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Some thoughts after seeing that short interview of John Cleese, discussing Vice Presidential hopeful Sarah Palin. It made me think warmly of all those “Monty Python” episodes I used to watch back in the 70s.

Nudge Nudge, Wink Wink. Say No More…

It’s… (begin review)

Gee, -have you all see the John Cleese interview on YouTube with his views and opinions about Vice Presidential hopeful Sarah Palin? This guy can still make me laugh! Watch:




Agreed: apart from Ms. Sarah Palin clearly being educated far beyond her basic intelligence, seeing John Cleese again and his mentioning of the comedy troupe “Monty Python” got me thinking about the hours of enjoyment I had watching the tv programme, listening to the records and brilliant irreverent skits. I also find myself wondering again -why was this group so-named? There were many speculations on this matter at the time, too.

I seemed to recall a flurry of reptile-fanciers back in the early 70s that all had a ball python of some sort, named “Monty”. Clearly this is no coincidence. I also recall something about a fossil specie of snake discovered and named “Monty-something” but this was in the mid-80s, so-named by the discoverer after the end of the series, -also a fan of the series. And the computer language “Python” programming language was also named in tribute to this comedic troupe.

-I used had a ball python named “Julias Squeezer” and thought that this was pretty clever name. :-)

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The collective “The Pythons” or better known as “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” began airing on October 5th, 1969 and continued for four years, with some 45 episodes.

The comedians were as follows:

  1. Graham Chapman
  2. John Cleese (see the video, above)
  3. Terry Gillian
  4. Terry Jones
  5. Eric Idle, and
  6. Michael Palin (no relation to Sarah Palin I don’t think, but c’mon! Mr. Cleese is right; SHE is probably funnier.)

The account of how this comedy troupe chose it’s unique name are varied and vague. Some accounts are that the name just ‘sounded funny’, and some suggestions that the name “Monty” were attributed to be of Lord Montgomery (Field Marshal), A British General of World War II. “Python” was the afterthought due to it sounding ’silly’.

The Big Screen

How I enjoyed Monty Python’s Flying Circus the TV series, and the movies that came later on.

And now for Something Completely Different (1971)

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) <– has to be my all-time favorite

Monty Python’s Life of Bryon (1979)

Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1982)

Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (1983) <– also a favorite

But you know, I think that for me it was the animated sequences by Terry Gilliam made the show. Made it more interesting, unusual. How a nonsensical cartoon seemingly ended one skit and lead directly into another. Somehow, this weird transition was what I anticipated watching the most. They could have toned-down the ‘canned laughter’ a little bit, though. This is just my humble opinion. A laugh track was probably required and typical for sit-coms of the era, but it was rather intense and ingenuine. I guess that is what is meant by “canned laughter”.

The Animator; Cartoons of Monty Python

Mr. Gilliam’s animations helped shape the troupe’s visual image in varied media besides just the TV series, media such as LP records and book covers, and the films. His name appeared in the closing credits as animator, after the main comedian’s names, but was later named as a full member of the group.

Yes, I fondly remember the Monty Python Flying Circus (later on it was merely called “Monty Python”) and all the laughs these brilliant comedians gave us. It was good to see you ‘on film’ again, Mr. Cleese.