On this page you can find out more information about Monty Python's Flying Circus. Plus, I've included a few links that you might enjoy, as well!
About
Monty Python's Flying Circus (also known as
Flying Circus,
MPFC or, during the final series, just
Monty Python) is a BBC sketch comedy program from the
Monty Python comedy team, and the group's initial claim to fame. The show was noted for its surreal plots, innuendo-laden humour, sight gags, and sketches without punchlines. It also featured the animations of
Terry Gilliam which were often sequenced or merged with live action.
The first episode was recorded on September 7, 1969, and broadcast on October 5th of the same year on BBC One, with a total of 45 episodes airing over four seasons.
The show often targeted the idiosyncrasies of British life (especially professionals) and was at times politically charged. The members of
Monty Python were highly educated (
Terry Jones and
Michael Palin are Oxford graduates; while
Eric Idle,
John Cleese and
Graham Chapman are Cambridge graduates; and American-born member
Terry Gilliam is an Occidental College graduate), with their comedy often pointedly intellectual by way of numerous references to philosophers and literary figures. It followed and elaborated upon the style used by Spike Milligan in his series Q5, rather than the traditional sketch show format. The team intended their humour to be impossible to categorise, and succeeded so completely that the adjective "Pythonesque" had to be invented to define it, and later, similar material.
Links
