Monty Don says Monty Python sketches on BBC are unthinkable
John Cleese says BBC ‘wouldn’t commission Monty Python now’
Monty Don, 67, spoke of his sadness over the BBC no longer allowing “quality” comedy sketches such as Monty Python, which dominated the airwaves when it was shown in the 1970s, to be aired on their network.
Monty Python was a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin.
The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy series Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
Monty Python’s Flying Circus was loosely structured as a sketch show, but its innovative stream-of-consciousness approach and Terry’s animation skills pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in style and content.
On Twitter, a fan of the show shared the sketch and typed: “To think this stuff was free on television and just part of BBC comedy programming. Fast forward to now.”
In response, the Gardeners’ World host shared his thoughts on the matter and wrote: “What is amazing – apart from the quality of it – is that they had the time, freedom and budget to create a 10 min sketch like that. Sadly unthinkable these days.”(sic)
It comes as Eric Idle has said he wants to be “cancelled” for his comedy.
The 76-year-old funnyman, who first rose to fame in the 1960s as a founding member of the Monty Python comedy team, is outspoken about political correctness.
He suggested that there is a lot of bullying going on in the name of decency.
“I would like to be cancelled so I can go home and read a book and not have to make an a**e of myself all over the world,” Eric joked in The Daily Telegraph.
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Eric explained in the chat that he thinks comedy is about saying the wrong thing at the right time.
“You have to remember that Python was offensive when it started. We were not the cuddly old f***ers we are now,” he told the publication.
“It was very offensive. The point was absolutely to upset and insult the bourgeois.”
After debuting on the BBC in 1969, Monty Python earned a reputation for outrageous, surreal, often violent and sexual humour.
Eric said the point of comedy is to test boundaries and say the “unsayable”.
“And so who are the people saying you can’t do that?” he says. “I don’t understand that. Who is the committee that does this?”
“It sounds a bit like the French Revolution committees, who said, ‘off with his head’. I think a lot of bullying goes on in the name of decency.”
Monty Python, who formally disbanded three decades ago, often attracted notoriety and scandal.
Their films Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975), and Monty’s Python Meaning of Life (1983) became box office hits, while shocking audiences.
But it was their 1979 smash Life of Brian, a parody of pious religious movie epics that created a storm of protest around the world.
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