Monty Python 40 Years Old Today!

cheros was one of several readers to note that today, Oct 5, in 1969 was the very first airing of Monty Python. Although not every sketch has aged particularly well, you'd be hard pressed to find a more influential and funny show. Heck, look at the Icon we use here to indicate humorous stories! Who among us can't claim to have viewed the Holy Grail at least somewhere in the double digits.

Comments

And now.....

[Anonymous Coward]

For something completely different.

Re:And now.....

[bigtomrodney]

I figured the same old Parrot Sketch jokes wouldn't be the best choice, so from one of my favourites...

Dennis Moore, Dennis Moore
Riding through the land
Dennis Moore, Dennis Moore
Without a merry band
He steals from the poor.
And gives to the rich
Stupid bitch.

Re:And now.....

[Anonymous Coward]

Shut your noise, you! And get that suit on! And no singing!

Re:And now.....

[FaxeTheCat]

No it isn't!

Re:And now.....

[cayenne8]

"No it isn't!"

I'm afraid it is....

Re:And now.....

[melikamp]

No. 1. THE LARCH. THE LARCH.

Re:And now.....

[Darinbob]

It was only recently that I realized that tune was from the British Robin Hood series (and when I heard that I though they were ripping off Dennis Moore :-). There's a lot of British topical humor that didn't translate well to American, yet despite that it succeeded here. Though the Pythons did intentionally try to make something that wasn't so overwhelmingly topical, which was the style at the time.

Re:And now.....

[maxwell demon]

Where are the knights who always say: "First Post"?

Re:And now.....

[Random BedHead Ed]

There's a lot of British topical humor that didn't translate well to American, yet despite that it succeeded here. Though the Pythons did intentionally try to make something that wasn't so overwhelmingly topical, which was the style at the time.

The funny thing is, sometimes when they got topical we Americans were able to grok what they were talking about, even though we didn't know the politics and culture very well. Their style of humor usually translated perfectly even without Cliff's Notes. I think topical humor sometimes contains its own explanations.

Re:And now.....

[Random BedHead Ed]

Where are the knights who always say: "First Post"?

They are no longer The Knights Who Say First Post. They are now the Knights Who Say Ekki-ekki-ekki-pitang-zoom-boing!

Re:And now.....

[zurtle]

Ah, I was playing Scrabble at a local pub with a young lady and I managed to put LARCH on the board. She couldn't understand why I was so amused/excited/constantly saying "The larch"...

Re:And now.....

[Gilmoure]

Tonight's the night I shall be talking about of flu the subject of word
association football. This is a technique out a living much used in the
practice makes perfect of psychoanalysister and brother and one that has
occupied piper the majority rule of my attention squad by the right number one
two three four the last five years to the memory. It is quite remarkable baker
charlie how much the miller's son this so-called while you were out word
association immigrants' problems influences the manner from heaven in which we
sleekit cowering timrous beasties all-American Speke, the famous explorer. And
the really well that is surprising partner in crime is that a lot and his wife
of the lions' feeding time we may be c d e effectively quite unaware of the
fact or fiction section of the Watford Public Library that we are even doing it
is a far, far better thing that I do now then, now then, what's going onward
christian Barnard the famous hearty part of the lettuce now praise famous
mental homes for loonies like me. So on the button, my contention causing all
the headaches, is that unless we take into account of Monte Cristo in our
thinking George the Fifth this phenomenon the other hand we shall not be able
satisFact or Fiction section of the Watford Public Library againily to
understand to attention when I'm talking to you and stop laughing, about human
nature, man's psychological make-up some story the wife'll believe and hence
the very meaning of life itselfish bastard, I'll kick him in the balls upon the
road.

Lewis Carroll would be proud.

Re:And now.....

[Anonymous Coward]

Say no more, say no more.

Please.

Re:And now.....

[alext]

Solid bit of transcription there but for the last 4 words!

Re:And now.....

[atheistmonk]

Dinsdale?

Re:And now.....

[apoc.famine]

That's unlikely here on slashdot. You see, we in nerdom have taken what Python once stood for, and now venerate the group's work in an entirely inappropriate way. We are worshiping the golden calf, not the god. There will be nothing different here, just a parroting of the same lines, over and over, and over.
 
Long ago, before most slashdotters, Python was funny because they were doing something that NOBODY else had done. They were pushing boundaries. They were making the establishment feel uncomfortable. They were the Rock&Roll of TV, fighting to sail in their own direction. They were giving glimpses of nudity on television, using inappropriate language, naming characters "Biggus Dickus", and other inappropriate things.
 
In short, Python was great because they were new, they were fresh, they pushed the boundaries of what was considered indecent back, and they didn't resort to the same tired gag over and over and over.
 
They were the Shakespeare of their day, hiding grossly offensive material under clever linguistics. They took characters from around us, around history, around time, and put them in places they didn't belong. Then they explored that human dynamic. The English-speaking Brian in Roman lands, failing at Latin; The Viking and King Arthur in modern times; The Grannies in biker gangs; The accountant in places of danger and excitement.
 
They, like Shakespeare, Longfellow, and David Foley before them took us to a place we knew, and then perverted it while we stood there, slack-jawed. They, like Hisenberg and Bohr, kept us continuously uncertain of where we stood. Of where we started, and of where we would end up.
 
While many books have been written on the social commentary of the themes within Python's works, the one most cited is that of dying cats. From explosions to old women beating them on posts, it was clear that Python had something out for the furry pussy. While most have glossed over this theme as a histamine sensitivity, it clearly ties into their long-running theme of the uncertainty of the human condition. For them, the human condition has been observed. And it is a dead cat.
 
For that reason, I put off coming here. I knew that all I would find would be anti-Python. A repetition of lines; against all they stood for; all that made them great. While we can treasure the memories of enjoyment that their shows and movies brought us, we should remember the golden calf.
 
For that reason, I come here not to repeat a line, but to leave a brief message in their honor.
 
Do not look at the glass - look through the window. And out that window is a dead cat, having been observed by Python.

Re:And now.....

[conureman]

I call the late Arthur Aldridge!

Re:And now.....

[SL Baur]

may I take this opportunity of emphasizing that there is no cannibalism in Slashdot. Absolutely none, and when I say none, I mean there is a certain amount, more than we are prepared to admit, but all new accounts are warned that if they wake up in the morning and find toothmarks at all anywhere on their bodies, they're to tell Cmdr Taco immediately so that he can immediately take every measure to hush the whole thing up.

Re:And now.....

[polle404]

I Wave My first posts At Your Aunties, you second hand electric donkey bottom biter!'
Your mother was a LOLcat, and your father smelt of goatse!

Re:And now.....

[jfmonte]

thank you, sir, for doing what i most surely wouldn't...

Re:And now.....

[Anonymous Coward]

No. 1. THE LARCH. THE LARCH..

Ni!

[OrangeMonkey11]

Ni!

Re:Ni!

[Anonymous Coward]

This.

Re:Ni!

[txoof]

This is an excellent opportunity to honor Monty Python by honoring the group's mastery of shock and irreverence and stop quoting, word for word skits and films! The irony is killing me slowly.

Highly apropos XKCD comic on the subject.

Re:Ni!

[daid303]

I'll bite your legs off!

Re:Ni!

[eldavojohn]

This is an excellent opportunity to honor Monty Python by honoring the group's mastery of shock and irreverence and stop quoting, word for word skits and films! The irony is killing me slowly.

Highly apropos XKCD comic on the subject.

I disagree. Because you are quoting something surreal does not make it any less surreal. Monty Python is surreal humor, not original humor. Of course, the shock and awe of seeing it the first time is very effective. But that should in no way prevent you from continually enjoying it. If it being original was a requisite to the innate humor, the very act of placing it statically on a medium would remove the humor from it.

Of course it's quotable in the same way David Lynch is quotable or Salvador Dali's Persistence of Memory is replicated in anything from The Simpsons to T-shirts. I think that XKCD comic has little to no merit in claiming that Python was loved for their mastery of shock or defiance of convention. They were loved for their humor--be it unique, it was still not entirely original. Quoting Monty Python should make no one more depressed than quoting Shakespeare or Homer. Stop fretting about being unoriginal and enjoy it.

Re:Ni!

[mrdoogee]

Strangely appropriate for this thread, and really /. in general.

Q: WHAT DO YOU WANT?
M: Well, I was told outside that...
Q: Don't give me that, you snotty-faced heap of parrot droppings!
M: What?
Q: Shut your festering gob, you tit! Your type really makes me puke, you vacuous, coffee-nosed, maloderous, pervert!!!
M: Look, I CAME HERE FOR AN ARGUMENT, I'm not going to just stand...!!
Q: OH, oh I'm sorry, but this is abuse.
M: Oh, I see, well, that explains it.
Q: Ah yes, you want room 12A, Just along the corridor.
M: Oh, Thank you very much. Sorry.
Q: Not at all.
M: Thank You.
(Under his breath) Stupid git!!

Re:Ni!

[cayenne8]

"I disagree. Because you are quoting something surreal does not make it any less surreal."

Yeah, and you can't quote Caddyshack and Ferris Bueller all day long, you gotta break it up with something...

:)

Re:Ni!

[Jonah Hex]

And years from now people will quote that comic, word for word. Look how close you are already! Pop culture is incestuous, and to create new works, old works must be cannibalized. When copyrights become no-expiring, creative thought will be a crime.
HEX

Re:Ni!

