As a teen, I was a HUGE fan of Monty Python's Flying Circus. It was a British sketch comedy program that was broadcast on PBS on Sunday nights, well past my bedtime, but I did whatever it took to see it every week. Even if that meant using an ear bud from my transistor radio so my parents wouldn't hear that I was still awake. (Sorry, folks.)
The Lumberjack Song was sung on more than one Monday morning in my high school band room.
The cast members were all highly educated and their comedy style was considered intellectual. Often filled with sexual double entendres, the sketches ranged from "somewhat dirty" to ridiculously absurd. The cast played mostly all the characters, including the women, with very few guests performers. One of my favorite episodes was the Penguin on the Television sketch.
The surviving cast members plan to begin filming a new sci-fi comedy farce, Absolutely Anything, in the United Kingdom this spring. They will be voicing key roles as a group of aliens who grant an earthling the power to do "absolutely anything" just to see what a mess he'll make of things. The film will combine CGI with live action and will be produced by Terry Jones, one of the original Pythons. And, of course, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition.
Over the years the cast members have kept busy with successful solo projects and roles, writing books, inspiring hit broadway shows (Spamalot), etc. but this will mark the first time that they have appeared on screen together in many years.
To this day, I can't hear The Liberty Bell March without thinking "and now for something completely different".
PS: If the Ministry of Silly Walks doesn't make you giggle, check for a pulse.
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