graham chapman-related stories
Posted Oct 5th 2009 8:09PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Reality-Free, British TV
One of the world' most quotable and iconic comedy shows made its television debut 40 years ago today.
Monty Python's Flying Circus first appeared on British television on Oct. 5, 1969, a show that branched into four feature length films, launched the careers of six very funny dudes and inspired millions of countless nerds to quote their most famous lines to death (myself included).
I'm sure everyone with a working set of eyes and a television set remembers the first time they saw Monty Python. What's your earliest memory of the show and more importantly, did it include any images of nude ladies?
Posted Jul 11th 2009 2:05PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV Royalty, OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free
I was going to save this extra-classic show,
Monty Python's Flying Circus, for the later part of the
Sketch Comedy Saturday series, but I just had to do this in light of recent, super-exciting news. As I hope most of you know,
Monty Python will be having a reunion. Sure, John Cleese and Graham Chapman won't be there (for two, completely different reasons) but it will still be nice to see Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam get back together, right? Magic always happens when there's more than one Python guy around. Except that time John Cleese and Michael Palin tried to do "The Parrot Sketch" on
Saturday Night Live a few years ago. That was just weird.
Continue reading Sketch Comedy Saturday: Monty Python's Flying Circus
Posted Nov 18th 2008 7:03PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: TV Royalty, OpEd, Web, Celebrities, Reality-Free, British TV
Hey, want to know something super-sad? For most of seventh grade, I came home every day from school and, before doing anything else, watched
Monty Python and the Holy Grail from beginning to end. I also spent a great deal of middle school reading everything I could about the troupe, filling my brain with pointless trivia about Sam Peckinpah's "Salad Days" and Spam.
This not only caused me to develop a type of hardcore social awkwardness that was extremely rare outside of the 70s and 80s, but forever instilled in me a deep love for Monty Python. Since the boys are very busy with their individual projects these days, it's a thrill to see any new Python stuff to come around, even when it's in the form of an extra-short YouTube clip and they're never actually shown to be in the same room together.
Continue reading Monty Python finally does something with this YouTube stuff - VIDEOS
Posted Mar 20th 2008 4:43PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Programming, Cable/Satellite, Pickups and Renewals
May as well starting laughing now! On May 26, BBC America will air a
10-hour marathon of Monty Python's Flying Circus. The network has just snagged all four seasons of the legendary comedy series, including a couple of specials they did for German TV.
As every fan of great comedy knows, the Monty Python troupe consisted of Michael Palin, Eric Idle, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Graham Chapman and Terry Jones.
Monty Python's Flying Circus debuted on BBC on October 5, 1969, and over the years the shows have been shown over and over again, becoming classic. Now that they are coming to BBC America, it's a chance for fans -- new and old -- to watch them one more time -- and DVR them if you're smart. Unless you already have the DVDs.
Continue reading The Flying Circus comes to BBC America
Posted Oct 22nd 2006 11:39AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV Royalty, BBC, Celebrities
Terry Jones, one-sixth of the Monty Python troupe, has recently been
diagnosed with bowel cancer. However, his doctors believe that they caught it at an early enough stage to treat it. Jones will be having an operation soon but he's in high spirits, according to his agent.
I'm not gonna lie, I definitely got chills when I initially read the headline. I don't think I'm ready to lose my first Python (Graham Chapman died from cancer back in the late 80s, but I was too young to know what was going on). Here's to hoping Mr. Jones has a speedy recovery.
Posted Mar 27th 2006 11:30AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: PBS, Web, Celebrities
In 1975, four of the cast members of
Monty Python, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Graham Chapman, sat down for a live interview on
Dallas' KERA-TV, allegedly the first PBS station to air Monty Python's Flying Circus. This footage, according
to the introduction, has not been seen since it originally aired. Unfortunately, the clip cuts off after thirteen
minutes, apparently because an engineer taped over it. Nevertheless, it's fascinating to watch as these young
American's ask questions about a show all of us now know forward and backward, but that at the time was completely new
to them. And, since it was filmed during pledge week, you get to hear the incessant ringing of phones in the background
throughout the entire interview. It would have been nice if the rest of the troop had joined them, but at least it gives
us another chance to hear from the late Graham Chapman, who passed away in 1989. Watch the video after the
jump:
[via The Sound of
Young America]
Continue reading Monty Python interview from 1975
Posted Feb 22nd 2006 8:55AM by Keith McDuffee
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, PBS, BBC
I sort-of grew up watching old
Monty Python's Flying
Circus shows, as rebroadcast in the States. I've got my own list of favorite sketches, and while I could sit here
and talk about them all day, that'd be going off on a tagent and would be...something completely different.
Starting this Wednesday night on PBS, the five remaining Pythons (John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Michael
Palin and Terry Jones) will begin airing each their own favorite episodes within five specials, a sixth put together by
them all, to honor the late Python, Graham Chapman. Any self respecting Python fan would not want to miss what's surely
going to be a pleasant trip to the past.
What's even better news:
PBS will begin rebroadcasting all 47
episodes, starting this Spring.
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