# Something from Monty Python that's Not Funny? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 22, 2013, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966 "2013-01-22T00:49:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/1 "2013-01-22T00:49:43Z")
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15923169&postcount=11](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15923169&postcount=11) In another thread about the genius of Monty Python, **Smiling Bandit** posted that a lot of Monty Python bits suck. I wouldn’t say a lot of Monty Python sucks but I think it would be interesting to post some Python bits that Dopers _didn’t_ like. My example is not from the TV series, but from the movie _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_. When the King of Swamp Castle leaves Prince Herbert in his room, he posts two guards. The guards are so stupid that the king has to spend several minutes explaining the concept of guarding the prince to them. It’s not funny and goes on waaayyyy too long. Of the TV show, I think the one show they did that had a continual story line about a guy riding his bike through the continent and winding up in front of a firing squad was a little lame. It had a few funny lines: “My lack of God!! It’s Trotsky!!” But I guess I prefer the short bits. How 'bout some others? ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/2 "2013-01-22T00:53:36Z")
I agree with **Smiling Bandit** , and go one further. Very little to almost none is funny. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/3 "2013-01-22T01:46:38Z")
The scene with 2000 gallons of artificial vomit. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/4 "2013-01-22T01:49:05Z")
The entire “balooning” episode, which keeps referring to some ballooning guys. The Golden Age of Ballooning, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/5 "2013-01-22T01:54:01Z")
I guess there may have been stuff that was so unfunny it was forgettable, but I honestly can’t think of a single unfunny Monty Python bit (and I’ve seen it all multiple times). ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/6 "2013-01-22T02:01:01Z")
Sorry - haven’t seen much of it, but that which I have - while mildly amusing - never struck me as funny. A lot of my friends seem to like it, but don’t recall any I thought were funny. Maybe I haven’t seen the funniest stuff - is the Holy Grail - or whatever had the “huge tracts of land” considered to be some of the funniest? I’ve seen Life of Brian too, but don’t know if these are considered some of the funnier works. ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/7 "2013-01-22T02:09:19Z")
I liked the grail, 'cept for some dude kept clapping them dam coconut halves together… I guess the music had a rhythm… Kinda reminded me of Iron Maiden’ish… Couldn’t they have post produced the sound and add that later, with a full band? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/8 "2013-01-22T02:12:44Z")
I like quite a bit of MP, but there is definitely some rough around all those diamonds. I was never quite sure if the animations were even supposed to be funny. I can’t recall a single one that didn’t make me profoundly and inarticulately uncomfortable. They just creeped me out. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/9 "2013-01-22T02:19:13Z")
Season 4. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/10 "2013-01-22T02:20:50Z")
> [@DataX](#): > > I’ve seen Life of Brian too, but don’t know if these are considered some of the funnier works. Oh, come on, “Life of Brian” must be the funniest comedy ever made. Or, “Meaning of Life” - this scene is the ultimate classic [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucgU2DJlBiw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucgU2DJlBiw) Or, German episode - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eucgZ2Zf0yw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eucgZ2Zf0yw) - the funniest stuff on TV. I mean, it’s in German!!! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/11 "2013-01-22T02:24:53Z")
“O where did that fishy go…” JESUS FUCKING CHRIST GET TO THE POINT!! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/12 "2013-01-22T02:38:08Z")
And it went wherever I did go! ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/13 "2013-01-22T02:56:53Z")
Mr. Creosote vomiting, and then exploding. Not particularly amusing to me. re: “You stay here, and make sure he doesn’t leave” scene: One of my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/14 "2013-01-22T03:03:31Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > “O where did that fishy go…” > > JESUS FUCKING CHRIST GET TO THE POINT!! OK, I’ll give you that one. Even more so, because the haters of that film seem to focus on the hilarious Mr. Creosote sketch. Just Cleese’s pronunciation of the word “wafer” with a French accent raises that sketch to the level of genius. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/15 "2013-01-22T13:22:52Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Mr. Creosote vomiting, and then exploding. Not particularly amusing to me. Whereas I, being fortunate enough to actually see it in a theatre, was actually falling out of my seat laughing. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/16 "2013-01-22T14:37:46Z")
During the TV show’s run they threw a lot of stuff at the wall and not all of it stuck, especially in the later seasons. I saw an episode a while ago with a very long and painfully unfunny bit regarding Eric Idle purchasing a pet ant, then trying to return it because it only had five legs. The parrot sketch it wasn’t. But I forgive them such misses, because when they did hit, they hit big. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/17 "2013-01-22T14:43:14Z")
Of course every millisecond of Monty Python is hysterically funny. It’s just that some people are not sophisticated enough to understand the humor. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/18 "2013-01-22T14:59:13Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Whereas I, being fortunate enough to actually see it in a theatre, was actually falling out of my seat laughing. Same here; saw it opening night in DC with a friend. Some people did react negatively; many ran out and I’m pretty sure I saw someone actually vomit in response (or at least dry-heave). Priceless. ---
**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:** [January 22, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/19 "2013-01-22T15:12:35Z")
There were definitely some dire moments in the television show as well as some filler that went nowhere. Those bits are best forgotten and, as **Wheelz** notes, the successful material was genius which makes the failures less annoying. That said, it would have been nice if they could have occasionally finished a sketch properly now and then. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/20 "2013-01-22T15:17:44Z")
Despite the fact that Douglas Adams came on to write, at the end when Cleese had left there was a serious drop off in the funny. Episodes like Mr Neutron had their moments but not nearly as good as earlier shows. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966.md?page=2)