[Nihixul]

Why on Earth is the parent modded "Troll"? Please people, and I know this is said here quite often, but troll != disagree.

Re:Ni!

[Subm]

This is an excellent opportunity to honor Monty Python by honoring the group's mastery of shock and irreverence and stop quoting, word for word skits and films! The irony is killing me slowly.

Highly apropos XKCD comic on the subject.

People repetitively quoting them is exactly what makes Monty Python so influential, great, and popular. The world is full of people who quote unoriginally -- that's what creates the value in originality. So while all the people quoting them aren't themselves originally funny, there is no other way it could be. Nothing wrong with that.

I notice your own criticism of word-for-word quoting was little more than a word-for-word quote of someone else. At least the people you are trying to criticize are just trying to be funny and honor people they like.

The irony in your post wasn't what was killing you, but your self-inflicted venom.

Re:Ni!

[howlingfrog]

"Seems random" != "is random"

Big xkcd fan, but that particular one is totally without merit--the Pythons were obsessive rewriters. Every sketch went through multiple drafts, they chose their topics and precise wording very carefully. They put a lot of effort into finding the absolute most effective way of surprising the audience, and they usually succeeded. The brilliance of Python is that they took the kind of humor that doesn't rely on surprise (a la Laurel and Hardy), and made it so surprising that everyone mistakes it for surprise-humor. Most comedy incorporates surprise, but nothing stays surprising forever--the comedy that stands the test of time is the comedy that doesn't depend on it. Take surprise out of Python and you still have some of the best-written jokes the world has ever produced. The most common format for their sketches was essentially to repeat the same joke over and over again with different wording--Dead Parrot, Crunchy Frog, Spam, Spanish Inquisition, Self-Defense, etc. After the first twenty seconds, there's nothing left to surprise you even the first time you see it. The humor is in the flawless execution--and that's why it's so obsessively quoted and rewatched.

Re:Ni!

[Brian Gordon]

Of course, the shock and awe of seeing it the first time is very effective.

Am I the only one here who doesn't think a bunch of knights riding around saying Ni is funny?

Re:Ni!

[jDeepbeep]

This is an excellent opportunity to honor Monty Python by honoring the group's mastery of shock and irreverence and stop quoting, word for word skits and films! The irony is killing me slowly.

Can we have your liver then?

Re:Ni!

[Anonymous Coward]

I notice your own criticism of word-for-word quoting was little more than a word-for-word quote of someone else. At least the people you are trying to criticize are just trying to be funny and honor people they like.

That's not an argument, that's just copypasta! Argument is an intellectual process...

Re:Ni!

[Subm]

Quoting Monty Python should make no one more depressed than quoting Shakespeare or Homer.

D'oh!

and here's to alcohol; the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems

Lisa, in this house we obey the second law of thermodynamics!

Stop fretting about being unoriginal and enjoy it.

Don't mind if I do.

Re:Ni!

[cayenne8]

"Am I the only one here who doesn't think a bunch of knights riding around saying Ni is funny?"

Lighten up Francis...

Oops..sorry...wrong movie.

Re:Ni!

[cayenne8]

"People repetitively quoting them is exactly what makes Monty Python so influential, great, and popular. The world is full of people who quote unoriginally -- that's what creates the value in originality. So while all the people quoting them aren't themselves originally funny, there is no other way it could be. Nothing wrong with that."

There is only ONE thing worse than being quoted....

...and that is NOT being quoted.

Re:Ni!

[Anonymous Coward]

Perhaps the Python fans should look up the stuff that inspired the Pythons like Spike Milligan & The Goons and Peter Cook & Dudley Moore. Then they'd see that Python is a continuation of a classic tradition of insane surreal satirical British comedy.

Re:Ni!

[Hurricane78]

Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say Ni at will to old Slashdotters. There is a pestilence upon this site, nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design non-stories are under considerable economic stress in this period in history.

Re:Ni!

[OrangeMonkey11]

LOL You've made my day good sir

Re:Ni!

[Anonymous Coward]

It is a bit self-indulgent to quote something that the current generation isn't familiar with.

(being a little bit conciliatory!)

Python sketches were always intelligent, fast paced and linked in the most obscure way. I guess they appeal to intelligent and somewhat socially isolated Americans which is exacerbated by seeking attention through English humor, sort of like being an unwanted stray dog that won't go away.

Personally, I loved the show and have almost all of their material on DVD but some of it just doesn't play with Pep Rally attending Americans. If that kind of person doesn't mean much to you, than it's all good. (I guess a good American version of that kind of low-key absurdity would be something like "A Boy and his Dog" (also, also good!)

Re:Ni!

[hoover]

"Take surprise out of Python and you still have some of the best-written deadliest jokes the world has ever produced."

FTFY ;-)

Re:Ni!

[PriceIke]

I wish you hadn't said that.

Re:Ni!

[maxwell demon]

If you ever had met the knights saying "Ni", you'd have found out that they aren't funny. Do you know how terrible it is if someone says "Ni" to you? And you tell us it's funny! What's next? Will you also tell us that waterbording is funny? Not that waterbording is even close as painful as someone saying "Ni" to you. You know, even in Guantanamo, they never said "Ni" to the prisoners. If they had, it would certainly have been considered torture even by the most hard-core Republican.

So stop telling us that saying "Ni" to harmless people is funny. You are just glorifying violence!

Re:Ni!

[Anonymous Coward]

Clearly, you do not remember the movie very well, as the Knights who say Ni did not ride around. They were encountered when Arthur and his kniggits were riding through their forest.

And "Ni" was not the only dialogue, only a running punchline which turned into the joke, when they became the Knights who, until recently, said Ni.

Re:Ni!

[maxwell demon]

Yeah, what has Monty Python ever brought us?

Re:Ni!

[Anonymous Coward]

Well Reg... sanitation, security, the roads.

Re:Ni!

[Random BedHead Ed]

"I disagree. Because you are quoting something surreal does not make it any less surreal."

Yeah, and you can't quote Caddyshack and Ferris Bueller all day long, you gotta break it up with something...

Can I borrow your towel for a sec? My car just hit a water buffalo. Dr. Rosenrosen, I'm here to get to the records room.

Re:Ni!

[Random BedHead Ed]

He did, PriceIke, he did.

Re:Ni!

[pjt33]

Perhaps some of us already have.

Re:Ni!

[Anonymous Coward]

Quoting Monty Python should make no one more depressed than quoting Shakespeare or Homer.

D'oh!

Sweet merciful crap!

Re:Ni!

[Fozzyuw]

Perhaps the Python fans should look up the stuff that inspired the Pythons like Spike Milligan & The Goons and Peter Cook & Dudley Moore. Then they'd see that Python is a continuation of a classic tradition of insane surreal satirical British comedy.

Lets not bicker and argue about who surreal who...

And...

HUGE TRACKS OF LAND!

Re:Ni!

[SL Baur]

King Arthur: The Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. THAT is why I am your king.
Dennis: [interrupting] Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
Dennis: Oh, but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you.
Dennis: Oh but if I went 'round sayin' I was Emperor, just because some moistened bint lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away.
Dennis: Come and see the violence inherent in the system. Help! Help! I'm being repressed!
King Arthur: Bloody peasant!
Dennis: Oh, what a giveaway! Did you hear that? Did you hear that, eh? That's what I'm on about! Did you see him repressing me? You saw him, Didn't you?

Re:Ni!

[sunami]

Me too. I guess I missed a joke in there at some point.

Stop making a fuss.

[Anonymous Coward]

Monty Python was a long time ago.

It is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker!

It's a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed it to the perch it'd be pushing up the daisies!
Its metabolic processes are now 'istory! It's off the twig!
It's kicked the bucket, it's shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!!

Re:Stop making a fuss.

[brian0918]

Shut your festering gob, you insensitive tit!

Re:Stop making a fuss.

[Anonymous Coward]

Okay, okay. I didn't expect some kind of Spanish Inquisition...

Re:Stop making a fuss.

[rrhal]

Always look on the bright side of life ...

Re:Stop making a fuss.

[Iceykitsune]

No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!

Re:Stop making a fuss.

[volfreak]

Wewease wodewick!!!

Re:Stop making a fuss.

[cayenne8]

I thought WE were the Popular Front....?

Re:Stop making a fuss.

[Anonymous Coward]

PEOPLE'S Front...

Re:Stop making a fuss.

[Anonymous Coward]

No, no - they're pinning for the fjords.

Re:Stop making a fuss.

[sidyan]

PEOPLE'S Front...

Frank: "Whatever happened to the Popular Front, Reg?"

Reg: "He's over there."

People's Front of Judea: "SPLITTER!"

Re:Stop making a fuss.

[gafisher]

It's not dead yet.

Re:Stop making a fuss.

[sconeu]

No it isn't!

Re:Stop making a fuss.

[Hurricane78]

Man did you all miss a load of karma by posting as AC. Oh... wait...

Re:Stop making a fuss.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not dead. yet.

Re:Stop making a fuss.

[Random BedHead Ed]

Man did you all miss a load of karma by posting as AC. Oh... wait...

His chief moderation would have been Funny ... Funny and Insightful. Insightful and Funny ...

His two moderations would have been Funny and Insightful ... and Underrated ...

