WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.040 Welcome to the Deep Dive. If you're looking for 00:00:02.040 --> 00:00:03.940 the shortcut to being the smartest person in 00:00:03.940 --> 00:00:06.120 the room, you've come to the right place. Today 00:00:06.120 --> 00:00:09.779 we are strapping on our... coconut halves and 00:00:09.779 --> 00:00:14.160 engaging in a full scale exploration of the six 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:16.960 men who formed Monty Python. We're taking a deep 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:19.219 dive into the source materials detailing the 00:00:19.219 --> 00:00:22.320 history, the anarchic style and the truly, well, 00:00:22.420 --> 00:00:25.480 staggering cultural influence of this British 00:00:25.480 --> 00:00:28.500 comedy troupe. It's a mission to unpack the unpackable, 00:00:28.579 --> 00:00:31.440 really trying to define or categorize Python's 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:33.799 genius is exactly what they actively sought to 00:00:33.799 --> 00:00:36.079 prevent. Yet their influence now is just, you 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:37.950 know, undeniable. It is. We are looking at how 00:00:37.950 --> 00:00:40.869 Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric 00:00:40.869 --> 00:00:43.030 Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin came together, 00:00:43.210 --> 00:00:45.710 threw away the rules of television comedy and 00:00:45.710 --> 00:00:47.810 essentially became what many have dubbed, and 00:00:47.810 --> 00:00:49.890 the sources confirm this analogy, the Beatles 00:00:49.890 --> 00:00:53.310 of comedy. That analogy is, I think, perfect 00:00:53.310 --> 00:00:55.229 because we're not just talking about six funny 00:00:55.229 --> 00:00:57.689 men. We're talking about a phenomenon that fundamentally 00:00:57.689 --> 00:00:59.869 reshaped how we think about comedy structure. 00:01:00.299 --> 00:01:03.079 Absolutely. They went from a niche, surreal BBC 00:01:03.079 --> 00:01:06.819 program to a global cultural touchstone that 00:01:06.819 --> 00:01:09.040 literally shaped the vocabulary of the Internet, 00:01:09.260 --> 00:01:13.280 influenced major software engineers and even 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:16.060 financed British cinema classics. And to understand 00:01:16.060 --> 00:01:18.799 this revolutionary outcome, we have to start 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:21.560 at the genesis, the crucial collisions that created 00:01:21.560 --> 00:01:24.140 the circus. So we have six brilliant minds, but 00:01:24.140 --> 00:01:26.299 they weren't exactly a unified group initially, 00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:30.599 were they? The formative years show a clear geographic 00:01:30.599 --> 00:01:33.280 and academic split based on where they went to 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:35.319 university. That's right. That famed Oxbridge 00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:38.620 divide is key here. Comedy in post -war Britain 00:01:38.620 --> 00:01:41.040 was, well, it was heavily dominated by the output 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:43.480 of these two institutions. Right. On the Oxford 00:01:43.480 --> 00:01:45.599 University side, we had Terry Jones and Michael 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:47.379 Palin. They worked together in the Oxford Review, 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:50.939 which tended to favor slightly more whimsical, 00:01:51.060 --> 00:01:53.819 visual, and sometimes historical forms of satire. 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:55.400 And on the other side, at Cambridge University, 00:01:55.519 --> 00:01:58.040 you had the trio of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, 00:01:58.180 --> 00:02:00.579 and Eric Idle. members of the famed Footlights 00:02:00.579 --> 00:02:03.900 Club. The Footlights was and still is an absolute 00:02:03.900 --> 00:02:08.360 crucible of comedic talent. At that time, it 00:02:08.360 --> 00:02:10.620 was producing a kind of intellectual, highly 00:02:10.620 --> 00:02:13.620 verbal, and often very political satire. And 00:02:13.620 --> 00:02:15.900 not just them. The sources note that this group 00:02:15.900 --> 00:02:18.039 also included people who would go on to be part 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:20.479 of the goodies. Yeah, exactly. People like Timbrook 00:02:20.479 --> 00:02:23.080 Taylor and Bill Lottie, plus Jonathan Lynn, who 00:02:23.080 --> 00:02:26.560 co -wrote the hugely successful political satire 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:29.180 Yes Minister. So you had two very different, 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:32.180 highly fertile environments feeding into what 00:02:32.180 --> 00:02:34.340 would become the Python machine. And the person 00:02:34.340 --> 00:02:36.360 who was the connective tissue to the New World, 00:02:36.460 --> 00:02:39.060 the only non -British Python, Terry Gilliam. 00:02:39.629 --> 00:02:41.550 He met one of the others in a really unexpected 00:02:41.550 --> 00:02:44.530 location. Precisely. The critical initial meeting 00:02:44.530 --> 00:02:47.370 between John Cleese and Terry Gilliam happened 00:02:47.370 --> 00:02:50.169 not in a damp BBC office, but in New York City. 00:02:50.310 --> 00:02:52.629 Wow. Cleese was touring America with the Cambridge 00:02:52.629 --> 00:02:54.770 University Footlights Review, which was called 00:02:54.770 --> 00:02:57.210 Cambridge Circus. Gilliam, who was this American 00:02:57.210 --> 00:02:59.469 animator and cartoonist, was in the audience. 00:02:59.650 --> 00:03:02.930 They met, they talked, and, well, the seed was 00:03:02.930 --> 00:03:04.650 planted for the visual collaboration that would 00:03:04.650 --> 00:03:07.879 define Python. But before Python, the sources 00:03:07.879 --> 00:03:10.979 all point to a critical staging post that united 00:03:10.979 --> 00:03:14.300 the British members. A pivotal satirical show 00:03:14.300 --> 00:03:17.020 on the BBC. The Frost Report. The Frost Report, 00:03:17.240 --> 00:03:22.240 yeah. Running from 1966 to 1967. Why was this 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:25.039 show so essential? It's crucial because it was 00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:26.960 the first time the majority of the team were 00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:29.180 in the same room, working together professionally 00:03:29.180 --> 00:03:32.009 under... you know, immense pressure. Cleese was 00:03:32.009 --> 00:03:35.710 a cast member and writer. Idol, Chapman, Palin, 00:03:35.750 --> 00:03:38.530 and Jones were all writers on the program. So 00:03:38.530 --> 00:03:41.610 it forced them to interact, to collaborate, and 00:03:41.610 --> 00:03:43.889 to test their writing styles against each other. 00:03:44.050 --> 00:03:45.930 It did. And it was a very traditional sketch 00:03:45.930 --> 00:03:48.330 show, but it was highly political and focused 00:03:48.330 --> 00:03:50.750 on class satire, something deeply prevalent in 00:03:50.750 --> 00:03:53.050 British culture at the time. Cleese often pointed 00:03:53.050 --> 00:03:54.909 out that the show helped them understand the 00:03:54.909 --> 00:03:56.770 structure of comedy they wanted to eventually 00:03:56.770 --> 00:03:59.639 destroy, didn't he? That's the key. In the Frost 00:03:59.639 --> 00:04:01.919 Report, every sketch had a clear beginning, middle, 00:04:02.039 --> 00:04:04.360 and a punchline. It taught them the rules of 00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:06.379 establishment comedy. So they learned the language 00:04:06.379 --> 00:04:09.099 of the enemy before launching their attack. Exactly. 00:04:09.099 --> 00:04:10.780 They saw the limitations of that predictable 00:04:10.780 --> 00:04:13.960 format. But they didn't jump directly from Frost 00:04:13.960 --> 00:04:17.740 to Python. We see the group splitting into those 00:04:17.740 --> 00:04:21.660 two main factions for these... midpoint collaborations. 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:23.959 Right. So Chapman and Cleese were working on 00:04:23.959 --> 00:04:27.500 the highly formal but absurd at last the 1948 00:04:27.500 --> 00:04:29.779 show. And then you had the other faction, the 00:04:29.779 --> 00:04:32.279 three who would later drive the more visual and 00:04:32.279 --> 00:04:35.779 surreal side of Python, Idle, Jones and Palin. 