Two In The Think Tank - 24 - Monty Python

Episode Date: April 6, 2016

It seems appropriate that a podcast hosted by three comedians should take a look at the legendary comedy group Monty Python! Jess discusses their origin, their films, and their lives beyond Python.Twitter: @DoGoOnPodInstagram: @DoGoOnPodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoGoOnPod/Email us: [e-mail] the show and get rewards like bonus episodes:www.patreon.com/DoGoOnPod  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey everybody, Jess and Dave, just jumping in really quickly at the top here to make sure that you are across all the details for our upcoming Christmas show. That's right, we are doing a live show in Melbourne Saturday December the 2nd, 2023, our final podcast of the year, our Christmas special. It's downstairs at Morris House, which usually be called the European beer cafe. On Saturday December the 2nd, 2023 at 4.30pm, come along, come one, come all, and get tickets at dogoonpod.com. Are you working way too hard for way too little?

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Now is the time, mycomputercareer.edu. See you! Hello and welcome aboard another episode of Do Go On. My name is Dave Warnocky and I am sitting across from a man named Mr. Matt Stewart. Hello Matt. Hi Dave, how's it going? It is good. I asked how's it going and I wasn't going to give you a space. How's it going? It is good to be here. How's it going, God? It's good from where I'm sitting. I hope it's good from where you're sitting as well.. Hey Dave can I stop you right there? Absolutely. Sorry to touch your lips like that. Oh my lips and I sealed extended pointer finger You'll probably have a more correct scientifically correct word that biology index finger. Thank you Okay, but I'll stop you right there. Oh, sorry the index fingers back I'd love to introduce you to a very good friend of mine. One of my best.

I'm a very big fan of this person. Yep. It's Jess Perkins. Please make your fill welcome. You see her everywhere. Please make your fill welcome. I feel like doing a round of a pool, but that would sound less welcoming than no applause.

Please do. Jess Perkins, I'm gentleman. No, it's a little... It's not terrible. I love it. How are you Jess? I'm pretty good, how are you? I am good now, but just to give us a bit of Insighted to our personal lives. We just enjoyed a delicious Indian curry meal together

We did two types of curry one type of rice and it was way too much rice Yeah, we have a cute little do-go-on family dinner. Yeah, it was nice. It's delightful It's good. I ate I got that. I ate very slowly but we got a little bit. You did well. You ate like a big boy. Thank you. Thank you, man. You were so like during the meal, you were stopping me from joking about how slowly he eats, but on my. Oh, I'll rip into anyone. No, that's the thing. It's a real waste because I'm, I'm quite maternal, but I don't think I want kids. It's a real waste. I don't No, that's the thing. It's a real waste, because I'm quite maternal, but I don't think I want kids.

It's a real waste. I don't know if that's a waste. Nah. So you can just mother the world. We are the world. You know what you can do? I heard of this recently. I think maybe it was even on another podcast.

You listened to other podcast? Yeah, I was turning a Dave Warnocky on, maybe it was, no, I don't know what it was. Anyway, I heard this term, Mum's Blaining. And that's where a guy, a dad is out with their kids, and they might be like, feed no more, doing some changing in that beer or something. And then a mum, or a stranger will come up and say,

everything okay here, I find that it's actually easier to... Oh, what? But yeah, that's really, you know, I'm pretty proud of that happens a bit. It's like, I kind of like the fact in some ways that there is one little thing out there that men get patronized there, because it often goes the other way. Like, man's planning is just across the whole board. So, mom's planning is just so... But I do hate that too, because I hate when people assume like the dad is the inferior parent. Yeah, yeah.

It's like, no, not the case at all. I mean, in the case in my family, but not in all. So, well, to be on the... I mean, statistically, sure. But I jump on the other side of the fence here. I, a someone who is terrible at doing nearly everything in their life, practical tasks, I mean. I would love it if someone came up and said, hey mate, that's not how you grill a grilled cheese sandwich. I love that.

They came up and ate. Things got explained to me. But even if you were doing a fine job and you... Well, when it comes to grilled cheese, I'm not doing a fine job. What about this? How do you fuck up grilled cheese? Alright, so we've got an electric... I don't even know that's called, what's it called, stove. See, that's how bad I am a cooking. Oh, God. Electric stove. I've never had one before, and I probably takes a long time to heat up, and I had the grilled cheese on there for 10 minutes, not doing anything, like it wasn't melting at all, and then I come back, come on, it was like, I'm just

burnt. Yeah, don't, don't leave it for that long. Yeah, and if I've been doing that in a park and a mum It come up. What I mean like thank you mum. Well, yeah, I don't know if the mums needed that's just that's just parenting I think thanks dad What I'm saying is I need help Help, I'm sorry There is an extension from that as well so there's like to go with that analogy of the cheese instead of the parenting that also there will be to go with that analogy of the cheese instead of the parenting. That also there will be mum's my go up to the dad and I'll say, and he's just like, say feeding the baby a bottle.

And they'll be like, hey, good on you. That's, it's really great to see. It's like, just doing the bare minimum of what a being a parent is is just like the mother of the child. Just a random lady. Yeah. So I think even the mum's coming and going, thanks for helping out. You're like, the wife should never thank you. No. No. I'm the strangest. That's right.

That's right. That's right. That's right. That's right. That's right. That's right. You're doing the grilled cheese and a stranger just comes up to you in the park with your electric stove. I got a good on you, mate. Cookin' for yourself. Hold on. I'd love me if I was eating. Who's a hold on. I'd love you, I was eating. Who's a big boy? I'd love to be able to eat banana in a parking lot. I came up and said fruit. Good choice. I get walking.

Actually, that'd be sick. That'd be so good. Thanks. Yeah, I don't mind. I don't depend on how they do it, but interesting. I found it, I'd never heard the term mom spawning quite well. I quite like that too. I've been when you said mom spawning, I thought it was just the unnecessary over-explaining,

like my mum does. Like, what's for dinner? And she talks about something that happened in 1973 and you're like, oh my god, mum! And do they ever say things like, I've been around conversations where a couple of parents are talking, you know, and you're around for dinner at someone's house and they'll be telling you a story about their uncle or something. And I'll say, he was gay, by the way and anyway so he and it's so irrelevant or just yeah and he was a dentist by the way yeah both of those things

happened in the same conversation once with me it was a gay dentist but one of the time neither of those things was a gay dentist he was gay moving on oh he was also a dentist yeah and neither time did it affect the story in any way yeah had nothing to do with it I mean great that's what I find with my mom is she'll I should start to ask a question and I know what she's asking so I'll answer her but then she still finishes yeah like what time is the 730 show tonight I'm like I've already told you hi sweet Jesus come over here and I will strangle you to death. Oh really? Yeah, I get quite aggressive. I do that. I don't she's

super cute. Nobody talks to me. Annie, she's best. And if you're gonna touch her with hugs and love. I try and then she says get off me personal space, Jess. That's true. I do that all the time. I climb on air. She's your hot and cold with your mum I really am zero to 60 they call me oh my also a kilometer's temperature oh so you're so Fahrenheit oh that's not that warm I'm pretty cold still you're great I'm hot I'm cold I'm too low range you're doing well I hope you're I hope you're a well, I hope you're, I hope you're, I hope your report will be hot today Which is what we're all here to do is that for you to just to research a topic and a report back to Matt and I and How we do and how we looking fine looking. Hey, okay, no problem. See

Your reports are always of the finest quality. Thanks Ringo star. Oh, that wasn't I didn't even mean to be doing an accent there You just you'll report Let's bring go pulling out of an impression of himself Just what have you got for us? Okay, well, we always start with a question. Yes, and I have thought out my question Really thoroughly? Yeah, I know I know you're saying earlier that you started with the question and you filled a report around it so it should be pretty rock solid. Which makes sense. So.