His three moderations would have been Funny, Insightful, Underrated ... and Interesting ...

His four ... no ... Amongst his many moderations would have been such words as Funny, Insightful, Underrated ...

I'll come in again.

Re:Stop making a fuss.

[zwarte piet]

Noooooo, tit sounds way to tinny gooorn

It's not dead!

[adnonsense]

Just pining for the fjords.

Obligatory...

[charleste]

NObody expects the anniversary of Python!

Re:Obligatory...

[Anonymous Coward]

Lemon Curry?

Re:Obligatory...

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't know that!

Aaaaiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeee.....

Re:Obligatory...

[SnarfQuest]

I don't know that!

Aaaaiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeee.....

This is slashdor you insensitive clod! It should be:

I don't know that!

%&#&%#Carrier Lost

...

Did he really type Carrier Lost. Maybe he was dictating it...

Re:Obligatory...

[Aklyon]

Nobody Expects The Spanish Inquisition!

Re:Obligatory...

[maxwell demon]

I don't know that!

Aaaaiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeee.....

This is slashdor you insensitive clod! It should be:

I don't know that!

%&#&%#Carrier Lost

That can happen with avian carriers.

Re:Obligatory...

[Hognoxious]

Naked man playing piano:In Soviet Russia, inquistion expects

Man dressed as army officer: STOP! Silly! It started off as a nice joke about rearranging the subject and direct object of a sentence, but now it's just getting silly. And get your hair cut!

Re:Obligatory...

[The J Kid]

What, the American or the European version?

Laden or unladen?

Icon ?

[slb]

I always wondwered why /. used this strange icon of a barefoot, now I understand but I'm wondering to which skit it is related.

Re:Icon ?

[Anonymous Coward]

None of the above. It comes down at the end of the opening bits of the program, squashing the words on the screen, near the end of the "Liberty Bell March"

Re:Icon ?

[Anonymous Coward]

You must be ne... wait a minute, 5 digit ID? who did you buy that off?! :P

Re:Icon ?

[bcmm]

For most of Monty Python's Flying Circus, the opening credits consisted of the Liberty Bell March played over surreal animations from Terry G., with the last note replaced by a loud `squish' sound as a giant foot squashed the rest of the animated stuff.

Re:Icon ?

[Beg4Mercy]

People will pay for a 5-digit ID?!

Re:Icon ?

[Inari]

Not above 20000 :-)

Re:Icon ?

[Inari]

As I heard it that march was played at the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. When the show started people commented that Monty Python was very cheeky using it. After a time people started asking why the guard changed to the Monty Python theme and they stop using it to change the guard to.

Re:Icon ?

[smaddox]

Where did you learn to count?

Re:Icon ?

[EricWright]

What's the going rate anyway? ;-)

Re:Icon ?

[Gilmoure]

Suite!

Re:Icon ?

[SL Baur]

I suppose I'm curious too, not that I'm going to sell it ...

Bridgekeeper: Hee hee heh. Stop. What... is your name?
King Arthur: It is 'Arthur', King of the Britons.
Bridgekeeper: What... is your quest?
King Arthur: To seek the Holy Grail.
Bridgekeeper: What... is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
King Arthur: What do you mean? An African or European swallow?
Bridgekeeper: Huh? I... I don't know that.
[he is thrown over]

You don't need to watch it a ton

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm 33, British and I've probably not even seen Holy Grail more than a handful of times, let alone 10+. What i think is most important about it is how memorable it is, after the first viewing you can start quoting half of the movie, a second viewing and you can repeat back nearly every line.

It's memorable, its lasting, its humor that never ends. That's not what matters, not massive repeat watchings.

Now if you don't mind I'll go back to my soundtrack of the live broadcasting of Holy Grail, seems something is up with the Llama and I can't wait to find out.

Re:You don't need to watch it a ton

[SL Baur]

It's memorable, its lasting, its humor that never ends.

I have watched Monty Python humor a ton over the last 30 years and there's plenty of stuff that I *still* laugh at.

The closest TV I've seen since then would be Home Improvement, but that is at best a deci-python.

I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[BadAnalogyGuy]

The I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners shows are arguably much more influential (and funnier) than Monty Python, as far as actual influence goes. MP may have been funny and set the standard for sketch comedy, it doesn't really have much influence on popular culture. The two shows mentioned above have essentially defined the groundwork and format for all sitcoms to follow.

Whether popular culture should be used to judge the positive influence of something could be debated, of course.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[brian0918]

The I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners shows are arguably much more influential (and funnier) than Monty Python, as far as actual influence goes.

No they aren't.

MP may have been funny and set the standard for sketch comedy, it doesn't really have much influence on popular culture.

Yes it does.

The two shows mentioned above have essentially defined the groundwork and format for all sitcoms to follow.

No they haven't.

Whether popular culture should be used to judge the positive influence of something could be debated, of course.

No it couldn't.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[swillden]

I believe the GP was looking for an argument, not contradiction.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[metrix007]

The I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners shows are arguably much more influential (and funnier) than Monty Python, as far as actual influence goes.

No they aren't.

Yes, they bloody well are. Besides, parents said arguably, and was not stating it as a fact.

MP may have been funny and set the standard for sketch comedy, it doesn't really have much influence on popular culture.

Yes it does.

Sure. A minimal amount. Which was parents point.

The two shows mentioned above have essentially defined the groundwork and format for all sitcoms to follow.

No they haven't.

They certainly did. Can you show how most sitcoms were not in some way influenced by them, or did not follow the same basic format?

Whether popular culture should be used to judge the positive influence of something could be debated, of course.

No it couldn't.

How can it not?

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[Tomun]

That's just contradiction. He came here for an argument.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[Dunbal]

Wait wait wait this is the "Argument" sketch, right?

Ding. Time's up.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[NoYob]

The I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners shows are arguably much more influential (and funnier) than Monty Python, as far as actual influence goes.

No they aren't.

MP may have been funny and set the standard for sketch comedy, it doesn't really have much influence on popular culture.

Yes it does.

The two shows mentioned above have essentially defined the groundwork and format for all sitcoms to follow.

No they haven't.

Whether popular culture should be used to judge the positive influence of something could be debated, of course.

No it couldn't.

I disagree.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[Anonymous Coward]

I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners ...

... are two shows that no-one outside of the USA has seen or even heard of.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[rubycodez]

he came in here for an argument? this is "abuse'. You want Room 12-A just along the corridor.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[MBCook]

Ooh! I get it. This is The Argument Sketch.

*clears throat*

No they aren't.

Yes they are.

Yes it does.

No it doesn't.

No they haven't.

Of course they have.

No it couldn't.

Could too.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[cayenne8]

"I believe the GP was looking for an argument, not contradiction."

Look, if I'm going to argue with you, I have to take up a contrary position...

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[BasilBrush]

Yes, but that's not just saying "No it isn't".

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[BasilBrush]

The I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners shows are arguably much more influential (and funnier) than Monty Python, as far as actual influence goes.

No they aren't.

Yes, they bloody well are. Besides, parents said arguably, and was not stating it as a fact.

No they're not. And he was not doing any such thing.

MP may have been funny and set the standard for sketch comedy, it doesn't really have much influence on popular culture.

Yes it does.

Sure. A minimal amount. Which was parents point.

No it wasn't.

The two shows mentioned above have essentially defined the groundwork and format for all sitcoms to follow.

No they haven't.

They certainly did. Can you show how most sitcoms were not in some way influenced by them, or did not follow the same basic format?

Can you show me how most were?

Whether popular culture should be used to judge the positive influence of something could be debated, of course.

No it couldn't.

How can it not?

How can it?

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, it is.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[cayenne8]

"Yes, it is."

No it isn't !!!

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[oldspewey]

I Love Lucy could never have inspired the Kids in the Hall.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[Fritz T. Coyote]

|Wabbit Season! Duck Season! |Wabbit Season! Duck Season!

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[PiSkyHi]

I'm not sure if this response is intended to be this dry - could well be a whoosh!!

Lemon Curry ?

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[PinkyDead]

Here we see exactly what happens when the subject is exposed to the pedestrian humour of the genre typified by "I Love Lucy" and "The Honeymooners", while the more sophisticated Bonofskian humour exemplified by the Pythons soars albatrosslike over the head the individual. The juxtaposition of the two styles in the appropriate contextual form demonstrates vividly the technique in paramorphigenesis of the plentariationization after the dextratr.......

Stop that now! That's just silly.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[PiSkyHi]

Oh... if the comment *was* intended to be parched, bereft of moisture and hence brilliantly crafted humour, please own up now whilst its still definitely way too late.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[Arthur Grumbine]

I believe the GP was looking for an argument, not contradiction.

No you don't.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[blind biker]

I believe the GP was looking for an argument, not contradiction.

No, he wasn't!

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmmm, 34 and never heard of the first two.

Was quite surprised until you mentioned the word "sitcom".

