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List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes

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This is a list of all 45 episodes from the television series Monty Python's Flying Circus:

Series Episodes Originally aired
First in the series Last in the series
1 13 5 October 1969 11 January 1970
2 13 15 September 1970 22 December 1970
3 13 19 October 1972 18 January 1973
4 6 31 October 1974 5 December 1974

Series 1

It's...

1. Whither Canada?

(episode 1; aired 5 October 1969; recorded 7 September 1969)

  • It's Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Famous deaths
  • Italian lesson
  • Whizzo Butter
  • "It's the Arts"
  • Arthur 'Two Sheds' Jackson
  • Picasso/Cycling Race
  • The Funniest Joke in the World

Details

  • The word "Whizzo" would be used throughout the series as the title of various companies and products, such as Whizzo's Finest Chocolates produced by the Whizzo Chocolate Company, for the Crunchy Frog sketch of episode six.

2. Sex and Violence

(episode 2; aired 12 October 1969; recorded 30 August 1969)

  • Flying Sheep
  • French Lecture on Sheep-Aircraft
  • A Man with Three Buttocks
  • A Man with Two Noses
  • Musical Mice
  • Marriage Guidance Counsellor
  • The Wacky Queen
  • Working-class playwright
  • The Wrestling Epilogue
  • The Mouse Problem

Details

  • The "Mouse Problem" sketch originally ended with an announcement that if any viewers suffered from the same problem they could dial a phone number that appeared on the screen. The number turned out to be David Frost's number, and after he complained the segment was wiped.
  • Real professional wrestlers appeared in the "Wrestling Epilogue" sketch, in which an Anglican monsignor and a college professor debate the existence of God by wrestling.

3. How to Recognise Different Types of Trees From Quite a Long Way Away

(episode 3; aired 19 October 1969; recorded 14 September 1969)

Details

4. Owl Stretching Time

(episode 4; aired 26 October 1969; recorded 21 September 1969)

Details

  • The 16-Ton Weight makes its first appearance on Self-Defence Against Fresh Fruit.
  • The name Owl Stretching Time was a proposed name for the series itself.
  • Although the entire series was made in colour, the first four episodes were originally broadcast in black-and-white, as BBC One did not officially start broadcasting in colour until 15 November 1969.

5. Man's Crisis of Identity in the Latter Half of the 20th Century

(episode 5; aired 16 November 1969; recorded 3 October 1969)

  • Confuse-a-Cat
  • The Smuggler
  • A Duck, a Cat and a Lizard (discussion)
  • Vox Pops on Smuggling
  • Police Raid
  • Letters and Vox Pops
  • Newsreader Arrested
  • Erotic film
  • Silly Job Interview - first appeared on How to Irritate People.
  • Careers Advisory Board
  • Burglar/Encyclopedia Salesman

6. It's the Arts (or: The BBC Entry to the Zinc Stoat of Budapest)

(episode 6; aired 23 November 1969; recorded 5 November 1969)

  • It's the Arts
  • Johann Gambolputty
  • Non-Illegal Robbery
  • Vox Pops
  • Crunchy Frog (Whizzo Chocolate Company)
  • The Dull Life of a City Stockbroker
  • Red Indian in Theatre
  • Policemen Make Wonderful Friends
  • A Scotsman on a Horse
  • Twentieth-Century Vole

7. You're No Fun Anymore

(episode 7; aired 30 November 1969; recorded 10 October 1969)

  • Camel Spotting
  • You're No Fun Any More
  • The Audit
  • Science Fiction Sketch
  • Man Turns Into Scotsman
  • Police station
  • Blancmanges Playing Tennis