00:04:35.860 --> 00:04:37.600 They worked together on a children's program 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:40.639 called Do Not Adjust Your Set. And Gilliam provided 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:43.220 animation for that show. Which was so important 00:04:43.220 --> 00:04:45.889 because being a children's show. It allowed them 00:04:45.889 --> 00:04:48.670 greater freedom to experiment with non sequiturs 00:04:48.670 --> 00:04:50.829 and breaking the rules of narrative precisely 00:04:50.829 --> 00:04:53.250 because the expectation was lower. They were 00:04:53.250 --> 00:04:55.750 honing that distinct brand of British surreal 00:04:55.750 --> 00:04:58.970 satire outside the strictures of primetime adult 00:04:58.970 --> 00:05:02.089 comedy. Now, we arrive at the actual and rather 00:05:02.089 --> 00:05:04.129 chaotic formation of the troupe. It wasn't an 00:05:04.129 --> 00:05:06.290 intentional artistic gathering, was it? It was 00:05:06.290 --> 00:05:09.209 more a result of conflicting television contracts 00:05:09.209 --> 00:05:12.399 and, well, personal management. You are absolutely 00:05:12.399 --> 00:05:14.579 right. The sources depict a chaotic situation 00:05:14.579 --> 00:05:18.399 driven by television deal -making. Thames Television 00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:21.519 offered a late -night show to the Do Not Adjust 00:05:21.519 --> 00:05:26.420 Your Set group. So, Idol, Jones, Palin, and Gilliam. 00:05:26.759 --> 00:05:30.100 And at the same time, the BBC, eager to capitalize 00:05:30.100 --> 00:05:33.040 on this satirical talent pool, offered a show 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:35.639 to the duo of Cleese and Chapman. So they were 00:05:35.639 --> 00:05:37.720 on the verge of becoming two separate comedy 00:05:37.720 --> 00:05:40.579 groups. What was the pivotal shift that forced 00:05:40.579 --> 00:05:43.100 them all together? It hinged entirely on John 00:05:43.100 --> 00:05:45.500 Cleese's deep reluctance to do a two -man show 00:05:45.500 --> 00:05:48.139 with Chapman. Cleese cited Chapman's difficult 00:05:48.139 --> 00:05:50.480 and erratic personality. Which was due partly 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:52.560 to Chapman's struggles with alcoholism at the 00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:54.480 time, right? Yes, and it made their isolated 00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:57.160 working dynamic challenging. Cleese had much 00:05:57.160 --> 00:05:59.199 fonder memories of his collaboration with Palin 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:02.339 on other short -lived projects, like How to Irritate 00:06:02.339 --> 00:06:04.519 People. So Cleese extended the invitation to 00:06:04.519 --> 00:06:07.079 Palin, looking for a reliable collaborator. And 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:09.939 Palin, in turn, acted as the vital conduit. He 00:06:09.939 --> 00:06:12.720 did. Palin invited his writing partner, Terry 00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:15.800 Jones. plus Eric Idle, who then insisted that 00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:18.259 Terry Gilliam be brought in to provide the crucial 00:06:18.259 --> 00:06:21.579 revolutionary animations. So it really was Cleese's 00:06:21.579 --> 00:06:25.019 desire to work with Palin, bypassing Chapman's 00:06:25.019 --> 00:06:27.899 perceived unreliability, coupled with a lot of 00:06:27.899 --> 00:06:30.920 opportune scheduling, that brought all six members 00:06:30.920 --> 00:06:33.399 into the fold. It's amazing how high stakes career 00:06:33.399 --> 00:06:35.639 decisions often boil down to personal chemistry 00:06:35.639 --> 00:06:40.220 and, you know. And the sources pinpoint the specific, 00:06:40.439 --> 00:06:43.699 rather mundane birthplace of this cultural revolution. 00:06:44.060 --> 00:06:46.819 They do. It was a meeting at a Kashmir Tandoori 00:06:46.819 --> 00:06:49.959 restaurant in Hampstead on the 11th of May, 1969. 00:06:50.579 --> 00:06:52.879 That's where the group solidified the concept 00:06:52.879 --> 00:06:54.860 and hammered out the terms of their collaboration 00:06:54.860 --> 00:06:57.819 with the BBC. And then came the hard part. naming 00:06:57.819 --> 00:06:59.939 the show they were unified in wanting a completely 00:06:59.939 --> 00:07:02.699 nonsensical title feeling it would be inherently 00:07:02.699 --> 00:07:05.120 funnier if the title had absolutely nothing to 00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:07.259 do with the content it was a sort of anti -marketing 00:07:07.259 --> 00:07:09.699 stance oh the list of rejected names is a comedy 00:07:09.699 --> 00:07:12.199 sketch in itself they truly sought titles that 00:07:12.199 --> 00:07:14.709 were absurdly academic or utterly meaningless, 00:07:14.910 --> 00:07:17.350 like owl stretching time. And the toad elevating 00:07:17.350 --> 00:07:20.209 moment. I also saw a horse, a spoon, and a basin 00:07:20.209 --> 00:07:22.589 and bun, whack it, buzzard, stubble, and boot. 00:07:22.829 --> 00:07:24.790 It's just brilliant. The one that actually stuck 00:07:24.790 --> 00:07:27.629 flying circus only did so, quite hilariously, 00:07:27.769 --> 00:07:29.930 because the BBC had already printed the name 00:07:29.930 --> 00:07:32.389 in their schedules. And in classic bureaucratic 00:07:32.389 --> 00:07:34.689 fashion, they just refused to amend the broadcast 00:07:34.689 --> 00:07:36.889 listings. They were semi -forced into that part 00:07:36.889 --> 00:07:40.709 of the name due to BBC inertia. But the Monty 00:07:40.709 --> 00:07:43.050 Python part was deliberate, and it's a brilliant 00:07:43.050 --> 00:07:46.550 window into their slightly sleazy sensibility. 00:07:46.829 --> 00:07:49.430 So what's the full story behind Monty, then? 00:07:49.689 --> 00:07:52.790 Eric Idle is consistently credited with the idea 00:07:52.790 --> 00:07:55.589 for Monty. There are two conflicting accounts 00:07:55.589 --> 00:07:58.149 from the team, both of which Idle seemed happy 00:07:58.149 --> 00:08:00.689 to encourage. Okay. One version suggests it was 00:08:00.689 --> 00:08:03.350 a gently mocking tribute to Field Marshal Lord 00:08:03.350 --> 00:08:06.980 Montgomery. The famously rotund and bombastic 00:08:06.980 --> 00:08:09.899 British general during WWII. And the other. The 00:08:09.899 --> 00:08:12.259 other, perhaps more Python -esque, suggests it 00:08:12.259 --> 00:08:14.639 was the name of a popular rotund fellow at Idol's 00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:17.720 local pub. A character whose name sounded comically 00:08:17.720 --> 00:08:20.500 pompous, but was actually quite ordinary. Either 00:08:20.500 --> 00:08:22.959 way, the final name, Monty Python, was ultimately 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:26.019 chosen because the team envisaged it as the perfect 00:08:26.019 --> 00:08:28.819 name for a sleazy entertainment agent. It's that 00:08:28.819 --> 00:08:32.019 blend of the high and the low. A perfect encapsulation 00:08:32.019 --> 00:08:35.019 of their methodology. They started as a group 00:08:35.019 --> 00:08:38.399 of highly educated Oxbridge grads trying to invent 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:41.320 a new kind of surreal humor. And they named themselves 00:08:41.320 --> 00:08:44.379 after a hypothetical sleazy entertainment agent. 00:08:44.659 --> 00:08:47.120 They were challenging the establishment, even 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:49.159 with their own branding. With the name settled, 00:08:49.320 --> 00:08:52.320 we jump straight into Monty Python's Flying Circus, 00:08:52.440 --> 00:08:56.720 which ran from 1969 to 1974. The show instantly 00:08:56.720 --> 00:08:58.779 became a landmark in the evolution of television. 00:08:59.039 --> 00:09:01.179 It didn't just bend the existing rules of sketch 00:09:01.179 --> 00:09:04.929 comedy. It actively sought to... well vaporize 00:09:04.929 --> 00:09:07.529 them entirely the show was defined by its loosely 00:09:07.529 --> 00:09:10.230 structured stream of consciousness approach but 00:09:10.230 --> 00:09:12.450 the single most revolutionary element the one 00:09:12.450 --> 00:09:15.009 that broke the entire mold was their anti -punchline 00:09:15.009 --> 00:09:17.629 philosophy this is such a critical game -changing 00:09:17.629 --> 00:09:20.379 concept They perceived a weakness in comedy where 00:09:20.379 --> 00:09:23.059 a strong, funny sketch was often completely ruined 00:09:23.059 --> 00:09:25.899 or killed by a weak or predictable ending. Forcing 00:09:25.899 --> 00:09:27.879 a kind of narrative closure that wasn't deserved. 