Monty Python's Flying Circus - Classic or Dud?

they bleeped them, they bleeped out the swearing omg

The fuckers.

friend went to one of the O2 shows and said a guy in front of him was aggressively shouting the punchlines before the team got to them, which was, tbh, exactly what I would have expected.

http://uproxx.com/filmdrunk/2014/07/john-cleese-wrote-this-amazing-letter-to-a-14-year-old-monty-python-fan/?utm_source=huffingtonpost.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pubexchange_article

anyone read Cleese's book? goes up to start of MP, i think?

I haven't yet, but Palin's diaries are an absolute joy to read.

I'd be surprised if there's much joy to be had from the Cleese book.

The boys were back in town, being interviewed after a fashion by John Oliver.

https://tribecafilm.com/stories/tribeca-film-festival-2015-monty-python-holy-grail-reunion

Oh no :(

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37451043

Monty Python star Terry Jones has been diagnosed with a severe variant of dementia.

The 74-year-old is suffering from primary progressive aphasia, which affects his ability to communicate.

As a result, Jones "is no longer able to give interviews", his spokesman said.

The news was confirmed as Bafta Cymru announced the Welsh-born comedian is to be honoured with an outstanding contribution award.

The National Aphasia Association describes primary progressive aphasia as a neurological syndrome in which language capabilities become slowly and progressively impaired.

"It commonly begins as a subtle disorder of language, progressing to a nearly total inability to speak, in its most severe stage," their website states.

grievous

awful

Wow. I could have sworn Jones was active and busy even recently. Dementia is the worst. Once it's been diagnosed you often realize it's been going on for some time, and that you've already been living with the steady decline.

:(

That is sad. Terry Jones rules.

It's a little weird realizing that 'Python' as a loose group has now existed for notably longer without Graham Chapman than it did with him -- it almost seemed like they'd live forever as a result, I was just used to the five of them celebrating the occasional anniversary and all. Hope Jones has got the good care he needs.

As a result, Jones "is no longer able to give interviews", his spokesman said.

Our hairdresser's husband died of logopenic progressive aphasia & apparently the later stages involve daily inarticulate screaming fits.

Such sad news.

My aunt just died after a year of progressive dementia (ultimately diagnosed as vascular dementia); it was very bad. Unlike the perception of a happy, senile person living their life in a bizarre reality, she was angry, confused, and resentful of not being allowed to drive or, say, walk out of the house with no clothes on. She finally was unable to swallow. It was all very fast and intense.

Long ago I had a friend describe the cheerful sort of interaction mentioned a few posts up. The aphasic would sit on a porch and say things such as "In there, but not anymore" and their companion would say "Walter Cronkite?" to which they would smile and nod.

In fact my mom is now a cheerful aphasic. A few months ago she told me she was wearing purple "because of the guy, something happened to him."

Just noticed that TJ has a seven year old daughter.

TJ's general lustiness is a recurring joyous theme of Palin's v enjoyable diaries

so am not surprised he fathered offspring so recently

So did anyone watch the DVD of the 2014 reunion show? Will it make me sad?

It's on the Netflix now. I'm about 6 episodes in but have to admit I've been generally unimpressed. The racist skits haven't aged well, suffice to say.

it's very much of another time. If I were to watch it now I doubt I would laugh at all

comedys job to age well for americans alright

comedys job is to annoy lex and calzino afaict

I would laugh.

The movies are still brilliant though! The one that I watched anyway!

thanks to this show, whenever somebody says "not guilty," i think not gillcup

The records (apart from the first one) are better than the TV show too. Think it's just the pressure of putting together three hours of sketches, you could edit the first series down to a much better single hour.

I bought the complete Flying Circus on DVD with bar mitzvah money but probably the last time I watched any was sometime in college. I'm pretty sure even adult woke me would think much if not most of it is still good. I remember the ratio of unmoored absurdity to racism being pretty high?

I'd rather watch a randomly selected episode from the first three Flying Circus series than even one minute of (say) Animal House, Airplane, a Pink Panther movie…

Kinda glad they could get away with not boiling it down, it wouldn't be improved as wall to wall "classics"

Science Fiction Sketch is a miserable shaggy dog story with no proper punchline that takes up two thirds of an episode and I love it

TBF the only inarguably offensive sketch that I've seen so far is the Native American theatre aficionado.

But in terms of real lols, it's been very sparse. Lots of riffing on a single unworthy joke.

Yeah flying circus has some pretty racist bits, but have you rewatched Spike Milligan's Q.. series recently?

Yeah I'd never say it all works but it's absolutely not punchline comedy

Recently cried with laughter at those German episodes that on Netflix. Brilliant, genius etc.

There's definitely stuff that falls flat and doesn't work in virtually every episode.

Plus a lot is badly under-rehearsed and looks cheap and threadbare (lol BBC comedy budgets).

Low-budget production on British shows are quaint!

as a kid, i found a lot of the flying circus not funny so much as just fascinatingly weird, like i'd watch it with a real sense of wonder and anticipation that i can't remember ever feeling with any other comedy show. so much of it was based on satire of things i was completely unfamiliar with (both as an american and as a non-adult) that there were entire episodes that just flew over my head, but i don't remember ever being bored by it.

Leee's initial revive point is pretty OTM, one I've been turning over a lot in my brain ever since they announced it would end up on Netflix.

I do think the movies are generally better, even though I never, ever need to see them again due to overexposure

as a kid, i found a lot of the flying circus not funny so much as just fascinatingly weird

OTM. I loved the out-of-left-field stuff like 'Conrad Pooh's Dancing Teeth' and 'Find the Fish' so much.

fishy fishy fishy fish

weird coincidence: just watched a Monty Python sketch, as the result of searching Youtube for 'hide and seek championship'. i wish i was lying

The racist skits haven't aged well, suffice to say.

*takes a drink*