Details

  • Although listed individually in books and other media, Man Turns into Scotsman, Police Station and Blancmange Playing Tennis are all part of the Science Fiction Sketch.
  • Extragalactic Blancmange puddings feature prominently. The story reverses the usual relationship of people eating food, into food eating people.
  • A table-size sentient Blancmange from planet Skyron of the Andromeda Galaxy turns the tables by eating people, especially now-historic players of tennis. Alien Blancmange(s) also have the power to instantly turn 48 million English citizens into northward-marching Scots. Chief Scientist Charles, his mistreated bimbo girlfriend, and a police detective eventually deduce that this bizarre cultural conversion and player consumption is an effort to depopulate England and win the Wimbledon tennis championships. The core theory here is that if everyone in England is turned into Scotspeople, they are sure to lose the tennis match, since (according to the characters) Scots are terrible at tennis. What the Blancmanges stand to gain by winning at Wimbledon is never brought up.
  • The Blancmange(s) from space eat 1970s tennis stars. Then, a single tennis-playing Blancmange is thwarted when it is chased and eaten by a couple armed with forks, spoons, and napkins. The couple, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Brainsample (Eric Idle and Graham Chapman), were snubbed as boring in the first scene, but they too just happen to be from the Blancmange(s)' home planet of Skyron. With all the famous players and the Blancmange eaten, the only remaining tennis player is kilt salesman Angus Podgorny (Michael Palin). Podgorny seems strangely cheerful for having watched his wife (Terry Jones) being eaten a few scenes earlier. The wrapup sports announcer (John Cleese) narrates the unlikely TV spectacle of a Scotsman winning Wimbledon after playing against himself — hopping back and forth across the net — for 15 years, we are told.
  • Multiple Blancmange sightings are mentioned, but only one is seen and eaten in the final sketch. The Monty Python Blancmange looks more like a round coffee table in a white fabric tent than a gelatinous pudding.

External link

  1. Monty Python's Flying Circus Episode Seven: You're no fun any more; Script features an extragalactic Blancmange pudding.

8. Full Frontal Nudity

(episode 8; aired 7 December 1969; recorded 25 November 1969)

  • Army Protection Racket
  • Vox Pops on Full Frontal Nudity
  • Art Critic - The Place of the Nude
  • Buying a Bed
  • Hermits
  • Dead Parrot
  • The Flasher
  • Hell's Grannies

Details

  • The Hell's Grannies sketch utilises the theme song from the James Bond film Thunderball.
  • There were two running gags between this episode and episode four concerning sketches which end when a female cast member delivers a terrible joke, and upon protest from fellow cast members replies "but it's my only line" and begins to cry.
  • Most sketches in this episode are ended prematurely by Graham Chapman's army character ("The Colonel") from the first sketch, who protests that they are "too silly."

9. The Ant, an Introduction

(episode 9; aired 14 December 1969; recorded 7 December 1969)

  • Llamas
  • A Man with a Tape Recorder Up His Nose
  • Kilimanjaro Expedition (Double Vision)
  • A Man with a Tape Recorder Up His Brother's Nose
  • Homicidal Barber
  • The Lumberjack Song
  • Gumby Crooner
  • The Refreshment Room at Bletchley
  • Ken Buddha and His Inflatable Knees
  • Brian Islam and Brucie
  • Hunting Film
  • The Visitors

Details

10. Untitled

(episode 10; aired 21 December 1969; recorded 30 November 1969)

  • Walk-on Part in Sketch
  • Bank Robber in a Lingerie Shop
  • Trailer
  • It's A Tree
  • Vocational Guidance Counsellor
  • Ron Obvious: The First Man to Jump the Channel
  • Tunnelling from Godalming to Java
  • Pet Conversions
  • Gorilla Librarian
  • Letters to Daily Mirror
  • Strangers in the night

Details

  • This episode is referred to as "Untitled" because instead of the name of the episode being shown at the end, the show's title is shown.
  • Episode 3 is referenced in the middle of the "Vocational Guidance Counsellor" sketch when "The Larch" is shown.

11. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Goes to the Bathroom

(episode 11; aired 28 December 1969; recorded 14 December 1969)

  • Lavatorial Humour
  • Interruptions
  • Agatha Christie (Inspector Tiger)
  • Literary Football Discussion
  • Interesting People
  • Undertakers Film
  • Eighteenth-Century Social Legislation
  • The Battle of Trafalgar
  • Batley Townswomans Guild Presents the Battle of Pearl Harbour
  • Undertakers Film

12. The Naked Ant

(episode 12; aired 4 January 1970; recorded 21 December 1969)

  • Falling From Building
  • Spectrum - Talking About Things
  • Visitors From Coventry
  • Mr. Hilter and the Minehead by-election
  • Silly Voices at the Police station
  • Upper Class Twit of the Year
  • Ken Shabby
  • How Far Can a Minister Fall?

13. It's the Arts (or: Intermission)

(episode 13; aired 11 January 1970; recorded 4 January 1970)

  • Restaurant Abuse/Cannibalism
  • Advertisements
  • Albatross
  • Come Back to My Place
  • Me Doctor
  • Historical Impersonations
  • Quiz Programme: "Wishes"
  • Probe-Around on Crime
  • Stonehenge and Mr. Attila the Hun
  • Psychiatry
  • Operating theatre

Series 2

And now for something completly different.

It's...

1. Face the Press (or: Dinsdale)

(episode 14; aired 15 September 1970; recorded 9 July 1970)

2. The Spanish Inquisition

(episode 15; aired 22 September 1970; recorded 2 July 1970)

Details

3. Déjà Vu (or: Show 5)

(episode 16; aired 29 September 1970; recorded 16 July 1970)

  • A Bishop Rehearsing
  • Flying Lessons
  • Hijacked Plane
  • The Poet McTeagle
  • Psychiatrist Milkman
  • Complaints
  • Déjà Vu

Details

  • Graham Chapman's character in the "Psychiatrist Milkman" sketch changes from Mrs. Ratbag to Mrs. Pim.

4. The Buzz Aldrin Show (or: An Apology)

(episode 17; aired 20 October 1970; recorded 18 September 1970)

  • An apology
  • Gumby announcement
  • Architects Sketch
  • How to Recognize a Mason
  • An apology/Another Gumby announcement
  • Motor Insurance Sketch
  • The Bishop
  • Living Room on Pavement
  • Poets
  • A Choice of Viewing
  • An Interview with a Nude Man
  • The Bishop...Again?!
  • An apology
  • Gumby Frog Curse/Another Another Gumby Announcement
  • Chemist Sketch
  • An Apology/Words Not to be Used Again
  • After-shave
  • Vox Pops
  • Police Constable Pan-Am
  • Another Apology
  • End Credits
  • Last Gumby announcement (The end)

Details

  • Cardinal Ximènez made a cameo appearance in this episode. Additionally, one character says "I didn't expect a Spanish Inquisition", but, being played by Michael Palin (as is Cardinal Ximènez), is told to shut up.

5. Live from the Grill-O-Mat

(episode 18; aired 27 October 1970; recorded 10 September 1970)

  • Live From the Grill-o-Mat
  • The First Item...
  • Blackmail
  • Society for Putting Things on Top of Other Things
  • Escape from Film
  • The Next Item (or dish)...
  • Current Affairs
  • Continued from the Escape from Film
  • The Next Item (...Prawn Salad...?)...
  • Accidents Sketch (Prawn Salad Ltd.)
  • Interruption
  • Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
  • The Butcher Who is Alternately Rude and Polite
  • The Last Item (coffee)...
  • Ken Clean-Air System
  • On the Bus (end credits)

6. It's A Living (or: School Prizes)

(episode 19; aired 3 November 1970; recorded 10 September 1970)

  • "It's a Living"
  • The Time on BBC 1
  • School Prize-Giving
  • "if...." - a film by Mr Dibley
  • "Rear Window" - a film by Mr Dibley
  • "Finian's Rainbow" (starring the man from the off-licence)
  • The Foreign Secretary and Other News
  • Free Dung from the "Book of the Month" Club
  • Dead Indian
  • Timmy Williams interview
  • Raymond Luxury Yacht (Throat Wobbler Mangrove interview)
  • Marriage Registry office
  • Election Night Special

