Foreign TV Show

Foreign Television Show

Show: Monty Python’s Flying Circus

Genre: Sketch Comedy

Country: UK

Original Run: October 5^th 1969 – December 5^th 1974

Starring:  John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Carol Cleveland

Plot:

Monty Python’s Flying Circus was a British sketch comedy that was originally aired on October 5^th, 1969 by the BBC. The show was based around unconnected skits similar to that of many American sketch comedies such as Mad TV or SNL.  In the first episode aired the most memorable moments the show were when the characters portrayed famous people and events in history in a very humorous way, World War 2 and Pablo Picasso are two examples.

 Pablo Picasso was used in such a way that he put into a situation where he must ride a bike in a marathon while painting a portrait and competing with other artists/bikers. The World War 2 skit takes place during the time when America was developing the atomic bomb but instead of a bomb the show’s creators replace it with the world’s deadliest joke.  The joke is supposedly so funny that it kills the reader due to extreme laughter. The skit is enacted in several setting such as suburbia, a Nazi base, and on the battlefield.

In my opinion the show is well put together and the writers were obviously very creative and humorous. The comedy involved is anything but dry and it keeps the audience entertained at any age, even today decades after the show was on television. This show also led to the creation of the famous movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail and several other titles.