00:09:28.259 --> 00:09:31.179 So their solution was to just discard the traditional 00:09:31.179 --> 00:09:33.559 ending altogether. They would simply cut abruptly 00:09:33.559 --> 00:09:35.980 to an unrelated scene, or a character would walk 00:09:35.980 --> 00:09:39.049 off stage, break the fourth wall. Or introduce 00:09:39.049 --> 00:09:41.490 a completely irrelevant event, usually through 00:09:41.490 --> 00:09:43.990 Terry Gilliam's animation. Right. John Cleese 00:09:43.990 --> 00:09:46.509 famously captured this intellectual argument 00:09:46.509 --> 00:09:49.350 in an early episode, turning to Eric Idle mid 00:09:49.350 --> 00:09:51.990 -chaos and remarking, this is the silliest sketch 00:09:51.990 --> 00:09:53.889 I've ever been in. And then they just walked 00:09:53.889 --> 00:09:56.539 off the set. That moment isn't just a joke. It's 00:09:56.539 --> 00:09:58.919 an intellectual critique of comedy structure 00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:02.100 delivered as a joke. But was this level of anarchy 00:10:02.100 --> 00:10:05.480 entirely new in British TV? The sources cite 00:10:05.480 --> 00:10:08.259 a major immediate influence that pushed Python 00:10:08.259 --> 00:10:10.860 to be even more innovative. They were undoubtedly 00:10:10.860 --> 00:10:13.480 spurred on by Spike Milligan's concurrent BBC 00:10:13.480 --> 00:10:17.740 series Q, which also premiered in 1969. Milligan's 00:10:17.740 --> 00:10:19.740 show was already deeply irreverent and highly 00:10:19.740 --> 00:10:22.159 anarchic. He would sometimes just give up on 00:10:22.159 --> 00:10:24.100 sketches or appear to lose interest. So Python 00:10:24.100 --> 00:10:26.159 wasn't the first to be anarchic, but they kind 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:29.139 of professionalized the chaos. Exactly. Terry 00:10:29.139 --> 00:10:31.700 Jones in particular was vocal about this competition, 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:34.340 stating that Python had to innovate and be even 00:10:34.340 --> 00:10:36.580 more groundbreaking than Milligan, refining the 00:10:36.580 --> 00:10:39.750 chaos into an actual style. They institutionalized 00:10:39.750 --> 00:10:42.289 the anarchy. Beyond just abandoning the punchline, 00:10:42.429 --> 00:10:45.370 they popularized formal techniques that TV now 00:10:45.370 --> 00:10:48.710 takes for granted. The cold open, now ubiquitous 00:10:48.710 --> 00:10:51.490 in prestige, drama, and comedy, was a Python 00:10:51.490 --> 00:10:54.629 staple. Their iconic cold open featured Michael 00:10:54.629 --> 00:10:57.610 Palin, often decked out in Robinson Crusoe gear, 00:10:57.750 --> 00:11:00.889 making a difficult, lengthy journey just to approach 00:11:00.889 --> 00:11:04.929 the camera and declare, It's sick. Only to be 00:11:04.929 --> 00:11:07.049 immediately cut off by the title sequence. They 00:11:07.049 --> 00:11:08.970 sometimes even ran the closing credits halfway 00:11:08.970 --> 00:11:11.450 through the show, didn't they? They did. Followed 00:11:11.450 --> 00:11:14.389 by Cleese parodying a clipped BBC announcer over 00:11:14.389 --> 00:11:17.009 the familiar Globe logo, tricking the viewers 00:11:17.009 --> 00:11:19.830 into thinking the episode was over. This intentional 00:11:19.830 --> 00:11:22.330 subversiveness made the audience realize they 00:11:22.330 --> 00:11:23.990 could never trust the structure of the show. 00:11:24.129 --> 00:11:26.730 And the sources are clear. This anti -authoritarianism 00:11:26.730 --> 00:11:29.509 wasn't just stylistic, it was thematic. Cleese 00:11:29.509 --> 00:11:32.690 stated, Anti -authoritarianism was deeply ingrained 00:11:32.690 --> 00:11:35.330 in Python. Their targets were almost always institutions, 00:11:35.809 --> 00:11:38.710 middle -class norms, bureaucracy, pomposity, 00:11:38.850 --> 00:11:41.009 and the restrictive nature of the media itself. 00:11:41.470 --> 00:11:43.929 By constantly undermining the medium they were 00:11:43.929 --> 00:11:46.470 working in, they were delivering a meta -critique 00:11:46.470 --> 00:11:49.039 of the establishment. The genius of Python wasn't 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:51.799 just the writing. Since they deliberately fragmented 00:11:51.799 --> 00:11:54.480 the narrative flow, they desperately needed a 00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:58.159 mechanism to connect those disparate ideas. That's 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:01.379 where Terry Gilliam's surreal stop -motion animation 00:12:01.379 --> 00:12:04.820 becomes the absolutely essential glue. The stream 00:12:04.820 --> 00:12:07.120 of consciousness style was primarily driven by 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:09.919 the Jones, Palin, and Gilliam faction, who relied 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:12.419 on the animation to move seamlessly between unrelated 00:12:12.419 --> 00:12:15.159 concepts. Gilliam's style was so distinctive. 00:12:15.690 --> 00:12:18.149 Stop -motion collage created using scissors, 00:12:18.429 --> 00:12:21.029 an airbrush, and images lifted directly from 00:12:21.029 --> 00:12:23.870 famous art and Victorian engravings. Juxtaposing 00:12:23.870 --> 00:12:27.190 highbrow historical visuals with absurd modern 00:12:27.190 --> 00:12:29.789 concepts. And the visual trademark that every 00:12:29.789 --> 00:12:31.970 single person associates with the show's opening 00:12:31.970 --> 00:12:35.730 credits, that giant crushing foot, is actually 00:12:35.730 --> 00:12:38.350 a piece of art history itself, which is a perfect 00:12:38.350 --> 00:12:40.610 metaphor for their whole approach. It's the foot 00:12:40.610 --> 00:12:42.980 of Cupid. Specifically cut from a reproduction 00:12:42.980 --> 00:12:45.659 of the Renaissance masterpiece, Venus, Cupid, 00:12:45.759 --> 00:12:48.299 Folly, and Time by Bronzino. By taking a piece 00:12:48.299 --> 00:12:50.580 of classical revered art and turning it into 00:12:50.580 --> 00:12:53.379 a cartoonish destructive force, Gilliam visually 00:12:53.379 --> 00:12:56.100 articulated their intent to satirize and crush 00:12:56.100 --> 00:12:59.820 artistic pomposity. Absolutely. And if they didn't 00:12:59.820 --> 00:13:02.659 cut away or use animation, the pythons had other 00:13:02.659 --> 00:13:05.740 highly specific recurring methods of stopping 00:13:05.740 --> 00:13:08.559 a sketch dead in its tracks. Like the anti -silliness 00:13:08.559 --> 00:13:11.620 character. Right. Graham Chapman, utilizing his 00:13:11.620 --> 00:13:14.539 freight man persona, played the colonel, who 00:13:14.539 --> 00:13:17.059 would march into a sketch, usually while it was 00:13:17.059 --> 00:13:19.600 devolving into complete chaos, and order it to 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:21.519 be stopped because things were becoming far too 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:24.299 silly. Or they'd use a physical cartoonish interruption. 00:13:24.600 --> 00:13:27.769 Exactly. A knight in full armor. often played 00:13:27.769 --> 00:13:30.070 by Gilliam himself, would wander onto the set 00:13:30.070 --> 00:13:32.250 and simply hit characters over the head with 00:13:32.250 --> 00:13:34.629 a rubber chicken, thereby concluding the argument 00:13:34.629 --> 00:13:37.529 and the sketch simultaneously. But the most quoted 00:13:37.529 --> 00:13:39.909 non -sketch line, the transition that became 00:13:39.909 --> 00:13:42.750 iconic, was that famous clipped phrase uttered 00:13:42.750 --> 00:13:45.330 by John Cleese, and now for something completely 00:13:45.330 --> 00:13:47.509 different. It became the title of their first 00:13:47.509 --> 00:13:50.370 film, cementing its status as an iconic part 00:13:50.370 --> 00:13:52.980 of their style. It was the verbal equivalent 00:13:52.980 --> 00:13:56.139 of Gilliam's smashing foot, a polite way of signaling 00:13:56.139 --> 00:13:58.860 utter deliberate disruption. Let's talk about 00:13:58.860 --> 00:14:01.720 the theme music, John Philip Sousa's The Liberty 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:04.799 Bell. I always assumed they chose it because 00:14:04.799 --> 00:14:06.980 it sounded suitably bombastic and ridiculous, 00:14:07.399 --> 00:14:10.059 but there's a great surprising financial footnote 00:14:10.059 --> 00:14:12.639 here. There