# How funny, to you, are Monty Python? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104 "2012-03-29T01:05:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/41 "2012-03-29T06:59:20Z")
male 37 US I voted comic genius, but though it was funny, I found it more just generally very clever and entertainingly absurd and enjoyably quotable than laugh out loud hilarious. I would compare it to something like Buffy, which had really clever quips and intelligent humor, but which didn’t elicit lots of out and out guffaws. I’d be curious how much entertainment value was added to my experience by the slight alieness of the Britishness. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/42 "2012-03-29T07:41:04Z")
Exquisitely intelligent comedy. Male 50mumble NZ My daughter’s aged 12 class were asked to each oick a famous person to research. Everyone chose current sports-people or similar - my daughter chose Socrates. Why? Because she knew of him from Monty Python and realised he was significant. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/43 "2012-03-29T08:15:32Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Splunge. Yeah, splunge for me too! Absolute genius, and goddamnit, the humor absolutely still holds up for me. I don’t see how it’s aged. At no time now or in the future will a man bringing his own cardboard TV cutout – while trying to give a documentary to a couple absurdly dressed for a dance marathon and only managing to hold their interest by improvising lurid the sexual habits of various gastropods – _not_ be funny. I remember John Cleese (or possibly Michael Palin) once said that his personal proof of whether someone had a sense of humor was whether they laughed themselves silly at the Fish Slapping Dance. I heartily concur. 45, female, American. First watched them with my parents when they were first broadcast on our PBS station WNET (I don’t mean this was the first U.S. broadcast altogether – I believe a Dallas station had the first honors). I have no idea why my parents thought this show was appropriate for a 5 or 6 year old, but I ain’t complaining. I wouldn’t have the sense of humor I have now if it weren’t for that early introduction to British wit. I still remember my first episode – the one where Carol Cleveland is seen through a window stripping on a hot day, and then suddenly John Cleese at his desk rises up via a scaffold to announce “And now for something completely different.” I was a bit scandalized by the sight of a woman (almost) taking her bra off, but the subsequent animations won me over. I’d say I go through the episodes once every three years or so. There are only about three or four of the eps that I find oddly unfunny, almost aggressively so. One is the “Intermission” episode, which I believe has the sketch involving the strange restaurant where Eric Idle’s ratbag wife character won’t shut up (I think it’s the same episode with “Albatross!”); another is the “Hamlet sees a shrink” episode; then there’s the final episode, which I don’t like because I destest “The World’s Worst Family” sketch, and also because it _is_ the last episode. Depressing. (But that’s just me; I know many others who love that sketch.) Anyway, considering there are over thirty episodes, that’s a pretty good fail:hit ratio. And that’s not even counting _Holy Grail_ and _Life of Brian_. Yep. Geniuses. ---
**Author:** ![Khendrask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@Khendrask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khendrask)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/44 "2012-03-29T09:27:16Z")
Comic Genius - 46, USA. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/45 "2012-03-29T11:12:18Z")
Geniuses, even acknowledging some fairly dire material in the original series (and Eric Idle’s ongoing attempts to make the rotting corpse of Monty Python dance to keep the money flowing). The good stuff is so good that one must forgive the failures. Also, Palin and Jones are very nice people indeed in person. 44, American in London ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/46 "2012-03-29T11:20:03Z")
Geniuses. Male, USA, 58. Just thinking about some of the scenes in Holy Grail makes me laugh. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/47 "2012-03-29T11:44:29Z")
Geniuses. 50, American, male. I find myself more drawn to the less well-known (and over-quoted) material, although the occasional “That rabbit’s dynamite” does come in handy. Semprini. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/48 "2012-03-29T12:43:44Z")
37 Male British Lives in Sweden I thought for their time they were truly ground breaking but over the years, perhaps due to over familiarity, they really don’t seem to do much for me anymore. “Flying Circus” always seemed a bit hit and miss anyway, when it hit it really hit but there were many sketches that were all a bit meh. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/49 "2012-03-29T12:46:38Z")
56, male, American. Comic geniuses, in the same class as the Marx Brothers. Burma! Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/50 "2012-03-29T14:08:13Z")
Voted the second-from-the-top because when their stuff didn’t work, it really really didn’t work, and that was a fair portion of the TV series. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/51 "2012-03-29T14:16:32Z")
One half genius that stands the test of time, one half absolute crap that should have never been filmed (the animations mostly. What the hell was that about?) So I had to vote “hit or miss.” 56 - USA ---
**Author:** ![Tazmanian\_Devil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@Tazmanian\_Devil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tazmanian_Devil)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/52 "2012-03-29T14:25:44Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Burma! You panicked. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/53 "2012-03-29T14:41:58Z")
Male. 46. My friends and I discovered them on PBS in the 70’s. I lived in a really small town in rural Maine. We only had about 5 channels to choose from, and two of them were in French. It was ground-breaking humor for us. It was so different from anything any of us ever saw. Even SNL didn’t really stack up. My whole little group was obsessed with the Pythons. I’ve never wavered in my fandom. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/54 "2012-03-29T15:04:06Z")
They’re not funny, they’re just silly! No, actually, I voted “genius” although “hit or miss” certainly also applies. Male, 56, US. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/55 "2012-03-29T15:26:55Z")
Geniuses, although even geniuses can’t hit all the time, or even most of the time. Some of their stuff is among the funniest things I’ve ever seen, and never gets old. This is especially true of “Holy Grail:” I think I laugh harder at that now than ever. A lot of the show sketches are total duds; I remember even back in the 70s I sat there without cracking a smile. But then something came along like the Kilimanjaro expedition or the Ministry of Silly Walks, and I’d about fall out of my chair. Of course, the Pythons know this, as do all great comedy acts. “Laugh In” was structured to machine gun the viewer with crap jokes, and then once every 10 or 15 gags hit the audience with a zinger. I don’t think the shows have aged as well as the movies. Perhaps this is because they had more time to craft the movies, vs a weekly show. 61, American ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/56 "2012-03-29T15:53:40Z")
I’m a 51 year old American male who didn’t vote, because none of the options quite worked for me. They WERE sometimes absoluely brilliant! But they also had numerous episodes in which NOTHING funny happened. Even when I was 16, I knew that there was a worthless crappy Python sketch for every great one. But “Hit and miss” seems inadequate, because the hits were amazingly good… they just came irregularly. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/57 "2012-03-29T15:57:07Z")
Age 40 US. Voted really funny, but what I meant was 90% comic genius, 10% falls flat. There are some sketches I just plain don’t like, (e.g. the overeater in the meaning of life) But most of it is superb. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/58 "2012-03-29T15:58:12Z")
Geniuses. Although a lot of the comedy is dated or overplayed now, at the time it was groundbreaking. And not only groundbreaking, but ahead of its time. ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/59 "2012-03-29T17:55:24Z")
47 y.o US male. Geniuses. ---
**Author:** ![HookerChemical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@HookerChemical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HookerChemical)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/60 "2012-03-29T18:00:48Z")
I went with “Really Funny.” I love a lot of their sketches. There are a few sketches that fall flat for me, but certainly not enough to demote them to “OK.” Just enough to knock them from the top tier. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104.md?page=4)