Monty Python 40 Years Old Today!

And now..... by Anonymous Coward · 2009-10-05 02:36 · Score: 5, Funny

For something completely different.

Re:And now..... by FaxeTheCat · 2009-10-05 02:49 · Score: 2, Funny

No it isn't!
Re:And now..... by Random+BedHead+Ed · 2009-10-05 07:23 · Score: 3, Funny

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..... by apoc.famine · 2009-10-05 13:06 · Score: 4, Insightful

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.

--
Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
Re:And now..... by SL+Baur · 2009-10-05 13:50 · Score: 2, Informative

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.

Ni! by OrangeMonkey11 · 2009-10-05 02:38 · Score: 2, Funny

Ni!

Re:Ni! by eldavojohn · 2009-10-05 02:49 · Score: 5, Insightful

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.

--
My work here is dung.
Re:Ni! by mrdoogee · 2009-10-05 02:53 · Score: 4, Insightful

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! by cayenne8 · 2009-10-05 02:59 · Score: 2, Funny

"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...
:)

--
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Re:Ni! by Jonah+Hex · 2009-10-05 03:08 · Score: 2, Insightful

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

--
Horror & SciFi Erotic Nudes
Re:Ni! by Subm · 2009-10-05 03:25 · Score: 3, Informative

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! by howlingfrog · 2009-10-05 03:49 · Score: 5, Insightful

"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.

--
The original Howling Frog is a fictional character and has no UID.
Re:Ni! by Subm · 2009-10-05 04:23 · Score: 3, Insightful

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! by cayenne8 · 2009-10-05 04:46 · Score: 2, Funny

"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.

--
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Re:Ni! by cayenne8 · 2009-10-05 04:49 · Score: 2, Insightful

"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.

--
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Re:Ni! by Anonymous Coward · 2009-10-05 04:57 · Score: 3, Informative

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! by Hurricane78 · 2009-10-05 05:12 · Score: 5, Funny

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.

--
Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.

Stop making a fuss. by Anonymous Coward · 2009-10-05 02:40 · Score: 5, Funny

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. by brian0918 · 2009-10-05 02:41 · Score: 4, Funny

Shut your festering gob, you insensitive tit!
Re:Stop making a fuss. by Anonymous Coward · 2009-10-05 02:48 · Score: 5, Funny

Okay, okay. I didn't expect some kind of Spanish Inquisition...
Re:Stop making a fuss. by Iceykitsune · 2009-10-05 02:59 · Score: 5, Funny

No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!

--
GENERATION 24: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation. Social exper
Re:Stop making a fuss. by Random+BedHead+Ed · 2009-10-05 07:46 · Score: 5, Insightful

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.

It's not dead! by adnonsense · 2009-10-05 02:41 · Score: 4, Funny

Just pining for the fjords.

Obligatory... by charleste · 2009-10-05 02:41 · Score: 3, Funny

NObody expects the anniversary of Python!

Re:Obligatory... by SnarfQuest · 2009-10-05 03:59 · Score: 3, Funny

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...

--
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.

Re:Icon ? by Anonymous Coward · 2009-10-05 02:44 · Score: 5, Funny

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

I'm actually a heretic. by Dr.+Manhattan · 2009-10-05 02:44 · Score: 4, Interesting

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.

--
PHEM - party like it's 1997-2003!

Re:I'm actually a heretic. by Foobar+of+Borg · 2009-10-05 04:32 · Score: 4, Interesting

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.

--
Similar to the upcoming US election results
Re:I'm actually a heretic. by ColdWetDog · 2009-10-05 04:46 · Score: 2, Funny

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.

--
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Re:I'm actually a heretic. by Landshark17 · 2009-10-05 09:23 · Score: 2, Interesting

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.

--
This sig is false.

Obligatory... by Tsar · 2009-10-05 02:46 · Score: 4, Funny

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... by Stone+Rhino · 2009-10-05 02:46 · Score: 4, Interesting

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

--

Remember, there were no nuclear weapons before women were allowed to vote.

Re:The essence of Python... by Gravitron+5000 · 2009-10-05 03:01 · Score: 5, Funny

Dead Parrot Sketch as performed by Nigerian Scammers
Re:The essence of Python... by Anonymous Coward · 2009-10-05 03:10 · Score: 2, Funny

... Humo(u)r was stale and repetitive at the time.
Humor without the "u" still is.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners by brian0918 · 2009-10-05 02:46 · Score: 5, Funny

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.

Life of Brian by copponex · 2009-10-05 02:47 · Score: 5, Funny

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 by qc_dk · 2009-10-05 02:58 · Score: 5, Funny

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:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners by swillden · 2009-10-05 02:50 · Score: 4, Funny

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

--
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.

If you really want to show Monty Python... by AltGrendel · 2009-10-05 02:53 · Score: 3, Insightful

...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).