is. The bombast was part of the joke, 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:15.620 yes. But Gilliam... Having been published, the 00:14:15.620 --> 00:14:18.179 United States was aware of U .S. copyright laws. 00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:20.759 He chose the Liberty Bell specifically because 00:14:20.759 --> 00:14:24.179 having been published prior to 1924, it was in 00:14:24.179 --> 00:14:26.519 the public domain under U .S. copyright law. 00:14:26.659 --> 00:14:29.000 So no royalties. No royalties required for its 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:31.960 use. which was a huge factor for a low -budget, 00:14:31.980 --> 00:14:35.200 highly experimental BBC show. It was a major 00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:37.899 financial win hidden beneath a silly Marshall 00:14:37.899 --> 00:14:40.960 tune, a true Python -esque solution. Moving on 00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:43.080 to the actual meat of the comedy, the iconic 00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:45.659 sketches that define them, we have Dead Parrot, 00:14:45.779 --> 00:14:48.279 a masterpiece of verbal aggression satirizing 00:14:48.279 --> 00:14:50.580 the utter absurdity of poor customer service. 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:52.580 And of course, the Ministry of Silly Walks, an 00:14:52.580 --> 00:14:55.000 absurd, brilliant take on bureaucratic inefficiency. 00:14:55.580 --> 00:14:57.519 Cleese's character, demanding money to invent 00:14:57.519 --> 00:14:59.950 increasingly ridiculous walks, is a direct assault 00:14:59.950 --> 00:15:02.289 on the perceived wastefulness of government departments. 00:15:02.669 --> 00:15:05.990 And spam. The sketch itself is simple. A couple 00:15:05.990 --> 00:15:08.490 tries to order breakfast, only to find that every 00:15:08.490 --> 00:15:11.789 single menu item includes spam. It was a brilliant 00:15:11.789 --> 00:15:14.950 satire on the ubiquity of canned meat post -World 00:15:14.950 --> 00:15:17.789 War II Britain. We'll definitely discuss the 00:15:17.789 --> 00:15:19.909 incredible linguistic legacy of that specific 00:15:19.909 --> 00:15:22.710 sketch later. You also had four Yorkshiremen, 00:15:22.830 --> 00:15:24.769 which parodied those nostalgic conversations 00:15:24.769 --> 00:15:27.889 about humble beginnings, smitting them into competitive 00:15:27.889 --> 00:15:30.990 tales of hardship that grew exponentially absurd. 00:15:31.370 --> 00:15:34.470 A surprising, enduring visual component of Python's 00:15:34.470 --> 00:15:37.029 humor comes from the simple act of cross -dressing. 00:15:37.389 --> 00:15:40.269 They maintained a long British tradition of men 00:15:40.269 --> 00:15:42.909 playing female roles themselves. Speaking in 00:15:42.909 --> 00:15:45.769 falsetto or just donning a dress and a hat. This 00:15:45.769 --> 00:15:48.049 was a key part of their visual style. Terry Jones 00:15:48.049 --> 00:15:50.970 was the undisputed specialist here, often playing 00:15:50.970 --> 00:15:53.389 the working -class housewife, or what the BBC 00:15:53.389 --> 00:15:56.539 themselves termed the ratbag old women. Palin 00:15:56.539 --> 00:15:59.440 and Idol would often play the more posh or middle 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:01.539 -class women, providing a different class flavor. 00:16:01.700 --> 00:16:03.879 Was there a specific reason they preferred to 00:16:03.879 --> 00:16:06.159 play the female roles themselves? They felt they 00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:08.740 were better at being funny in those parts than 00:16:08.740 --> 00:16:11.259 the available actresses at the time, particularly 00:16:11.259 --> 00:16:13.740 because they didn't require the women to be traditionally 00:16:13.740 --> 00:16:16.500 attractive, allowing them to focus entirely on 00:16:16.500 --> 00:16:18.519 the absurdity of the character. But when the 00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:20.980 role absolutely required the character to be 00:16:20.980 --> 00:16:23.159 conventionally attractive, they would turn to 00:16:23.159 --> 00:16:26.019 a professional actress. Which brings us to Carol 00:16:26.019 --> 00:16:29.220 Cleveland, the essential collaborator often described 00:16:29.220 --> 00:16:33.059 as the unofficial seventh member. of the troupe. 00:16:33.080 --> 00:16:35.559 She was the most important female performer in 00:16:35.559 --> 00:16:37.919 the ensemble, appearing in about two thirds of 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:40.179 the episodes in all the films. She was initially 00:16:40.179 --> 00:16:43.279 hired for just five episodes, but the Pythons 00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:45.919 lobbied for her permanent inclusion after they 00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:47.840 found that other actresses brought in by the 00:16:47.840 --> 00:16:50.580 director were struggling to grasp their specific 00:16:50.580 --> 00:16:54.039 rapid and surreal timing. Python's global success 00:16:54.039 --> 00:16:56.620 wasn't instantaneous outside the UK, but it certainly 00:16:56.620 --> 00:16:59.679 began early. They broke into North America via 00:16:59.679 --> 00:17:02.299 the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the CBC, 00:17:02.539 --> 00:17:06.559 in 1970. And the Canadian reaction was immediate 00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:09.900 and passionate. When the CBC temporarily dropped 00:17:09.900 --> 00:17:12.980 the show in 1971, they received hundreds of calls 00:17:12.980 --> 00:17:15.920 complaining, and over 100 people actually staged 00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:18.960 a protest at the CBC's Montreal studios. Wow. 00:17:19.420 --> 00:17:21.940 The American breakthrough was considerably slower, 00:17:22.039 --> 00:17:24.700 though. Their first feature film, and now for 00:17:24.700 --> 00:17:26.559 something completely different. Didn't do that 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:29.240 well initially. No, the real catalyst was public 00:17:29.240 --> 00:17:32.500 television, specifically Ron DeVillier, the programming 00:17:32.500 --> 00:17:35.339 director for Kira in Dallas, Texas. He began 00:17:35.339 --> 00:17:38.460 airing the episodes in the summer of 1974. And 00:17:38.460 --> 00:17:40.900 the response was immediate and surprising for 00:17:40.900 --> 00:17:44.119 a highbrow, surreal British import. The ratings 00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:46.859 shot through the roof in Dallas. This success 00:17:46.859 --> 00:17:49.000 prompted other PDS affiliates to pick up the 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:51.319 show, which led to the creation of the famed 00:17:51.319 --> 00:17:53.559 British Comedy Night that became a staple of 00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:56.029 PBS stations across the country. This unexpected 00:17:56.029 --> 00:17:58.869 U .S. success, however, led to a famous and crucial 00:17:58.869 --> 00:18:01.210 legal battle that set a landmark precedent for 00:18:01.210 --> 00:18:03.410 artists' rights, which we have to explore. This 00:18:03.410 --> 00:18:06.869 is the critical case of Gilliam v. American Broadcasting 00:18:06.869 --> 00:18:10.930 Company's Inc. ABC, recognizing the show's popularity, 00:18:11.250 --> 00:18:14.609 broadcast two 90 -minute specials of Python material, 00:18:14.829 --> 00:18:17.410 but they heavily edited the content. They cut 00:18:17.410 --> 00:18:20.230 a total of 24 minutes, right? Partly for commercials, 00:18:20.410 --> 00:18:22.450 but also to remove what they called scatological 00:18:22.450 --> 00:18:25.410 references. Exactly. They were essentially destroying 00:18:25.410 --> 00:18:28.430 the flow and artistic integrity of the work to 00:18:28.430 --> 00:18:31.210 fit commercial sensibilities. The Pythons, led 00:18:31.210 --> 00:18:34.089 by Terry Gilliam, sued. And the core argument 00:18:34.089 --> 00:18:36.650 was that the edits fundamentally distorted their 00:18:36.650 --> 00:18:38.670 artistic vision and damaged their reputation. 00:18:39.029 --> 00:18:41.430 And they won. The U .S. Court of Appeals for 00:18:41.430 --> 00:18:44.130 the Second Circuit ruled in Python's favor. It 00:18:44.130 --> 00:18:46.309 was a huge defining moment for creative control. 00:18:46.529 --> 00:18:48.910 It established that artists could legally defend 00:18:48.910 --> 00:18:51.470 their work against mutilation. It was a statement. 