# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/21 "2013-01-22T15:29:27Z")
Part of my issue with Flying Circus was that I had seen Hollywood Bowl countless times before I had a chance to see the original sketches on the series. The pacing and timing of the live show was so great that the original stuff fell pretty flat. That’s not the show’s fault though, just mine for how I watched it. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/22 "2013-01-22T15:48:23Z")
I remember an interview with a tree that was just not really working for me (or anyone I know who saw it.) ---
**Author:** ![Zuzu\_s\_Petals](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@Zuzu\_s\_Petals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zuzu_s_Petals)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/23 "2013-01-22T15:52:21Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > 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. Funny how subjective these things are. I absolutely love that bit - I think it’s hilarious. Eric Idle being so cheerfully stupid, and Michael Palin getting crosser and crosser. What’s not to love? 😃 I’d nominate a lot of the animation in Holy Grail as not particularly funny, though. Oh, and it’s probably heresy, but the Knights of Ni left me pretty cold. . ---
**Author:** ![Rubixcube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Rubixcube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubixcube)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/24 "2013-01-22T15:53:23Z")
The Gumbys never did anything for me, except for that one joke about taxing people standing in water. I think a large part of the reason is that I have some difficulty making out what they’re supposed to be saying. I don’t much care for a lot of the animations. The longer ones with the detective wandering around inside of things are especially dull. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/25 "2013-01-22T15:56:30Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Whereas I, being fortunate enough to actually see it in a theatre, was actually falling out of my seat laughing. I was laughing so hard I could barely breathe, while other people in the theater were getting up and walking out. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/26 "2013-01-22T16:01:23Z")
The problem with asking people to remember stuff they think is forgettable is…um…I forget what I was talking about. I loved Monty Python’s T.V. show so much when I was a kid, but the last time I saw an episode as an adult, I thought it was hit and miss. One bit I was never crazy about was the pepperpot ladies. Ha-ha! Their names are Mrs. Smoker and Mrs. Non-Smoker, or Mrs. Premise and Mrs. Conclusion! And they’re screeching! How delightful!! ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/27 "2013-01-22T16:06:38Z")
I was a big fan of Monty Python as a teen in the Seventies, but even then, I knew they had numerous sketches, even several whole episodes, with nothing funny in them. Most of the episodes in the final season without John Cleese were wholly awful (especially “The Golden Age of Ballooning” and the one with “Mr. Neutron”). And the episodes that devoted all 30 minutes to one bit (that stupid cyclist, or the one with the aliens who wanted to win Wimbledon) were painful to watch. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/28 "2013-01-22T16:08:42Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Of course every millisecond of Monty Python is hysterically funny. It’s just that some people are not sophisticated enough to understand the humor. We must have watched different versions of “The Cycling Tour.” Based on the fact that, when Paramount released the entire series on VHS, it chose to release that episode at the end of the one tape that had three episodes instead of two (because there are 45 episodes, not including the two made for German TV), I am under the impression that I am not alone in thinking that it wasn’t quite as funny as the rest of the series, although I will admit that it had its moments (“How could you miss?” “He moved!”). Speaking of the Paramount tapes, I just got the “Complete and Annotated” hardcover book, and I noticed that it implied that some changes between the scripts in the book and the broadcast episodes have always existed. However, I am (100 minus epsilon)% positive that, for example, the “Golf, Strangling Animals, and Masturbation” line is on the tape, and was in pretty much all of the original PBS broadcasts. The only two things missing from the tapes were the “Wacky Queen” sketch, and the “Party Political Broadcast on Behalf of the Conservative and Unionist Party” which gets choreographed (and on the PBS and Paramount versions, it did not start with the opening credits, the way the DVDs do, but with three captions on a black screen: “Tonight’s episode begins straight away with the opening credits” “No it doesn’t, it started with that caption” “Oh yeah”). ---
