Eric Idle

BBC: far from perfect but has given us great comedy

The daft ditties of Glasgow's Ivor Cutler and Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks might never have seen the light 'without the BBC, writes Aidan Smith.

Review: Monty Python's Flying Circus, series 2 Blu-Ray

This Series 2 box-set review was being written when news of Terry Jones' passing broke on 22 January 2020, so it seems only fitting to single out his contribution to Monty Python as a founding member.

The most memorable comedy gigs of the 2010s

Here Chortle editor Steve Bennett recalls the shows that had the biggest personal impact since 2010.

Top 10 books about comedy

Biographies, autobiographies, episode guides, script anthologies, tie-in books - my thirst for writing about comedy takes in the lot, so I've chosen not to differentiate between them. They're all of a piece, adding to our understanding and appreciation of the art.

Review: Monty Python's Flying Circus, series 1 Blu-Ray

The 50th anniversary of Monty Python's Flying Circus is celebrated with the release of the first series on high-definition Blu-ray, restored by Network Distributing...

Do Not Adjust Your Set / At Last The 1948 Show review

Reviews of pre-Monty Python sketch series Do Not Adjust Your Set (*****) and At Last The 1948 Show. (***)

BBC archive release celebrate Python's 50th anniversary

A new archive of photos and documents has been uncovered which illustrates rarely seen moments from the making of Monty Python, as the ground-breaking comedy show celebrates its 50th anniversary.

It's... Genome's Monty Python 50th anniversary quiz

To celebrate half a century of Monty Python's Flying Circus, Genome indulges in a little light quizzing - how well do you know your Pythons?

Monty Python at 50

In this rare glimpse inside the BBC archives, we reveal the exasperated internal memos, the furious letters from wing commanders - and David Frost's bid to bring them down.

Monty Python at 50: The Self-Abasement Tapes is made up of excised sketches from the television show, presented for the first time by Python member Michael Palin. Television now is a lot swearier and shoutier than it was 50 years ago, but I bet it still wouldn't start a Python tribute with the sketch that opened this one: a report from the annual conference of the Fat Ignorant Bastards Party of the USA, whose leader has just become president. "The cult is certainly booming," Eric Idle said in classic old-style Panorama manner.

There followed a court sketch and a school sketch, both subjects dear to Python hearts, as well as the fine country parody song I'm So Worried, exquisitely performed by Terry Jones, with worries that ranged from the Middle East to Heathrow's baggage delivery system and the state of current TV. Palin's linking device, as if he were excavating the material from sewers beneath the Edgware Road while being ironic about that road, its shops and owners, was apt and ingenious.