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Monday
05Oct2009

Iiiittttt's....Monty Python's 40th Anniversary

DateMonday, October 5, 2009 at 3:37PM
And now for something completely different...

Monty Python's Flying Circus, the masterful absurd sketch comedy series, first aired on BBC 40 years ago today. The first episode (October 5, 1969) contained the famous "Funniest Joke in the World" sketch, and two weeks later came "Nudge Nudge." It would be almost two full months before the legendary "Dead Parrot" sketch, one of Python's signature moments.

The series would run for four seasons, after which the ensemble turned their attention to movies, including two undeniable classics, Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Life of Brian, both of which featured the late Graham Chapman in leading roles.

Of course, the rest of the group's members went on to successful careers. John Cleese found great success in films, earning an Oscar nomination for his Fish Called Wanda script; Eric Idle has either kept the legacy of Python alive all these years or has exploited it through off-shoots like Spamalot!; Michael Palin has become one of the foremost travel documentarians in the world; although he has directed some movies, including a solo job on Life of Brian, Terry Jones has primarily functioned as a writer since the 1980s, with the script for Labyrinth and several books on medieval and ancient history among his output; and Terry Gilliam is one of the most iconoclastic filmmakers going, and he received his only Oscar nomination so far for writing the script for Brazil.

On October 27th, a new six-hour-long documentary called Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyers Cut) will be released to mark the anniversary.

AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment1 Comment |

Reader Comments (1)

I hear the dvd is 'wafer thin' too...

Monday, October 5, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterThe Observer

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