Go back to your la-z-boy with the other mouth-breathers, we're talking about humour here.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[Anonymous Coward]

hmmm, interesting, i dont want to troll but i never heard of I love lucy or honeymooners

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[Bill, Shooter of Bul]

More influential .... You have an argument. Most likely that is true. Those shows set the funny sitcom Man vs wife dynamic combined with hairbrianed schemes that have been used in every sitcom since. Funnier? Absolutely not. But its sort of like complaining that the first paintings weren't as good as Da Vinci, Michelangelo, or Rembrandt. The first pioneers are never the best.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[dkragen2006]

"Never heard of the first two" ??? C'mon. No comments on if they were good or not, but to never even hear of them indicates an extremely sheltered life. Please tell me you've "Heard" of Lucille Ball and/or Jackie Gleason...

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[TrogL]

That's assuming consider the situation comedy the epitomy of humour - I don't. I find those shows pointless, repetive and boring. At best the "humor" [sic] consists of endless trading of insults - at worst it descends into racism, sexism and homophobia.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[omi5cron]

we are the knights who say...."Whoosh"!!

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you suggesting that Kids in the Hall was a sitcom???

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[Hognoxious]

This thread is rapidly turning into a pantomime.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[gubers33]

Your post is just like those miserable psalms, always so depressing. Now knock it off!

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[maxwell demon]

The I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners shows are arguably much more influential (and funnier) than Monty Python, as far as actual influence goes.

Let's see.

Monty Python inspired the name for:

• Python
• Parrot
• spam

I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners inspired the name for: ?

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[SleazyRidr]

No it isn't

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[Anonymous Coward]

If you're not American, there's a good chance you've never seen either of those two shows.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[SL Baur]

Can you show how most sitcoms were not in some way influenced by them

Irrelevant. Monty Python is now a basic part of (English language) culture.

Today is the final day of Brewfest in World Of Warcraft. It includes periodic raids on the beer kegs prefaced by a yell "No one expects the Dark Iron Dwarves!".

Now begone, or I shall taunt you again!

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[SL Baur]

Albatross. Albatross?

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[SL Baur]

Or that we all appreciate Lucille Ball because she provided the required funding and sponsorship to Gene Roddenberry to get Star Trek on commercial TV.

I can't really see dissing Monty Python on /., but OK. If you are dissing Star Trek, then maybe you are on the wrong forum.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[aqk]

you want room 12A, Just along the corridor!

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[metrix007]

The I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners shows are arguably much more influential (and funnier) than Monty Python, as far as actual influence goes.

No they aren't.

Yes, they bloody well are. Besides, parents said arguably, and was not stating it as a fact.

No they're not. And he was not doing any such thing.

Yes, they are. Who was not doing what? Parent said this fact could be argued, the first reply was stating his reply as a fact.

MP may have been funny and set the standard for sketch comedy, it doesn't really have much influence on popular culture.

Yes it does.

Sure. A minimal amount. Which was parents point.

No it wasn't.

Yes, it was. "doesn't really have much influence on popular culture", acknowledinging that it does have a small, or minimal influence.

The two shows mentioned above have essentially defined the groundwork and format for all sitcoms to follow.

No they haven't.

They certainly did. Can you show how most sitcoms were not in some way influenced by them, or did not follow the same basic format?

Can you show me how most were?

It should not be necessary to explain the obvious. Most sitcoms follow the format followed be the aforrementioned show. Sitcoms that don't, tend to be the exception. A good example of an exception, would be seinfeld, and then perhaps peep show. For every exception, there is probably around 30 that follow the format of the aforementioned shows.

Whether popular culture should be used to judge the positive influence of something could be debated, of course.

No it couldn't.

How can it not?

How can it?

So, you don't think the parents point can be debated? Why not?

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners

[dkragen2006]

You have the Internet. Use it. Go learn something instead of just looking for excuses. Claiming not to be American as an excuse is a cop out. These people were as big as they get 30-40 years ago. And don't claim age either. I've heard of people that died before I was born too. Oh, and read before answering. I was specifically talking of "hearing about" the 2 shows/stars, not seeing.

I'm actually a heretic.

[Dr. Manhattan]

Holy Grail is great and all, but I think "Life Of Brian" is the best Monty Python movie. It's the only one where they maintained a coherent plot thread through the whole proceedings, and still had drop-dead-funny stuff.

"It says 'Romans Go Home'." "No it doesn't!"

"He has a wife, you know..."

Oh, heck, just see here.

Re:I'm actually a heretic.

[xjimhb]

I enjoy both "Holy Grail" and "Brian" but neither is my favorite. **I** think "The Meaning of Life" was their masterpiece.

Re:I'm actually a heretic.

[known_ID]

A good i see you have the machine that goes "PING"

Re:I'm actually a heretic.

[KatchooNJ]

Ah, yes! I agree completely. I always say exactly what you just said. "Life Of Brian" is definitely their best movie, but who can't hold endless love for The Holy Grail, as well. :-) I need to crack into my DVD collection tonight, I think.

Re:I'm actually a heretic.

[cayenne8]

"I enjoy both "Holy Grail" and "Brian" but neither is my favorite. **I** think "The Meaning of Life" was their masterpiece."

For the longest time, the Meaning of Life was my least favorite of the three. I was pretty young when I saw it in the movie theater, and I was expecting something along the lines of Grail or Brian, and was kinda disappointed.

However, as I've watched it over the years, I've seen more and more in Meaning...so much stuff going on in that movie, references to itself, and of course, with age, I'm starting to appreciate some of what they were saying about life, especially when you start to reach middle age.

I'd still have to say that Brian is still my favorite out of the three, but, by a small margin. I am eager to watch any of them if someone offers to throw them on. I may have to get the DVD's of mine out and watch them this week.

LOL...I've not see their Live and the Hollywood bowl in awhile, I may actually have to start with that one.

"Albatross.....!!"

Re:I'm actually a heretic.

[Foobar of Borg]

Holy Grail is great and all, but I think "Life Of Brian" is the best Monty Python movie.

Actually, in an interview about a year ago, John Clease mentioned that, in his experience, Americans tended to favor Holy Grail and Britons tended to favour Life of Brian. He thought it had something to do with the way in which both countries tend to enjoy their humo(u)r. Life of Brian has a continuous plot, whereas Holy Grail is more of a connected series of sketches.

Re:I'm actually a heretic.

[Convector]

+1 Correct

Re:I'm actually a heretic.

[ColdWetDog]

I've shown that blurb to several groups of hospital CEOs. I never fails to drop them on the floor laughing.

Unfortunately, they always get up again. Damned Zombies.

Re:I'm actually a heretic.

[bcombs]

A heretic? Don't be so quick to condemn yourself. To truly see if you are a heretic, we must try to build a bridge out of you...

Re:I'm actually a heretic.

[NekSnappa]

"Hollywood Bowl" makes me howl from start to finish every time!
The segues are the real perl of that video.

Re:I'm actually a heretic.

[Chris Tucker]

I actually saw "Life of Brian" when it was released, lo! These many years ago.

Saw it with a friend of mine, and by the end of the "Biggus Dickus" scene, we were both laughing so hard, we were having trouble catching our breath. In fact, I didn't see the next few minutes of the film until a few years later when it was on cable TV.

A few years ago, John Cleese did a PSA for the BBC.

It opens in a pub, with Cleese asking:

"What has the BBC ever done for us?"

And diverse BBC performers and documentarians answer.

Oh, YouTube, is there no John Cleese clip you can't provide?

Monty Python has been so pervasive in modern pop culture to the extent that someone (this someone is assumed to be an individual who lives in the industrialized world and has access to a TV and doesn't watch Fox News 24/7 or the local equivalent thereof.) who has never seen the sketch in question, very likely knows what is implied by "nudge nudge - wink wink".

Re:I'm actually a heretic.

[Anonymous Coward]

Holy Grail is more of a connected series of sketches.

No, it isn't!

Re:I'm actually a heretic.

[Landshark17]

I recently re-watched Holy Grail and followed it up with Life of Brian, and I noticed that while both are funny, they're funny in very different ways.

Holy Grail is mostly a light-hearted parody of Arthurian legend. They took the framework of the quest for the Holy Grail, and injected it with the kind of surreal humor they're best remembered for. The closest thing to social satire in it is the oft-quoted scene where Arthur and the peasant argue over how he came to power, and that's more funny because it's totally absurd than because it's making any kind of statement.

Life of Brian, on the other hand, is very heavy on biting social satire. It's critical of beaurocracy and religion, chiefly. Most of the humor comes from mocking the people's way of being more concerned with being followers of the messiah than listening to the messiah's message, the way the Judean People's Front is a committee mired in bylaws, not really acting, most frequently infighting with the JPF, PFJ, Judean Populist Front, et al. The scenes you quote "It says 'Romans Go Home'" "No it doesn't!" are exceptions to the rule for Life of Brian.

Re:I'm actually a heretic.

[jeremyp]

Nah. Life of Brian is their masterpiece. Meaning of Life was very hit and miss.

Re:I'm actually a heretic.

[SL Baur]

Waiter!!!! I require a bucket!

Re:I'm actually a heretic.

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's a link

http://www.avclub.com/articles/john-cleese,14197/

Re:I'm actually a heretic.

[clone53421]

Bollocks, that's merely a URL. This is a link:

http://www.avclub.com/articles/john-cleese,14197/

Re:I'm actually a heretic.

[Foobar of Borg]

Oh sweet! Thank you! I had completely forgotten where I had read this article!

And now for...

[2names]

No it doesn't.

Obligatory...

[Tsar]

Who among us can't claim to have viewed the Holy Grail at least somewhere in the double digits.

