Monty Python's Flying Circus

TV Milestones

by Marcia Landy

One of the most innovative comedic programs to air on television, Monty Python's Flying Circus was a mix of the carnivalesque and the critical. The show has become famous for eschewing many of the conventions of situation comedy, the fully formed and coherent script, narrative closure, predictable characters, and the decorum associated with presentation. Its curious transatlantic popularity defied the assumption that comedy is regional and exclusive, and the show's cult status still lives on in the United States and United Kingdom through reruns, videos, DVDs, and continual reappearances by the show's now iconic stars. Most written accounts of Monty Python's Flying Circus focus solely on members of the Pythons, histories of the sketches, or the development of other Monty Python projects, leaving a dearth of scholarly and contextual analysis on the television show itself.

Marcia Landy's book is one of the rare studies available examining the Flying Circus within the context of its time, analyzing the show's influence on 1960s and 1970s British television as well as British cultural influence on the show's legendary material. Landy explores not only why the series' complex form of comedy was important but also why it was so well received, citing the Pythons' amalgam of comedic the unruly treatment of sexuality, the mockery of religion and class, and the critique of the medium of television. The Flying Circus parodied both the lowbrow and the highbrow, throwing many previously untouchable topics into the ring, and here Landy deconstructs the impact of the show's risks and reception. As informative as it is engaging and entertaining, this book will appeal to film and media scholars, popular culture enthusiasts, and Monty Python fans alike.

Genres: Nonfiction, Criticism, Humor

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 2005

Reviews

[George Siehl · Rating 3 out of 5]

An academic review and analysis of the BBC television series Monty Python's Flying Circus which aired from 1969 to 1974. The 45 episodes have been broadcast in nations around the globe since then.
The work of the creative group of writer/actors is marked by zany and irreverent takes on many aspects of modern society. The group has also created a number of motion pictures, although these are not addressed in Landy's book. The book is an academic treatment of its subject, but is largely accessible for general readers, offering many interesting insights into the groundbreaking work of the Python collective.

[Dominick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing. This book suffers from several factual errors--deadly in a book on a show extensive sequences from which its fans have committed to memory. Carol Cleveland is twice identified as the sweetheart in the Lumberjack sketch--and even though the book actually includes an image from the sketch with Connie Booth in it. It misidentifies the motive of the man who tries to pick up the police officer as an attempt to get arrested when in fact his gambit is to pretend his wallet has been stolen, before propositioning the policeman. There are several other errors of this type--misidentified cast members, incorrectly quoted lines, inaccuracies about sketches. None of these really materially damage the book's critical perspective, but they are irritants. As for the book's critical perspective, I think it's fair to say the book shows good insights into the show, but that it rarely (if ever) pursues them as far as they can be taken. This is perhaps not surprising in a small book of only slightly over a hundred pages (and including images), but often I found myself thinking the book was more pointing in directions of fruitful commentary than actually providing that commentary itself. Worthwhile, but not exceptional.

[C-chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the most academic view of Monty Python that I have thus far encountered. Quite well-written, it was interesting to read the Flying Circus critically examined like this. It definitely made me want to watch and rewatch large numbers of episodes!