**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, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/29 "2013-01-22T16:10:42Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Part of my issue with Flying Circus was that I had seen Hollywood Bowl countless times before I had a chance to see the original sketches on the series. The pacing and timing of the live show was so great that the original stuff fell pretty flat. That’s not the show’s fault though, just mine for how I watched it. That reminds me of a word for word reenactment of the Parrot Sketch by Palin and Cleese on SNL. That was painful to watch. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/30 "2013-01-22T17:05:03Z")
I still don’t understand what the [Crimson Permanet Assurance](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crimson_Permanent_Assurance) was all about (at the beginning of _The Meaning of Life_). Does that even count as Monty Python? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/31 "2013-01-22T17:46:31Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > 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. This scene was awful. And I laughed so hard. So was it this one last thin wafer that caused him to burst, or did it include something that would expand and make him burst, making it a poison? I’m going for a poisoning, because clearly the staff was tired of this guy. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/32 "2013-01-22T17:59:06Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > I still don’t understand what the [Crimson Permanet Assurance](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crimson_Permanent_Assurance) was all about (at the beginning of _The Meaning of Life_). Does that even count as Monty Python? At the time, there had been media buzz about hostile takeovers and even “corporate raiders.” The Crimson Permanent Assurance bit was an over-literal interpretation of these memes. And mostly hysterical. ---
**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, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/33 "2013-01-22T17:59:28Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > This scene was awful. And I laughed so hard. > > So was it this one last thin wafer that caused him to burst, or did it include something that would expand and make him burst, making it a poison? I’m going for a poisoning, because clearly the staff was tired of this guy. I never thought that could be a possibility. To me it’s clearly that he stuffed himself so much that the wafer thin mint was all that was needed to make him explode. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/34 "2013-01-22T18:05:59Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > I still don’t understand what the [Crimson Permanet Assurance](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crimson_Permanent_Assurance) was all about (at the beginning of _The Meaning of Life_). Does that even count as Monty Python? Yes, it counts, and yes, it wasn’t funny. Neither was nearly all of the animation. Mr. Neutron\* wasn’t very good, nor the bit about the live broadcast from another planet. Regards, Shodan \*Except for the part at the beginning where Palin is dedicating a new postal box, with a long speech in English, then in French, then in German. In the interests of an international audience. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/35 "2013-01-22T18:15:35Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I never thought that could be a possibility. To me it’s clearly that he stuffed himself so much that the wafer thin mint was all that was needed to make him explode. The way the waiter urges it on him and then steps back because he knows what is going to happen suggests it was murder. ---
**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, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/36 "2013-01-22T18:28:14Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > That reminds me of a word for word reenactment of the Parrot Sketch by Palin and Cleese on SNL. That was painful to watch. I remember that - I wasn’t laughing myself because, well, I’d already heard the damn thing about ten times more than necessary, but the silence of the audience became increasingly obvious and distracting. It, like a similar sketch where a masked robber tries to hold up a lingerie shop, just doesn’t seem to lend itself to a live performance, since it relies on quick verbal absurdity and not big sight gags. ---
**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, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/37 "2013-01-22T18:33:27Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > The way the waiter urges it on him and then steps back because he knows what is going to happen suggests it was murder. He doesn’t just _step_ back, does he? I though the waiter bolted and dove over a planter or something. [Youtube video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhbHTjMLN5c)… yep, John Cleese feds Creosote the wafer mint, says “Bon Appetit” and gets the fuck outta Dodge. ---
**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, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/38 "2013-01-22T19:02:12Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > The way the waiter urges it on him and then steps back because he knows what is going to happen suggests it was murder. Yes. But not poison. The whole point of the gag was that the one little mint was all that was needed to make him explode because of his gluttony. If its poison or he shoots him with a gun there is no gag. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/39 "2013-01-22T19:13:18Z")
I always skip the Office War at the beginning of “Meaning Of Life”. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966/40 "2013-01-22T19:15:01Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > The scene with 2000 gallons of artificial vomit. I was going to come in here and say “The vomiting guy.” so yeah. It wasn’t even funny when I was 13 and lots of stuff that was funny then isn’t funny now. Actually, I think I agree with the premise - most of Monty Python isn’t actually funny, but the bits that are, are VERY funny. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-from-monty-python-thats-not-funny/647966.md?page=3)