What, the American or the European version?

The essence of Python...

[Stone Rhino]

Monty Python, when it started, was about doing something different, absurd, and rebellious. Humo(u)r was stale and repetitive at the time. The devolution of their innovative comedy into a mine for endlessly repeated quotes is antithetical to its spirit. That's why my favorite Monty Python sketch is their performance of the Dead Parrot Sketch at the Secret Policeman's Ball: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTV3lQc4AmQ

Re:The essence of Python...

[Anonymous Coward]

Stale? Repetitive? I'm not sure that's true - given Python was heavily influenced by Spike Milligan et al.

Re:The essence of Python...

[Gravitron 5000]

Dead Parrot Sketch as performed by Nigerian Scammers

Re:The essence of Python...

[Anonymous Coward]

... Humo(u)r was stale and repetitive at the time.

Humor without the "u" still is.

Re:The essence of Python...

[dkleinsc]

This is why one of my favorite moments from the Flying Circus was the Chemist Sketch, where the legitimate client states that he didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition, and absolutely nothing happens (despite Cardinal Ximenez appearing earlier in the sketch).

Re:The essence of Python...

[conureman]

As when Officer Willenholly stops the busload of nuns in Jay and Silent Bob strike back.
Stealth punchline.

Re:The essence of Python...

[Anonymous Coward]

Monty Python didn't start anything "new", they simply continued from where the Beyond the Fringe left off.

Re:The essence of Python...

[maxwell demon]

... Humo(u)r was stale and repetitive at the time.

Humor without the "u" still is.

But then it's clearly not British Humour.

Life of Brian

[copponex]

The Life of Brian is especially worth a second view if you saw it when you were younger.

Matthias: Look, I don't think it should be a sin, just for saying "Jehovah".
[Everyone gasps]
Jewish Official: You're only making it worse for yourself!
Matthias: Making it worse? How can it be worse? Jehovah! Jehovah! Jehovah!
Jewish Official: I'm warning you! If you say "Jehovah" one more time (gets hit with rock) RIGHT! Who did that? Come on, who did it?
Stoners: She did! She did! (suddenly speaking as men) He! He did! He!
Jewish Official: Was it you?
Stoner: Yes.
Jewish Official: Right...
Stoner: Well you did say "Jehovah. "
[Crowd throws rocks at the stoner]
Jewish Official: STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT RIGHT NOW! STOP IT! All right, no one is to stone _anyone_ until I blow this whistle. Even... and I want to make this absolutely clear... even if they do say, "Jehovah. "
[Crowd stones the Jewish Official to death]

Re:Life of Brian

[qc_dk]

The Life of Brian is especially worth a second view if you saw it when you were younger.

I'm not going to bother then. I saw it when I was older.

Re:Life of Brian

[Anonymous Coward]

The Life of Brian is especially worth a second view

Seconded!

if you saw it when you were younger.

How comes it that you think that the really funny scene you quoted was difficult to understand for the "younger"?

Re:Life of Brian

[bugnuts]

Official (looking around crowd suspiciously) "Are there any women here?"

Oh wait, this is slashdot....

Re:Life Of Brian

[conureman]

Thanks for answering my (YMMV, redundant?) post 28 minutes before I made it.
Mod parent up.

Re:Life of Brian

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you saying that we're all women running linux so we can get to mod people down?

Re:Life of Brian

[Anonymous Coward]

"One time a guy handed me a picture of himself, and he said, "Here's a picture of me when I was younger." Every picture of you is of when you were younger. "This is a picture of me when I was older." "You son of a bitch, how'd you pull that off? Let me see that camera."

Re:Life of Brian

[Gilmoure]

Well, wait 'til you're younger and see it then!

I can.

[NoYob]

Who among us can't claim to have viewed the Holy Grail at least somewhere in the double digits.

I saw it once and wondered what the big deal was. The same goes for the show. PBS had some specials running a while ago where they highlighted each member of the troupe and showed the relevant episodes. I couldn't sit through it - it's just not my kind of humor.

That's the one thing that was really awkward when I was working IT: how to politely get away from folks when they start the one man Monty Python recitation of skits.

Re:I can.

[dsavi]

You stole my comment, or at least the title.

Re:I can.

[DrData99]

That's the one thing that was really awkward when I was working IT: how to politely get away from folks when they start the one man Monty Python recitation of skits.
That is easy, just say:
And now for something completely different...
and walk away.

1..n

[Anonymous Coward]

Who among us can't claim to have viewed the Holy Grail at least somewhere in the double digits.

In decimal or binary?

Actually...

[lawnboy5-O]

This calls for immediate discussion!

Re:Actually...

[lordandmaker]

But I came here for an argument!

Re:Actually...

[fprintf]

No you didn't.

Sewer Workers on Our Way to a Convention

[cawley]

For Easter when the oldest was 15, the Easter Bunny brought her The Life of Brian. She was just home from college for the weekend and took back the Holy Grail. Meanwhile the 12 yr old younger brother, just got to watch The Life of Brian and had to pause it to pee numerous times.

If you really want to show Monty Python...

[AltGrendel]

...at it's best to someone who hasn't seen it or doesn't (but might) get it, show them the Spanish Inquisition episode. It has all the right Python-esque elements put together in a perfect way (for them).

Re:If you really want to show Monty Python...

[Radical Moderate]

Good point. That was the first episode I ever saw, had me rofl.

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition

[jacksdl]

One of today's Nobel Prize winners (Carol W. Greider) was quoted in the New York Times:

People might make predictions of who might win, but one never expects it, she said, adding that ''It's like the Monty Python sketch, 'Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!'''

40 year, fine!

[hansraj]

But what did Monty Python ever do that is worth noting?

Re:40 year, fine!

[Vulch]

Apart from the aqueducts, roads and sanitation?

I'll go out and come in again...

Re:40 year, fine!

[jte]

Worth noting? Ah! That would be causing people like myself to laugh hysterically, uncontrollably. Thousands of us would then note the event's details to our friends. :)

Re:40 year, fine!

[Hurricane78]

Whoooosh! And "knowing what you state to love FAIL".

Re:40 year, fine!

[Anonymous Coward]

they were legendary in the kind of comedy they created, their kind of humour has gone down in the annals of performance comedy as some of the best there ever was. For one, they incorporated the phrase 'nudge-nudge-wink-wink' into the English language, after a sketch of the same name.

A programming language (Python) has been named after them, in tribute.

And bloody hell, they're just super funny.

Request For Comment

[conureman]

My Dad was a big fan of the TV show, but he claims he didn't like the films. I've been trying to get him to watch "Life Of Brian", as I believe it is more linear and coherent than the others. (And simply too good to miss). What say you?

Re:Request For Comment

[Kozar_The_Malignant]

Monty Python? "Linear and coherent?" What do I say? I say, "Ni!"

Re:Request For Comment

[CharlyFoxtrot]

Life of Brian is definitely the best of the films and it has aged well because making fun of religious dogmatics never gets old really. But I highly recommend Spamalot too, basically The Holy Grail in theater form, you could take him to see that and make it a night out. As a film The Meaning of Life is closest to the TV series I think since it feels more like a succession of sketches than a movie.

Re:Request For Comment

[Anonymous Coward]

The biggest difference between The Meaning of Life and the TV show is that the TV show didn't suck.

Watch "Every Sperm is Sacred" and then turn the damned thing off.

Re:Request For Comment

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, definitely don't watch the bit with all the topless women running in slow motion. That part's BOOO-RRRING.

Re:Request For Comment

[Rary]

My Dad was a big fan of the TV show, but he claims he didn't like the films. I've been trying to get him to watch "Life Of Brian", as I believe it is more linear and coherent than the others. (And simply too good to miss). What say you?

If he was a big fan of Flying Circus, it's possible he'll like Life of Brian least, precisely because it's the most linear and coherent, whereas Flying Circus was anything but linear and coherent.

Meaning of Life is probably the most like the TV show.

Re:Request For Comment

[conureman]

That was the problem, per him, the show was fun, but got old in the context of a movie. I did a (tiny) bit of work in the movie biz, and higher production values can suck a lot of the spontaneity out of a scene, it takes a lot of different skills than low budget TV skits, which are more likely to hit the spot on the first take. I think Holy Grail did it for him, and I imagine any of the different scenes would have been fine as bits on their own, on TV. He's a bit of a snob, actually.

Re:Request For Comment

[SL Baur]

No! Oh, no! Bad, bad Kozar!

Oh, wicked, bad, naughty Kozar!

Re:Monty Python is gay as AIDS

[Xaedalus]

Copulate with a bear trap and die.

Okay, THAT is just about the funniest damn thing I've read in the last couple of days.

The foot icon?

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow. And all this time I thought the slashdot editors just liked Bronzino.

so successful, yet never remade - why?

[petes_PoV]

Considering what an effect and what a huge fanbase the programmes have, I can't help wondering why no-one has ever tried to make any more. Although you probably couldn't get any of the original caste to take part (and would probably disappoint, if they did - 40 years on), it seems like a wasted opportunity. Especially as so much of todays TV and film output is remakes of stuff from that era.

Re:so successful, yet never remade - why?

[Philip_the_physicist]

Because the Pythons won't let them use their trademarks, I suspect. They know as well as we all do that a remake would be very likely to be terrible, and aren't going to want any part of it until they are a lot more desperate for money than they are now.

