Monty Python 40 Years Old Today! 298
cheros was one of several readers to note that today, Oct 5, in 1969 was the very first airing of Monty Python. Although not every sketch has aged
particularly well, you'd be hard pressed to find a more influential and funny show. Heck, look at the Icon we use here to indicate humorous stories! Who among us can't claim to have viewed the Holy Grail at least
somewhere in the double digits.
Re:Icon ? (Score:1, Informative)
None of the above. It comes down at the end of the opening bits of the program, squashing the words on the screen, near the end of the "Liberty Bell March"
Re:Icon ? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Ni! (Score:3, Informative)
This is an excellent opportunity to honor Monty Python by honoring the group's mastery of shock and irreverence and stop quoting, word for word skits and films! The irony is killing me slowly.
Highly apropos XKCD comic [xkcd.com] on the subject.
People repetitively quoting them is exactly what makes Monty Python so influential, great, and popular. The world is full of people who quote unoriginally -- that's what creates the value in originality. So while all the people quoting them aren't themselves originally funny, there is no other way it could be. Nothing wrong with that.
I notice your own criticism of word-for-word quoting was little more than a word-for-word quote of someone else. At least the people you are trying to criticize are just trying to be funny and honor people they like.
The irony in your post wasn't what was killing you, but your self-inflicted venom.
How to recognize different types of Trees (Score:4, Informative)
#1
The Larch.
Re:so successful, yet never remade - why? (Score:5, Informative)
They addressed this yesterday in a BBC special. Firstly Graham Chapman is dead and secondly they felt like they were repeating themselves at the end of the original series which is why they quit. Terry Gilliam said that if they would come back they should make the first 4 episodes absolutely awful so by the next one only 2 people would be watching and then when they made their most brilliant show ever these guys would rush out and try to explain to incredulous people how brilliant it was. (Oh, and remakes suck.)
Re:Ni! (Score:3, Informative)
Perhaps the Python fans should look up the stuff that inspired the Pythons like Spike Milligan & The Goons and Peter Cook & Dudley Moore. Then they'd see that Python is a continuation of a classic tradition of insane surreal satirical British comedy.
Re:Icon ? (Score:3, Informative)
As I heard it that march was played at the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. When the show started people commented that Monty Python was very cheeky using it. After a time people started asking why the guard changed to the Monty Python theme and they stop using it to change the guard to.
Re:and what about influence on Monty Python? (Score:2, Informative)
And then the Monty Python gang got together (I think this is right chronologically, but I'm happy to be corrected). .
Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie etc got going in the early 1980's, (i.e. around 15 AP)
Other things in the chronology you should check out are
Oscar Wilde (Esp. Importance of being Earnest - A hundred years old and still hilarious)
PG Wodehouse
ITMA, (war time, led to the Goons)
Peter Cook and Dudley Moore,
TW3, (David Frost et al, he became a total Dick later on but in the 60's he was good) - The 60's satire movement in general,
At Last the 1948 show (pre-python)
The Goodies
Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy (avoid the horrible remake)
Ben Elton (see comments on David Frost) - BlackAdder (which starred Fry and Laurie) is probably on a level with Python
The Young Ones.
and lots of other stuff. obviously there are huge interconnections between everything.
Wkipedia and Youtube should keep you going for a while
Re:And now..... (Score:3, Informative)
may I take this opportunity of emphasizing that there is no cannibalism in Slashdot. Absolutely none, and when I say none, I mean there is a certain amount, more than we are prepared to admit, but all new accounts are warned that if they wake up in the morning and find toothmarks at all anywhere on their bodies, they're to tell Cmdr Taco immediately so that he can immediately take every measure to hush the whole thing up.