I know that's the opposite of what you said. I just added this a minute ago because I feel like sometimes the questions are going to feel a little bit too obvious. But we'll have a bit of a go and see if you can guess. So my question to you is, what's wrong? No need to mum explain the question there, Jeth No, please do go Who do you think is the most influential? Yeah

Group of comedians Is it oh, I was researching the friars club today., you know the friars club of New York City? I am yeah that rings a bell a lot of they organize a lot of the celebrity roasts In an episode of Seinfeld Jerry gets to go to the friars club and then He to go in there you have to wear a jacket and then a performer Takes his jacket anyway. That's a yes, yes, totally. Yeah, but I was thinking is that is that not the fries is it the Melbourne open mic comedy scene? It is I will be doing a report on my peers and I will be ranking From one to two hundred and seventy nine is it oh is it just the Melbourne International Comedy Festival?

No, that would be what was it the group? Oh, is it just the Melbourne International Comedy Festival? No, that would be good. Wait, what was it? Was it the group? Yeah, that's a big key. Is it the footballs? Oh, no. The Cambridge Football Lights?

Yeah. But it kind of came from that? Okay. Then I'm guessing it's... Oh, is it the Goonshow? Oh, they also worked alongside them, but no. Yeah, the Goonshow came just before Monty Python. Yeah! Oh, that's a just before Monty Python. Yeah

Awesome, that's an awesome topic. Are you a Monty Python fan as well? I like them. I always feel weird about the fan thing I feel like I don't know enough to call myself a fan unless you mean liking them Yeah, if you mean liking them then I'm a fan, but I don't I I'm not a like a full on knowing everything about them kind of go Yeah, no, I don't think I really like that either and I don't even you know, I think you've got to be realistic I don't love every single thing they've done because they are very absurd Right and like out there and wacky, but I a lot of their stuff. I very much enjoy sometimes they are really quite silly They're very aren't they?

Just a tad. Just a bit bloody silly. I think they are very funny and I would agree that they are definitely some of the most influential comedians. Oh, 100%. And like one of the, I think in American comedy, because you know, you listen a lot of American comedians talk and stuff, and they, they are normally influenced from the inside, like American comedians influencing

Americans but one of the names that comes up a lot from outside of America would be multi-parts. Absolutely, yeah. I was watching like a documentary on YouTube about them and lots of Americans were interviewed about them. Even like Jim Carey as well, I remember watching and into Jim Carey Robin Williams was talking about them. Jim Carey technically Canadian but I guess that is not America so is America Continental. Sorry. What a what a I find it so annoying when people pull other people up on bullshit things

And I did it to be funny, but I wasn't funny. It was just annoying. I believe Mike Myers is also Canadian. That's why I said Just like you peace I was doing the uh doing the volume just the main enough Just off off mark here. You or on my put off the record. I'll be louder. So I've broken it up into like almost like a timeline, I suppose. I'm going to look at their origin and some of their TV and film work and then what have they done beyond? Okay, just a little like a little index of what we've got coming up. Is it an index at the start?

Or indexes at the back of the box? Indexes at the back, I think, at the glossary. Glossary. You want to cut the table of content. Table of content. Table of content, that's the word. So you just got there. And then it wouldn't be a Jess Perkins report. With help.

Fun facts! Just prefacing again what we have to look forward to. I love that you outline. It's like a proper lecture isn't it? Yeah, I didn't mean to. This is what we'll be covered today. Time for questions at the end. Please hold them. I was wondering why you were standing at that lectern, but that makes sense. The way I lectern. And why we're in the lecture theatre with 250 Melbourne University students. I have to start on to Ekoe.

So in the early to mid 60s at Oxford University, history student Michael Palin met English student Terry Jones. Meanwhile over at Cambridge University another English student Eric Eidle met law student John Cleese and medical student Graham Chapman. So you look at, they've got a fair broad range there, don't they? Sounds like body tizzle. Doesn't it? What were their specialties though? I don't know. They sound like very educated dudes. Yeah and like a real mix essay. You've got a couple of English students, you've got history,

law and medicine. I think medicine being the least useful. Meanwhile, Terry Gilliam was studying political science at the university in Los Angeles. Ever heard of it? Probably. Yeah, it's got a name. Known as LA. Quite a well-known city of angels. Yeah, is that being a bell? So working together in various sketch groups and comedy troops across both universities,

it sort of led on to John Cleese got a role on, at last last in 1948 show. And following the success of a program that the others were on, so the others were all on a program called Do Not Adjust Your Set, which was like a tea time children's program. That's funny isn't it? Yeah, and it was kind of cool because it was on at about 5.25 in the evening, so they had this weird crossover audience of kids, but also parents or like adults coming home from work so they were they were really fucking about and being very very silly.

Silly boys. They're being silly boys. It's great when you watch something like a kid show like play school back now. They make mistakes and stuff but they just do it all in one take and they laugh with each other. when you're a kid You don't notice that kind of stuff. Sometimes you look at the camera like you say that anyway Well, I stuffed up that cardboard thing anyway. Let's start singing like and they sort of laughed with each other How often are you watching play school now? I'm trying to cut back

I'm waiting myself off. I'm four nights away. I used to be five. Yeah sure four Following the success of their program do not adjust your sets ITV the the network offered Gilliam idle Jones and Palin their own late-night adult comedy series together So they're in like early to mid-twenties and so this is Terry Gilliam spin-given ago as well. Yeah Yeah, so he sort of joined them he came across and was writing for I'm spinning him and I go as well. Yeah, so he sort of joined them. He came across and was writing for, did not adjust your set.

We're not writing, but he was doing like all the animations. Of course he's already got his sort of weird style. He's the guy that does the animations, Terry Gilliam. There's videos on YouTube of him teaching you how to do it. That's pretty cool. Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah.

And I remember I was watching a documentary and Michael Palin was saying like, what impressed him most about Gilliam's work was his comic timing. Like it's quite basic basic animation I would say, like he says that but I couldn't do it, so it's can't be that I can't do it. And also this was done 50 years ago, so it's, you know, it's easier. You probably could do it yourself now but probably not back then. Probably not back then. So he was like very talented but his timing and stuff was very, very funny.

And so they offered their own late night show, which was awesome, but the network had said, you've got to wait about 18 months until we can give you a studio, like there was no time for them, so that has to wait about 18 months. But at the same time, Graham Chapman and John Cleese were offered a show by the BBC. The BBC had been impressed by their work on the Frost report and at last the 1948 show. So John Cleese was apparently quite reluctant to do a two-man show for various reasons, including Graham Chapman's supposedly difficult and erratic personality. At least unit. Bit of a loose unit.

I think this is sort of in the early stages of his alcoholism. Yeah, he's trouble with booze. Also, if there's only two of you, that's two people have to write half an hour a week, that's really a lot of... Yeah, so it's like a lot more pressure, so you bring other people on board. So he brought basically, he brought Paila on because they knew each other having worked on how to irritate people, which was like another program they were working on. So they've worked on this.

So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this.

So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this.

So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. So they've worked on this. I'm Terry Jones and Eric Idol and Terry Gilliam. He's like, all right, you can have me, but I'm a package. You can be plus four. I'm bringing the rest of the gang. So yeah, they brought along Gilliam as well to do all the animations and stuff like that. And when it came to the actual writing process,

you may know this, but apparently Eric Idol always wrote a loan. He wrote by himself, John and Graham wrote together. Terry G, he animated a, obviously, just worked alone. This is his personality. Yeah, he just liked to animate alone. And Michael Palin and Eric, and sorry, and Terry Jones wrote together. So they had their little groups, their little writing partnerships that kind of worked for them.

And what I really like is that they had a very definite idea about what they wanted to do with their series. So they admired the work of of acts like Peter Cook and Alan Bennett, Dudley Moore and they'd worked on the Frost Report and they enjoyed cook and Moore's sketch show not only but also but one problem that they saw was that the like these programs had great sketches but the writers would sort of struggle to find a punchline funny enough to end on and that would kind of.