Re:so successful, yet never remade - why?

[CharlyFoxtrot]

They addressed this yesterday in a BBC special. Firstly Graham Chapman is dead and secondly they felt like they were repeating themselves at the end of the original series which is why they quit. Terry Gilliam said that if they would come back they should make the first 4 episodes absolutely awful so by the next one only 2 people would be watching and then when they made their most brilliant show ever these guys would rush out and try to explain to incredulous people how brilliant it was. (Oh, and remakes suck.)

Re:so successful, yet never remade - why?

[Zordak]

Firstly Graham Chapman is dead

No, he's just pinin' for the fjords.

Re:so successful, yet never remade - why?

[Threni]

> Considering what an effect and what a huge fanbase the programmes have, I can't help wondering why no-one has ever tried to make any more.

And why don't people make some more Beatles songs while they're at it?

Re:so successful, yet never remade - why?

[maxwell demon]

And why don't people make some more Beatles songs while they're at it?

They can't get enough Beatle Juice.

Re:so successful, yet never remade - why?

[SleazyRidr]

There are waves of British sketch comedy shows that are all trying to recapture the vibe of Monty Python, the problem is that so few of them get even close. Little Britain wasn't too far off, but still not a patch on Python.

Re:so successful, yet never remade - why?

[jeremyp]

Monty Python is not a franchise, it really is the six people that wrote and performed the sketches. You might as well say "why doesn't somebody reform the Beatles? We might not get Paul or Ringo to take part but it seems like a wasted opportunity."

Re:so successful, yet never remade - why?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sure everybody wants to duplicate MP's popularity, but I don't think people are trying to actually emulate them. Little Britain, for instance, is something completely different.

Re:so successful, yet never remade - why?

[AgentSmith]

Beatle Juice
Beatle Juice
Beatle Juice

OK. . . .Where's John Lennon? I thought he was supposed to come back after repeating it five times. Gyp.

Remake Python? You can remake the style. Plenty of absurd comedy out there except it's all been done before.
Being edgy has been trendy for quite awhile. You would almost need to completely revert to be original again.

Dick Van Dyke. Here we come!

Not to worry!

[elrous0]

If history is any indication, Hollywood will be doing an American version any day now--complete with a cast of throw-offs from assorted Comedy Central shows, former SNL cast members, and various improv troupes. It will be bland and not as good as the original, but it will make the stars a lot more money than the original cast ever got and it will run for about 20 years.

Re:Not to worry!

[Anonymous Coward]

no no no never, hope they got a good lock on the copyrights and titles and name, etc.

Re:Not to worry!

[oatworm]

Oh, so Mad TV, then!

favorite sketches

[WhiteDragon]

Dead Parrot
Hungarian Phrase Book
nudge nudge, wink wink
lumberjack song

Re:favorite sketches

[chaim79]

My favs:

• Lumberjack Song
• Dead Parrot
• Worlds Deadliest Joke
• How to defend yourself against someone armed with a banana

Re:favorite sketches

[jrbirdman]

• Contradiction
• Mary, Queen of Scots
• Penguin on the Telly
• Gumby Theatre
• Abatoire

Re:favorite sketches

[nightranger]

The Assault on the north face of Putney highstreet.

Day 1: We established base camp outside the post office....

All I have to say is...

[FiloEleven]

My nipples explode with delight!

Re:All I have to say is...

[H0p313ss]

My nipples explode with delight!

Definitely, in fact my hovercraft is full of eels.

MP is 40

[confused one]

I've been watching that since I was... Damn. I'm starting to get old...

YMMV

[conureman]

The Honeymooners spawned The Flintstones (good), and I Love Lucy has been regrettably imitated by virtually every sitcom on American TV since (I hate Lucy). As far as influence goes, IMO the good shows have been influenced by Monty Python, and I Love Lucy can take credit for influencing practically every sucky sitcom in the years since.

How to recognize different types of Trees

[Murrdox]

And now...

#1

The Larch.

Re:How to recognize different types of Trees

[neurovish]

And now... #1 The Larch.

Laaarrrrrrch Nice woody sound to it.

Re:How to recognize different types of Trees

[Hurricane78]

neurovish on the other hand... it's a bit tinny isn't it?

tinny tinny tinny...

Re:How to recognize different types of Trees

[Nivag064]

It was actually, #9 The Larch, repeated at least 3 times, during the same show... AFAICAR

Modern Day Monty Python

[Anonymous Coward]

While not as largely successful and more juvenile, I think WKUK is a modern version of Monty Python.

You should watch their classroom sketch/skit

Re:Modern Day Monty Python

[Rary]

While not as largely successful and more juvenile, I think WKUK is a modern version of Monty Python.

You should watch their classroom sketch/skit

The closest I came to seeing a modern day Monty Python was an English duo who called themselves Hoopal. Unfortunately, as a group, they are no more, but one of them, now relocated to Toronto, is still active as a solo performer (I'm not sure about the other).

"Decimal" or "Binary", eh?

[PinkyDead]

Oh we don't half talk posh don't we?

!funny

[religious freak]

Maybe I'm the only geek on the planet that doesn't like Monty Python, but I never got it. Yeah, some skits are mildly amusing, but so totally funny as to have watched everything? Multiple times? No, it's just not that funny to me.

Am I seriously the only one?

Re:!funny

[Anonymous Coward]

Nope you aren't. Somehow I can't seem to find anything funny at all in this british attempt at humor, despite being shown it multiple times by friends who claim it's the funniest ever.

Re:!funny

[not-my-real-name]

No, I'm sure that you're not the only one. Monty Python's humour seems to be that kind that either people find pure genius or they watch with bemused expressions wondering why the person next to them is rolling on the floor.

It's probably one of those genetic things like being able to roll your tongue. If you like them, great. If not, don't worry about it.

Re:!funny

[griffinme]

Maybe I'm the only geek on the planet that doesn't like Monty Python, but I never got it. Yeah, some skits are mildly amusing, but so totally funny as to have watched everything? Multiple times? No, it's just not that funny to me.

Am I seriously the only one?

Yes

Re:!funny

[maxwell demon]

If you don't consider them funny, are you sure you're a geek? :-)

Re:!funny

[Anonymous Coward]

So do you watch it to prove that you are a geek?
Sounds a lot like the Emperor's new clothes...

Re:!funny

[maxwell demon]

So do you watch it to prove that you are a geek?

Strange logic you seem to be using. Nowhere did I even remotely imply that. And no, I don't watch it to prove I'm a geek. I watch it for my amusement only.

And BTW, you don't seem to know the meaning of the standard character sequence

U+003A COLON
U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS
U+0029 RIGHT PARENTHESIS

"Different"? Luxury!!

[Arthur Grumbine]

For something completely different.

Oh, you have it lucky. Back in my day we didn't have anything completely different. Everything was a bit of everything else, and we were grateful to have such a homogeneous reality!

No MP Googleday Graphic? Shame!

[freddled]

I am singularly disgusted and appalled that Google have no Python graphic. Spam them!

And now, the Monty Python (2.5) Quine...

[BlueKitties]

print open(__file__, 'r').read()

They just don't make em like they used to

[wsanders]

I am not sure that MP had that much *influence* on American TV, but it was the first time that American audiences were exposed to humor from a TV culture other than their own. That alone was a great thing.

Then they started showing Benny Hill and anything on PBS, and we realized that whether you are a Brit or a Yank, genius is genius, and suck is suck.

What's That on the Telly Then?

[twmcneil]

... Oh intercourse the penguin.

It seems to be ability to embrace surrealism

[TrogL]

My wife has attempted to watch Monty Python and other surrealism-based comedy and can only stare at me with bafflement as I roll on the floor or with alarm as I start wheezing alarmly, unable to catch my breath. She just keeps saying over and over "but it doesn't make any sense" to which I attempt to reply "it's not supposed to make any sense - that's the point".

I'm wondering if it has something to do with cognitive dissonance. Some people ignore it, some pretend it's not there, some just get a headache and some won't be happy until it's resolved. I'm wonder if the last group of people are often bored with regular comedy with its predictable punchlines and situations, and are only amused (and that greatly) by humour that cannot be resolved with a punch line (or the punch line just makes matters worse).

Re:It seems to be ability to embrace surrealism

[Gilmoure]

Most humor seems to be related to laughing at pain. Preferably someone else's pain ('Tragedy is when I stub my toe. Comedy is when you fall down a manhole and die." - Mel Brooks).

And then there's word play and musical humor, that seems to inspire laughter from surprise.

Finally, there's surrealism. Why the hell is the fish slapping dance funny? I don't know but it's a sure-ass way to incapacitate me and a lot easier than a taser.

Re:It seems to be ability to embrace surrealism

[maxwell demon]

Finally, there's surrealism. Why the hell is the fish slapping dance funny? I don't know but it's a sure-ass way to incapacitate me and a lot easier than a taser.

So you suggest using Monty Python humor as non-lethal weapon? Well, unless it's this joke.

MP + HG makes a lot more sense...

[TrogL]

...if you come from a Roman Catholic, Anglican or other liturgical background. Many of the references (eg. the monks chanting and banging their heads) are "inside jokes" (in this particular case, "you're doing it wrong" on multiple levels).

The Roman Catholic church, in particular, is really into the relics of saints. The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch is not what one would normally consider in this context.

