Monty Python's Flying Circus

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About the group

TV Series

Life of Brian

Monty Python's Flying Circus was the hit BBC sketch comedy show from Monty Python.

The first episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus was recorded September 7, 1969, and broadcast on October 5 of the same year.

The shows often targeted the idiosyncracies of British life (especially professionals), and was at times politically charged. The members of Monty Python were highly educated (Oxford and Cambridge graduates), and their comedy was often pointedly intellectual with numerous references to philosophers and literary figures.

In contrast to many other sketch comedy shows (such as Saturday Night Live), Flying Circus featured only handful of recurring characters, including:

The "It's" Man (Palin), a dishevelled man with torn clothes and long, unkempt beard who would appear at the beginning of the programme and say "it's..." before being abruptly cut off by the opening titles.
A BBC Continuity announcer in a dinner jacket (Cleese), seated at a desk, often in highly incongruous locations, such as a forest or a beach. His line, "And now for something completely different," was used variously as a lead-in to the opening titles and a simple way to link sketches together. It eventually became the show's catch phrase, even serving as the title for the troupe's first movie.
Mr. Praline (Cleese), an odd, raincoat-clad man (except in the Crunchy Frog sketch, in which he wears a police uniform) with a distinctive, florid style of speech delivered in a cockney accent. He has a penchant for getting into the most absurd arguments, though he is alternately the victim and perpetrator of this absurdity.
An armoured knight carrying a rubber chicken (Gilliam), who would end sketches by hitting characters over the head with it; halfway through the first season he was told "I'm sorry, we don't need you this week", and slouched away miserably. He was never seen again.
A Viking (Palin or Gilliam) who would inexplicably interrupt sketches to say "Anyway," after which the sketch would (usually) resume as normal.
A nude organist (played in the first episode by Gilliam, afterwards by Jones) who provided a brief fanfare to punctuate certain sketches (usually game show parodies) or as yet another way to introduce the opening titles.
The Colonel (Chapman), a straightlaced military officer who would sometimes abruptly end sketches for being too silly.
Biggles (Chapman, and in one instance Jones), a fictional WW I pilot from a series of stories by W. E. Johns.
The "Gumbies," a group of severely brain-damaged individuals identically attired in high-water trousers, suspenders, and round, rimless glasses, with tiny Chaplin-style moustaches and handkerchiefs on the tops of their heads. They hold their arms awkwardly in front of them, speak slowly in loud, low voices puncuated by frequent grunts and groans, and have a fondness for bashing bricks together. They often complain that their brains hurt.

The theme tune was John Philip Sousa's Liberty Bell March.

Regular supporting cast members include Carol Cleveland, Connie Booth, Neil Innes and The Fred Tomlinson Singers (for musical numbers).

The troupe's most well-known skits include:

Most of these skits appear in the first two series. Their fame is largely due to their inclusion in the feature film And Now For Something Completely Different, which was recorded between series 2 and 3. A further reason could be that when the show is re-broadcast it is often cancelled before the later series are shown.

John Cleese left the group after the third series, and so did not appear in the final six episodes that made up series four, although he did receive writing credits where applicable. Neil Innes and Douglas Adams are notable as the only two non-Pythons to get writing credits in the show - both in the same episode late in season four. Innes frequently appeared in the Pythons' stage shows and can also be seen in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and (briefly) in Life of Brian.

The final episode was recorded November 16, 1974, and broadcast on December 5. That same year, Devillier-Donegan Enterprises syndicated the series in the United States of America among PBS stations, and the show appeared for the first time in that country on the PBS station KERA in Dallas, Texas. It was an instant hit there, rapidly garnering an enormous loyal cult following nationwide that surprised even the Pythons themselves, who didn't believe that the humor was exportable without being tailored specifically for the North Americans. The discovery of this additional legion of fans would inspire the troupe to reunite to create the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, since they now knew they had a world-wide audience.