It was silly. It was intellectual. It was, at times, quite rude. And it was like absolutely nothing anyone had ever seen before on British television.
This week on My 70sTV Childhood we’re diving into the wonderfully chaotic world of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the show that didn’t just push the boundaries of comedy, it gleefully ignored them altogether.
What Was Monty Python’s Flying Circus?
Monty Python’s Flying Circus first aired on BBC Two in October 1969 and ran for four series and 45 episodes until 1974. It was created by six writers and performers who had been quietly making their names in British TV and theatre throughout the 1960s: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam.
Many had appeared in satirical shows like That Was The Week That Was and At Last The 1948 Show with Marty Feldman. That 1948 Show is, incidentally, where the famous Four Yorkshiremen sketch was first performed, not on Monty Python itself, as many people assume.
The show wasn’t an overnight success. Word spread quickly though, particularly among teenagers and students, and by the end of the first series it had become one of the most popular programmes on BBC Two. What we’d call today a sleeper hit.
What Made Monty Python So Different?
The most popular comedy shows in the early 1970s were sitcoms like On The Buses and Love Thy Neighbour, which relied on old-fashioned stereotypes for their laughs. Monty Python was something else entirely.
Their humour was deliberately intellectual, filled with references to philosophers and literary figures. They parodied everything from British class structures to boring chartered accountants. And as an accountant myself, I really can’t see why anyone would find them remotely dull. Well, not much. They also tackled the Ministry of Silly Walks and the inner workings of the Spanish Inquisition, sometimes in the same episode.
Their style was so distinctive that the word “Pythonesque” entered the English language to describe it. That’s a rare achievement for any creative work. Terry Gilliam’s surreal animated sequences tied the sketches together in a way that had never been done before on British TV, adding a visual madness that perfectly matched the writing.
How I Discovered Monty Python, And Why a Tape Recorder Changed Everything!
I was a little young to catch it when it first aired, but my sister, four years older than me, and I managed to sneak a few episodes during the mid-70s repeats. Some of it was very funny. Some of it wasn’t. And some of it was, shall we say, quite rude. All the better for children, obviously.
But what truly cemented Monty Python for me was a Christmas present in 1976, or possibly 1977. I got a tape recorder.
If you grew up in the 1970s you’ll understand what a revelation this was. All of a sudden I could record the Radio One Top 40, using a DIN lead plugged into the radio and carefully pressing play and record at exactly the right moment, then listen back during the week. Remarkable technology.
You’ll also remember the less glamorous side of tape ownership: the mangled tape. You’d be sitting there listening happily, the music would slow, take on a slightly strange quality, and then you’d hear that telltale crinkling sound. Cue a mad dash for the stop button and a desperate search for a sharp pencil, because rewinding a chewed cassette with a pencil was, and I say this with complete sincerity, a genuine life skill in the 1970s.
What’s your favourite Monty Python sketch? Did you ‘get’ it the first time you saw it? I’d love to hear your memories.
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Take care,
Oliver
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