The show starts, as it should, with some Gilliam animation leading into the title, "U.S. COMEDY ARTS FESTIVAL TRIBUTE TO MONTY PYTHON" Then a few more animations introduce the cast - Flying Circus cartoons with photos of the Pythons' faces superimposed onto fish, butterflies, nude men etc.
Atop a comfy stage sit 5 comfy chairs, a couple of endtables, lamps, a small sofa and a trunk that sits on a Persian rug. All this is backdropped by giant portraits: a Cupid's Foot, and Michelangelo's David with approaching hand. The audience is packed with "industry" VIPs, actors and comedians who, despite their own status, will soon have that genuine fan's "ohmygodthatsreallythem" gleam in their eyes. American comedian Robert Klein walks onto the stage. Applause. Bob: Thank you very much. Back in 1973 I was getting ready to release my first comedy album, "Child of the 50's" ... or was it 1873? ... and in the studio was this album, we were on the same label, it was called "Now for Something Completely Different." (footnote 1) I put on a cut and it was completely incomprehensible to me. Then a few days later there was a screening at a producer's house of a film called "And Now For Something Completely Different," and I saw the Parrot sketch, like you all did, and my heart fell to Monty Python. Well, it's not hard to like a bunch of middle-class guys, British men who often dress as women and whose name translated in Japanese as "The Gay Boys' Dragon Show." The material hit on archetypes which time hasn't touched, and as a result, new generations of fans keep coming and coming, like my own 14-year-old son. A case in point is this, (has a letter in his hand) from a young fan who recently wrote to the web page which is called Pythonline:
(as uninformed writer) "I just saw the Holy Grail by Monty Python. I think it is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen since The Breakfast Club. I want to see some of the other movies, and I also heard that there was a t.v. show. Is this true? I really liked the movie, even though it was hard to tell what they were saying with their thick Australian accents." ... Was there ever a t.v. show? (Bob puts the letter down and looks dramatically into the camera.) Not like this there wasn't. CLIPS -BBC globe: "The BBC would like to announce that the next scene is not considered suitable for family viewing..." -Terry Jones naked at the organ -John Cleese at a desk, "And now for something completely different." -First Spanish Inquisition bit -"And so on, and so on, and so on." -Eric's Children's Story: "Rumpletweezer ran the Dinky Tinky Shop.." -Hungarian with Phrasebook at the tobacconist -Fish Slapping Dance -Venus dancing on the half-shell -Ken Shabby asks for Connie Booth's hand in marriage -First bit of Silly Walks -Mrs. Niggerbaiter explodes -"And then ..." -Last 60 seconds of Nudge-Nudge -Second & third verses of Lumberjack Song -Various shots of loonies over music -And a big ol' foot
BACK TO STAGE Bob: And now, ladies and gentleman, the almost full Monty. Standing ovation as they walk out on to the stage and sit, from left to right, in this order: Eric, Terry J., Terry G., Eddie, John, Michael. Robert Klein sits on the far left. Bob: It's wonderful to have you all here, and of course some of them may know but basically, how did the group get together? They all begin talking at the same time until one voice stands out. Eddie: I think I met John first. I met - I was on a train and I met John, and Mike was collecting the tickets, I think you were, and Terry and Eric were doing a bank robbery down here, it was the sort of Great Train Robbery time... Michael: Who are you? Eddie: My name is Eddie Izzard. Michael: He's not in the group! They all stand up and begin to escort him off the stage as he screams his protests in the form of Python lines. Eddie: Who'd have thought, thirty year ago, we'd all be sitting around drinking Chateau de Chassily ... Michael: Get off, get your own jokes ... They continue to push him off. Eddie: Wait, I can do you! Strange women lying in ponds...!!! Mike throws a tomato at him. He is by now off the stage and the others sit back down. (footnote 2) Eric: We're off! Bob: I'm so sorry, the security around here is... Pause until the laughter and commotion die down. Bob: So let me ask you this, how did you all get together? They all speak at once again and you can't understand anything anybody's saying. This is cut off by a clip of Graham as the Colonel.
CLIP "I've noticed a tendency for this program to get rather silly. Now I do my best to keep things moving along, but I'm not having things getting silly." BACK TO STAGE Bob: You were six, and of course Graham Chapman passed away in 1989. He would have loved this. He would have.... Michael: He would. John: But he's DEAD. (awkward silence for a beat, then laughter that increases during the following:) John: Stone DEAD. Michael: He is no more. Ceased to be. John: Stone, fucking, DEAD. Michael: (to empty chair next to him) That's his chair there. John: (emotionless) It's a tragedy. Michael: It's a chair. Bob: I'm sorry that I never met the man and I wish he could be here because he would have loved this. John: Well he is here. Michael: Yeah, he is. John: I brought him ... from London. Bob: You ... brought him? John: Yes. Shall we have him on? Bob: Please! John: Graham Chapman. A butler (footnote 3) enters carrying a gold urn atop a gold platter to tentative applause. Bob and the Pythons are also applauding. The butler plunks it down on the trunk that sits on a rug in front of the sofa the 2 Terrys are planted on. Terry G. hands the butler a cut-out photograph of Graham's face, young, cleanshaven and smiling with trademark pipe between teeth, and butler slaps it onto the front of the trunk where it remains for the rest of the show, watching us. The 5 settle back into their chairs and Michael wags a finger at the urn. Michael: Keep quiet.

Footnote 1: There is no Monty Python album entitled "Now for Something Completely Different." There is, however, a Robert Klein album entitled "Child of the 50s." Thus he at least gets his own work right. go back

Footnote 2: Eddie Izzard is a comedian in his own right in England, and seemingly a favorite of the Pythons. Mostly drag humor. This doesn't affect me, of course, as I've never seen him in anything. go back

Footnote 3: Much discussion was had about the identity of the "Butler." The best guess, and this was actually a plausible one if you ask me, was that he was Graham's husband David Sherlock. However, as it turned out that wasn't the case. According to Eric Idle in a post at Ask Pythonline -- "Butler was Peter Crabbe, a quondam partner of mine. Funny writer, actor and man. We do not keep in touch with David [Sherlock] as much as we should, but then he lives in the UK. It would be very unlikely we would collaborate with him in a Python writing sense, though his irrepressible humor and bravery make him a favorite of mine." Eric, of course, has taken up permanent residence in the US. go back