Monty Python's Flying Circus: Complete And Annotated...All The Bits

(Paperback)

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Description

THE must-have book for every Monty Python fan is now in paperback! MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS: COMPLETE AND ANNOTATED...ALL THE BITS includes every script from every episode of the innovative, hilarious, and absurd series--one of the most influential of all time--plus hundreds of annotations, behind-the-scenes stories, profiles, and more, as well as photographs, drawings, and Terry Gilliam's iconic artwork.

MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS is one of the most popular, important and oft-quoted comedy series of all time. This landmark work collects the complete scripts for every one of the 45 episodes of Flying Circus: every silly setup, every clever conceit, every snide insult, and ever saucy aside from these classic skits, including "The Ministry of Silly Walks," "The Dead Parrot," "Banter in the Cheese Shop," "Spam, the Funniest Joke in the World," "The Spanish Inquisition," "The Argument Clinic," "The Fish-Slapping Dance," "The Lumberjack Song," and all the rest.

Every script is thoroughly annotated with notes that cover the plethora of cultural, historical, and topical references touched upon in each sketch. Sidebars and commentary throughout include profiles of the principles -- Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, and John Cleese -- and interviews with the cast and crew; fascinating facts about technical concerns, set design, and shooting locations; insider stores from on and off the set, including arguments, accidents, and practical jokes; goofs and gaffes; and much more. Also included are thousands of stills and artwork from the shows.

Reviews

Characterized by a level of detail that firmly plants Dempsey (A Supremely Bad Idea), the deputy editor of Bookish.com, in the obsessive fan-boy camp, this annotated transcription of all 45 Monty Python episodes occupies a ludicrously colorful and silly space between scrapbook and bible of the absurd. Including stills of more than 2,000 key scenes, as well as a litany of trivia for each sketch, this is a perfect supplement to the British troupe's subversive comedic oeuvre. Dempsey keeps his comments and criticism to the margins of the page, allowing classic sketches like Dead Parrot, The Ministry of Silly Walks, and The Lumberjack Song to speak for themselves. But it's in those margins that readers will likely find the most gold, as Dempsey's running commentary covers everything from expected Python minutiae, gaffes, and in-jokes, to British history and culture, effectively situating the show's crisp writing and sly references in their proper context. Clocking in at nearly 900 pages, folks won't be toting this book far from the coffee table, but the engaging combination of asides, fun facts, illustrations, and screen shots (not to mention the episode transcriptions themselves) make for an immersive and addictive read; Python fans needn't look any furtherit's all here, literally.--Publishers Weekly

Author Bio

Luke Dempsey (Author)

Luke Dempsey is deputy editor of bookish.com and author of the memoir A Supremely Bad Idea. A native of England --and a massive Python fan--he currently lives in Griggstown, NJ.

Graham Chapman (Author)

Graham Chapman studied medicine at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and was invited to join the Cambridge Footlights Dramatic Society, where he met John Cleese. He qualified as a doctor at St.Bartholomew's Hospital in London, then put his medical career on hold and joined Cleese on tour with the stage revue Cambridge Circus, which ran on Broadway in Oct. 1964 and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. Back in England, Graham wrote for many TV series, radio programs and films, including the Doctor In the House series, The Frost Report, I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again, and Monty Python's Flying Circus. He also had the lead role in the films Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Monty Python's Life of Brian. Yellowbeard was his only novel.

Graham died (at age 48) of cancer on 4, Oct 1989, just one day before the 20th anniversary of Monty Python. Fellow Python Terry Jones called it 'The worst case of party-pooping I've ever seen.'

Graham Chapman studied medicine at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and was invited to join the Cambridge Footlights Dramatic Society, where he met John Cleese. He qualified as a doctor at St.Bartholomew's Hospital in London, then put his medical career on hold and joined Cleese on tour with the stage revue Cambridge Circus, which ran on Broadway in Oct. 1964 and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. Back in England, Graham wrote for many TV series, radio programs and films, including the Doctor In the House series, The Frost Report, I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again, and Monty Python's Flying Circus. He also had the lead role in the films Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Monty Python's Life of Brian. Yellowbeard was his only novel.

Graham died (at age 48) of cancer on 4, Oct 1989, just one day before the 20th anniversary of Monty Python. Fellow Python Terry Jones called it 'The worst case of party-pooping I've ever seen.'