Considering this website was, essentially, last updated in 1999, this is clearly a new definition of the word "news." We're redefining the paradigm here, people. We are through the looking glass.
July 4, 2010: Monty Python's PythoNET is now on Youtube! Our Youtube channel is a giant treasure trove of rare clips starring the Monty Python team. Most of these clips are not available on DVD. When I created this page in 1996 one of my goals was to bring attention to some of the lesser-seen works of Monty Python. With the help of this Youtube channel you can enjoy rare clips from Rutland Weekend Television, At Last the 1948 Show, Do Not Adjust Your Set, The Complete and Utter History of Britain, and many other rare and wonderful things. Join us and enjoy.
 June 6, 2010: Not the Messiah - Eric Idle's musical stage show based on The Life of Brian. Available on DVD/Blu-Ray on June 8th, this release captures a dynamite one-night-only live stage show that stars a chorus of 140, an orchestra of 80, 5 soloists, 8 bagpipers, and 3 sheep.
At Last ... another 1948 Show episode recovered! Previously thought lost forever, collectors have now discovered a a nearly-complete episode of At Last the 1948 Show, the wonderful pre-Python sketch comedy series starring John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Marty Feldman and Tim Brooke-Taylor at their very best.  This makes nearly ten out of thirteen episodes now known to survive, although sadly only five episodes' worth of compilation material has been released on DVD. (Those making the DVD were unaware that complete episodes actually existed, at the time. We here at PythoNET have two 1/2 episodes not released on that DVD, and have had these episodes for about 12 years now ... back when we still updated this website! They're certainly "out there" on the internet for those who look for them.) Roughly all of the series exists on audio as well, but only in fan hands. According to Matthew K Sharp, the known surviving episodes are 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, 2/2, 2/3, 2/5, 2/7 (apparently), with 2/1 and now 2/6 reconstructed with some audio only sections. And there's at least some surviving footage from the other 4 episodes, too. At Last the 1948 Show, Associated Rediffusion, tx 31 Oct 1967, Series 2, Programme 6 includes these sketches: Police Banquet/Return Of The Sydney Lotterbies/The Chartered Accountant dance/MI5 Banquet/Dentistry With A Difference/The Four Yorkshiremen. Dick Fiddy, TV consultant at the BFI, said, "Recently, a private collector contacted the BFI's "Missing Believed Wiped" project and handed over two priceless missing items of 1960s TV comedy." The other was a lost episode of The Frankie Howerd Show. "It's good news all round with these finds - they feature some of the UK's finest clowns at their peak and are pure comedy gold dust. The 'Frankie Howerd Show', for example, not only features more rare Frankie stuff but boasts a script from Ray Galton and Alan Simpson and - particularly precious - the great Yootha Joyce hamming it up as a tipsy vamp trying to have her way with the aghast Frankie." For more information, click here to visit the excellent missing episodes forum, and here for a news article.
Gilliam News: The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is a fantasy film directed by Terry Gilliam and written by Gilliam and Charles McKeown. The film follows the leader of a travelling theatre troupe who, having made a deal with the Devil, takes audience members through a magical mirror to explore their imaginations.
Christopher Plummer, Tom Waits, and Heath Ledger star in the film, though Ledger's death one-third of the way through filming caused production to be temporarily suspended. Ledger's role was recast with Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell portraying transformations of Ledger's character Tony as he travels through a dream world. The film is dedicated to Ledger - the normal credit "A Terry Gilliam Film" is removed in favor of "A Film From Heath Ledger and Friends."
At Last the 1948 Show and Do Not Adjust Your Set on DVD! We've been huge fans of these rare pre-Python series series for years, and were overjoyed when selected episodes came out on DVD recently. Both sets were a bit disappointing, though - For the At Last the 1948 Show release, five "compilation" episodes were rescued from Swedish TV. It's wonderful to see 5 episodes' worth of this classic sketch comedy. However, a lot more material exists (roughly 5 more episodes worth), and it should have been on this set, except that those putting it together didn't seem to know it existed! Clearly a volume 2 is in order. The Do Not Adjust Your Set release fared better, with nine episodes from the first series. The Christmas episode "Do Not Adjust Your Stocking" was missing, and so was the first episode of the second series, due to a rights dispute, but all in all a good introduction to this series.
January 29th, 2005: Spamalot! Eric Idle's Broadway musical, lovingly ripped-off from the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, is winning rave reviews, as directed by Mike Nichols and starring Tim Curry, Hank Azaria, and David Hyde Pierce ... not to mention our own John Cleese as the voice of God. Here's a link to buy tickets. In addition to the all-star cast album, Eric Idle will also be releasing an "official bootleg" album, "Eric Idle sings Spamalot," featuring his own versions of songs written for the show - including many that got cut out of it!
New Neil Innes CDs and things! I've been busy editing a feature film lately, but not too busy to help out at the official Neil Innes website. I've been designing some lovely new Cafe Press merchandise for you all, including a fantastic live CD called Live at Martyrs'. A must-have for any Neil fan. Our favorite singing minstrel and Rutle has been touring the US and UK lately, so check the dates and go! We've also released the 2 CD set "Breakfast with a Rutle," and Danny Barbour has released Neil's classic albums "Taking Off" and "The Innes Book of Records" on CD, as well as the GRIMMS album "Sleepers." For more news on this and other Neilness, visit the NeilInnes.org Message Board.
Out of the Trees has been recovered! The legendary one-episode show, written by Graham Chapman and Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), long thought lost, has apparently been recovered and may be screened in Britain very soon, perhaps as part of this year's Missing Believed Wiped programme.
Ripping Yarns and Rutles 2 on DVD! Michael Palin and Terry Jones have lovingly restored every episode of their classic post-Python series Ripping Yarns for a new DVD. The DVD features commentary, laugh-track-less versions of the episodes, and an incredibly rare BBC play entitled Secrets, written by Palin and Jones and not seen in years. (The play later became the film Consuming Passions.) Eric's Idle's latest film, Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch will be available on DVD this March. A companion to his classic film The Rutles: All You Need is Cash, the film features outtakes from the original film, as well as all-new interviews with celebrities like Tom Hanks, David Bowie, Mike Nichols, Carrie Fisher and many more - talking about how they were affected by the world's greatest rock group. I had a chance to see this film with Idle present in 2003, and I must say, it's hilarious, and a good buy for any Rutle/Python fan.
Gilliam News: Tideland and the Brothers Grimm! Terry Gilliam is one of the most fascinating film directors working today ... but his film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote shut down after only a week of shooting (as documented in "Lost in La Mancha," a must-see documentary available on DVD), and his film The Brothers Grimm, starring Matt Damon and Heath Ledger, was supposed to be released in November 2004, but will now not be released until November 2005 ... Gilliam's last released film was the 1998 cult classic Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. After a long quiet spell, it looks like Hollywood is about to get a huge dose of Gilliam once again. Gilliam's new movie is "Tideland," and he'll be letting fans in on the story of the making of it at the official website. "Brothers Grimm" will finally hit theaters - hard - this November. A great time to be a filmgoer ...
ERIC IDLE WRITES -- Recently, Eric Idle wrote Pythonline to say:
Cheer Up America.
Ok it looks bad but here are my tips for surviving the depression....
1) Cancel the papers for four years.
2) Ignore all letters from the army.
3) Don't fuck Republicans.
4) See if you can find an asshole to run next time.
5) Be extra nice to gays. They may be rounded up soon.
6) Remember the Roman Empire fell when the Christians took control."
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