7. The Attila the Hun Show

(episode 20; aired 10 November 1970; recorded 2 October 1970)

  • "The Attila the Hun Show"
  • Attila the Nun
  • Secretary of State Striptease
  • Vox Pops on Political Groupies
  • Ratcatcher
  • Wainscotting
  • Killer Sheep
  • The News for Parrots
  • The News for Gibbons
  • Today in Parliament
  • The News for Wombats
  • Attila the Bun
  • The Idiot in the Rural Society
  • Test Match Against Iceland
  • The Epsom Furniture Race
  • "Spot The Braincell"

Details

  • The opening sequence appears after The Attila the Hun Show.
  • The opening sketch is a parody of The Debbie Reynolds Show (1969) - recreating the opening credits shot for shot and using a knock off of the theme "With A Little Love".

8. Archaeology Today

(episode 21; aired 17 November 1970; recorded 9 October 1970)

  • Trailer
  • "Archaeology Today"
  • Silly Vicar and Leapy Lee
  • Registrar (wife swap)
  • Silly doctor sketch (immediately abandoned)
  • Mr. and Mrs. Git
  • Roy and Hank Spim - Mosquito hunters
  • Poofy Judges
  • Mrs. Thing and Mrs. Entity
  • Beethoven's Mynah Bird
  • Shakespeare
  • Michelangelo
  • Colin "Chopper" Mozart (ratcatcher)
  • Judges

9. How to Recognise Different Parts of the Body

(episode 22; aired 24 November 1970; recorded 25 September 1970)

  • "How to Recognise Different Parts of the Body"
  • Bruces sketch
  • Naughty Bits
  • The Man who Contradicts People
  • Cosmetic Surgery
  • Camp Square-Bashing
  • Killer Cars
  • Cut-Price Airline
  • Batley Townswomen's Guild Presents the First Heart Transplant
  • The First Underwater Production of "Measure for Measure"
  • The Death of Mary Queen of Scots
  • Exploding Penguin on the TV Set
  • There's Been a Murder
  • Sgt. Duckie's Song - Police entry for Eurovision Song Contest
  • "Bing Tiddle Tiddle Bang" (song) - contest winner from Monaco

10. Scott of the Antarctic

(episode 23; aired 1 December 1970; recorded 2 July 1970)

  • French Subtitled Film
  • Scott of the Antarctic
  • Scott of the Sahara
  • Conrad Poohs and His Dancing Teeth
  • Fish Licence
  • Derby Council v. All Blacks Rugby Match
  • Long John Silver Impersonators v. Bournemouth Gynaecologists

Details

  • The opening sequence appears after Scott of the Sahara, seventeen and a half minutes into the show (out of about thirty).

11. How Not to Be Seen

(episode 24; aired 8 December 1970; recorded 23 July 1970)

  • Conquistador Coffee Campaign
  • Repeating Groove
  • Ramsay MacDonald Striptease
  • Job Hunter
  • International Chinese Communist Conspiracy
  • Crelm Toothpaste / Shrill Petrol
  • Agatha Christie Sketch (railway timetables)
  • Mr Neville Shunte-Railroad Playwright
  • Gavin Millarrrrrrrrr Writes
  • Film Director/Dentist Martin Curry (teeth)
  • City Gents Vox Pops
  • Crackpot Religions Ltd
  • How Not to Be Seen
  • Crossing the Atlantic on a Tricycle
  • Interview in Filing Cabinet
  • "Yummy Yummy Yummy, I've Got Love In My Tummy"/Music Time
  • Monty Python's Flying Circus Again in Thirty Seconds

Details

  • "And now for something completely different" and the opening sequence has a repeating groove.
  • This episode featured many famous characters from different episodes including The Nudge Man (Nudge Nudge), Cardinal Ximenez (The Spanish Inquisition), Ken Shabby, etc. Terry Gilliam also reprised his role as the nude organist (Blackmail), a character usually played by Terry Jones.
  • There was originally a scene at the end of crackpot religions where there were crosses that were actually telegraph poles. The scene was taken out, but can be seen at the end when the whole show is repeated.

