5 ms·

"…strange references to things like exploding knees…" It is highly likely (I just checked, it is 100% likely: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goon_Show#Monty

by wlll 7y ago

"…strange references to things like exploding knees…" It is highly likely (I just checked, it is 100% likely: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goon_Show#Monty_Python https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goon_Show#Monty_Python) that Monty Python were heavily influenced by The Goon Show, a BBC radio show released between 1951 and 1960. The quote from the article I called out would be completely at home in a Goon Show script. For anyone who is a Monty Python fan it may be worth checking it out. I grew up listening to Goon Show re-runs on the radio or on CD and absolutely love them. Be warned though, as there is no visuals restricting the writers the shows are even more abstract than Python. They are sometimes re-run on iPlayer, you can buy CDs (I think Amazon and eBay) and it is likely someone has "archived" the shows on the Internet somewhere.

NeedMoreTea 7y ago
Also Spike Milligan's follow up late 60's TV series, Q5, which ran yearly until Q9. It's very Pythonesque, but is much more hit or miss. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q..._(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q..._(TV_series)
- iggldiggl 7y ago
  And continuing in the other direction, another radio series called The Burkiss Way, which first aired in 1976, also has a Python-inspired feel to it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Burkiss_Way https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Burkiss_Way https://archive.org/details/TheBurkissWay https://archive.org/details/TheBurkissWay
emmelaich 7y ago
Yes, that's pretty well known. The knees in particular perhaps inspired by "Footo, the wonder boot exploder" http://www.thegoonshow.net/scripts_show.asp?title=svge09_the_internal_mountain http://www.thegoonshow.net/scripts_show.asp?title=svge09_the... Cool fact; the Australian ABC radio station played the Goon show every Saturday around midday for many many years. I think they only stopped around 2005. Was just reminiscing about this last night!
recuter 7y ago
John Cleese is currently on tour (aptly named "Last Time To See Me Before I Die") which is a sort of retrospective of his career and has said as much. The other bit of it is that half the pythons worked together on a children's show (Do Not Adjust Your Set) and John and Graham Chapman were literally watching it one day and had the vague notion of pursuing shenanigans together. When they pitched Monty Python to the BBC they had... nothing. Somehow it was green-lit anyway. So the lack of structure and imaginative child like absurdities were sort of built in.
- brlewis 7y ago
  Is there reason to think it's aptly named? From 5 years ago, same title: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_W1VF6Yj4w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_W1VF6Yj4w
  - serf 7y ago
    He's 79 years old. The average male life expectancy in the UK is 79.4 [0]. I mean, he's not unhealthy (as far as I know), but it's pretty common place for older folks to commiserate about their impending mortality. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expe...
    - caf 7y ago
      Life expectancy at birth isn't relevant to a 79 year old, though. The UK's life tables say a 79 year old male can expect to live another 9 years ( https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/lifeexpectancies/datasets/nationallifetablesunitedkingdomreferencetables https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsde... ).
      - enriquto 7y ago
        > Life expectancy at birth isn't relevant to a 79 year old, though. The UK's life tables say a 79 year old male can expect to live another 9 years This is one of my favorite examples when I have to teach statistics! (the other two being Monty Hall and the observation than outliers in a normal distribution depend mostly on the variance, and are essentially independent of the mean).

by wlll 7y ago

NeedMoreTea 7y ago

Also Spike Milligan's follow up late 60's TV series, Q5, which ran yearly until Q9. It's very Pythonesque, but is much more hit or miss. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q..._(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q..._(TV_series)

iggldiggl 7y ago
And continuing in the other direction, another radio series called The Burkiss Way, which first aired in 1976, also has a Python-inspired feel to it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Burkiss_Way https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Burkiss_Way https://archive.org/details/TheBurkissWay https://archive.org/details/TheBurkissWay

emmelaich 7y ago

Yes, that's pretty well known. The knees in particular perhaps inspired by "Footo, the wonder boot exploder" http://www.thegoonshow.net/scripts_show.asp?title=svge09_the_internal_mountain http://www.thegoonshow.net/scripts_show.asp?title=svge09_the... Cool fact; the Australian ABC radio station played the Goon show every Saturday around midday for many many years. I think they only stopped around 2005. Was just reminiscing about this last night!

recuter 7y ago

John Cleese is currently on tour (aptly named "Last Time To See Me Before I Die") which is a sort of retrospective of his career and has said as much. The other bit of it is that half the pythons worked together on a children's show (Do Not Adjust Your Set) and John and Graham Chapman were literally watching it one day and had the vague notion of pursuing shenanigans together. When they pitched Monty Python to the BBC they had... nothing. Somehow it was green-lit anyway. So the lack of structure and imaginative child like absurdities were sort of built in.

brlewis 7y ago
Is there reason to think it's aptly named? From 5 years ago, same title: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_W1VF6Yj4w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_W1VF6Yj4w
- serf 7y ago
  He's 79 years old. The average male life expectancy in the UK is 79.4 [0]. I mean, he's not unhealthy (as far as I know), but it's pretty common place for older folks to commiserate about their impending mortality. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expe...
  - caf 7y ago
    Life expectancy at birth isn't relevant to a 79 year old, though. The UK's life tables say a 79 year old male can expect to live another 9 years ( https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/lifeexpectancies/datasets/nationallifetablesunitedkingdomreferencetables https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsde... ).
    - enriquto 7y ago
      > Life expectancy at birth isn't relevant to a 79 year old, though. The UK's life tables say a 79 year old male can expect to live another 9 years This is one of my favorite examples when I have to teach statistics! (the other two being Monty Hall and the observation than outliers in a normal distribution depend mostly on the variance, and are essentially independent of the mean).