So the comedy was missing. Yeah. Your comedy is great. It doesn't have any more jokes. Yeah. I really enjoy your comedy but it doesn't, it's not funny. It's like a dramatic play but we can wrap that up with a joke at the end. Oh, joke? Yeah, I really enjoy your comedy, but it doesn't, it's not funny. It's like a dramatic play,

but we could wrap that up with a joke at the end. Yeah, if we just put it up, it's like, I don't know if you guys have missed, missed understanding that on purpose or not, but that's not what it said. Said that they were very funny sketches. Uh-huh. They just didn't have the big bang laugh at the end.

Oh. It was before the days where you could just, you know, drop some dubstep at the end and move on. Oh, thinly veiled stab at our very good friend's anti-donna. Now they get those because they've got punchlines. And great dubstep. Oh yeah, fucking nice. And rock and roll. She's going to see them at the comedy festival if that's not over yet.

It is not. It's not over yet, but they've probably sold it. Yeah, they've probably sold it. Well, you should watch that, if it is. Yeah, because they're amazing. Anyway, so like they were saying that their sketches were good, but the lack of hilarity kind of distracted from the overall quality, right?

So they just say, I know, it's pretty brutal, yeah. That's nasty. You understand, though, don't you? nasty you understand though don't you know too do I need to explain it again if you just one more time okay so it's funny yeah it's not funny enough not far haha funny haha funny yeah yeah it's gentle gentle funny it's like kind of funny that kind of a sketch sketches that I write. I love writing a gentle sketch, even a sad one. Yeah, I love a sad sketch. Some of the best.

Ooh. So the Python boys decided that they would not bother to cap their sketches in the traditional manner. So in earlier episodes of Flying Circus, which is a series that they sort of went on to make, they make great play of this abandonment of the punchline. So like in one scene, Cleese turns to idle as the sketch descends into chaos and remarks, this is the silliest sketch I've ever been in. And they all resolve not to carry on and just walk off the set. So like they broke those sorts of barriers a lot.

That is very clever. Looking at someone else and thinking, your sketch is a great, but it's not that funny at the end. Yeah. Instead of just making it funny at the end, which is obviously very difficult. It is fucking impossible.

It is just a band and chip. They're just... They're just making it impossible, it's very hard to do consistently. But then, and then also making the abandonment funny. Very good. Yeah. But they took that, so now no one else can really use it.

Jerks. Yeah, that's true. That's very path and esk. What, just because they invented it and I'm basically ripping it off, then yeah, sure. Yeah, I guess so. Whatever. Anyway, just going to go on with my funny walk sketch and good day to you, sir. I love that funny walk sketch though.

My funny walk sketch? Yeah. Thank you. You believe you mean silly walks? No, mine's the funny walk sketch. Oh, of course. Very good. Yeah, you haven't seen Matt's funny walk sketch.

Why, they go ahead. It's just him walking to be honest. He's got a funny walk. He bounces a lot as he walks. Look at, I wouldn't say it's a ripoff. It's more of an homage It's a what an homage. Do you have a certain? Genocide I guess you could say I don't know it's up to you if you want to get technical

I Want to get a technical Take the card. Take the card, eh? Fuck. What have been way better? Why do you teach yourself Spanish or something? Spanish? See. Anyway, they're working together and trying to figure out what sort of style they're going to create.

And Terry Jones remembered an animation that Gilliam had created for Do Not Adjust Your Set called Beware of the Elephants, which had intrigued him with its stream of consciousness style. So that's kind of how their style began because it was kind of a stream of consciousness. It was just, it just kept going into nothing in a way. And then different things would come in and change it and would go a bit. Not as much like a stream of consciousness. Yeah, there it is.

They often used one of Gilliam's animations to move from the closing image of one sketch to the opening scene of another so they sort of used it as like a segue kind of transition. Yeah, exactly. Why segue is probably better but that's fine. Do you see how we try to mum-splain that to you? Yeah. What's the difference, Dave? Was that worth correcting you, Aarbert? I definitely regret it. Good decision, Paul. No, I don't regret anything.

I'm pretty great. They treated writing like a nine to five jobs so their approach was quite democratic and if the majority found an ID humorous it was included in the show. I quite like that. That is cool. I mean it does sort of seem like it should be how it is but I imagine when you're working in a big group it can be very challenging. Okay but if you're working on your own which two of them are. Yeah. You've got to convince more because you obviously find it funny. What? If you're in a, you're in a, you're in a, you've got two already. I'm out of, that's bad.

Form the coalition. No, you're absolutely right because John Cleese made the same point. He said he felt sorry for Eric who was like riding by himself because it wasn't quite the same for Terry Gillian because, you know, he was in. Yeah, but he would come with ideas or they would say this is what we're doing and he would make ideas around that whereas Eric would be writing stuff and if he couldn't convince him that it was far like his Yeah, you're right in the group of two you've already got two votes He was just saying just him one more and then you've got it. Well, maybe his maybe his vote should have been worth two Maybe but I don't think they thought of that at a time Joey one of them was a doctor, so it's not a mathematician.

Mathematician. Mathematician, I got relayed around the room, that one. Okay, so the casting of the roles for their sketches was also quite unselfish, I guess you could say. Since each member viewed himself primarily as a writer rather than an actor, they weren't desperate for screen time, there was no devours fighting over it, they just kind of let it go, which is kind of cool. And while the show was a collaborative process, different factions within Python were responsible for elements of their team's humour. They got to a

point because when I was in year 12, my year 12 drama solo had to have Python S comedy, so I watched a lot of Monty Python as research. Mum would be like, why don't you do your homework? I am doing my homework mum. So what I was saying though was it got to a point because I was watching so much Monty Python that I could identify who had written which bit because there's like, there's certain styles that go with each sort of writing team, right? So the Oxford educated members like Terry Jones and Paylon, they're more visual, more fanciful and a little bit more out there, so like the Spanish Inquisition, for example, was one of theirs. But the Cambridge graduates, so Cleese and Chapman who wrote together, they tended to be more

verbal and more aggressive, which I think you can see in Cleese's performances. More confrontational, where one character intimidates or heals abuse. That sort of there stuff. But it's true, you can start to think of sketches, and I guess that makes sense. Whereas Eric Ardell's characters were like lots of verbal quirks, and he's a really language-based, so the man who speaks in anagrams would have been him. Like he just, it was really wordy. That, what was that character, the normal wing? Say no more, say no more, Nudge Nudge, Nudge Wing-Wink.

So that's a famous one. That is a good one. So I'm a very shallow. I haven't... I'm saying I'm more. Diven too deeply. So what do you... Diven?

Instead of... Diven? Like past tense of... of dove. Dived. Diven. Past tense of dove. But these are past tense, but that doesn't exist.

Yeah. I haven't. I'm very wordy as well. I'm a little bit like Eric Adel. You're the Eric Adel, no, you're the Gilliam. But please just do go on. There were other names for the show. Did you know that? So when they put it up with the flying circuits, they had some other options.

What do they hit me? Okay, here we go. Owl stretching time. That's funny. That's funny. So Monty bought an Owl stretching time. Yeah. Matt doing a Perkins, I'll let you know.

That was a three people thing of a word. Yeah. And then away they like finished the sentence. The toad elevating moment. Now two words, you wouldn't remember that. A horse, a spoon and a bucket. Really? That's pretty funny.

Vassalene review. My personal favourite is still number one. Our stretching time. Bun, wacket, buzzard, stubble and boot. Bit wordy. Too wordy. Our stretching time you were fan of? Yeah, was that on the short list?

I think it was. Oh, absolutely. Well, those are, no, that's it. The Vaseline Reveal is my favourite. You're like Vaseline Reveal? I quite like a horse, a spoon, and a bucket. Out of the three of us though, who would be the horse? What do you love here, my laughter?

