter kit. That said, TiVo is armed and ready!
Great choice of topic and its associated logo :) I dont reckon you can get more appropriate!
Sparks:Gadget:Beer Maker
This is a terrific idea really. It's too bad Graham Chapman can't be a part of it though. Quite a tragedy when he died. No doubt he thought it was only a flesh wound at the time.
PBS: "We were in the nick of time. You were in great peril."
Pythons: "We don't think we were."
PBS: "Yes, you were. You were in terrible peril."
Pythons: "Look, let us go back in there and face the peril."
PBS: "No, it's too perilous."
Pythons: "Look, it's our duty as comedians to sample as much peril as we can."
PBS: "No, we've got to find great ratings. Come on!"
Pythons: "Oh, let us have just a little bit of peril?"
PBS: "No. It's unhealthy."
Pythons: "We bet you're gay."
PBS: "Your point?"
The press release is dated July 13th 2005...
This is a sig. There are many others like it, but this one is mine.
Customer: I wish to lodge a complaint about this Chapman parody!
Clerk: Yes, what's wrong with it?
Customer: It's dead, that's what's wrong with it.
Eternity: will that be smoking, or non-smoking? I Corinthians 6:9-10
See, now, you had to take a good, funny joke line and inject your thuddingly unfunny political screed. It's people like you what cause unrest.
If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
Doesn't stand the test of time? There are a few sketches that refer to events of the period, and some of it is very particularly English, but nobody can tell me that The Twin Peaks of Kilimanjaro, the Spanish Inquisition, the Argument Room, the Piranha Brothers, Upperclass Twit of the Year, Bicycle Repairman, the brilliant Monty Python's Contractual Obligation, the entirety of The Holy Grail, etcetera and so on are dated. Flying Circus is probably television's finest moment, a bit of the sublime and absurd by six guys who threw out every single sketch comedy rule and made little half hours of perfect comedy.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
The series' 45 episodes ran until December 1974. ... Beginning in Spring 2006, PBS stations will be able to introduce a whole new generation to the series when all 47 episodes will be available for broadcast.
Methinks the PBS public relations team should spend more time watching Sesame Street and practicing numbers. =p
It doesn't hurt to be nice.
Well, Terry Gilliam was born in Minnesota (the only member born outside the UK). I'm also from Minnesota and I haven't forgotten about his origins.
Even though Python is known for being British Comedy, their films and shows are still purchased everywhere in the United States--they possibly have more sales in the United States than Britain just because of the population sizes. Perhaps they want to maximize exposure?
I caught the Kids in the Hall on tour in Minneapolis once and it was packed, I was deafened by laughter. Whether you believe it or not, foreign comedy like Monty Python or The Kids in the Hall are greatly appreciated by Minnesotans. I assume it's similar in other places around the United States.
My work here is dung.
You'll have to check your local listings for the exact time. For all you MythTV users in Chicago it will be Channel 11 WTTW at 9pm CST.
The (unofficial) member of team, that I remember most fondly at a young impressionable age, was Carol Cleveland. I hope we see plenty of her appearances!
Carol Cleveland [Wiki]
PBS is airing the exact same content that is on the DVD's, which have been out for a few months already. If you've watched the DVD's, you've seen these specials already.
"A Bird In The Hand Will Poop On Your Wrist"-Benny Hill,1982
Looks like these specials are already out on DVD...
Eric Idle's Personal Best
John Cleese's Personal Best(coming soon)
Graham Chapman's Personal Best(coming soon)
Terry Jones' Personal Best(coming soon)
Terry Gilliam's Personal Best(coming soon)
Michael Palin's Personal Best
The two that are released are already available on Netflix (with four to be available 28-Feb).
Yes, well, I never wanted to be a Slashdot troll. I always wanted to be...a lumberjack! Leaping from tree to tree as they float down the mighty rivers of British Columbia!
Rather than the 7-month-old press release referenced by the slashdot story, try the current PBS Monty Python page. The first special is scheduled to air tomorrow (February 22), and the series reruns start in April.
Have you read my blog lately?
I watched Monty Python in my formative impressionable years. All I can say is you lousy rotten b...
...astards! You cocks...
...uckers! You ruined my li..
The original poster has been sacked.
As I was saying Monty Python was the best most wond..
The original poster has been really been sacked
I cannot say enough good things about Monty Python. In fa...
The original poster has been really REALLY been sacked. *BANG*
My llama can sing and it has a huge d...
*BANG*
This posting has been terminated because it was determined to be no longer funny.
"You'll get nothing, and you'll like it!"
The operative word here isn't "Brit", but "she". Python's humour has traditionally appealed more to men than women. In fact, BBC America ran a promo for Monty Python's Flying Circus that consisted of a clip of a sketch (I don't remember which), and the tagline: "If your girlfriend laughs at this, marry her."
This sig intentionally left blank.
You, sir, obviously lack taste. Pity.
I am so facking sick of my local (Orlando, FL, WMFE) public television station playing so much facking British programming.
Well, now you know how we felt in the '80s. Wall-to-wall Cagney & Lacey, Thorn Birds and Falcon Crest.
hatred of all things French
There is a big difference between hating and not respecting. We don't hate the French, we just have a complete lack of respect for them.
Just to be clear since mods have been a little harsh on me recently: it is a joke, laugh.
Computers allow humans to make mistakes at the fastest speeds known, with the possible exception of tequila and handguns
Anybody want a peanut?
I saw it this weekend, and was disapointed. Maybe it was the $100 price-tag, or the fact that I had to wait 10 months for a decent seat, but it just wasn't that funny. A lot of it was just pieced together scenes from the movie with moderately funny interuptions. There were a few good, funny original songs .. but I noticed that when I was laughing like a lunatic the people next to me were quiet, and vice-versa. Some of my family thought it was superb, but I don't really count them as being die hard Python fans.
I personally would have rather owned the box set, for the amount I paid for the tickets. YMMV, is the best way to put it.
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Nova, Frontline, and BBC documentaries are on maybe once a week each!
No surprise there; Nova and Frontline are weekly shows. In fact they're on tonight. Tonight's Nova is all about Neutrinos. It should be interesting.
Trolling is a art,
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(pause)
coaxeus:
I couldn't agree more
AC:
Agreement is an intellectual process. Affirmation is just the automatic declaration of anything the other person says as true.
coaxeus:
I couldn't agree more
My hovercraft is full of eels!
No they cant....
I think he meant he wanted Graham Chapman inserted into George Lucas.
And in his final paragraph, he obviously wants Jar-Jar inserted into George Lucas as well.
Just goes to show that don't get British humour, maybe if you search Google Video for 'banana skin' you'll find some simple American humour more to your liking.
doesn't seem nearly as funny as seeing John Cleese go bananas and start shouting "DON'T MENTION THE WAR!"
That wasn't a Python (Monty) sketch: that was Python cast member John Cleese in another series called 'Fawlty Towers'. Cleese plays Basil Fawlty, a right awful (and funny) b*st*rd of a hotel owner manager.
German Guest: "Will you stop talking about the war??!?"
Basil Fawlty: "You started it!"
German guest: "We did not!"
Basil Fawlty: "Yes, you did - you invaded Poland!"
I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.