Fucking hell. So this is... well, pretty much the single most famous sketch show EVER CREATED, and yet it apparently can't justify a complete release of all four series?

Christ.

Only 10% of Python was any good, or something.

Region 1 have a full set, and I'm confident region 2 will get one. It's just we'll have to wait a while...

Oh, I think we'll get it at some point. I just don't see why we have to put up with yet *another* Best Of in the meantime. There's no *point*...

I'd buy the R1 set, but it's a horrible NTSC conversion, and they're cut in various ways anyway.

Remember the discussions ages ago on G&T about people having the "right" to decent DVD extras, etc? I was firmly of the belief that we don't have the right to decent extras at all. Which I still think is true.

*But* - if there's any case at all for people having the right to view something, it's with BBC productions. The final, finished programmes, not extra material. But it *was* our money that created it. There's a case to be made that we deserve to be able to see it.

>I'd buy the R1 set, but it's a horrible NTSC conversion, and they're cut in various ways anyway.

I can confirm the latter point from personal experience. **sigh** It's "golf, strangling animals and" what, Gray?

If you all ever do get an unedited 16-Ton Megaset, tell me so I can sell the one I have, region be damned...

They just want people to remember the best bits and not the crap. That's what I think anyway.

They just want people to remember the best bits and not the crap. That's what I think anyway.

Why did they release the full series in the US, then?

They just want people to remember the best bits and not the crap. That's what I think anyway.

The thing is though, there's *very* little crap in Python. It's nearly all wonderful.

I agree with Tanya (assuming she was being serious).

Of course that just means I wouldn't bother buying a set of the complete series, it doesn't necessarily mean that I think there shouldn't be one available.

I wasn't being serious, but y'know, you're entitled to your opinion...

I honestly can't believe you guys don't have a full release. Region one has had one for ages. AGES. In fact, this "personal best" series was recently released here as well, within the last year or so...why on Earth did they shuttle that back to you guys and not the full releases?

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that A&E released the full series over here, rather than BBC America? I have no idea how this stuff works...maybe they own the rights to the full series releases?

Asking about DVD releases is like asking about the meaning of life, which as everyone knows is...

It partly stems down to the fact that due to the court case involving the ABC broadcasts in 1975. The shows were butchered to fuck - and the outcome of it was that Python won the rights to distribute the show *themselves* outside the UK. in the UK, we have to rely on the BBC.

Who sadly don't seem interested in releasing one of the best, if not *the* best, sketch shows of all time. But I'm sure it'll happen at some point...

Asking about DVD releases is like asking about the meaning of life

At least The Meaning of Life is actually out on DVD, though!

HO HO HO. DO YOU SEE WHAT I DID THERE.

About this Personal Best series - how did it work? How long for each episode, and how were the sketches presented? I can only imagine that each "Personal Best" episode was a maximum of one hour, but six of those would require two DVDs in total, not as many as six. As far as I can understand, each individual Python selected their favourite sketches - did this cause some overlap between them, with something like the Cheese Shop appearing several times?

I haven't seen them, but you're right...the "personal best" doesn't necessarily even mean the performer selecting the skit appears in it...so I would imagine there's bound to be some overlap.

Again: I haven't seen it.

Though I do know that the Terry Gilliam volume is entirely culled from his animated segments.

Though I do know that the Terry Gilliam volume is entirely culled from his animated segments.

Which lose half their meaning when seperated from the rest of the programme. The whole point of them was that they were *links*...

People seem to forget that a sketch show is a piece of work in its own right - you can't just split it down into its component sketches and expect it to work in the way its supposed to.

According to the Wiki entry, each edition is an hour long, and yes, there's plenty of overlap. The Fish Slapping Dance is on nearly all of them!

>People seem to forget that a sketch show is a piece of work in its own right - you can't just split it down into its component sketches and expect it to work in the way its supposed to.

Indeed; particularly one as stream-of-consciousness as Python was. You can't simply hack bits out of a show in which one sketch is supposed to flow naturally into another and not leave ugly flapping loose ends. It's almost like a Pink Floyd album, is Python, at least in terms of the way groups of songs/sketches are connected organically.

This is why it's so frustrating to hear people say that there's only so much one can tolerate of Dead Parrot. Since the invention of compilation video it appears Python has been immortalised as The Dead Parrot Sketch Plus A Few Other Things, and when you encounter people criticising Python it's always based on what they perceive to be the wacky or puerile nature of the sketches, rather than the manner in which the shows were structured. Some shows were stronger than others, of course, but there was something very artistic about the way it worked when it worked. I long for the days when it was much more of a hassle to skip to a specific fragment of something, or to avoid something you didn't want to watch. "Cheer up Charlie" in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is the most dreary song ever, and even on fast forward it's six times longer than Hey Jude, but it's better having to watch it speeded up than to be able to skip it altogether, I think, in experiencing the shape of the film.