Yeah. Who would be the horse, the spoon, and in the bucket here? At last three. Yeah. Oh, as a kid, but played monopoly, I was always the horse. Okay, you can be the horse, spoon and bucket. As a kid, I often ate with a spoon. I shat in the bucket. I can't reach I could keep a straight face. Well, is that true? Well, I think it's true. I don't even know if it has a really shatter bucket. Tractivity plus fire. I know.

Big time. Oh. Oh. Filled a bucket or two in my day. Oh, no, that's no good. But you are a horse. That is awful. I hate shit humor.

All right. Just once I wish I could keep a straight face for a joke. Yeah, well. All right, so I had all these other options for names, but flying circus stuck because BBC had printed that name in their schedule and were not willing to amend it. So did they even think of it? Yeah, I think so. So what was on the show?

They went through and went, when we're not going to call it Vaseline, or a few. Yeah, and there's all sorts of theories as to where Monty Python came from. I couldn't even really find a proper reason. There was too many different ones. But there's a few theories. Oh, wait, so they were... Sorry, I was thinking they were the names for Flying Circus. So that was decided it was Monty Python's Flying Circus.

They weren't called Monty Python yet. Yeah, they weren't. So the show itself was called Monty Python's Flying Circus. They weren't as a group called Monty Python's flying circus. They weren't called Monty Python yet. Yeah, they weren't. Oh, right. So the show itself was called Monty Python's flying circus. They weren't as a group called Monty Python. Right. I didn't realize that. That sort of came later after they... Well, that makes sense because this is the first thing they did together. Yeah. But they sort of like later when they worked on other projects,

they kind of dropped the flying circus but kept Monty Python. So that became their group name. Yeah. But at first, I think it was just all part of it. So, oh, I'm also... I always thought they'd chosen the Monty Python so that became their group name. But at first I think it was just all part of it. So I'm also, I always thought they'd chosen the Monty Python part. So they were just going to be called and known in history as the Vessoline review. Yeah. Oh, that's funny now. But they would have dropped the review after that show and just think of the Vaseline. And then it will be like the Vessole boys. And then Vaso boys. You'd be doing comedy like that and you might,

it's a bit Vassar-ly-n-esque isn't it? Yes, we're going to need you to do some Vassar-ly-n-esque. But French. French Vassar-ly-n-esque please. We. And go. Oh! Oh, my lips are so chapped.

I'm super offended by all of that. Why? Because you have chat lips and you've got a French background. Yes. Exactly Dave. Is there sensitivity please? Well, let's do a multi-party not wrap this up and move on to the next bits. Yeah, he's learning.

Fuck you, Matt. Anyway, the first episode of multi-party science flyingcus was broadcast on the 5th of October 1969. Apparently not to the most impressed audience. They did have a live studio audience. So even though, because when you do TV, you put it out there and you're like, well, I wonder if people will like it, but you're doing the show in front of an audience that are hating it and then you know that it's going to go to like times a hundred thousand. Exactly. And have you been on any live tapings of comedy shows?

Yes. I've been to a few, I wonder if you're the late shows in America and stuff. And every love comedy show I've ever seen, they're like, just laugh, even if you don't get it, laugh. There's a letterman, they're like, laugh. You'll get it on the way home, just laugh now, otherwise you'll regret it.

Later, just laugh everything. That's so funny. If you're not a line, I'm gonna say that I started my comedy festival show. If you think it's a joke, just laugh now, otherwise you'll regret it later. Just laugh at everything. If you're a line, I'm gonna say that I started my comedy festival show. If you think it's a joke just laugh. If there's a pause laugh, just laugh. Please laugh. And they just like, yeah everyone laugh and then let's all practice a laugh. And then do a setup where they just go and go and then everyone do the cause. Maybe I might be making that sound more fucked than it was. That might have been applause and stuff. Yeah they did it from applause and stuff

But like I wrote for a community TV show that was Filmed in front of an audience Yeah, and when you're really proud of your jokes and like the producers have laughed really hard during the During the rehearsal and then you do it in front of an audience and get like a It's like oh, okay. I'm gonna rethink all of my life choices. I think I'd bomb some of your writing on that show one time didn't I? Yeah you did. Sorry about that. No that's okay. So we're doing it in front of a live audience. The writing was very strong. Thank you. It was definitely the performance in that case. Yeah but in this case they can't blame

anything because they've written and their performance. Exactly right. You can blame the fuckhead audience. They weren't ready for it. You know what they like? I guess in history now you can blame them because clearly it's pretty great because we're still talking about it. Yeah, but was it, I think, to just be confronted with that with no context, you would be like,

what the hell is it? And it was so different to anything else that was being done. And also sketch comedy is very Hit and miss. I don't know if you guys know that Back to part of it pretty Upset that their shows not going so great. I think that was just appointed Yeah, it didn't feel like Michael Palin said you remember it's like so they all went to like the bar because it was again It was like a late show so it was I think it was on a nearly 11 p.m. It was quite late and they sort of had

Drinks at the bar and a lot of their friends were like, oh, just got to run off, just got to get a cook, a babysitter and he was like, you know, even had kids, like people not wanting to hang out. Ghost of it. Yeah, yeah, so it was a bit awkward, but... So you eat her at all? But I'm a total. Right, but they kept going.

They just kept going and they actually ended up doing fairly well, obviously, as we now know. Yeah, I mean, they've been honored here today. Exactly. And once you've made it onto a podcast, I mean, what more is there? Well, this is the funnel chapter. Yeah. We're closing the book.

Are you going to have to recap this in the recap? Yeah, yeah. I'll get to that. That's in fun facts. OK, great. I thought I was wondering why you were writing still with one hand. Yeah, I'm recapping. In an April episode of Do Go On podcast, the Monty Python were mentioned.

So they, flying circus, the show kind of popularized a few different styles, such as like a cold open. So like when an episode would start without traditional opening titles or announcements. So they used to do one that was like the Itz Man. So, Palin would like make this huge journey across really difficult terrains, finally get to the camera and go Itz and then it would cut him off and it was like the title sequence. Right, it was like this really long drawn out and then they'd cut him off. That's fantastic. I love it cold open. Oh great good stuff.

I love a good cold open. I love a cold hour which is what I often deliver. I like a cold shower. I like a mold flower. I like a bold flower. I like a bold cow. It's when you can't walk boldly. Oh That's looking awesome. Yeah that's insane. I'll do it. I'll show you. Okay. Okay. Oh yeah. Yes. My word. Good heavens. Thanks. Holy moly! Oh my god, that was... I'll take it up to 10. Oh, too much! I can't even look at it! Oh, that was a burning! Sorry guys, I'm back.

Grrrr! They also, they disliked finishing with punchlines, you know, that hack move. So they experimented with ending the sketches by cutting a broccoli to another scene or an animation or they'd walk off stage or they'd address the camera known as breaking the fourth wall in the industry if you're in it. I think that is probably that is my favorite kind of segue is like an anti-punch line or just break it. Break it or yeah. Yeah. Walking between the two like if they just roll into the next sketch. Yeah I think it's clever. Break it or yeah. Yeah. Walking between the two. Like if they just roll into the next sketch. Yeah I think it's clever. When it's done well I reckon that's that is my favorite kind of

transition as David say or Segway as Jess Perkins would say. Thank you for your name, or just Midi bit as I would say. A Midi bit. Another type of midi bit that they would use would be just introducing a totally underrated event or character. So the best example of this was the use of Chapman's anti-silliness character, the Colonel, who would walk into sketches and order them to stop because things were becoming far too silly. Which I love, I love that it's like a Colonel and he's like telling them off like naughty kids. It's the best. Another favorite way of ending sketches was to drop a cartoonish 16-toned wait-proper on one of the characters when the sketch seemed to be losing momentum

