The (Non-Inflatable) Monty Python TV Companion

Rating:
Summary: Very Standard
Review: From what I gather in the introduction, this book has taken more than ten years to compile and was written because when the author first started writing it, there were no books about Monty Python. However, the book is now about ten years too late, because we've seen so many Python books since then (First 280 Years of Monty Python, First 200 Years of Monty Python, Life of Python, Life After Python, Monty Python Speaks, Monty Python: A Celebration, Monty Python Encyclopedia), much of them containing more substance than this. The book's format is very similar to the studies by Kim "Howard" Johnson, only with less information. There is a chapter of pre Python days, an introduction to each of the seasons, and a listing of sketches from each show. Sometimes the shows are accompanied by a paragraph of critical analysis, but not always.
There is very little else, other than a bibliography and a few frills. I'd say that really the only reason to buy is for the brief explanation of the lost "Wee-Wee" sketch and Graham Chapman's hilarious introduction (written about a year before he died.)

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: Hey, great book. Now I know "what's so bleedin' funny about Lord Hill"! It really adds a lot to the viewing of the shows (out on DVD soon!), espcially for us Yanks. Kudos!!

Rating:
Summary: Inflate THIS!
Review: I haven't laughed this hard since I read Monica's Story! Naw, KIDDING! Very informative stuff about Python and their times. (It's funny too).

Rating:
Summary: Words are flowing out like endless Kool-Aid in a Dixie cup
Review: Jim, John and I discovered the Python's by way of the PBS import of the series in the 1970s. We laughed our heads and other appendages off, but as Jim notes, we weren't sure just why. I like things that are intrinsically funny or interesting without a need for explanation, so when I opened this book I wondered if learning who Lord So-And-So was or gaining details about the other people and places lampooned by the troupe would be a bit like explaining a joke. Well it wasn't like that at all. It was like Christmas and your birthday and the first time you were sweaty in the backseat of... no it wasn't really like that either. But, it was a pleasant sort of experience and didn't hurt at all. In fact I think it really adds to the enjoyment of the series.... a lot. Really I do. I wouldn't just say that. Look, go and get a copy of this book and see for yourself. Maybe I should have said "buy a copy of this book". Anyway, first watch the entire series without the book. Then, read the book and keep it beside you as a guide and constant companion as you watch them all again and again. Soon the book will begin to speak to you and tell you what it's true mission is. Listen carefully... I know I have.

Rating:
Summary: Words are flowing out like endless Kool-Aid in a Dixie cup
Review: Jim, John and I discovered the Python's by way of the PBS import of the series in the 1970s. We laughed our heads and other appendages off, but as Jim notes, we weren't sure just why. I like things that are intrinsically funny or interesting without a need for explanation, so when I opened this book I wondered if learning who Lord So-And-So was or gaining details about the other people and places lampooned by the troupe would be a bit like explaining a joke. Well it wasn't like that at all. It was like Christmas and your birthday and the first time you were sweaty in the backseat of... no it wasn't really like that either. But, it was a pleasant sort of experience and didn't hurt at all. In fact I think it really adds to the enjoyment of the series.... a lot. Really I do. I wouldn't just say that. Look, go and get a copy of this book and see for yourself. Maybe I should have said "buy a copy of this book". Anyway, first watch the entire series without the book. Then, read the book and keep it beside you as a guide and constant companion as you watch them all again and again. Soon the book will begin to speak to you and tell you what it's true mission is. Listen carefully... I know I have.