12. Spam

(Episode 25; aired 15 December 1970; recorded 25 June 1970)

Details

  • The Hospital for Over-Actors possesses a Richard III Ward, due in part to many exaggerations on the character over the years.

13. Royal Episode 13 (or: The Queen Will Be Watching)

(episode 26; aired 22 December 1970; recorded 16 October 1970)

  • The Queen Will Be Watching
  • Coal Mine in Llandarogh Carmarthen
  • The Man Who Says Things in a Very Roundabout Way
  • The Man Who Speaks Only the Ends of Words
  • The Man Who Speaks Only the Beginnings of Words
  • The Man Who Speaks Only the Middles of Words
  • Commercials
  • How to Feed a Goldfish
  • The Man Who Collects Birdwatcher's Eggs
  • Insurance Sketch
  • Hospital Run by RSM
  • Mountaineer
  • Exploding Version of "The Blue Danube"
  • Girls Boarding School
  • Submarine
  • A Man with a Stoat Through His Head
  • Lifeboat (cannibalism)
  • Undertaker's sketch

Details

  • For this episode, a different formal kind of opening sequence appears in honor for Her Majesty the Queen. The opening sequence is short and plays "Pomp and Circumstance" until a foot squishes at the end.
  • A scrolling subtitle appears later after the opening sequence, saying that the Queen is still watching "The Virginian."

Series 3

And now,

It's...

1. Whicker's World (or: Njorl's Saga)

(episode 27; aired 19 October 1972; recorded 14 January 1972)

  • Njorl's Saga/Opening Credits
  • Multiple Murderer Court Scene
  • Investigating the body
  • Njorl's Saga - part II
  • A Terrible Mess
  • Njorl's Saga - part II: North Malden?
  • Starting Over
  • Njorl's Saga - part II: Invest in Malden?
  • Phone conversation about the word "Malden" in the saga
  • Eric Njorl Court Scene (Njorl's Saga - part III)
  • Stock Exchange Report
  • Mrs. Premise and Mrs. Conclusion at the Launderette
  • Mrs. Premise and Mrs. Conclusion at North Malden
  • Back to the saga...
  • Njorl's Saga - part IV: Mrs. Premise and Mrs. Conclusion visit Sartre in Paris
  • Whicker's World

Details

  • Just for this season, the prologue of the opening sequence feature a nude organist, John Cleese saying "and now," and the "It's" man.

(episode 28; aired 26 October 1972; recorded 28 January 1972)

  • Emigration from Surbiton to Hounslow
  • Schoolboys' Life Assurance Company
  • How to Do It
  • Mrs. Niggerbaiter Explodes
  • Vicar/Salesman
  • Farming Club
  • "Life of Tschaikowsky"
  • Trim-Jeans Theatre
  • The Fish-Slapping Dance
  • World War Two (Animation)
  • Titanic Sinking
  • The BBC is Short of Money
  • SS Mother Goose
  • It's Man Show

Details

  • The opening sequence appears after the emigration from Surbiton to Hounslow.
  • The "It's Man Show" is shown after the closing credits and features Lulu & Ringo Starr as themselves, and is one of the few times you can hear the man say something besides "It's".

