Um, who’s Dave Foley?
My geek credentials require me to defend Monty Python, and I will defend the movies to the death, “Flying Circus” less so.
I just can’t fathom how people can be introduced to one British comedy troupe, and think that they are the end all be all of comedy. MPFS needs to be given a HUGE amount of respect, but they were a 70’s act, In Living Color was a late 80’s act, KITH was a 90’s act. They all had topical relevancy in their day.
Can one compare Lenny Bruce to Mitch Hedburg (R.I.P.)? SNL spans most of the era in question, and as most agree, the quality differs from period to period. Ever re watched a movie that you loved in the 80’s? They usually doesn’t have the same resonance as they did when they were new.
IMO, SNL has always been hit or miss, that’s the nature of a “weekly” show. SCTV was a low budget version of SNL, and MADTv was a platform for unknowns to get on TV.
One’s rating of any comedy series will always be colored by the amount of relevancy that the series had with said person at that time.
I’ll always prefer Monty Python movies to anything similar. I’ll always remember liking In Living Color (not so funny these days), I’ll always have very fond memories of KitH, and I’ll always feel sorry for those that never saw Mr. Show.
KitH, SNL, MP.
To be honest, I didn’t give MP much of a chance because all of the kids around me were always quoting the hell out of it because it’s the “in” thing, I got sick of the show before I was even able to watch it.
I’m reading Michael Palin’s diaries at the moment, and he recounts the same incident. I suppose I should update Wikipedia with a citation, but I can’t be arsed.
I’d be willing to bet that they weren’t quoting it “because it’s the in thing” but rather because it’s so damned funny and quotable that it’s almost impossible to NOT quote it, especially if those around you will recognize the quote.
That’s Ni.
Yeah, I know what you mean about the out of hand quoting stuff. It really gets old for us long time fans, too. I’ve seen it. I don’t need someone’s piss poor version of it thrust at me in virtually any conversation. Now, an out of context quotatial adaptation used to make a point can sometimes be funny. (I’ve tried twice in this thread.) But even that is very hit or miss. (So, my apologies for even trying.)
Monty Python, SNL, Kids in the Hall, and Second City and Just for Laughs thrown in.
KITH
Monty Python
SCTV
SNL
Oo, this is rough. I like all three. If I’m going by the high points of all three shows, it would by Monty Python followed closely by SNL, followed by Kids in the Hall.
If we go on consistency, I’d say Kids in the Hall, followed my Monty Python, followed by SNL. Maybe it’s just me, but when I watch The Flying Circus, there’s a lot of boring material. From any given episode, I’d say perhaps a third of it at most is really funny. The quality of that third makes up for the rest of it, though. And the last really funny SNL show I could remember was when Rosanne Barr hosted it back in about '92, give or take a year.