00:18:51.650 --> 00:18:54.509 Python was not just content, it was art. They 00:18:54.509 --> 00:18:56.769 won the right to preserve their intentional anarchy. 00:18:56.950 --> 00:18:59.809 After that, their global reach just expanded. 00:19:00.509 --> 00:19:03.910 In 1976, Python was the top -rated show in Japan. 00:19:04.529 --> 00:19:07.210 And in a charming modern tribute, the town of 00:19:07.210 --> 00:19:09.769 Spikenis in the Netherlands opened a silly walks 00:19:09.769 --> 00:19:14.009 road crossing in 2018. The absurdity they championed 00:19:14.009 --> 00:19:16.490 has literally been written into the civic landscape. 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:19.059 So we've established the style, but the real 00:19:19.059 --> 00:19:21.440 magic and the inevitable friction lay in the 00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:23.960 synergy between the six members. Let's talk about 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:26.099 how they worked and what ultimately fractured 00:19:26.099 --> 00:19:28.359 the Flying Circus itself. The structure of their 00:19:28.359 --> 00:19:30.759 collaboration was based on three distinct writing 00:19:30.759 --> 00:19:33.259 factions, and the tension between them provided 00:19:33.259 --> 00:19:36.359 a wide dynamic range of comedic styles. Let's 00:19:36.359 --> 00:19:38.519 break down the three units. First, you had the 00:19:38.519 --> 00:19:41.099 pair of Cleese and Chapman. They typically worked 00:19:41.099 --> 00:19:43.180 in isolation. Their humor was highly verbal, 00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:46.299 often aggressive, and centered on confrontations. 00:19:46.799 --> 00:19:49.700 the perpetually frustrated bureaucrat, the customer 00:19:49.700 --> 00:19:52.119 service nightmare. It was all about the precision 00:19:52.119 --> 00:19:54.220 of the dialogue. Then you had the face -to -face 00:19:54.220 --> 00:19:56.720 team of Jones and Palin. Their sessions were 00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:59.019 highly collaborative, characterized by laughter 00:19:59.019 --> 00:20:02.720 and a strong focus on shared ideas. Their work 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:05.980 tended to be more visual, more fanciful, often 00:20:05.980 --> 00:20:09.299 involving historical satire. And finally, Eric 00:20:09.299 --> 00:20:12.259 Idle, the third faction, who famously wrote entirely 00:20:12.259 --> 00:20:16.029 solo. Idle was the master of wordplay, the self 00:20:16.029 --> 00:20:18.769 -described, ludicrously over -literate writer 00:20:18.769 --> 00:20:21.750 whose work leaned into long -form monologues, 00:20:21.750 --> 00:20:26.009 parodies, and crucially, musical numbers. Gilliam, 00:20:26.009 --> 00:20:28.390 as the animator, acted as the vital, unifying 00:20:28.390 --> 00:20:30.890 bridge connecting these three disparate universes. 00:20:31.230 --> 00:20:33.569 Despite this successful collaboration, the television 00:20:33.569 --> 00:20:36.470 series couldn't last forever. John Cleese made 00:20:36.470 --> 00:20:38.630 the pivotal decision to depart after Series 3 00:20:38.630 --> 00:20:42.170 in 1974. Why did he step away? He felt creatively 00:20:42.170 --> 00:20:44.849 drained, a sense of diminishing returns. He was 00:20:44.849 --> 00:20:46.829 very open later about this, claiming that only 00:20:46.829 --> 00:20:48.829 two sketches written by him and Chapman in that 00:20:48.829 --> 00:20:51.170 third series, Dennis Moore and The Tree Shop, 00:20:51.390 --> 00:20:53.529 were genuinely original. So it was a principled 00:20:53.529 --> 00:20:55.710 departure rooted in a desire not to compromise 00:20:55.710 --> 00:20:58.690 their innovation. Absolutely. He sought a more 00:20:58.690 --> 00:21:00.890 disciplined form of comedy, which he would later 00:21:00.890 --> 00:21:03.529 find in Fawlty Towers. He also cited the strain 00:21:03.529 --> 00:21:06.250 of working with Chapman, who was struggling significantly 00:21:06.250 --> 00:21:09.059 with alcohol dependence at the time. The remaining 00:21:09.059 --> 00:21:12.400 five members decided to push on for one final, 00:21:12.500 --> 00:21:15.200 shorter season, a six -episode half -season. 00:21:15.619 --> 00:21:18.680 How did they manage without Cleese? They shifted 00:21:18.680 --> 00:21:21.779 their dynamic, giving Jones, Palin, and Idol 00:21:21.779 --> 00:21:24.980 more space. While Cleese was gone as a performer, 00:21:25.259 --> 00:21:27.599 he was actually credited as a writer for three 00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:29.900 of those six episodes, which is often forgotten. 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:32.339 Let's talk about Graham Chapman. He's perhaps 00:21:32.339 --> 00:21:34.500 the most complex figure in the group. He often 00:21:34.500 --> 00:21:36.400 anchored the most surreal sketches by playing 00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:38.720 the absolute straight man. And he had a fascinating 00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:40.460 background, having originally been a medical 00:21:40.460 --> 00:21:42.500 student at Cambridge and was legally entitled 00:21:42.500 --> 00:21:45.180 to practice as a doctor. In the films, he took 00:21:45.180 --> 00:21:47.619 the absolute lead roles. He did. He was King 00:21:47.619 --> 00:21:50.440 Arthur in Holy Grail and the titular Brian Cohen 00:21:50.440 --> 00:21:54.119 in Life of Brian. He possessed a unique stillness 00:21:54.119 --> 00:21:56.799 that made the absurd dialogue around him land 00:21:56.799 --> 00:21:59.339 harder. Cleese considered him his most essential 00:21:59.339 --> 00:22:01.599 writing partner, despite their difficulties. 00:22:02.099 --> 00:22:04.779 Cleese often described Chapman as his greatest 00:22:04.779 --> 00:22:07.740 sounding board. Cleese said, if Graham thought 00:22:07.740 --> 00:22:09.799 something was funny, then it almost certainly 00:22:09.799 --> 00:22:12.440 was funny. You cannot believe how invaluable 00:22:12.440 --> 00:22:15.400 that is. Sadly, Chapman's life was cut short 00:22:15.400 --> 00:22:19.059 by metastatic throat cancer in 1989. The ensuing 00:22:19.059 --> 00:22:21.140 memorial service, however, remains one of the 00:22:21.140 --> 00:22:23.839 most famous, darkly irreverent moments in the 00:22:23.839 --> 00:22:26.369 group's history. John Cleese delivered the eulogy. 00:22:26.529 --> 00:22:29.130 He began by famously claiming he was the first 00:22:29.130 --> 00:22:32.130 person in history to say the forbidden word at 00:22:32.130 --> 00:22:34.769 a British memorial service. And then he delivered 00:22:34.769 --> 00:22:38.130 an utterly irreverent yet profound tribute. He 00:22:38.130 --> 00:22:40.470 used the opportunity to recycle every single 00:22:40.470 --> 00:22:42.450 euphemism for being dead from the dead parrot 00:22:42.450 --> 00:22:44.730 sketch, right? Yes. He declared Chapman was no 00:22:44.730 --> 00:22:47.289 more, that he had ceased to be, that he had expired 00:22:47.289 --> 00:22:49.869 and gone to meet his maker. It was a fittingly 00:22:49.869 --> 00:22:52.359 absurdist tribute to his partner. John Cleese 00:22:52.359 --> 00:22:54.819 is known for his signature style of highly verbal, 00:22:55.019 --> 00:22:57.819 often abusive and intimidating humor. But his 00:22:57.819 --> 00:23:00.480 career truly dominated British comedy beyond 00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:04.319 Python. Absolutely. His BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers, 00:23:04.539 --> 00:23:06.700 which he co -wrote with his then wife Connie 00:23:06.700 --> 00:23:10.119 Booth, is a landmark achievement. It is the only 00:23:10.119 --> 00:23:12.700 comedy series to ever rank higher than Monty 00:23:12.700 --> 00:23:16.400 Python's Flying Circus on the BFI TV 100 list, 00:23:16.619 --> 00:23:19.680 topping the entire poll. That show took Cleese's 00:23:19.680 --> 00:23:22.490 Python persona. the man perpetually on the verge 00:23:22.490 --> 00:23:24.869 of a nervous breakdown, and gave him a sustained 00:23:24.869 --> 00:23:28.130 environment to explore that rage. It was Python's 00:23:28.130 --> 00:23:30.910 high -pressure, formal confrontation humor, but 00:23:30.910 --> 00:23:33.670 contained and sharpened. His solo film success 00:23:33.670 --> 00:23:36.089 cemented his status as a mainstream writer and 00:23:36.089 --> 00:23:38.609 comedic actor. He wrote the screenplay for A 00:23:38.609 --> 00:23:41.079 Fish Called Wanda. starring alongside Michael 00:23:41.079 --> 00:23:43.420 Palin, earning an Oscar nomination. Terry Jones 00:23:43.420 --> 00:23:46.000 was often characterized as the heart of Python. 