3. The Money Programme

(episode 29; aired 2 November 1972; recorded 4 December 1971)

  • The Money Programme
  • Money Song
  • Erizabeth L
  • Fraud Film Director Squad[1]
  • Hands Up (Animation)
  • Dead Bishop, AKA Church Police or Salvation Fuzz
  • Jungle Restaurant
  • Apology for Violence and Nudity
  • Ken Russell's "Gardening Club"
  • The Lost World of Roiurama
  • Six More Minutes of Monty Python's Flying Circus
  • The Argument Skit
  • Hitting on the Head Lessons
  • Inspector Flying Fox of the Yard
  • One More Minute of Monty Python's Flying Circus

4. Blood, Devastation, Death, War, and Horror

(episode 30; aired 9 November 1972; recorded 11 December 1971)

  • Blood, Devastation, Death, War and Horror
  • The Man Who Speaks in Anagrams
  • Anagram Quiz
  • Merchant Banker
  • Pantomime Horses
  • Life and Death Struggles
  • Househunters
  • Mary Recruitment Office
  • Bus Conductor Sketch
  • The Man Who Makes People Laugh Uncontrollably
  • Army Captain as Clown
  • Gestures to Indicate Pauses in a Televised Talk
  • Neurotic Announcers
  • The News with Richard Baker (vision only)
  • The Pantomime Horse is a Secret Agent

Details

  • The opening sequence appears after the man who speaks in anagrams.
  • This episode is entirely devoted to anagrams. Merchant Banker (Chamran Knebter), Mary Recruitment Office (Army Recruitment Office), even the end credits, are all completely in anagrams.
  • Richard Baker has also done gestures to indicate pauses in the news.
  • The title of the show is announced as Tony M. Nyphot's Flying Risccu.

5. The All-England Summarize Proust Competition

(episode 31; aired 16 November 1972; recorded 24 April 1972

  • Summarize Proust Competition
  • Hairdressers Climb Up Mount Everest
  • Fire Brigade
  • Our Eamonn
  • "Party Hints" with Veronica Smalls
  • Language Laboratory
  • Travel Agent
  • Watney's Red Barrel
  • Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses

Details

  • The end credits appear at the end of the summarize proust competition.

6. The War Against Pornography

(episode 32; aired 23 November 1972; recorded 21 January 1972)

  • Tory Housewives Clean-up Campaign
  • Gumby Brain Specialist
  • Molluscs - "Live" TV Documentary
  • Report on the Minister reports
  • Tuesday Documentary
  • Children's Story
  • Match of the Day
  • An Apology
  • Expedition to Lake Pahoe
  • The Silliest Interview We've Ever Had
  • The Silliest Sketch We've Ever Done

7. Salad Days

(episode 33; aired 30 November 1972; recorded 7 January 1972)

Details

  • In some video editions of the Biggles Dictates a Letter sketch, a technical glitch cut some of the dialogue but the complete original does exist.

8. The Cycling Tour

(episode 34; aired 7 December 1972; recorded 4 May 1972)

Details

  • This episode is the first episode of Flying Circus to feature a full length story.
  • This is the first episode that doesn't have a formal opening sequence; instead, a simple caption "The Cycling Tour" appears at the beginning of the episode.
  • John Tomiczek, Graham Chapman's adopted son, makes a brief, non-speaking appearance as an autograph seeker.

9. The Nude Organist

(episode 35; aired 14 December 1972; recorded 11 May 1972)

  • Bomb on Plane
  • A Naked Man
  • Ten Seconds of Sex
  • Housing Project Built by Characters from Nineteenth-century English Literature
  • M1 Interchange Built by Characters from 'Paradise Lost'
  • Mystico and Janet - Flats Built by Hypnosis
  • Mortuary Hour
  • The Olympic Hide-and-seek Final
  • The Cheap-Laughs
  • Bull-fighting
  • The British Well-Basically Club
  • Prices on the Planet Algon
  • Mr. Badger Reads the Credits

10. E. Henry Thripshaw's Disease

(episode 36; aired 21 December 1972; recorded 25 May 1972)

