Michael Palin Movies
British actor/satirist Michael Palin first demonstrated his writing and performing skills at Oxford University's Experimental Theatre Club. Almost immediately upon graduation, Palin was snatched up by the BBC, which made excellent use of his scathing wit and thespic versatility in such series as Twice a Fortnight and The Complete and Utter History of Britain. A relative latecomer to the fabled Monty Python troupe, Palin made up for lost time, writing and performing in the group's long-running TV series and in such big-screen projects as Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) and Life of Brian (1978); he also wrote much of the musical score for Monty Python's the Meaning of Life (1983). To date, Palin and Cleese have been the two ex-Pythonites most active as solo performers. Palin was hilarious as the green-as-grass Reverend Charles Fort, ministering to "fallen women" ("Women who've tripped?") in The Missionary (1982) and as stuttering doofus Ken in A Fish Called Wanda (1988), winning a British Film Association award for the latter performance. Palin remained active in television into the 1990s with cheeky projects like Ripping Yarns (1976), Do Not Adjust Your Set (1977-79) and Palin's Column (1994). An inveterate globetrotter, Michael Palin channelled his wanderlust into his tongue-in-cheek TV miniseries Around the World in 80 Days (1989) and Pole to Pole (1991). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1969
This first episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus originally aired October 5, 1969. The host of "It's Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart" showcases the deaths of famous historical characters -- and one squealing pig. On "It's the Arts," emcee Tim interviews film director Sir Edward "Eddie Baby" Ross and composer Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson. The English win WWII with the help of The Deadliest Joke in the World. And Pablo Picasso bicycles along the Guilford Bypass. Billed as guest stars were Python cartoonist Terry Gilliam (later a full-fledged regular) and Carol Cleveland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
In one of several sketches in this early Python episode, two Frenchmen with berets discuss the commercial feasibility of flying sheep. The host of "And Now for Something Completely Different" interviews Arthur Frampton, the man with three buttocks. A performance by Arthur Ewing and His 23 Musical Mice is followed by a lively marriage counseling session (cowboy regalia optional). A wrestling match is staged to determine God's existence. And "The World Around Us" offers a hard-hitting expose of The Mouse Problem. "Sex and Violence" originally aired in England on October 12, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
The first tree to be recognized from quite a long way away is the Larch -- Harold Larch, who, after being hauled into court on a parking offense, summons Cardinal Richelieu as a character witness. Bicycle Repairman once more comes to the rescue. A children's fairy tale segues into a litany of sexual perversion. A diner complains about a dirty fork, and it's a good thing he didn't mention the dirty knife. A milkman pays the price for lustful desire. Anchorman Michael Queen comes to "The End of the News." And Norm asks a stranger about his wife, wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more, say no more. Originally titled "Bunn, Wackett, Buzzard, Stubble and Boot," this episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus was originally telecast October 19, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
After a guitar rendition of "Jerusalem" at the Cardiff Rooms in Libya, an art critic joins Marge and Janet in lunching on a few masterpieces. A bather performs a striptease, much to the dismay of the Colonel. A Sergeant-Major demonstrates the proper self-defense techniques when dealing with an assailant armed with fruit. A tobacconist and a bookseller are enmeshed in international intrigue when the former asks for a copy of "An Illustrated History of False Teeth." And Arthur Lemming of the British Dental Association makes a surprise appearance. Carol Cleveland, Dick Vosburgh, and Katya Wyeth are featured on "Owl-Stretching Time," which first aired October 26, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
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No kidding: they need a video to tell us how to do this? Actually, How to Irritate People is a collection of TV skits, conceived in the mid-1960s by future Monty Python star John Cleese. As he'd do so often in future projects, Mr. Cleese demonstrates that, within every "veddy proper" Britisher, there beats the heart of a raving lunatic. These bits were assembled into a BBC special, starring both Cleese and his Cambridge classmate (and fellow Pythonite) Graham Chapman. The proceedings aren't quite as uninhibited as Cleese and Chapman's later Monty Python shows, but it's fascinating to watch these two comic geniuses in their embryonic stage. Originally telecast in 1965, How to Irritate People was restored for video in 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
The casual British viewer might have tuned into the BBC anthology weekly A Series of Birds in hopes of seeing a delectable parade of females (or "birds," as they were nicknamed at the time). Instead, the series consisted of eight 30-minute playlets, all starring versatile young stage performer John Bird. Bird also wrote much of the material, together with John Fortune and a bright new team named Michael Palin and Terry Jones (who obviously had a future in the business). The program began its run on October 3, 1967, and ended on November 21 of that same year. John Bird went on to essay a wide variety of roles in a number of other TV projects, including several entries in BBC's ambitious anthology of Shakespeare's plays and the 2000 satirical special My Government and I. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
A spin-off of the enormously successful British radio sketch series I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, BBC1's Twice a Fortnight was the first major TV effort of "the Goodies," aka Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie, and Tim Brooke-Taylor. While all three funsters appeared on camera, only Garden and Oddie were credited as writers. The series' ten half-hour episodes also featured the talents of BBC newsreader Ron Fletcher, whose function was to provide a deadpan contrast to the zany goings-on à la Gary Owens on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In; in addition, Britain's biggest rock stars, including the Who and Cream, made guest appearances. Rounding out the hilarity was a smattering of filmed sketches, written by and starring future "Monty Pythonite" Michael Palin (previously published reports that Palin's writing partner Terry Jones also appeared are apparently erroneous). Twice a Fortnight originally aired from October 21 to December 23, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
