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Monty Python's Flying Circus, Disc 2 |
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Once upon a time, six unruly schoolboys found that the BBC was giving money to people with rather ridiculous ideas for shows. Thus was born Monty Python's Flying Circus, easily the most ridiculous show in the history of television. In episode 4, "Owl-Stretching Time," no owls are actually stretched or harmed in any way, but Terry Jones tries to undress on the beach ("It's a Man's Life Taking Off Your Clothes in Public"), Arthur Lemming of the BDA foils a dastardly plot ("It's a Man's Life in the British Dental Association"), and John Cleese barks instructions to a class learning to defend themselves against assailants armed with fresh fruit. The transitions and flow are still a little choppy and their writing not quite up to the levels of future seasons, but the essential mix of anarchy, inanity, and outrageousness is all there in classic sketches, running gags, and Python's ever-popular penchant for deflating figures of authority. As Monty Python got into the groove of absurdity on a weekly schedule, they began creating some of their most memorable characters. Gumby is one such figure, a screaming idiot in knickers and a handkerchief on his head. It seems so fitting that he would make his first appearance in "Man's Identity Crisis at the Latter Half of the Twentieth Century" (a.k.a. episode 5), albeit in a primitive form (if that's not an oxymoron). But no, that's not enough for the Pythons, who pack this episode with the extremely silly Confuse a Cat, the not-quite-as-silly Erotic Film highlights, and the slightly-more-silly John Cleese interviewing not-quite-so-silly Graham Chapman for a management training course with questions a public-school education never prepared him for. Episode 6, "It's the Arts," features the ever-popular Dull Life of a City Stockbroker, Graham Chapman as an insane (and very loud) American film producer, and a lovely assortment of treats from the Whizzo Chocolate Company (their specialty is Crunchy Frog, but I hear the Anthrax Ripple is also quite good). These episodes are light on favorite skits but exhibit a confidence in the free-association logic that became the hallmark of the show. --Sean Axmaker
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