Graham Chapman (1941–1989)

Includes lots of the most hysterical skits we can all agree on, such as the Upper Class Twit of the Year competition, but also only shows excerpts of some skits, and not all are so funny. Each member of Python, with the obvious exception of Graham Chapman, comes up with his own fictionalized conception of his role. Terry Gilliam, in an impressive bit of acting for an animator, says it was all supposed to be an animated show and the other members were supposed to be minor players, but the live skits got out of hand. Terry Jones credits himself with creating Python and taking the other members on as a form of charity, since they couldn't get any work on their own. John Cleese plays a hard of hearing 96 (or 97, I forget) version of himself being interviewed and expressing anger over not being "Sir John" because of the Upper Class Twit of the Year skit. His episode also includes a long, seldom funny fairy tale at the beginning, which certainly doesn't represent the best of Monty Python. The members must have agreed to use the fish slapping dance as some sort of link between episodes, since it appears over and over. For sure humor, Palin's and Idol's episodes are probably the best. The Chapman episode highlights his ability to play everything from military figures to screeching women, and the other members' remembrances of him (and his alcoholism) are heartfelt. One interesting thing is seeing Idol sing the Lumberjack Song in his episode rather than Palin. Recommended for Python fans, but not a good point of entry for anyone new to their work. "And Now for Something Completely Different" would be my recommendation.… (més)