Re:Ni! Ni!

[Aklyon]

yes you are.

Lucy vs Monty Python

[spaceyhackerlady]

I hadn't seen either I Love Lucy or The Honeymooners in decades, so I looked up some clips on YouTube and had a look. The result? Not funny. Not funny at all. The prototypes of every sitcom since (a dead, worthless genre, IMHO), plus a healthy portion of nasty dated stereotypes. No thank you!

Not only was Monty Python funny, it changed what we consider funny. It changed what we laugh it. Few other shows can claim to have redefined a genre, but Monty Python did just that. Here's to 40 more years of silly walks, dead parrots and arguments!

...laura

Re:Lucy vs Monty Python

[Darinbob]

But when Honeymooners and I Love Lucy were new, they were not stale old sitcoms, they were new and original. The only seem like stale old sitcoms because of the endless copying. The fact that so many shows have copied that essential format means that there was a lot of influence.

Monty Python has influence too, but it hasn't really spawned a lot of copycats. It did inspire the surreal humor trend in sketches, but that isn't very large. I think more things have borrowed style from Saturday Night Live than from MP. SNL itself has some inspiration from MP, but I think it got most of its style from the improv scene.

Monty Python has a lot of subtle high-brow in a lot of the sketches, references to literature and art, that you just don't see replicated. It assumes an educated or smarter audience, or at least an audience that isn't afraid of that. It said you could be silly and nonsensical even if you were smart. Most modern sketch comedy tends to aim for a lower common denominator.

Re:Lucy vs Monty Python

[Anonymous Coward]

And when Guido van Rossum was looking for a name for a new prgramming language, he was no doubt torn between "Lucy", or "Honeymooner", but eventually settled on "Python"

As he says in the documentation: "By the way, the language is named after the BBC show ``Monty Python's Flying Circus'' and has nothing to do with nasty reptiles. Making references to Monty Python skits in documentation is not only allowed, it is encouraged! "

Re:Lucy vs Monty Python

[SL Baur]

Monty Python has influence too, but it hasn't really spawned a lot of copycats.

So what? I mean really, so what?

SNL and SCTV were kinda sorta copycats, but were fail in the long run.

Look at all of the posters in this thread who remember fondly Monty Python. You will not find that with any other comedy group.

It assumes an educated or smarter audience, or at least an audience that isn't afraid of that.

I don't think that's necessarily the case, but ...

Listen, Mr. 7 digit id, until us oldtimers get assigned to Obama death panels, you're going to have to put up with us and our sense of humor. Monty Python, just like the Jargon File are Required Knowledge in IT.

Now, get off my lawn!

Re:Lucy vs Monty Python

[Darinbob]

I didn't get a low digit id, because I didn't want to put up with that new fangled Slashdot all the kiddies were signing up for!

Re:Ni! Ni!

[Hurricane78]

Definitely. I second that. Boy has got no humor. Might as well drop a 16 ton weight on is head.

requested slashcode tweak

[Bazman]

On this day, make every Anonymous Coward show up as 'Bruce'.

Re:requested slashcode tweak

[gnud]

Every man-bruce of them.

Re:requested slashcode tweak

[Anonymous Coward]

Or biggus dickus.

Re:requested slashcode tweak

[Mjlner]

What about all the posters who are not called Bruce? That's gonna cause confusion. We should all be called Bruce, just to keep it clear.

"You must be ne... wait a minute, 5 digit ID?"

[HNS-I]

Three sir!

Re:"You must be ne... wait a minute, 5 digit ID?"

[el_gordo101]

Brilliant!

Re:"You must be ne... wait a minute, 5 digit ID?"

[Athanasius]

Agreed, mod the 'three' guy up, it's the biggest laugh I've had out of this comment thread so far (and that IS saying something given all the other giggling, chuckling, guffawing and other outbursts I've uttered whilst reading it).

Not aged well??

[Joe Mucchiello]

The number of sketches that have not aged well is a very small number. One of the best things about MP was that it stayed as far away from topical subjects as possible. Most MP aged very well (ubiquitous runny cheese jokes).

Where has Monty Python not aged well?

Re:Not aged well??

[gr3y]

"Nixon's had an asshole transplant... Apparently, the asshole's rejected him!"

John Cleese Anecdote

[nuckfuts]

I got this from a friend, and while I can't prove or disprove its veracity, I like to believe it really happened:

Here in Vancouver there are often sightings of celebrities in town for the filming of some project. So one day several years ago, a fellow is walking along downtown and is amazed to see John Cleese walking toward him. This fellow happens to be a Monty Python fanatic. We all know the type; he can (and does) quote many of their skits verbatim.

So the story goes, as he sees his comedic idol walking toward him on the street, he is suddenly in a panic as to what he should say to him. As Cleese is about to walk past he blurts out "Is this the place for an argument"? Without pausing or missing a step, Cleese exclaims "I TOLD YOU ONCE"!

Someone mod me down

[jd2112]

So I can say "I'm being repressed! See the violence inherit in the system!"

My hovercraft

[TPJ-Basin]

Is full of eels.

We had a major hardware meltdown here today

[TrogL]

A key component died and is unrepairable.

As you can well imagine things were pretty tense here until somebody muttered something about "pining for the fjords".

Thank you Monty Python.

Best way I can think of to celibrate...

[Locke2005]

Tell your significant other to "Sit on my face, and tell me that you love me!"

Oh wait, this is slashdot...
Never mind.

Re:Best way I can think of to celibrate...

[Macgrrl]

Celibrate vs. Celebrate.

I think you got it right the first time. :)

Re:Best way I can think of to celibrate...

[clone53421]

Did you just misspell celibate?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

[2obvious4u]

Thanks for all the laughs!

Slashdot needs ...

[PPH]

... the following moderation tag: "Yes, well, that's the sort of blinkered, philistine pig ignorance I've come to expect from you non-creative garbage."

and what about influence on Monty Python?

[doom]

Lately I've been listening to the Goon Show a lot, that being a British radio show from the 50s, and it's pretty clearly one of the places that Monty Python was coming from, not to mention the Firesign Theater (my favorite line: "Are you going to go quietly, or do we need to use earplugs?").

I've been wondering if there might be other sources in play over there on the other side of the pond... British radio of the 40s is not exactly a subject most of us know about over here.

Re:and what about influence on Monty Python?

[gilesjuk]

The python team were big radio listeners, they didn't get their first TV until they were in their teens.

Don't worry, it's a well known fact the Goon show was an influence, they also liked the fact that the show made fun of the BBC station it was on.

Re:and what about influence on Monty Python?

[H0p313ss]

Lately I've been listening to the Goon Show a lot, that being a British radio show from the 50s, and it's pretty clearly one of the places that Monty Python was coming from, not to mention the Firesign Theater (my favorite line: "Are you going to go quietly, or do we need to use earplugs?").

I've been wondering if there might be other sources in play over there on the other side of the pond... British radio of the 40s is not exactly a subject most of us know about over here.

My mother is of the same generation as the Pythons and grew up in England listening to the BBC. She's a big fan of both the Goons and the Pythons. Her take on it is that the Pythons were really the next logical (or illogical) step. The Goons are delightfully silly and irreverent, the Pythons are silly, irreverent AND surreal.

Re:and what about influence on Monty Python?

[cheros]

Peter Sellers was actually the Godfather of my later stepfather-in-law, who also had a brilliant sense of humour. What I remember best about my stepfather was his full control of the English language, not only in his word-perfect BBC accent but also in the humour he could stack into a sentence without changing the "top level" meaning - I don't think any other language but English can carry so much extra meaning in depth (which makes it a nightmare for contracts :-)). I really miss him :-(.

A slight side effect was that I ended up studying this period a bit, so here's the part of the post you didn't get (slightly amended):

It started all with work of the Goons (Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe) and there was somewhat of an explosion of comedy in the years of the Cambridge Footlights when people like Stephen Fry And Tony Slattery created pieces that shall forever stand tall in history (I leave you to ponder that one, grin) -- do a YouTube search for "The letter, Stephen Fry" for a taste. For those that like the series "House", you may be surprised to discover that Hugh Laurie was actually a rather accomplished, multi-talented comedian as well, look for "A bit of Fry and Laurie", especially "Your name". A bit of a warning, here, some of it is NSFW (especially "the pre-coital agreement" discussion is only suitable for those that actually have a sense of humour) - comedians were relentlessly taking the mickey out of the then prevalent puritanism (something I think we need to do again for political correctness).

And then the Monty Python gang got together (I think this is right chronologically, but I'm happy to be corrected). The first airing of Monty Python was on October 5th, 1969, which means today it's 40 years old. Almost everything they did is now in some form or another on YouTube, so go and enjoy it. Look for the dead parrot sketch, the argument clinic, the ministry of silly walks etc etc. The list is almost as endless as the period before.

It was irreverent, sometimes utterly bizarre but always entertaining and - most importantly - intelligent (check out the colleges these people came from). It was IMHO one of the crowning achievements of the BBC that they supported comedy almost from the first instance (AFAIK this is also how the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy got its first public presence).

Let's hope we can preserve this ..

Re:and what about influence on Monty Python?

[H0p313ss]

Weren't several Python members also from Cambridge Footlights? I do recall that Douglas Adams was soon after the Python phenomenon. IIRC he had a great quote about "wanting to grow up to be John Cleese, it took me many years to realize the position was already filled."

