Monty Python's Flying Circus

An Utterly Complete, Thoroughly Unillustrated, Absolutely Unauthorized Guide to Possibly All the References

Darl Larsen

• Publisher: Scarecrow Press
• Year: 2008
• eBook ISBN: 9781461669708
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Film & Video

In 1969, the BBC aired the first episode of a new comedy series titled Monty Python's Flying Circus, and the rest, as they say, is history. An instant success, the show ran until 1974, producing a total of 45 episodes. Despite the show's very English humor and allusions to many things British, the series developed a cult following outside the U.K., particularly in the United States. Known for its outrageous humor, occasionally controversial content, and often silly spirit, Monty Python's Flying Circus poked fun at nearly all institutions—domestic or foreign, grand or intimate, sacred or not. Indeed, many of the allusions and references in the program were uniquely British and routinely obscure, and therefore, not always understood or even noticed outside the British Isles.

This exhaustive reference identifies and explains the plethora of cultural, historical, and topical allusions of this landmark series. In this resource, virtually every allusion and reference that appeared in an episode—whether stated by a character, depicted in the mise-en-scene, or mentioned in the printed scripts—is identified and explained. Organized chronologically by episode, each entry is listed alphabetically, indicates what sketch it appeared in, and is cross-referenced between episodes. Entries cover literary and metaphoric allusions, symbolisms, names, peoples, and places; as well as the myriad social, cultural, and historical elements (photos, songs, slogans, caricatures) that populate and inform these episodes.

Entries Include:
·"Arabella Plunkett"
·Group of famous characters from famous paintings
·Hell's Grannies
·HRH The Dummy Princess Margaret
·"Kandinsky"
·"On the Dad's Liver Bachelors at Large"
·Raymond Baxter type
·Scun
·"Spanish Inquisition"
·"Third Parachute Brigade Amateur Dramatic Society"
·"total cashectomy"
·"Two-Sheds"
·"Umbonga's hostile opening"
·Vicar sitting thin and unhappy in a pot
·"What's all this then?"

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Episode 1: “Whither Canada?”
• Episode 2: “Sex & Violence”
• Episode 3: “How to Recognize Different Types of Tree From Quite a Long Way Away”
• Episode 4: “Owl-Stretching Time”
• Episode 5: “Man’s Crisis of Identity in the Latter Half of the Twentieth Century”
• Episode 6
• Episode 7
• Episode 8
• Episode 9: “The Ant, An Introduction”
• Episode 10
• Episode 11
• Episode 12
• Episode 13
• Episode 14
• Episode 15
• Episode 16
• Episode 17
• Episode 18
• Episode 19
• Episode 20
• Episode 21
• Episode 22
• Episode 23
• Episode 24
• Episode 25
• Episode 26
• Episode 27
• Episode 28
• Episode 29
• Episode 30
• Episode 31: “The All-England Summarize Proust Competition”
• Episode 32
• Episode 33
• Episode 34: “The Cycling Tour”
• Episode 35
• Episode 36
• Episode 37
• Episode 38
• Episode 39: “Grandstand”
• Episode 40: “The Golden Age of Ballooning”
• Episode 41: “Michael Ellis”
• Episode 42: “Light Entertainment War”
• Episode 43: “Hamlet”
• Episode 44: “Mr. Neutron”
• Episode 45: “Party Political Broadcast”
• Bibliography
• Index
• Index of Monty Python’s Flying Circus Extras and Walk-Ons (As Scheduled)
• About the Author