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:48.400 Why that specific description? He was crucial 00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:50.319 for maintaining unity and creative independence. 00:23:50.700 --> 00:23:52.920 Where Cleese pushed for tighter verbal structure, 00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:55.839 Jones, often working with Palin, pushed for greater 00:23:55.839 --> 00:23:58.279 visual anarchy and fantasy. The friction between 00:23:58.279 --> 00:24:00.259 their two styles was essential. And his most 00:24:00.259 --> 00:24:02.359 significant contributions were arguably behind 00:24:02.359 --> 00:24:05.180 the camera, driving the feature films. Precisely. 00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:08.599 Jones solely directed Life of Brian and The Meaning 00:24:08.599 --> 00:24:10.940 of Life, having co -directed Holy Grail with 00:24:10.940 --> 00:24:13.400 Gilliam. Jones was the one most insistent on 00:24:13.400 --> 00:24:15.740 giving the films a narrative flow. And yet, despite 00:24:15.740 --> 00:24:18.480 his directorial prowess, his most famous moment 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:21.119 is often cited as a performance role. Indeed. 00:24:21.420 --> 00:24:23.980 He delivered arguably the most famous single 00:24:23.980 --> 00:24:27.420 line in all of Python history in his iconic cross 00:24:27.420 --> 00:24:30.480 -dressing role as Brian's mother, Mandy, in Life 00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:33.220 of Brian. He's not the Messiah. He's a very naughty 00:24:33.220 --> 00:24:36.269 boy. Terry Gilliam is the unique American member 00:24:36.269 --> 00:24:38.670 of the troupe who actually renounced his U .S. 00:24:38.710 --> 00:24:42.029 citizenship in 2006. He started as an animator 00:24:42.029 --> 00:24:44.690 and strip cartoonist, crucial for bridging the 00:24:44.690 --> 00:24:46.950 disparate sketches and provided the iconic visuals. 00:24:47.170 --> 00:24:49.690 He was the visual director, the one who translated 00:24:49.690 --> 00:24:51.869 the linguistic chaos into something audiences 00:24:51.869 --> 00:24:54.410 could actually see flowing from one absurd idea 00:24:54.410 --> 00:24:56.829 to the next. He co -directed Holy Grail with 00:24:56.829 --> 00:24:59.329 Jones, but that co -directing role didn't last 00:24:59.329 --> 00:25:01.069 into the later features. Why the separation? 00:25:01.430 --> 00:25:03.519 Gilliam and Jones had different... directorial 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:06.660 philosophies. Gilliam had a penchant for elaborate 00:25:06.660 --> 00:25:09.579 set pieces and visual ambition, whereas Jones 00:25:09.579 --> 00:25:11.819 preferred a faster pace focused on character 00:25:11.819 --> 00:25:14.720 dialogue. For the later films, Jones insisted 00:25:14.720 --> 00:25:17.039 on solo directing. But Gilliam's solo career 00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:19.099 as a live -action director turned him into a 00:25:19.099 --> 00:25:21.660 visual auteur in his own right. Films like Brazil, 00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:24.819 which is a monumental vision of dystopia and 00:25:24.819 --> 00:25:27.480 featured Michael Palin, and Time Bandits, which 00:25:27.480 --> 00:25:29.700 Gilliam co -wrote with Palin, established him 00:25:29.700 --> 00:25:31.809 internationally. He has a prolific career that 00:25:31.809 --> 00:25:34.309 grew directly out of his Python visual sensibility. 00:25:34.529 --> 00:25:37.069 Eric Idle was the third faction, working solo 00:25:37.069 --> 00:25:39.910 and specializing in elaborate wordplay and, critically, 00:25:40.190 --> 00:25:42.630 his musical numbers. He wrote classics like The 00:25:42.630 --> 00:25:45.210 Galaxy Song and Always Look on the Bright Side 00:25:45.210 --> 00:25:48.250 of Life. Idle's work, much like Gilliam's, served 00:25:48.250 --> 00:25:50.690 as a crucial change of pace, moving the show 00:25:50.690 --> 00:25:52.930 into territory the other writers rarely trod. 00:25:53.390 --> 00:25:55.410 He was the one who could stop the sketch and 00:25:55.410 --> 00:25:58.170 start a fully orchestrated, witty song. Idol 00:25:58.170 --> 00:26:00.990 utilized this musical inclination later in life, 00:26:01.130 --> 00:26:03.509 resulting in a phenomenal success that makes 00:26:03.509 --> 00:26:05.910 him, according to all financial metrics, the 00:26:05.910 --> 00:26:08.470 most financially successful of the entire troupe. 00:26:08.569 --> 00:26:11.849 That success is the Tony Award -winning musical 00:26:11.849 --> 00:26:15.089 Spamalot, based on Holy Grail. It has been an 00:26:15.089 --> 00:26:18.190 enormous, decade -spanning hit. Its financial 00:26:18.190 --> 00:26:20.829 success far outstripped the earnings of the original 00:26:20.829 --> 00:26:23.509 films. He followed that up with Not the Messiah, 00:26:23.869 --> 00:26:26.859 an oratorio based on Life of Brian. The sources 00:26:26.859 --> 00:26:28.980 confirmed that Idol's ability to take the Python 00:26:28.980 --> 00:26:31.420 ethos and translate it successfully into a mainstream 00:26:31.420 --> 00:26:34.160 theatrical format has generated revenue that 00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:36.279 sustains the rest of the members to this day. 00:26:36.460 --> 00:26:39.059 While the six men were the core, the seventh 00:26:39.059 --> 00:26:41.119 Python title has been thrown around for years, 00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:43.480 but two names stand out with the most meaningful 00:26:43.480 --> 00:26:45.960 contributions. Those are Neil Innes and Carol 00:26:45.960 --> 00:26:48.319 Cleveland. Let's start with Neil Innes, who was 00:26:48.319 --> 00:26:50.720 both a writer and a musician within their orbit. 00:26:51.049 --> 00:26:53.329 Innes is the only non -Python besides Douglas 00:26:53.329 --> 00:26:55.690 Adams credited with writing material for Flying 00:26:55.690 --> 00:26:58.349 Circus. He appeared in several films and sketches, 00:26:58.569 --> 00:27:01.390 and crucially, he wrote all the music for Idol's 00:27:01.390 --> 00:27:04.170 seminal Beatles parody mockumentary, The Ruttles. 00:27:04.390 --> 00:27:06.630 He was the essential musical voice supporting 00:27:06.630 --> 00:27:09.589 Idol. And then there is Carol Cleveland, the 00:27:09.589 --> 00:27:13.559 Python girl. She was indispensable for two -thirds 00:27:13.559 --> 00:27:15.859 of the episodes in all the films. She was the 00:27:15.859 --> 00:27:18.039 most important female performer, playing roles 00:27:18.039 --> 00:27:20.079 that ranged from the beautiful maiden to the 00:27:20.079 --> 00:27:23.200 straight foil in sketches. She was vital because 00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:25.259 she was a professional actress who understood 00:27:25.259 --> 00:27:28.240 how to be the anchor. And we must mention the 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:30.539 brief but notable contribution of the future 00:27:30.539 --> 00:27:33.839 science fiction titan. Douglas Adams. Adams earned 00:27:33.839 --> 00:27:36.880 one writing credit in the final five member series 00:27:36.880 --> 00:27:40.099 for a sketch called Patient Abuse, which satirized 00:27:40.099 --> 00:27:42.880 mind boggling bureaucracy. He got the job during 00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:45.500 Cleese's absence from the final season, forming 00:27:45.500 --> 00:27:47.480 a short lived writing partnership with Chapman. 00:27:47.720 --> 00:27:50.619 The satire bureaucratic indifference was strong 00:27:50.619 --> 00:27:52.700 enough to slot seamlessly into their established 00:27:52.700 --> 00:27:55.599 style. The feature films proved that their surreal 00:27:55.599 --> 00:27:57.700 style could translate effectively to the big 00:27:57.700 --> 00:28:00.380 screen, allowing them to move beyond simply reshot 00:28:00.380 --> 00:28:04.630 sketches and into grand -scale satire. and now 00:28:04.630 --> 00:28:07.549 for something completely different in 1971, was 00:28:07.549 --> 00:28:10.549 simply reshot sketches. It failed initially at 00:28:10.549 --> 00:28:13.049 the box office, though it later found cult success. 