''
Monty Python's Flying Circus'' is a British
surreal sketch comedy
Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...
series created by and starring
Graham Chapman,
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
,
Eric Idle,
Terry Jones,
Michael Palin and
Terry Gilliam, who became known as "
Monty Python", for
BBC1. The series stands out for its use of
absurd situations, mixed with risqué and innuendo-laden humour,
sight gags and observational sketches without
punchlines. Live action segments were broken up with animations by Gilliam, often merging with the live action to form
segues. It premiered on 5 October 1969 and ended on 5 December 1974, with a total of 45 episodes over the course of 4 series.
Series overview
Episodes
Series 1 (1969–70)
Series 2 (1970)
Series 3 (1972–73)
In this series only, the opening sequence begins with a nude organist (played by Jones), Cleese saying 'and now', and the 'It's' Man.
Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus (1972)
''Special episodes of
Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus''
Series 4 (1974)
Cleese did not return for the final series. The series was broadcast under the simple banner ''Monty Python'' (although the old full title, ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'', is displayed at the beginning of the opening sequence). Cleese did receive writing credits on some episodes that featured material he had written for the first draft of ''
Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' (particularly in "Michael Ellis").
References
External links
*
*
"The complete unexpurgated scripts of the original TV series" at www.ibras.dk
{{Monty Python
.Episodes
Monty Python's Flying Circus