Re:and what about influence on Monty Python?

[H0p313ss]

I should know better than to ask questions that are better solved by google or wikipedia.

Re:and what about influence on Monty Python?

[jeremyp]

The Pythons chief weapon was their irreverence, irreverence and surrealism, surrealism and irreverence. Their two chief weapons that made them a success were irreverence and surrealism and uncompromising silliness. Their three weapons were irreverence, surrealism and uncompromising silliness and a fanatical devotion to The Goons. Their four weapons... no... amongst their many weapons were such elements as irreverence, surrealism and uncompromising... I'll post again.

Anyway, to get some idea of the cultural impact of Monty Python, Google Spanish Inquisition. The first link is the Wikipedia reference to the actual Spanish Inquisition. The second, third and fifth links are to various pages about the sketch and three of the five image results show Michael Palin in his "nice red costume".

Re:and what about influence on Monty Python?

[Scannerman]

And then the Monty Python gang got together (I think this is right chronologically, but I'm happy to be corrected). .

Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie etc got going in the early 1980's, (i.e. around 15 AP)

Other things in the chronology you should check out are

Oscar Wilde (Esp. Importance of being Earnest - A hundred years old and still hilarious)
PG Wodehouse
ITMA, (war time, led to the Goons)
Peter Cook and Dudley Moore,
TW3, (David Frost et al, he became a total Dick later on but in the 60's he was good) - The 60's satire movement in general,
At Last the 1948 show (pre-python)
The Goodies
Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy (avoid the horrible remake)
Ben Elton (see comments on David Frost) - BlackAdder (which starred Fry and Laurie) is probably on a level with Python
The Young Ones.

and lots of other stuff. obviously there are huge interconnections between everything.

Wkipedia and Youtube should keep you going for a while

Re:and what about influence on Monty Python?

[doom]

...they also liked the fact that the show made fun of the BBC station it was on.

"Quiet! We might be overheard!"
"On BBC Home? Ha!"

Re:and what about influence on Monty Python?

[doom]

It started all with work of the Goons (Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe) and there was somewhat of an explosion of comedy in the years of the Cambridge Footlights [...]

I was skeptical about the idea that it all started with the Goons, but I was just listening to some of this earlier British radio comedy, and there isn't much there but light sitcom, it seems: Old Time Radio - 1940s.

(Of course, there is the inescapable Marx Brothers to contend with...)

I'll keep an ear out for the Cambridge footlights

(And yes, the radio version of the Hitchhiker's Guide is really good. Actually, that's the only version I'm really familiar with. Neither the book or the TV show had much appeal to me...)

I...

[M8e]

FOUND THE FISH!!!

Did you know that John Cleese does commercials for "Elgiganten" in Sweden?

Truer words were never spoken

[domatic]

I always loved the punch line at the end of The Galaxy Song from The Meaning Of Life:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buqtdpuZxvk

I also get a chuckle out of all those kids in Catholic schools who belted out Every Sperm Is Sacred to annoy the nuns.

Don't forget the albums

[hudsucker]

Monty Python released a 3-sided record album!

Try that with your new-fangled compact discs.

Sometimes funny, sometimes boring

[HalAtWork]

Sometimes I enjoy it, sometimes I find it stupid because a lot of the time it just boils down to the actors presenting a blatantly absurd situation that the characters take seriously. It can only be recycled so many times before I get bored of it. And with all the people quoting it, Monty Python kinda grates on my nerves, actually. I've actually only seen the Holy Grail twice, but I have seen the other movies and most of the series. With all the people quoting it, I got regular enough exposure to have experienced a lot of it.

Re:Sometimes funny, sometimes boring

[HalAtWork]

Actually, that last sentence was meant to read "Through all the people I know that quote it, who also tend to watch it while I am around, I got regular enough exposure to have experienced a lot of it"

Sorry for the confusion.

MP Fans are annoying

[Anonymous Coward]

The most annoying thing about Python fans are the zit faced ones that insist of quoting skits and monologues out load. You all suck and need new material. Next time you say confy chair and you see stars and blackout know that it's me hitting you with an aluminum bat.

Re:MP Fans are annoying

[lorenlal]

And I say: You mother was a hamster, and your father smelled of elderberries.

google = fail

[MrWa]

No special Google logo for Monty Python?? Did all the geeks leave for Twitter already?

if this woman weighs as much as a duck, than she i

[Rick Bentley]

Bedevere: What makes you think she is a witch?
Villager: Well, She turned me into a newt!!
Bedevere: a newt?
Villager: I got better...

Villagers: BURN HER anyway! BURN! BURN! BURN HER!
B: Quiet, quiet, quiet, QUIET! There are ways of *telling* whether she is a witch!
Villagers: Are there? What? Tell us, then! Tell us!
B: Tell me. What do you do with witches?
V: BUUUURN!!!!! BUUUUUURRRRNN!!!!! You BURN them!!!! BURN!!
B: And what do you burn apart from witches?
Villager: More Witches!
Other Villager: Wood.

B: So. Why do witches burn?

Villager: (tentatively) Because they're made of.....wood?
B: Goooood!
Other Villagers: oh yeah... oh....
B: So. How do we tell whether she is made of wood?
One Villager: Build a bridge out of 'er!
B: Aah. But can you not also make bridges out of stone?
Villagers: oh yeah. oh. umm...
B: Does wood sink in water?
One Villager: No! No, no, it floats!
Other Villager: Throw her into the pond!
Villagers: yaaaaaa!

B: What also floats in water?
Villager: Bread!
Another Villager: Apples!
Another Villager: Uh...very small rocks!
Another Villager: Cider!
Another Villager: Uh...great gravy!
Another Villager: Cherries!
Another Villager: Mud!
Another Villager: Churches! Churches!
Another Villager: Lead! Lead!
King Arthur: A Duck!
Villagers: (in amazement) ooooooh!
B: exACTly!
B: (to a villager) So, *logically*...
Villager: (very slowly, with pauses between each word) If...she...weighs the same as a duck......she's made of wood.

B: and therefore...

Villager: A Witch!
All Villagers: A WITCH!

Fawlty Towers

[Frankie70]

I saw it once and wondered what the big deal was

Amen to that.

I tried Life of Brian, Holy Grail, some of the Flying Circus stuff.

Didn't like any of those. Watching one or two of the individual skits is OK, but going through
the whole thing is unbearable.

I think Cleese's best work is Fawlty Towers.
I have watched each episode of Fawlty Towers atleast 15 times - that has to be my all time favourite sitcom.

Re:Fawlty Towers

[durdur]

Well, I found Fawlty Towers unwatchable, while I'm wearing out my Python DVDs. The mix of absurd and funny, and occasionally just weird, in Python is pretty unique.

Happy Birthday

[KingAlanI]

Go ahead and have some Mozzarella...
Yes, I know how the Cheese Shop sketch goes...
I mean, since the were so unique, they wouldn't just go ahead and have the same popular cheese that everyone else is having. :P

I'd certainly agree with the general consensus that these guys pushed some serious (or non-serious) stylistic boundaries; that's a risk that sometimes falls flat, but when it connects, it's gold.

I make an analogy to some of the great oldschool off-the-wall bands (cf. Floyd, Pink) about artistic daring that (mostly) connects.

Furthermore, we've had decades for (what little) chaff to be sorted out

Bing and the Castle Arrrgh

[mattOzan]

Even Microsoft paid tribute today. The daily image for October 6th at Bing.com was Castle Stalker in Loch Linnhe, aka "Castle Arrrrgh," where Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail ends. http://www.bing.com/reference

Live from home

[ikarius]

Dinsdale ? DINSDALE ?

7 digit id?

[PinkyDead]

Lugzhury

Ahh.. Monty Python

[Kashgarinn]

As for me.. You want to know what I think?

Come here.. .. Come on...

This way...

Come on don't be shy..

I think this will help explain...

Come along, come along..

Over here..

Come on, come on.

This way...

Come on...

This way.

Stay with me, huh?

Nearly there now...

"I like monty python"

- See that? That's my opinion of monty python since I was a small boy.. It's not much of an opinion, I know.. ... Well fuck you! I can live my own life if I want to! Fuck off! Dont' come following me!

The lost Python

[Anonymous Coward]

Little Eddie was just starting school 40 years ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUuGXsIAwZw

Fish Slapping Sketch

[Anonymous Coward]

I always loved the back story on the Fish Slapping Sketch. Evidently, they forgot to look for ladders to get back up out of the water before they fell in. One of them almost drowned because no ladders to get out!

Mr. Gumby
Upper Middle Class Twit of the Year

Silly

[JumpSocial]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqhlQfXUk7w

Bollox says I

[PinkyDead]

2 days after the fact.

Sure Python and Shakespeare were innovative but they weren't the spearhead of any revolutionary movement. They were on the BBC FFS! (Well obviously Shakespeare wasn't).

Shakespeare was a resounding success because he appealed to the lowest common denominator. Now we look back in awe at his skill for three reasons: (1) because he was actually somewhat talented (2) because he talks strange and (3) mostly because we are too fucking high-brow for our own good.

Your little tirade posits an interesting point of view, but being elitist about Monty Python is ironic in the extreme.

Yours affectionately,
John Paul Sartre.