00:28:13.470 --> 00:28:15.970 The Pythons themselves didn't consider it a true 00:28:15.970 --> 00:28:18.869 artistic success. Their first true narrative 00:28:18.869 --> 00:28:21.670 feature was Monty Python and the Holy Grail in 00:28:21.670 --> 00:28:25.470 1975. This film is legendary, not only for its 00:28:25.470 --> 00:28:27.849 low -tech satire, but also for its ridiculously 00:28:27.849 --> 00:28:32.390 low budget, just £229 ,000, and the surprising 00:28:32.390 --> 00:28:34.990 way they raised the money. It's an iconic rock 00:28:34.990 --> 00:28:37.390 and roll footnote. The financing came partly 00:28:37.390 --> 00:28:39.430 from investments by major rock groups of the 00:28:39.430 --> 00:28:41.609 era. We're talking about bands like Pink Floyd, 00:28:41.869 --> 00:28:44.500 Jethro Tull, and Led Zeppelin. The necessity 00:28:44.500 --> 00:28:46.880 of saving money contributed directly to the humor. 00:28:47.039 --> 00:28:49.140 They couldn't afford real horses, so they used 00:28:49.140 --> 00:28:51.700 coconuts. It delivered enduring lines that have 00:28:51.700 --> 00:28:54.180 become absorbed into global pop culture, like 00:28:54.180 --> 00:28:56.359 the Black Knight's hilariously defiant Tis But 00:28:56.359 --> 00:28:59.140 a Scratch. Next came Monty Python's Life of Brian 00:28:59.140 --> 00:29:02.400 in 1979. This film generated massive religious 00:29:02.400 --> 00:29:04.720 controversy, but the Pythons were always clear 00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:07.420 about their target. Not Christ, but his followers. 00:29:07.700 --> 00:29:09.279 I think we need to emphasize that distinction, 00:29:09.579 --> 00:29:11.859 as it was at the heart of their defense. The 00:29:11.859 --> 00:29:14.740 pythons agreed beforehand not to mock Jesus or 00:29:14.740 --> 00:29:17.940 his teachings directly. Instead, the film is 00:29:17.940 --> 00:29:21.640 a brilliant surgical satire on credulity, blind 00:29:21.640 --> 00:29:24.799 devotion and hypocrisy among the followers of 00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:27.240 Brian Cohen, a man who is constantly mistaken 00:29:27.240 --> 00:29:30.059 for the Messiah. And who financed this controversial 00:29:30.059 --> 00:29:32.859 project when others spooked by the script pulled 00:29:32.859 --> 00:29:35.859 out. George Harrison, the former Beatle. He formed 00:29:35.859 --> 00:29:38.160 handmade films specifically to raise the four 00:29:38.160 --> 00:29:39.920 million pound necessary to produce the movie, 00:29:40.059 --> 00:29:42.400 later calling it the most expensive cinema ticket 00:29:42.400 --> 00:29:45.400 ever purchased. What's fascinating is the retrospective 00:29:45.400 --> 00:29:48.319 intellectual defense of the film. Noted theologian 00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:51.000 Richard Burridge called Life of Brian an extraordinary 00:29:51.000 --> 00:29:53.900 tribute to Jesus, arguing that the pythons were 00:29:53.900 --> 00:29:56.500 actually satirizing blind fundamentalism and 00:29:56.500 --> 00:29:59.019 the way people quickly split into factions, a 00:29:59.019 --> 00:30:01.180 theme that remains perpetually relevant. Their 00:30:01.180 --> 00:30:04.720 last collaborative project was 1983's Monty Python's 00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:06.900 The Meaning of Life. It returned to the sketch 00:30:06.900 --> 00:30:09.740 format, loosely following the ages of man. It 00:30:09.740 --> 00:30:12.640 was arguably their darkest and most visually 00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:16.089 spectacular work. It featured the morbidly obese 00:30:16.089 --> 00:30:19.609 Mr. Creosote exploding over restaurant patrons 00:30:19.609 --> 00:30:22.750 and the liver donor scene, which satirized bureaucracy 00:30:22.750 --> 00:30:25.289 in a medical setting. And they achieved critical 00:30:25.289 --> 00:30:27.930 recognition for this darkness. They did. The 00:30:27.930 --> 00:30:30.069 Meaning of Life won the Grand Prix at the 1983 00:30:30.069 --> 00:30:32.930 Cannes Film Festival, marking their artistic 00:30:32.930 --> 00:30:35.789 swan song as a unified film unit. Beyond their 00:30:35.789 --> 00:30:38.190 own creative output. The Python members used 00:30:38.190 --> 00:30:40.549 their enormous fame to raise serious awareness 00:30:40.549 --> 00:30:42.849 for international human rights, particularly 00:30:42.849 --> 00:30:45.170 through the secret policeman's ball benefit shows 00:30:45.170 --> 00:30:48.250 for Amnesty International, which was John Cleese's 00:30:48.250 --> 00:30:52.369 brainchild. Between 1976 and 1981, these shows 00:30:52.369 --> 00:30:55.250 raised considerable funds and, crucially, media 00:30:55.250 --> 00:30:58.109 awareness for the human rights cause. They transformed 00:30:58.109 --> 00:31:00.569 the perception of Amnesty International, bringing 00:31:00.569 --> 00:31:03.369 its serious issues to a younger, massive audience. 00:31:03.920 --> 00:31:05.859 And the cultural influence of these shows extended 00:31:05.859 --> 00:31:08.160 far beyond the comedy world, right? It directly 00:31:08.160 --> 00:31:11.039 impacted rock music and subsequent global activism. 00:31:11.279 --> 00:31:14.940 Very direct. Bono of U2 told Rolling Stone that 00:31:14.940 --> 00:31:17.960 seeing the ball sowed a seed that became a part 00:31:17.960 --> 00:31:21.279 of him and U2's advocacy work. Sting explicitly 00:31:21.279 --> 00:31:24.119 credited the show with informing him about Amnesty. 00:31:24.460 --> 00:31:27.079 And Bob Geldof, the organizer of Live Aid, famously 00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:29.500 took the ball and ran with it, according to Sting, 00:31:29.559 --> 00:31:32.640 modeling his massive charity rock concerts on 00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:34.799 the successful platform Python had established. 00:31:35.200 --> 00:31:37.759 It's incredible to connect Python's early anarchy 00:31:37.759 --> 00:31:40.839 to the biggest global charity efforts of the 00:31:40.839 --> 00:31:43.319 80s and 90s. The speculation over a complete 00:31:43.319 --> 00:31:45.940 reunion ended definitively with Graham Chapman's 00:31:45.940 --> 00:31:48.960 death in 1989. However, the remaining five members 00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:51.160 did gather on several non -formal occasions. 00:31:51.579 --> 00:31:54.279 The 1998 reunion live at Aspen was particularly 00:31:54.279 --> 00:31:56.500 notable. That was the time when they were reunited 00:31:56.500 --> 00:31:59.160 on stage with what was purported to be Chapman's 00:31:59.160 --> 00:32:01.819 Ashes, a bizarre moment that culminated in Eric 00:32:01.819 --> 00:32:03.960 Idle scattering them dramatically over the audience. 00:32:04.180 --> 00:32:06.880 But the eventual, truly final reunion was driven 00:32:06.880 --> 00:32:09.220 by less artistic motives and more direct financial 00:32:09.220 --> 00:32:12.119 necessity. It was a direct consequence of a lost 00:32:12.119 --> 00:32:15.400 legal battle in 2013. They lost a lawsuit over 00:32:15.400 --> 00:32:18.079 royalties for Spamalot and owed a massive combined 00:32:18.079 --> 00:32:21.299 sum of £800 ,000 in legal fees and back royalties. 00:32:21.680 --> 00:32:24.720 To pay this monumental bill, they proposed a 00:32:24.720 --> 00:32:27.619 live reunion show. And the demand proved just 00:32:27.619 --> 00:32:30.359 how enduring their popularity was. Tickets for 00:32:30.359 --> 00:32:32.880 the first O2 Arena show in London sold out in 00:32:32.880 --> 00:32:36.099 a mind -boggling 43 seconds. Nine additional 00:32:36.099 --> 00:32:38.420 shows were quickly added, resulting in Monty 00:32:38.420 --> 00:32:41.859 Python Live. Mostly. One down, five to go. Michael 00:32:41.859 --> 00:32:44.259 Palin stated unequivocally that the final performance 00:32:44.259 --> 00:32:47.359 on July 20, 2014, would be the last time the 00:32:47.359 --> 00:32:49.259 troupe would ever perform together, and that 00:32:49.259 --> 00:32:52.220 final show was screened live to 2 ,000 cinemas 00:32:52.220 --> 00:32:54.589 globally. Idle commented on the scale of the 00:32:54.589 --> 00:32:56.910 moment, noting that the Pythons got the massive 00:32:56.910 --> 00:33:00.170 global public final bow that the Beatles didn't 00:33:00.170 --> 00:33:03.089 get. It was a final unifying moment for a group 00:33:03.089 --> 00:33:04.970 defined by disruption. So what does this all 00:33:04.970 --> 00:33:07.269 mean for comedy and culture today? They started 00:33:07.269 --> 00:33:09.210 by trying to demolish the existing structure 00:33:09.210 --> 00:33:11.630 of British culture, yet they grew into an enduring 00:33:11.630 --> 00:33:14.569 institution. The key to their institutional status 00:33:14.569 --> 00:33:17.849 lies in the very nature of their surreal humor. 