Monty Python's Flying Circus

Monty Python's Flying Circus (aka Flying Circus or MPFC, known during the fourth season as Monty Python) was the popular BBC sketch comedy show from Monty Python.

Recurring characters

In contrast to many other sketch comedy shows Monty Python featured only a handful of recurring characters, many of whom were only involved in titles and linking sequences, including:

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• The "It's" man (Palin), a dishevelled man with torn clothes and long, unkempt beard who would appear at the beginning of the programme, often after climbing up a mountain or performing a long task and say "it's..." before being abruptly cut off by the opening titles, which started with the words 'Monty Python's Flying Circus'. "It's" was also an early candidate for the title of the series.
• A BBC continuity announcer in a dinner jacket (Cleese), seated at a desk, often in highly incongruous locations, such as a forest or a beach. His line, "And now for something completely different," was used variously as a lead-in to the opening titles and a simple way to link sketches together. It eventually became the show's catch phrase, even serving as the title for the troupe's first movie.
• Mr Praline (Cleese), an odd, raincoat-clad man (except in the Crunchy Frog sketch, in which he wears a police uniform) with a distinctive, florid style of speech delivered in an odd accent. He has a penchant for getting into the most absurd arguments, though he is alternately the victim and perpetrator of this absurdity.
• An armoured knight (Gilliam) carrying a rubber chicken, who would end sketches by hitting characters over the head with it.
• A Viking (Palin, Chapman or Gilliam) who would inexplicably interrupt sketches to say "Anyway," or to complete a portion of another character's dialogue, after which the sketch would (usually) resume as normal. Occasionally he would also pose the question "Lemon Curry?"
• A nude organist (played in his first appearance by Gilliam, afterwards by Jones) who provided a brief fanfare to punctuate certain sketches (usually parodies of the television show, How) or as yet another way to introduce the opening titles.
• The Colonel (Chapman), a straight-laced military officer who would sometimes abruptly end sketches for being too silly.
• Mr. Badger, a tight- Scotsman (Idle) who would come up with various schemes to make £1. He also interrupted sketches simply to inform the viewers "Actually, this is not an interruption".
• Biggles (Chapman, and in one instance Jones), a fictional WWI pilot from a series of stories by W. E. Johns.
• The "Gumbies," a group of slow-witted individuals identically attired in high-water trousers, braces (suspenders), and round, rimless glasses, with tiny Chaplin-style moustaches and handkerchiefs on the tops of their heads (a stereotype of the British holidaymaker). They hold their arms awkwardly in front of them, speak slowly in loud, low voices punctuated by frequent grunts and groans, and have a fondness for bashing bricks together. They often complain that their brains hurt. All of them are named 'Gumby' (D.P. Gumby, R.S. Gumby, etc.).
• The Pepper Pot Women, screeching middle-aged, lower-middle class housewives played by the cross-dressing Python men. The Pythons played all their own women, unless the part called for a younger, more glamorous actress (in which case either Connie Booth or Carol Cleveland would usually play that part). "Pepper Pot" refers to what the Pythons believed was the typical body shape of middle-class British housewives.
• Luigi Vercotti (Palin), a mafioso entrepreneur, occasionally accompanied by his brother Dino (Jones).

Some of those attacked by Python seemed to recur far more frequently than others. Reginald Maudling, a contemporary political figure, was singled out for perhaps the most consistent ridicule. The theme tune was John Philip Sousa's Liberty Bell March (see that article for an MP3 recording of the MPFC version of the march). Regular supporting cast members include Carol Cleveland, Connie Booth, Neil Innes and The Fred Tomlinson Singers (for musical numbers).

Related Topics:
Reginald Maudling - John Philip Sousa - Liberty Bell March - Carol Cleveland - Connie Booth - Neil Innes - The Fred Tomlinson Singers

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