Or a night in full armour played by Terry Gillian would wander on set and hit characters over the head with a rubber chicken Before cutting to the next scene. You know, so just like okay. What makes sense here? None of this excellent good a night with a rubber chicken before cutting to the next scene. You know, except it's like, okay, what makes sense here? None of this. Excellent. Good. A night with a rubber chicken. Fair enough. I guess it doesn't make sense. Doesn't make sense. Why is he holding a rubber chicken? Why not a sword? I mean, I hadn't really thought about it like that. But yeah, I see that now. There you go. Yet another way of changing scenes would be when John Cleese, usually in a dine suit, would come in as a radio commentator, and in his pompous manner, make a formal announcement, and now for something completely different, which later became the title of the first

multi-part film. Are you working way too hard for way too little? There's never been a better time to consider a career in IT. You could enjoy a recession-resistant career in a rewarding field, with plenty of growth opportunities and often flexible work environments. Go to mycomputercareer.edu and take the free career evaluation. You could start your new career in months, not years. Take classes online or on campus, and financial aid is available to qualified students students including the GI Bill. Now is the time mycomputercareer.edu. So over the next four years I produced four series of the show, 45 episodes,

and despite the success of the show because I actually ended up doing quite well, John Cleese left the group at the end of the third series. He says he felt as if they were repeating themselves and that he and Graham had only written two truly original things in the last, in that final third season. And they did another one without him? I did another one sort of without him. So he was still credited as a writer, I think,

on three of the episodes. They were given 13, but they only did six, because they were like we've never got enough for six. Right. So they kind of agreed with him. Yeah I guess so I guess they must have and so he was also apparently finding it difficult to work with Graham Chapman who was at that point in the full throws of his alcoholism and according to an interview with Idol, Eric Idol, he said, it was on an air-canada flight on the way to Toronto when John turned to all of us and said, I want out. Why? I don't know. He gets bored more easily than the rest of us. He's a difficult man,

not easy to be friendly with. He's so funny because he never wanted to be liked that gives him a certain fascinating arrogant freedom That great Like it's brutal, but I like that brutal honesty like he's a hard person to be friendly with Also, I imagine that it'd be just great if he was on a different part of the airplane to them He's in business class because he's so tall and they're out the back I want out! I want out! He takes through the cat and the back. I want out! I want out! He takes through the curtain. I want out! I just get the hostess to... Could you just give a message to those guys back there?

I want out. Sanemail got all the champagne as well. Yeah, go on. Hands them a message, DB Cooper style. Little note. What a throwback. What a throwback. So yeah, the series series for ink circus kind of fell apart, but that led on to them working on larger projects. So I've got a little list here of their films. Can you name all their films? Yeah, Ricken. Oh, how many are there? One, two, three, four, five. There's a laugh of Brian. There's a mean laugh. Holy Grail. Holy Grail. And now for something completely different. They're the only...

Live at the Hollywood Bowl? Yeah. Oh, okay, that counts. Yeah, thank you, exactly. Obviously. So, and now for... Have you said yeah? Wait, one, two, three, four, five, yeah.

I think there is six live at the Hollywood Bowl, this one as well, but I... Oh, we in the next one. So we missed that. Wait, no, no, no. No, you've named them all. Have I got here? No, I don't. Oh, yes, I do have five minutes. Wait, no, no, no. No, you've named them all. Have I got it here? No, I don't.

Oh, yes, I do have Hollywood ball here. There's five. Well done, Perkins. I can read my own notes. So first was, and now for something completely different, which is a collection of their favorite sketches from. Yeah, just a recap from the TV show. Basically, yeah.

So that came out in 1971. And then in 1975. Same year as DBCupC, I was just saying sorry in 1975 they released a Monty Python and the Holy Grail so which I think is the funniest movie I've ever seen yeah I think it's it's gonna say I think it's my favorite but I think life of Brian's my favorite they're probably the the two big ones yeah they'd be the two biggest ones absolutely so Monty Python sorry the Holyil, obviously following the legend of King Arthur.

And apparently it only took five weeks to film, especially out in five weeks. After Holly Grail a few years later they released Life of Brian, because apparently after, sort of on the premiere of Holly Grail, people were saying, what's the next one going to be? What's the next one going to be? Apparently after, or sort of on the premier of Holy Grail, people were saying, what's the next one gonna be? What's the next one gonna be? And, will they freaking act? Cause they're like, we doesn't make this one.

Well, that's exactly a narrow title made some smart-ass joke about Jesus Christ, a lust for glory, or something like that. He made some sort of joke, and then it became a long-running joke for them. So then they actually decided, instead of, none of them were religious, but they also didn't really see the point

in just attacking a religion. So it's not actually about Jesus is about a guy who was born at the same time and sort of lived a parallel life to Jesus keeps getting mistaken for Jesus. So it still caused so much fuss like there was huge out cries from Christian communities against them. They were in a lot of trouble. Great film though, super funny. Did you watch the, there's a, I've seen this interview come up a bit on different specials and it's on YouTube and full of things where there's like this kind of

flamboyant bishop or something, you's argues, I guess, I mean, I think he seems a bit, maybe he's a bit drunken stuff. And John Cleese and that argue like really, like just intelligently, but it's sort of, it's just a bit of a mess. And it's just crazy to think how, it's amazing to watch.

And it's a straw man argument after straw man argument. Yeah. And they, and yeah, John Cleese and Michael Palin, like John Cleese stays pretty calm and cool all the way through it. He said in an interview, he didn't realize until later how angry and upset Michael Palin was getting. Who's like, he's actually got a reputation as the friendliest man in Britain,

but he was just getting very upset. And they're both being very sarcastic. It was brilliant. It's very funny to watch. But the film was written entirely on holiday in Barbados. Somebody had a house, like a friend of theirs had a house so they all went to Barbados and just wrote. That's cool.

How cool is that? And it was filmed in Tunisia. Do you know that? I did not know. That's where it was filmed. Dave Tunisia, what are the surrounding states? It's in Northern Africa. Yeah, what borders Tunisia? It's a Northern Africa. What borders, Tunisia?

It's a... Did you know Dave is very good with African geography? Easy. Capital of Tunisia is Tunis. It's not a joke. I wasn't laughing. I was laughing at you for being a nerd. It's next to Libya.

Algeria. He's looking like he's got the picture in his head. No, no, he's looking at a map. It's in Northern Africa, so it's something near Egypt, but a little bit west. Oh Okay, my thought he was gonna do better than that It's not bad though. I said two countries is next door to it Yeah, I don't know I do like I don't know where any so do you know where it was? I knew it was in Africa and I knew it was in Northern Africa, but I couldn't show you on a map of Europe where I've been

But if you if I said North Africa and you said No, it's it's in the Pacific city. I would have said Yeah, fuck or He said it's it's like an island off Tasmania. Oh, yeah, no totally totally that's cool It's in Tasmania. Oh, yeah, the desertences of Tasmania. Yeah, that's great. Yeah. That's where they filmed it. Right, so they've done that. And then the Monty Python and Life at the Hollywood Bowl

came out in 1982. That was obviously a live show that was filmed and then released. Yes, Matt. I was just going to say, before we move on from Life to Brian, the fact that I've heard a few people mention, I don't know, I think it's true, is that it was in a big way funded by George Harrison. Is that true?

I've heard that as well. And he didn't realize that he'd pretty much put all his money on the line. Yeah, he was, and they didn't realize that, and they found that out later, and we were like, they were glad they didn't, because they would have felt so much more pressure. Yeah, yeah, that is correct.

Former Beatle George Harrison did fund mostly life of Brian, and he also had a cameo in the film. Oh, right. As the owner of the mount. That was in my fun facts. Thanks so much for ruining one of my fun facts. I should have probably thought. But I have a good one, and it ties in nicely

without Beatle's previous Beatle's episode. facts. I should have probably thought. But I have a good one and it ties in nicely without Beatles, previous Beatles episode. But I have heard about him, they didn't realize him putting his money on the line. Like, yeah, they had much. Because he's a Beatles that he'd have, oh, they've got a billion dollars. Yeah. But I think at the time,

or around the time of the Beatles, he wrote, George Harrison wrote a some of the little tax man. And it was about the current, I think it was about the current tax sales meant that they were paying something like 90% tax. What? So the Beatles were making a lot of money, but not necessarily seeing a lot of it. Brutal.