  • Tudor Jobs Agency
  • Pornographic Bookshop
  • Elizabethan Pornography Smugglers
  • Silly Disturbances
  • The Free Repetition of Doubtful Words Sketch
  • 'Is There?'... Life after Death?
  • The Man Who Says Words in the Wrong Order
  • Thripshaw's Disease
  • Silly Noises
  • Sherry-drinking Vicar

Details

  • The BBC censored this episode probably more than any other, cutting three sketches as well as a lot of Gilliam's animation. The three sketches were: Big Nosed Sculptor, Revolting Cocktails, and Wee-Wee Wine Cellar.
  • The footage representing the movie version of Thripshaw's Disease was taken from a 1960 Polish movie The Knights of the Cross.

11. Dennis Moore

(episode 37; aired 4 January 1973; recorded 17 April 1972)

  • "Boxing Tonight" - Jack Bodell v. Sir Kenneth Clark
  • Dennis Moore
  • What the Stars Foretell
  • Doctor
  • TV4 or Not TV4 Discussion
  • Lupins
  • Ideal Loon Exhibition
  • Off-Licence
  • Dennis Moore Rides Again
  • Prejudice
  • Redistribution of Wealth

12. A Book at Bedtime

(episode 38; aired 11 January 1973; recorded 18 December 1971)

  • Party Political Broadcast (Choreographed) †
  • A Book at Bedtime - "Redgauntlet"
  • Kamikaze Scotsmen
  • No Time to Lose
  • Frontiers of Medicine - Penguins
  • BBC programme planners
  • Unexploded Scotsmen
  • Spot the Looney
  • Rival Documentaries
  • Dad's Doctors, Dad's Pooves and Other Interesting Stories

Details

  • "Party Political Broadcast (Choreographed)" and "Dad's Doctors, Dad's Pooves and Other Interesting Stories" have been cut out in many versions of this episode.[1] A clip of Party Political Broadcast (Choreographed) has surfaced on YouTube, stated to have been found in Canada by David Morgan. It originates from WNED in Buffalo, NY; an identification card is seen at the beginning of the clip, and a "Support Channel 17" phone number shows up at the bottom of the screen. [2] The video has since been removed. However, there is a clip of the last sketch originating from German network WDR with German subtitles. [3]
  • The full "Party Political Broadcast (Choreographed)" & "Dad's Doctors, Dad Pooves, & Other Interesting Stories" sketches appeared in all broadcasts of this episode on KQED in San Francisco, CA.

13. Grandstand

(episode 39; aired 18 January 1973; recorded 18 May 1972)

  • Thames TV Introduction
  • "Light Entertainment Awards" with Dickie Attenborough
  • Dickie Attenborough
  • The Oscar Wilde Sketch
  • Charwoman
  • David Niven's Fridge
  • Pasolini's Film "The Third Test Match"
  • New Brain from Curry's
  • Blood Donor
  • International Wife-Swapping
  • Credits of the Year
  • The Dirty Vicar Sketch

Details

  • This is the second episode that doesn't have a formal opening sequence.
  • The Credits of the Year sketch, specifically the moment when the two men are discovered in bed together, marked John Cleese's final appearance in the Python series.

Series 4

(On screen the final series was titled simply Monty Python although the full title, Monty Python's Flying Circus, is displayed at the beginning of the opening sequence; John Cleese is not in this series, except in the first episode uncredited. He also helped write all the episodes.)

1. The Golden Age of Ballooning

(episode 40; aired 31 October 1974; recorded 12 October 1974)

  • The Montgolfier Brothers
  • Montgolfier Brothers in Love
  • Louis XVI
  • The Court of George III
  • Party Political Broadcast on Behalf of the Norwegian Party (subtitled)
  • Zeppelin

Details

  • The end credits appear before the party political broadcast.
  • This episode does not have an opening sequence.

