ON PREVIOUS DAYS:
- YESTERDAY:
Philadelphia's Deadly Parade - DAY BEFORE:
The Man Who Bought Stonehenge - DAY BEFORE THAT:
The Bermuda Triangle Theory - DAY BEFORE BEFORE THAT:
New York's First Terror Attack
ON THIS DAY
Making Monty Python
Monty Python’s Flying Circus made its TV debut, in a Sunday night graveyard slot on BBC 1, on 5th October, 1969.
Eric Idle, Michael Palin, and Terry Jones – plucked from ITV kids show Do Not Adjust Your Set – were matched by BBC producers with the acerbic John Cleese and Graham Chapman from At Last The 1948 Show, and, surprisingly, American animator Terry Gilliam. The result was an unprecedentedly anarchic and volatile smorgasbord of innovative TV sketches.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover the turbulent relationship between the comedians and BBC bosses; reveal the location of the first official Python plaque; and consider how the troupe conquered America alongside that other distinctly British export, Benny Hill…
Further Reading:
• ‘Pythons anniversary: BBC bosses were not amused, memos reveal’ (The Times, 2019): https://www.thetimes.com/article/448ad6f6-e6f0-11e9-bc3e-661ff0438ed9
• ‘Monty Python’s greatest sketches’ (The Times, 2014): https://www.thetimes.com/article/0712ae77-7176-4b4d-9187-b2bad4018721
• ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus: Whither Canada’ (BBC, 1969):
ON THIS DAY
Making Monty Python
Monty Python’s Flying Circus made its TV debut, in a Sunday night graveyard slot on BBC 1, on 5th October, 1969.
Eric Idle, Michael Palin, and Terry Jones – plucked from ITV kids show Do Not Adjust Your Set – were matched by BBC producers with the acerbic John Cleese and Graham Chapman from At Last The 1948 Show, and, surprisingly, American animator Terry Gilliam. The result was an unprecedentedly anarchic and volatile smorgasbord of innovative TV sketches.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover the turbulent relationship between the comedians and BBC bosses; reveal the location of the first official Python plaque; and consider how the troupe conquered America alongside that other distinctly British export, Benny Hill…
Further Reading:
• ‘Pythons anniversary: BBC bosses were not amused, memos reveal’ (The Times, 2019): https://www.thetimes.com/article/448ad6f6-e6f0-11e9-bc3e-661ff0438ed9
• ‘Monty Python’s greatest sketches’ (The Times, 2014): https://www.thetimes.com/article/0712ae77-7176-4b4d-9187-b2bad4018721
• ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus: Whither Canada’ (BBC, 1969):
ON PREVIOUS DAYS:
- YESTERDAY:
Philadelphia's Deadly Parade - DAY BEFORE:
The Man Who Bought Stonehenge - DAY BEFORE THAT:
The Bermuda Triangle Theory - DAY BEFORE BEFORE THAT:
New York's First Terror Attack
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OLLY MANN
Olly Mann made his name with another trivia-wielding podcast, Answer Me This! with Helen Zaltzman – and now presents The Modern Mann, The Week Unwrapped, and Four Thought for BBC Radio Four. He also has an A-Level in History, so Dan Snow beware.
REBECCA MESSINA
Rebecca got a passion for podcasting working at The Week magazine and a passion for trivia appearing on University Challenge in 2011, making The Retrospectors her natural home.
ARION MCNICOLL
Arion started out in satirical news in Australia, then moved to the UK to work for ostensibly serious publications including The Times, CNN, and The Week… before realising that since around 2016 the news has all been satire really.
Do you have a day of note that we should cover? Or would you or your business like to support the podcast? Get in touch!