But I like that he was in it. I can't, I've been seen in ages, but it, like, if he's as I picture him, he would have, he wouldn't have needed much of a makeup artist or any sort of of the time. Yeah, he just kind of blends in. Oh, that's a great for now. I want to watch that. Yeah. He's not the Messiah. He's a very naughty boy. Brilliant. That is really good. My recall of it is also excellent. I reckon I would have heard that that phrase or that one a million times before I even knew that was from yeah, definitely the other one that That we say a lot in my in my family is like you are all individuals and the whole crowd of people go We are all individuals the one little voice goes. I'm not brilliant

That's very good so good and that is out the same with the now we're just gonna start doing ones but the the Make-shell inherit the earth. What do you say? I think he said the Greek show inherit the earth or something like that Blessed are the cheese makers cheese makers. Yeah, I sure made would have said something like that You could have played one of the women. Oh yeah. They all played their own female characters. That's something that people don't realise back in the 70s. There weren't many female actors, so they had to play all the roles themselves.

There weren't many. Women actors had not been invented yet. They were invented in the late 70s, so they were nearly around. Nearly, but not quite. Technology hadn't quite caught up to their vision. Exactly. They tried a bit, but they just didn't look like women on film. Yeah, they don't look the same.

They look like the robots. And we can't have that. We wanted an authentic look. So they just put Terry Jones in a wig and it just had the right look. And what a woman. What a woman. So they just have their live show Live at the Hollywood Bowl, which was filmed and the film was released in 1982.

And then in 1983, the meaning of life came out, which sort of documents a man's life from birth to death in different chapters. Crucially, this was the last project that all six pythons would collaborate on. And what you was at in the 80s? 83. Except for the 1989 compilation parrots sketch not included where they're all seen sitting in a closet for four seconds. So I think you can pretty safely say that many of life was the last thing they all did together.

And it was the last time that Chapman appeared on screen with with the other pythons. In terms of like film staff each of the members sort of after the group kind of split up there wasn't it wasn't like a Beatles where they had this big falling out they just kind of all went their separate ways and and did other stuff so they've all pursued various film television stage projects but often continued to work with one another like that sort of cameo in each other's work, so many of these collaborations were really successful, most notably a fish called Wanda in 1988 written by John

Cleese, which he starred in along with Michael Palin. It's very funny. It's great. I can say it, I should check it out. And the pair also appeared in Time Bandits, which was in 1981, which was directed by Terry Gilliam, who wrote it with Paylon as well. Time Bandit, I don't think I'm familiar with this time. I don't think I've seen that one either. That doesn't bowed well. No, just, I mean this was still 30 years before we were born, 20 years before we were born. Oh, running.

No, 10 years. Okay. Nine years. Okay. Nine years. Alright. Speaking of time, bad news. We won a 30 to 9 pretty quick. He did the claim to be the one who's good at maths. She didn't, Dave. I've never said it once. Dave?

So, hold your face. It's my fault for being good at maths and jogging. Oh, God. What am I good at? What am I good at? What am I good at? What am I good at? What am I good at? What am I good at? Trumpetals and... What am I good at?

No, really, what am I good at? You're good, you're good at, you're good at, you're good at, you're good, you're good at, you're good at. Oh, good at, I'm telling me how I shouldn't be cooking a toasted cheese sandwich. Yeah. Alright, I'm good at toasted cheese sandwiches. It's like, it's like, it's holding onto it, you need it. So, other stuff that they sort of collaborated on, Michael Palin and Terry Jones wrote a comedic

TV series called Ripping Yarns which ran for three years between 76 and 79. Oh great, I know that. Ripping Yarns. Yeah, a big one. In 1996 Terry Jones wrote and directed an adaptation of The Wind and the Willows. Has ever you seen that at all? I reckon I might have seen it in the movies. I loved it when I was a kid.

In McKid years. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it featured four members of Monty Python. So Terry Jones played Mr Toad. He played it really well. Eric Idol was Ratti. Cleese was Mr Toad's lawyer. And Michael Palin was the son.

What a role. Oh, the son. I thought it was like... Not like S-O-N, S-U-N. Oh, the son. The son. Oh the sun. I thought it was like... Not like S-O-N, S-U-N. Oh the sun! I am familiar. You are familiar, you know it?

First names. The biggest star in our solar system, Dave, do you know that? That's a little geography factor for you. Nope. It's not... No it is. No, but it's not geography. I thought you were saying that was not the biggest star.

It's not the biggest star. You're the biggest star, Jess Perkins. Yeah, stop it. So in 2013, the Python's lost a legal case to mark forest data, the film producer of Multi-Python and the Holy Grail, over royalties for their derivative work, Spamalot, which was a big stage play. Yeah, Eric Idle did that. I was going to talk a little bit more about that later anyway. So over royalties in that they owed a combined 800,000 pounds in legal fees and back royalties. So they were trying to not pay the producer at all? Well, I guess so.

He was sort of saying that spam a lot was derivative of Holigirl, which it totally is. It's part of it. Yeah, it's sort of a spin-off for one of the better words. Right, so what they did to pay back their legal phases, they proposed to a union show. So they were always like, no, no, no, we won't reunite.. Oh what we have, that big bill, yeah okay we can probably do a show. So on the 90th of November in 2013 a reunion show was reported following months of secret talks and the original plan was for a live one-off show at the O2 Arena in London on the 1st of July 2014 with some of Monty Python's greatest hits with modern topical Python-esque twists, apparently.

They're all very old by this point. Like this is only three years ago, so they're like in the early 70s. Yeah. So they don't have the stamina for big live shows anymore. But they did it. And tickets for this show went on sale in November of 2013 and sold out in 43 seconds. What, how does that happen? 43 seconds, they got.

I can't even type my credit card details in that group. No, you would be like, yeah, true. You'd be like, sick, got them, brrr. Oh no. I guess that counts. I must, because they're like reserved and yet sounded it. So I must count them from when. But that is amazing.

So everyone in straightaway and I was at it's like a big stadium like 20,000 yeah it's huge 20,000 tickets in 43 seconds well two more seconds you could have sold out another arena would have made just a bit more comfortable you know how she hates an odd number like I do 45 would have made me much happier thank you but ran it up Round it up. Do I mean it, if you like? Yeah, well no, because then no, 45 seconds is fine. So then they added nine additional shows. Nine! Nine additional shows, all of them at the O2 and the last was on the 20th of July.

And... And they all sold out too. They all sold it, so 10 shows. Yeah. And am I remembering this right that they did like a live broadcast the cinemas around? Yeah, I remember that too. I don't have the details of it but I do remember that as well. Yeah, I got a vague memory of that. Yeah and I've got the DVD and I've watched it like the behind the scenes stuff's really interesting as well. Yeah, I remember

seeing them like getting changed and just... Yeah. Oh, floppy. Oh, but having a good time are they? Oh, they have having a good time, I mean. Yeah, they're definitely having fun. They're fucking around a real bit. They're hanging shit on each other. But I think they all kind of... I don't think they particularly get along. Yeah.

Like, they're not really best mates. I don't think they ever found it that easy to work together. They just worked so well together. And then there was a comment in that as well from a few of them was sort of like, well if John Cleese didn't come on board, it wouldn't have happened. Because like, I think even Michael Pailin was saying John Cleese was the star.

Like he was just such an engaging performer that without him, the whole thing wouldn't have worked. Right. Which is pretty. That's kind of generous, I think. Yeah. Especially, yeah, if it's like, that makes it sound like it's not a big group of egos,

which I guess it must be on some level. It has to be, I suppose, yeah. But that was just kind of interesting. So I've got a few notes on what each of them sort of did individually, and then I got some fun facts. Right. We'll love it. We'll board.