2. Michael Ellis

(episode 41; aired 7 November 1974; recorded 19 October 1974)

  • Department Store
  • Buying an Ant
  • At Home with the Ant and Other Pets
  • Documentary on Ants
  • Ant Complaints
  • Ant Poetry Reading
  • Toupee Department
  • Different Endings

Details

  • This episode is the second episode of Flying Circus to feature a full length story.
  • The end credits appear after the opening sequence.

3. The Light Entertainment War

(episode 42; aired 14 November 1974; recorded 26 October 1974)

  • Up Your Pavement
  • RAF Banter
  • Trivializing the War
  • Courtmartial
  • Basingstoke in Westphalia
  • "Anything Goes" (song)
  • Film Trailer
  • The Public Are Idiots
  • Programme Titles Conference
  • The Last Five Miles (8 km) of the M4
  • Woody and Tinny Words
  • Show-Jumping
  • Newsflash
  • "When Does a Dream Begin?" (song)

Details

  • Footage of The Nude Organist and the It's Man were taken from the Dennis Moore episode. This episode marks the last appearance of these two characters.
  • A rare instance in which most of the sketches of the episode have a shared theme (World War II) yet no apparent narrative.
  • The opening credits appear after the film trailer.
  • The "Show-jumping" sketch features Olympic silver medal-winning showjumper Marion Mould (see also Stroller (horse)).
  • "When Does a Dream Begin?" was written, and performed on the programme, by Neil Innes. The woman he sings to is Maggie Weston, the Python make up girl, and future wife of Terry Gilliam.
  • The "Theme" heard for "Up Your Pavement" , is a variant of "When Does A Dream Begin?".
  • Douglas Adams made a brief appearance as a doctor treating a man suffering from lumbago.
  • RAF Banter opens with Eric Idle climbing out of Hawker Hurricane Mk. I, L1592, now on display at the Science Museum, London England.

4. Hamlet

(episode 43; aired 21 November 1974; recorded 2 November 1974)

  • Bogus Psychiatrists
  • Nationwide
  • Police helmets
  • Father-in-Law
  • Hamlet and Ophelia
  • Boxing Match Aftermath
  • Boxing Commentary
  • Piston Engine (a Bargain)
  • A Room in Polonius' House
  • Dentists
  • Live from Epsom - Jockey Interviews
  • Queen Victoria Handicap

Details

  • The opening credits appear after the father-in-law.

5. Mr. Neutron

(episode 44; aired 28 November 1974; recorded 9 November 1974)

  • Post-box Ceremony
  • Mr. Neutron
  • F.E.A.R. / Mr. Neutron is Missing!
  • Teddy Salad
  • Secretary of State and Prime Minister
  • Bombing
  • Mrs. Scum
  • Teddy Salad Explodes
  • Mr. Neutron Escapes
  • Conjuring Today

Details

  • With the exception of "Post-box Ceremony," nearly the entire episode was co-written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones.

6. Party Political Broadcast

(episode 45; aired 5 December 1974; recorded 16 November 1974)

  • Most Awful Family in Britain (Cowritten by Neil Innes)
  • Icelandic Honey Week
  • Patient Abuse (Cowritten by Douglas Adams)
  • Brigadier and Bishop
  • Appeal on Behalf of Extremely Rich People
  • The Man Who Finishes Other People's Sentences
  • David Attenborough
  • The Walking Trees of Dahomey
  • Batsmen of the Kalahari
  • Cricket Match (assegais)
  • BBC News (handovers)

Details

  • The opening sequence appears after the Icelandic Honey Week.
  • The end credits appear before handovers, which were all related to the party political broadcast on behalf of the Liberal Party.
  • This was the final episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus.

References

  1. ^ Chapman, Graham; Cleese, John; Gilliam, Terry; Idle, Eric; Jones, Terry; Palin, Michael (1990) [1989]. "Twenty-nine". Monty Python's Flying Circus: Just the Words. Vol. Volume Two. London: Mandarin. p. 78. ISBN 0-7493-0226-7. I am Inspector Leopard of Scotland Yard, Special Fraud Film Director Squad. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
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