00:33:17.950 --> 00:33:21.059 The term Python -esque. has officially entered 00:33:21.059 --> 00:33:24.039 standard dictionaries as a byword for surreal, 00:33:24.279 --> 00:33:28.960 absurd, often satirical humor. That is the ultimate, 00:33:29.099 --> 00:33:32.019 delicious irony which Terry Jones himself acknowledged. 00:33:32.420 --> 00:33:35.559 He claims the very existence of the word Python 00:33:35.559 --> 00:33:38.119 -esque proves the extent to which they failed, 00:33:38.220 --> 00:33:40.619 as their initial aim was to create something 00:33:40.619 --> 00:33:43.099 so new it would be impossible to categorize. 00:33:43.339 --> 00:33:46.019 Instead, they just created a new category. And 00:33:46.019 --> 00:33:48.339 that successful failure defines modern comedy. 00:33:48.759 --> 00:33:51.319 The list of comedians who cite Python as a major 00:33:51.319 --> 00:33:54.670 influence is a who's who. Mike Myers, Jim Carrey, 00:33:54.769 --> 00:33:56.890 Tina Fey, and Matt Groening, the creator of The 00:33:56.890 --> 00:33:58.890 Simpsons. And the most important structural lesson 00:33:58.890 --> 00:34:01.470 they passed on, according to Tina Fey, it wasn't 00:34:01.470 --> 00:34:03.369 the jokes, it was the structure. She pointed 00:34:03.369 --> 00:34:05.849 out that sketch endings are overrated. Their 00:34:05.849 --> 00:34:07.910 key was to do something as long as it was funny 00:34:07.910 --> 00:34:09.989 and then just stop and do something else. That 00:34:09.989 --> 00:34:12.409 anti -punchline philosophy became standard operating 00:34:12.409 --> 00:34:15.030 procedure. Their influence directly colored the 00:34:15.030 --> 00:34:16.650 work of the early editions of Saturday Night 00:34:16.650 --> 00:34:18.809 Live, leading to shows like Kids in the Hall 00:34:18.809 --> 00:34:21.269 and continues through to modern shows like South 00:34:21.269 --> 00:34:24.079 Park. Let's move beyond comedy into the surprising 00:34:24.079 --> 00:34:26.440 reach of their influence technology and science. 00:34:26.699 --> 00:34:28.840 We're talking about things that bear the Python 00:34:28.840 --> 00:34:30.960 name that have nothing to do with comedy, but 00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:33.099 everything to do with their cultural absorption. 00:34:33.679 --> 00:34:35.400 Let's start with the one that affects all of 00:34:35.400 --> 00:34:39.360 our daily lives. Spam. The universally used term 00:34:39.360 --> 00:34:41.940 for bulk, unsolicited email is derived directly 00:34:41.940 --> 00:34:44.860 from the 1970 spam sketch. Explain the connection 00:34:44.860 --> 00:34:47.420 again. Why did this particular sketch lend its 00:34:47.420 --> 00:34:51.079 name to junk mail? In the sketch, a chorus of 00:34:51.079 --> 00:34:53.900 Vikings drowns out all conversation by aggressively 00:34:53.900 --> 00:34:56.739 and repeatedly singing spam, spam, spam, spam. 00:34:57.019 --> 00:34:59.039 The idea is that the content is overwhelming, 00:34:59.420 --> 00:35:01.780 unavoidable, and drowns out anything meaningful. 00:35:02.230 --> 00:35:05.130 That's phenomenal. A satire of ubiquitous canned 00:35:05.130 --> 00:35:07.929 meat became the technical descriptor for ubiquitous 00:35:07.929 --> 00:35:10.449 junk mail. But the biggest scientific tribute 00:35:10.449 --> 00:35:12.909 involves one of the world's most popular programming 00:35:12.909 --> 00:35:15.750 languages. Yes. The Python programming language 00:35:15.750 --> 00:35:18.409 was named after the troop by its creator, Guido 00:35:18.409 --> 00:35:21.150 van Rossum. He wanted a name that was slightly 00:35:21.150 --> 00:35:23.750 playful and memorable. And the tributes within 00:35:23.750 --> 00:35:26.150 the coding world don't stop there. Not at all. 00:35:26.289 --> 00:35:28.590 The default integrated development environment 00:35:28.590 --> 00:35:32.380 is named IDLE in honor of Eric Idle. The package 00:35:32.380 --> 00:35:35.119 index is called the Cheese Shop. There's a refactoring 00:35:35.119 --> 00:35:38.039 tool called Bicycler Repair. And a project to 00:35:38.039 --> 00:35:40.980 merge Python with Pearl was dubbed Parrot, after 00:35:40.980 --> 00:35:43.920 the dead parrot sketch. The sheer number of scientific 00:35:43.920 --> 00:35:46.920 and celestial namesakes is staggering. Seven 00:35:46.920 --> 00:35:48.940 asteroids are named after the pythons, or the 00:35:48.940 --> 00:35:52.920 troop, including 9617 Graham Chapman and 13681 00:35:52.920 --> 00:35:55.360 Monty Python. They're literally written into 00:35:55.360 --> 00:35:57.239 the solar system. And terrestrially, we have 00:35:57.239 --> 00:36:00.199 two remarkable biological tributes. An endangered 00:36:00.199 --> 00:36:03.199 lemur found in Madagascar is named Avahi Kleesai 00:36:03.199 --> 00:36:05.679 after John Klees. Klees was very happy about 00:36:05.679 --> 00:36:07.320 this, often joking that he was finally being 00:36:07.320 --> 00:36:09.880 recognized for being a primate. And a gigantic 00:36:09.880 --> 00:36:12.219 prehistoric snake fossil discovered in Australia 00:36:12.219 --> 00:36:16.480 was given the taxonomic name Monopathenoids riverslansis. 00:36:16.599 --> 00:36:18.980 Even geneticists are fans. A mutant gene discovered 00:36:18.980 --> 00:36:21.320 in flies that makes them live longer was dubbed 00:36:21.599 --> 00:36:24.559 Indy, which is an acronym for the famous defiant 00:36:24.559 --> 00:36:27.719 line of dialogue from Holy Grail. I'm not dead 00:36:27.719 --> 00:36:30.199 yet. Finally, the pythons weren't afraid to use 00:36:30.199 --> 00:36:32.940 their institutional status for large scale, ridiculous 00:36:32.940 --> 00:36:36.119 public performance and world records. In 2007, 00:36:36.380 --> 00:36:38.980 the cast of Spamalot gathered in Trafalgar Square 00:36:38.980 --> 00:36:41.139 under the tutelage of the two Terrys, Jones and 00:36:41.139 --> 00:36:43.440 Gilliam, to attempt a record for the largest 00:36:43.440 --> 00:36:47.840 coconut orchestra. They led 5 ,567 people clip 00:36:47.840 --> 00:36:50.019 -clopping in time to always look on the bright 00:36:50.019 --> 00:36:53.440 side of life. And in 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary, 00:36:53.900 --> 00:36:56.079 they attempted a world record for the largest 00:36:56.079 --> 00:36:58.880 gathering of people dressed as dumbees. Those 00:36:58.880 --> 00:37:00.760 characters of limited intelligence known for 00:37:00.760 --> 00:37:03.869 yelling, my brain hurts. A truly fitting way 00:37:03.869 --> 00:37:06.769 to celebrate 50 years of institutionalized absurdity. 00:37:06.829 --> 00:37:09.110 So we've traced the history from the Oxbridge 00:37:09.110 --> 00:37:11.650 rivalry to their massive, unexpected impact on 00:37:11.650 --> 00:37:14.210 social activism and technology. They discarded 00:37:14.210 --> 00:37:16.389 the traditional rules of sketch comedy, replacing 00:37:16.389 --> 00:37:18.710 them with a style so distinct it earned its own 00:37:18.710 --> 00:37:21.650 dictionary entry. What stands out and what allowed 00:37:21.650 --> 00:37:24.309 this enduring genius to flourish is the fact 00:37:24.309 --> 00:37:27.469 that the pythons insisted on and secured complete 00:37:27.469 --> 00:37:30.090 creative control from the very start. They had 00:37:30.090 --> 00:37:32.409 BBC executives who, though initially confused, 00:37:32.769 --> 00:37:35.769 ultimately let them experiment and innovate wildly. 00:37:36.050 --> 00:37:38.650 And this raises an important question for you, 00:37:38.690 --> 00:37:41.320 the listener, to consider. In our current age 00:37:41.320 --> 00:37:43.820 of high commercial optimization, audience metrics, 00:37:43.980 --> 00:37:46.539 and immediate social media feedback, could a 00:37:46.539 --> 00:37:49.039 brand new, highly surreal comedy troupe today 00:37:49.039 --> 00:37:52.219 secure the same level of total, hands -off freedom 00:37:52.219 --> 00:37:55.300 from executives to be as anarchic and uncategorizable 00:37:55.300 --> 00:37:57.599 as Monty Python was in the late 60s and early 00:37:57.599 --> 00:38:00.440 70s? Or was their perfect, permissive timing 00:38:00.440 --> 00:38:03.320 as crucial to their success as their undeniable 00:38:03.320 --> 00:38:05.199 genius? That is definitely something completely 00:38:05.199 --> 00:38:07.300 different to think about. Until next time, keep 00:38:07.300 --> 00:38:09.340 digging and always remember to look on the bright 00:38:09.340 --> 00:38:09.920 side of... life.