Stick to the contents. Appreciate it. I'm happy to help So we'll start with John Cleese who was my personal favorite. Apparently not the nicest person in the world, but my favorite performer In terms of number of productions Cleese had the most prolific solo career having appeared in 59 films Whatty hell 22 TV shows or series 23 direct to video productions. Woohoo! Six video games and a number of commercials.

Yeah, he often pops up in commercials, doesn't he? Yeah, in some strange places. Like bank ads and stuff. Yeah, yeah. Like, it must be worth million bucks to it, or something, but well. Yeah. I think, yeah, because he, I think he's been married a couple times,

and I'm pretty sure he says that one of those he can't or he regrets a bit because he had it cost him a lot of money. There's a pretty short marriage in it and he had to do it too, basically, like an interview tour and he called it the Alamo. Alamo, yeah, exactly, yeah, very good. So you remember things. Yeah, no,'s absolutely true. So I think it's been around I think four times. So his BBC sitcom Faulty Towers, which he wrote with his wife, Connie Booth, is considered the greatest solo work by a python since the sketch so finished. It's the only comedy series to rank higher than the flying circus on the BFI TV 100s list topping the whole poll.

So Faulty Towers was numero uno. Oh man, so great. It's amazing, it's so good. It's only only one. We studied it in drama in your night. Like we watched Faulty Towers to learn comedy. And it's one of those crazy shows. Yours was pretty big on the one-departan members set. I was pretty big on one department.

I mean, I've been. And then I won the one that I turned out the way I did. Very path and S. And bitter. It was a broken, bitter human. I married four times. Yeah, it's not good. So, I'm out of cut, you know, I thought we were going to say.

I was going to say, I think I've heard other people say this a bit, but it's one of those shows where you're like, if I didn't know, I would assume that there were multiple seasons. I mean, I would have thought there would be more seasons and more episode per season. So many classic moments that it feels like it was, you know, it could be 40 episodes, not 12 or whatever. They just passed it all in. Now, apparently this is kind of called John Cleese apparently based, Basil Faulty on a real person who was called Donald Sinclair,

he encountered in 1970 while Monty Python team was staying at a hotel in Torquay. Which is where it was set. Yeah. So reportedly Cleese was inspired by Sinclair's mantra, I could run this hotel just fine if it weren't for the guests. And he later described Sinclair's the most wonderfully rude man I've ever met. Although Sinclair's would have apparently denied this, said he was totally misinterpreted. He was a lovely person. but he was the most famous TV maker ever.

But if he was being funny, thanks. Like that's just a funny line. I used to say that when I worked with a supermarket, this place would be much better without the customer. It's quite derivative of Ilejon Cleese. I didn't realize that at the time. I feel like we came to that joke. On your own. 30 years apart. I don't think you did. Mate, you stole it. admit it.

During the Python stacing clear, allegedly through Eric Guidel's briefcase out of the hotel, in case it contained a bomb. This guy's supposed to be normal. He's the best. He complained about Gilliam's American table manners and through a bus timetable at another guest after they did ask the time of the next bus. It's through a bus at a bus schedule item. I love that. In 1999 John Cleese appeared in the James Bond film The World is not enough. Oh yeah. As you yeah, well no he was Q's assistant referred to by Bond as ah and then in 2002 when Cleese reprised his role in Dine other day. That's when he was promoted to Q because Robert Lowellen had died Who played Q initially? I guess for 17 films. That's right 17. That's a lot Um, couple of fun little facts.

There is a species of lemur named after him. That's from like, because there was like a lemur in creatures. Dangerous, fierce creatures. Yeah, that's not why, but like he really likes lemurs. So there's a species of them referred to as avahi klesa. Klesi. That's really great. How cool is that? I think I like that in my life.

Yep. Oh fuck yeah. He's a... Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. He better believe it. In 1996, he declined a commander of the British Empire. Oh, I was born to badge.

What do you get? He's a foreigner. That's all that, yeah. No, no, no. What do you get for? Yeah, that, yeah. What do you get? Yeah, so he declined that. Yeah, he probably do get like a medallion or like often they get like a singer in the neck and a... But he said no thank you.

No thank you. I don't know why. No explanation why. He just said no thanks. Was it like John Lennon that time he told us? Maybe it's a little thing. Maybe it's a little thing. That's pretty great. No, he may be. He's got his sofa. Yeah, he may be. He's trying to take it back. This is kind of fun. There is a rubbish heap of 45 meters in altitude that has been named Mount Cleese just outside of Palmerston North after he dubbed the city Suicide Capital of New Zealand.

So he like shadow over this place in New Zealand so they named a heap of rubbish after it. Oh wow. I love that but I also think he would secretly love that. I feel good. I feel good. Like that more than the lemons. Everyone's a winner there. He really enjoyed that. Okay, now Michael Palin.

So apart from fierce creatures, his last film role was a small part in the wind and the willows that I sort of mentioned earlier that Terry Jones had written. And he did obviously what he's sort of known for now is a series of documentaries. He does a lot of travel documentaries. His first one was part of the 1980 BBC television series, Great Railway Journeys of the World. Strap yourself in. I'll fill bone. He travels through the UK by train because apparently there's a kid here who had a hobby of train spotting so that seems pretty exciting. Then he also did Michael Palin around the world in 80 days. So he's done some other travel

stuff including pole to pole. Again it's his pole dancing adventures. Full circle with Michael Palin, Michael Palin's Hemingway adventures. Sahara with Michael Palin, Himalaya with Michael Palin. He started out slow with trains and now he's gone to some really exotic places. He's done heavy, so yeah he's done a lot of like travel stuff which is very very cool so that's mainly been his bag ever since. I think I'll just put it out then say that he's probably my favorite. Yeah, I was gonna say yeah. Isn't he?

I do like paper. PB shows a movie, sketches. Yeah, I like him a lot as well. It's bloody tricky. I don't know why we have to have favorites. No, we don't have to have favorite. But this because you know, I did say it but I regret it but I don't because I love him anyway.

Yeah, I'd probably have to say Cleese is all I think. Who are we up to? Who's next? Terry Jones is next. Now he, this is all I think. Who are we up to? Who's next? Terry Jones is next. Now, this is what I didn't know. He wrote the screenplay for Labyrinth. Oh, I didn't know that either. Wow, that's a really great claim.

Yeah, it's pretty good. I didn't know that. That is a fun fact before we got to the fun fact. Apparently, his draft, though, went through several rewrites and that sort of thing. So much of the finished film was a little bit different. Still claim it? Still work claimable.

He didn't actually write the cod piece and that was written in an allater draft. He wasn't requested by someone else. Yeah. But we have so many Sean Burke. Sean Burke. What did we need? A little thing that I like to call a cod piece. I'm muddling it now and you can see I'm good at licking the look. The the fan of the 80s welcome kids everyone's wearing cut pieces yeah and cold the main character I'm the goblin king shine bird I'm sending the goblin king shine bird right it in we need puppets kids love puppets get themon on the phone. Well, I counted the excellent. Yeah, that's it.

David does it much better. Jim Hanson, I've got you on speed up. I don't know either. I'm J-Mode. Sean Bugs, my favorite character. From Labrins. Anything. Yeah, so Terry Jones wrote Labrins.

What's kind of cool is he did a lot of like TV work as well. He wrote a series, like he wrote quite a few children's books and he also wrote ripping yarns with paylon, I sort of mentioned before. He also did like TV series that challenges popular views of history. So for example, Terry Jones Medieval Lives, which he received an Emmy nomination for

for outstanding writing for nonfiction program. It argues that the Middle Ages was a more sophisticated period than his popularly thought. So he just never sort of go against the grain and make a whole show about it, which is kind of cool. I like that. Tell me he's not a Holocaust tonight. He didn't do a Holocaust tonight, especially. No. Good.

We move over to the other Terry, Terry Gilliam. The only python not born in Britain, he became a naturalised British citizen in 1968, and formally renounced his American citizenship in 2006. Really? Which you totally would do, right? Not when you were working in Hollywood. Oh yeah, good point. Yeah, did he have to?

