The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus

The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus

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DVD Reviews of The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus

DVD Review: It's...
Summary: 5 Stars

What to say about such influential comedy. In Series One, it is clear to see that the group are still finding their feet. There is even the odd fluffed line here and there (Watch out for John Cleese is in "Crunchy Frog"). But the first series has some wonderful moments, for example "the Mouse problem," a brilliant satire of societies attitudes towards homosexuals and drugs.

Series Two, however, is where the group really hit their stride. Not as charmingly haphazard or deliriously surreal as series one, but in the comedy stakes it really goes for the jugular. "The Spanish Inquisition" and the Kray twins spoof, "The Piranha Brothers," are stand outs, but there is so much more that it offers, including the notoriously controversial Undertaker's sketch. Gilliam's animations in this series are also some of his best.

Series Three marked the beggining of the end for the Python's. Cleese had become restless and thought about leaving the group. He was persuaded to stay and the Pythons produced some high quality, yet in parts very patchy episodes. There is genius here - "Dennis Moore" "The Cheese Shop" and "Olympic Hide and Seek" for example. But this also some plain unfunny material, such as "the All England Summarize Proust Competetion" - apparently a classlic, although i've never seen why.
It was probably this inconsistency, as well as a feeling that he was repeating himself, that made up Cleese's mind that after the third series enogh was enough. He felt that "the Cheese Shop" and "Dennis Moore" were the only two original sketches he and Chapman had created throught series three. The rest, he felt were cobbled together bits and bobs of other sketches from the first three series. And so he bid the group adieu.

Stripped of a member, the group stripped the "Flying Circus" out of their title for their fourth, and final, series, simply entitled "Monty Python" However, the absence of Cleese (he does not appear in the show in any capacity and only provided minimal material for the first episode) has clearly tilted the balance, and unfortunately series four is a distant relative even of the patchy series three. To say that there is no humour contained within the episodes would be unfair, but it is, alas mixed in with a mire of cringe makingly embarrassing moments.
Eric Idle once remarked, that if a sketch is over ten minutes long, "It's Mike's [palin] and Terry's [Jones]" Well with Cleese gone their excesses run full flow, a classic example being the long repetitive and dare i say it, boring "Golden Age of Ballooning" episode. The brilliant Gilliam is given more chance to flex his comedy acting muscle, but it is all in vain. Luckily, we are spared from a full thirteen episode run (there were only six episodes commissioned), as it is sad to see a once mighty bunch fumbling in the waters of mediocrity. And so, with a very poignant guitar version of the theme music (which brings a tear to your eye) the last episode of MPFC draws to a close.
Monty Python's Flying Circus is simply the greatest and most influential TV series of all time. It had six great writer/performers each with their own unique talent, a memorable theme tune, an inspired animator, a drop dead gorgeous female co-star (Carol Cleveland). And although it lagged towards the end, the first two series are comedy perfection.... Oh.. and there's something about a dead parrot in it as well.