Monty Python’s Flying Circus debuted 40 years ago today. Marc Lee writes in The Daily Telegraph about the origins and development of the troupe:
Four decades on, the image of John Cleese’s increasingly hysterical pet-shop customer — pacamac buttoned up, hair plastered down, vowels strangulated — remains one of the most memorable in television history. No other comedy series has seared itself into the national consciousness quite like Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
And, if the sketches were ever to be placed in order of popularity, Cleese’s confrontation with the chirpily evasive Michael Palin — the shopkeeper who simply will not admit that the inert “Norwegian blue” is dead — would undoubtedly come top. Indeed, when Channel 4 counted down the 50 greatest comedy moments, the “Dead Parrot” sketch perched at number two, just below the, frankly, far inferior “Lou and Andy at the swimming pool” sketch from Little Britain.
The video above is of the classic sketch “Argument Clinic” — my favorite. What’s your favorite Monty Python sketch?
Link via Megan McArdle | Official Site | History of Monty Python | YouTube Channel
Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories has figured out how to recreate the “Crunchy Frog” confection made famous in the classic Monty Python sketch (“If we took the bones out it wouldn’t be crunchy would it?”) using Gummi frogs, Pop Rocks, and chocolate.
There are two remarkable things about this recipe. First, Pop Rocks survive being immersed in melted chocolate surprisingly well– they still pop after the chocolate solidifies. Second, the artificial fruit flavor of the Pop Rocks is completely overwhelmed and masked by the bittersweet chocolate. We anticipated a bit of flavor conflict, but the chocolate won out completely, leaving only the pop-whiz-bang of the Pop Rocks.
What could possibly be more awesome than Star Trek and Monty Python? Why, the two of them mashed together, of course!
Here’s a mashup of the original Star Trek series with the Knights of the Round Table (Camelot) song from Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Link [embedded YouTube clip]
One Man’s Institute for the Exceptional Documentation of Silly Time Wasting Videos has compiled a giant assortment of the Best of Monty Python clips. This one’s called the Lumberjack Sketch [wiki], by Michael Palin:
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