Well, I mean, he as a British citizen since 1960. Yeah, exactly. It's like 34. So it's a long time. It can be a dual citizen. He was a dual citizen for a long time. So I wonder why, yeah. Don't know why he was a... I know, like, Rupert Murdoch did...

Because he had to, because he feels in a strafe. He couldn't earn so much media in America. If he was a dual citizen. Yeah, okay. I've written down his kid's names, just because they have great names. So he's- Is that a lophone? Amy Rainbow.

That's pretty good. Is that like one bro? No, Amy Rainbow. Amy Rainbow. And then his son is Harry Thunder. And those are the ones that's just Holly, that's not as funny, but Harry Thunder. Holly precipitation.

That's very good. It's so patronizing when I say that, but I don't mean. I mean only when you pat me on the head as you say it. Well, you're just so cute. Eric Idol wrote and put on Spamalot, which was based on, as we were saying before, based on Holy Grail. It opened in Chicago and it's since played in New York on Broadway, London, and numerous other major cities across the world. Melbourne, Australia. Definitely did. I did it, cool.

It was nominated for 14 Tony Awards. That's a lot. 14 is a lot of awards. It's a lot of Tony. It won three. So best musical, best direction, and best performance by featured actress. I imagine the best musical is the main one.

And then finally, it brings us to Graham Chapman, who he completed his studies and was a registered doctor. I do remember hearing at some point that he was the doctor on set for life of Brian, which I quite like. Well, the one way to cut, you know, cut a cost there. So by the time Monty Python went on tour in 1973, his drinking had begun to affect his performance and he was missing cues on stage, he was forgetting lines. But by the time he stopped drinking in Christmas of 1977, concerned that he wouldn't be able

to act properly in life of Brian and remain sober for the rest of his life. Oh great. So he was the lead role in life of Brian and Holly Grail. I remember hearing that they thought he was the best actor that's why. Yeah, exactly. But. They said he was the best actor. I thought that I imagine that he just kept drinking. That's why. So did I. I thought that was just a problem throughout his whole life, but he apparently stopped and didn't drink again. How did he die? He had throat cancer. So he was diagnosed with the throat cancer in 1989 and apparently John Cleese, Michael Paylon, Peter Cook and Chapman's

partner, David Sherlock were all there when he died, when he passed away they were all there. And his death actually occurred the day before the 20th anniversary of their of flying circus so the day before the 20th anniversary and Terry Jones said it was the worst case of party pooping in all history. Very good. He died just before. Now the five surviving python members decided to stay away from his private funeral because it was just going to become a media circus. So they sort of stayed away and gave his family some privacy. But they did send a wreath in the shape of the famous Python foot with the message to Graham from the other pythons with all our love, PS, stop us if we're getting too silly. Which I really like.

A private memorial service for him was held two months later. John Cleese delivered a memorable eulogy to Chapman with a shock humor that he believed Chapman would have wanted. Lady became the first person at a televised British memorial service to say fuck. Which I love. I love that. So what he said in his eulogy, said, I've got a quote here, I guess we're all thinking how sad it is that a man of such talent, of such capability for kindness, of such unusual intelligence, should now so suddenly be spirited away.

Well, I feel that I should say nonsense. Good riddance to him, the freeloading bastard, I hope he fries. And like the whole church was just pissing themselves off it was so funny and Michael Palin delivered a eagilogy as well they all did actually it seems like most of them actually got up and said something but Palin said Chapman had decided to die rather than listen to Palin once again and Idle also led the other surviving pythons and Chapman's close friends and family in a rendition of always looking on the bright side of life. And he closed it by saying, I'd just like to be the last person at this meeting to say

fuck. I do have a few fun facts to finish off with. If I may. That would be so good. You sound really enthused. I am so enthused. I am. Thank you, Dave.

You're welcome. What? I am so, and I'm even morehousi. I don't think so. I'd like to top your enthusiasm with this enthusiasm. Okay well nice try but I don't think it is quite as enthusiastic as I'm feeling right now. Well what have I told you that just before I was at 50% enthusiasm and now I'm at 85% enthusiasm. 85% that's not bad but my pie is bigger than yours and I'm giving you 93% of my bigger pie. Well 100% of my smaller pie in fact is a bloodish conference than yours.

It seems like you've got me here but now I've handed it over to the liberal and bloody hell I am pumped. In fact number one. The Holy Grail was filmed on location in rural areas of Scotland with a budget of only £229,000. The money was raised in part with investments from rock groups such as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. Oh wow! I think that's kind of cool, I didn't know that. I think this is it, I had some a fun one. They had some cool friends. They did have some cool friends.

And cool fans, I'll say too. Yeah, well that's it, yeah. Just appreciated that they were. Onsen George's Day on the 23rd of April 2007, the cast and creators of Spamalot gathered in Trafalgar Square under the tutelage of the two terries and set a new record for the world's largest coconut orchestra. How many members?

5,567 people. Clip copying in time to the Python classic always look on the bright side of life. Wow. For a kid who's world record attempt. It says attempt, so I don't even know if they did it. Do you think that we could beat that? I have any questions. Is our listenership bigger enough for that?

Yes. No. What to get all in one place. Definitely not. We'd have to fly them here. There are seven asteroids named after Monty Python. So one for each of them and one just called Monty Python. So I think that's pretty cool. They've all got an asteroid named after them. That's great. Wow. How cool is that? So there's a John Cleese. There's a Graham Chapman John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Guadel, Michael Peck. They've got none in front of them.

But John Cleese, have you, you can't bring him a track of what he's got. He's got a lemma, he's got a pile of rubbish and an asteroid. He's doing all right. It's no airport like Edmund Hillary, but something. Hmm. Edmund Hillary also has a mountain on a,

on Pluto. Pluto on a police. Mountain range. It's not even just a mountain, it's a mountain range. The John Cleese International Airport. I think it could happen in the years like that. It's a couple of bells. In 2001, John Cleese was cast in the comedy rat race.

Do you ever see rat race? Yes with Rowan Atkinson. I don't see it, but I've heard it. It would be Goldberg. He played the eccentric hotel owner, Donald P. Sinclair. Do you recognize that name at all? Donald Sinclair. That was the name of eccentric hotel owner Donald P. Sinclair. Do you recognize that name at all? It was the name of the hotel owner who he based as he felt as a faulty on Buzzy filthy how cool is that that is I did not know I couldn't even remember it well done. Yeah

I think that's pretty cool. All right. I've got two more Michael Palin A pit had a small cameo role in home and away What Michael Palin was on home and away. What did he say or do he played an English surfer? Which I mean totally he looks like a gnarly dude. This is recently by the way Who has a fear of sharks and it interrupts the conversation between two main characters to ask whether there are any sharks in the sea. And yes, I found it on YouTube, and yes, I will tweet it. And it's funny. And it's funny.

Are there any sharks in the sea? No. Carry on then. And the last one I have, it's not, probably not particularly funny for the last one to end on, but inside the Globe Theatre, there are commemorative stones to mark donors to the theatre. Michael Palin has his own stone, but his own stone, but it's misspelled as Michael Palin, so two Ls. And the story goes that John Cleese paid for the stone and insisted on misspelling his name as a joke.

Gentlemen, that was my report on Monty Python that was hastily put together last night. Well I enjoyed your Monty Python report. Thank you. And I feel like going home and watching my favorite holy grail because, oh man, every sketch in that movie makes me laugh so much. Yeah, awesome. Thanks so much for the report, Jess.

If you guys out there want to get in contact with us or suggest a topic you can get in contact, our hat that we're pulling topics out of is getting bigger and bigger by the minute Or by the by the week by the week we'll say that and you can tweet us at dogo on pod or do go on pod a Gmail.com Thanks so much for listening guys. We'll be back with a brand new report next week and until then enjoy yourself What I love you, bye. Bye! Bye! Bye!

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