--
The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination

- Douglas Adams

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners by Tomun · 2009-10-05 02:53 · Score: 2, Funny

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

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition by jacksdl · 2009-10-05 02:56 · Score: 3, Interesting

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!'''

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners by Dunbal · 2009-10-05 02:58 · Score: 3, Funny

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

Ding. Time's up.

--
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners by rubycodez · 2009-10-05 02:59 · Score: 4, Funny

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

40 year, fine! by hansraj · 2009-10-05 03:07 · Score: 2, Funny

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

Re:40 year, fine! by Vulch · 2009-10-05 03:47 · Score: 4, Funny

Apart from the aqueducts, roads and sanitation?
I'll go out and come in again...

Re:Icon ? by bcmm · 2009-10-05 03:10 · Score: 4, Informative

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.

--
# cat /dev/mem | strings | grep -i llama
Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners by BasilBrush · 2009-10-05 03:17 · Score: 2, Interesting

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 by Anonymous Coward · 2009-10-05 03:20 · Score: 3, Funny

Yes, it is.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners by cayenne8 · 2009-10-05 03:26 · Score: 2, Funny

"Yes, it is."

No it isn't !!!

--
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........

so successful, yet never remade - why? by petes_PoV · 2009-10-05 03:27 · Score: 2, Interesting

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.

--
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons

Re:so successful, yet never remade - why? by CharlyFoxtrot · 2009-10-05 04:11 · Score: 4, Informative

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.)

--
If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
Re:so successful, yet never remade - why? by Threni · 2009-10-05 05:17 · Score: 3, Interesting

> 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? by SleazyRidr · 2009-10-05 09:07 · Score: 2, Insightful

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.

--
Is 1563649 a prime number?

Not to worry! by elrous0 · 2009-10-05 03:27 · Score: 3, Insightful

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.

--
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners by PiSkyHi · 2009-10-05 03:33 · Score: 2, Funny

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

Lemon Curry ?

All I have to say is... by FiloEleven · 2009-10-05 03:38 · Score: 4, Funny

My nipples explode with delight!

--
Your brain is not a computer.

Re:favorite sketches by chaim79 · 2009-10-05 03:48 · Score: 2, Insightful

My favs:

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

--
DEMETRIUS: Villain, what hast thou done?
AARON: Villain, I have done thy mother.
Shakespeare invents 'your mom'

How to recognize different types of Trees by Murrdox · 2009-10-05 03:50 · Score: 3, Informative

And now...

#1

The Larch.

"Different"? Luxury!! by Arthur+Grumbine · 2009-10-05 03:57 · Score: 2, Funny

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!

--
Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.

No MP Googleday Graphic? Shame! by freddled · 2009-10-05 04:12 · Score: 2, Insightful

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

Re:I can. by DrData99 · 2009-10-05 04:18 · Score: 5, Funny

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.

Re:!funny by griffinme · 2009-10-05 04:26 · Score: 2, Funny

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

--
Is he strong? Listen bud, He's got radioactive blood.

Re:Ni! Ni! by Aklyon · 2009-10-05 04:46 · Score: 2, Insightful

yes you are.

--
I reserve the right to have a physical object so I can sell it later, and recover my money.

Re:I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners by TrogL · 2009-10-05 04:53 · Score: 3, Insightful

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 by omi5cron · 2009-10-05 04:59 · Score: 5, Funny

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

Lucy vs Monty Python by spaceyhackerlady · 2009-10-05 05:01 · Score: 4, Insightful

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 by Darinbob · 2009-10-05 07:11 · Score: 2, Insightful

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.

requested slashcode tweak by Bazman · 2009-10-05 05:23 · Score: 5, Funny

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

"You must be ne... wait a minute, 5 digit ID?" by HNS-I · 2009-10-05 05:24 · Score: 4, Funny

Three sir!

Not aged well?? by Joe+Mucchiello · 2009-10-05 05:24 · Score: 2, Insightful

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?

John Cleese Anecdote by nuckfuts · 2009-10-05 05:41 · Score: 4, Funny

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 by jd2112 · 2009-10-05 05:44 · Score: 2, Funny

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

--
Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.

My hovercraft by TPJ-Basin · 2009-10-05 05:47 · Score: 2, Funny

Is full of eels.

--
TPJ - Founder, The Amazon Basin

Best way I can think of to celibrate... by Locke2005 · 2009-10-05 05:58 · Score: 3, Funny

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

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

--
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.

Re:Icon ? by Inari · 2009-10-05 06:48 · Score: 2, Funny

Not above 20000 :-)

Re:Icon ? by Inari · 2009-10-05 06:56 · Score: 3, Informative

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:and what about influence on Monty Python? by Scannerman · 2009-10-05 10:58 · Score: 2, Informative

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

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Monty Python 40 Years Old Today!

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