Ian: thanks for the info from Wiki. I didn't think of looking there. I like the idea of each Python member offering their own take on the show. In its totality it could be fascinating - I think Gilliam's animations in one sitting would be nice, and with Chapman's episode being a kind of memorial, I suspect it'll not be just six clips shows with overlap. I won't be buying it, though. Plus I've had enough of Eric Idle now, and especially that fucking Rutles reporter. I saw Rutles 2 this weekend, it was horrible. Also: watch the first Rutles film with commentary and hear Idle chuckling when he mentions that he's very rich and Innes is absolutely broke. The cunt.

This was in yesterday's Independent, so you can decide for yourselves whether "YES, Monty Python WERE funny" or "NO, Monty Python WERE NOT funny".

http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article1876669.ece

I've just looked that the headline and decided I'd rather cut off my genitalia than read the rest of it.

>People seem to forget that a sketch show is a piece of work in its own right

I agree with you about Python. And a lot of other sketch shows. But I think people--uneducated people, reviewers, video-release committees--look at sketch shows with a wider scope than we do...

What I'm trying to say, forget all that crap, what I'm trying to say is that you're right for many sketch shows--they flow. They work as a cohesive (or at least fluid) whole. But not all sketch shows. Certainly there are many that really are just a collection of skits without much to hold them together at all. Look at Saturday Night Live, for example: it's a rarity to ever find two skits in the same episode that are related in any way at all. In those shows you easily can pluck out the better skits and lose nothing.

That said, you can't do it with Python. Or Mr. Show. Or The State. Or many others. It's a different type of sketch show. It's a sketch show that don't stop/start itself every couple of minutes. But I'm sure people who compile videos don't care much about splitting hairs on this sort of thing...they don't take into account which shows can be split without losting anything, and which cannot. They see "sketch show" and they say, "Oh yeah, I remember that show...well, pull out the bits people remember and get it on the shelves."

I'd almost think Python et. al. belong to a different category than "sketch show." Something more specific to what they were doing with their episodes. Because they were actually episodes, not just sketch piled upon sketch until it amounted to 30 minutes.

>I've just looked that the headline and decided I'd rather cut off my genitalia than read the rest of it.

I just took a look myself, and I agree--I'd also rather cut off your genitalia than read the rest.

It was such a very bad joke, but I couldn't resist ^_^ ...

Hello

I've got the region one complete series box set. (and the A&E german shows and compilations dvds)
And the region one imported personal best series. Which I think makes me a sad python
completist with more money than sense who has bought some of this shit 3 times over now at least.

Yes John it's tottally annoying what little the BBC has done with python DVDs, that's why I went to Usa
region for the dvds. just like I did with the young ones and black adder box sets. Do you have any info
on what is cut from the american dvds? I was happy to find that the mrs yeti goose creature
gameshow sketch is back in when it was cut from uk repeats for years as I'd never seen it.

Una you were asking how the personal best series works. Well each is 55 minutes on dvd cus the
adds are gone. Each Named episode contains about 5 minutes of new material performed by just
that person (except graham where all other pythons talk fondly about him). And then about 50 minutes
of recycled python tv show clips makes up the rest.

Ian is correct that the fish slapping dance is in every episode, but that is done deliberately because
it's short, most pythons chose it and there is a slightly different take on it in each episode i.e. in
gilliams show it goes on into the animation, in palins show it's a premise of a sketch where it is
talked about in freeze frame etc... beyond this most other material is split up between each show so
there is little repetition beyond that inside these shows, someone had the job of assigning the
choices made to one show if 2 pythons choose something first.

Of the short new material Idle's is a bit crap with some more embrassing drag, palin's is quite
good as he spoofs the history of fish slapping from the original location, it's not brilliant but he sends
himself up well and it works as a short link. Cleese's is not brilliant but it's full of cleese style bile
and lies and ends appropriately distastefully for python. The chapman tributes are nothing special.
Terry Jones' links are a one joke "arent I brilliant I did everything" wonderfully strange camp self-love-
in that is an over the top delight. And Gilliam's intro to his animated special is excellent, up to date
referencing, well performed peice of live action film making goes into up to date animation, which
makes you wish he was still doing animation today.

John has a point about python animation being links originally but I also think gilliam has done a
fairly good job of re-linking his animation peices, which includes new voice over bit's on occasion.
and there is the odd live action peice in there when needed but presenting a python animation only
show is an interesting idea and makes this dvd the best of the set even if you own nearly all of the
show already elsewhere.

All in all what these are is an edited best of series for PBS usa stations which I think is an ok thing for
a new audience to get into python or for casual fans to get the best of sketches only on DVD in the usa.

Now perhaps because of the short new material it's becoming another uk best of with shitter art work,
marketed by sony to the uk. Meaning the BBC have even less? incentive to work with the pythons in
making a good box set by series collection in the uk? When most of the pythons live in the
usa I cant see it being any time soon. Plus im still waiting for the criterion Life of Brian dvd to get a UK
release which it hasnt for years.

And they all said it would never work in america!

Do you have any info on what is cut from the american dvds?

As far as I can tell, lots of little things--like in the All-England Summarize Proust Competition, Graham Chapman's line describing his hobbies--"golf, strangling animals, and masturbation"--simply becomes "golf and strangling animals" (and what's more, you can tell it's been hacked up). Which I think takes some of the impact off Eric's line later, about how "golf's not very popular around here."