Monty Python FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Spam, Grails, Spam, Nudging, Bruces and Spam

by Brian Cogan author of Deconstructing

Overview

(FAQ). Ni! Peng! Nee-wom! Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, revered and august publisher of weighty tomes on all things histrionic, is proud to present Monty Python FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Spam, Grails, Spam, Nudging, Bruces, and Spam , the only 127% unauthorized guide to the greatest comedy troupe to ever feature Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin, to what is doubtlessly an astute and discerning global audience! Written in Applause's popular FAQ format, this behemoth pack a broad range of historical trivia, trivial history, illicit paraphernalia, and sophomoric overeducation into a tastefully apportioned ranged of eminently readable, silly-walk-accessible chapters sure to delight Python newcomers and veterans alike. Rather than offering narrow analyses of the quintet's work, Monty Python FAQ ganders at the big picture, tracing the Pythons across space, time, and media format. This noble quest for meaning leaves no turn unstoned, from the Pythons' time immersed in the sketch comedy scene they grew out of to their boundary-breaking, undefinable, anarchic new style, from their comedic influences to biographical info on each of the individual Pythons (including an examination of their lives and work post-Python), from the book's front cover to its reverse, and from the beginning of this sentence to its mawkish and merciful end. Much like the troupe itself, the writers of Monty Python FAQ stuff their work with allusions to canonical literature and philosophy, but never forgot that sometimes it's just as funny to see somebody get slapped in the face with a fish. DUCK! Other selling points include: * 60% more fish-slapping than any other Monty Python book on or slightly underneath the market! * No joke names, but plenty of bad Latin! * In-depth, cogent, and rapier-witted insights (not to mention naughty limericks and highly questionable assertions)! * Not one, not two, but THREE authors: Chris Barsanti, Jeff Massey, Brian Cogan! * Candid commentary ... nudge, nudge, wink, wink, know what we mean?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781495049439
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	06/01/2017
Series:	FAQ
Pages:	392
Sales rank:	975,441
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.90(h) x 2.80(d)

About the Author

Chris Barsanti (Brooklyn, NY) is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and New York Film Critics Online. He has written on cultural ephemera for publications like PopMatters, Film Journal International, Playboy, Chicago Tribune, Kirkus Reviews, Virginia Quarterly Review, Barnes & Noble Review, and The Millions. He is the author of several books, including Filmology: A Movie-a-Day Guide to the Movies You Need to Know. He likes both cats and dogs and doesn't understand why they can't just work things out.



Brian Cogan (Brooklyn, NY) is an associate professor in the Department of Communications at Molloy College in Long Island, New York. He is the author, co-author, and co-editor of numerous books, articles, and anthologies on popular culture, music, and the media. He is the co-author of Everything I Ever Needed to Know About _____________* I Learned from Monty Python. He is not one to be trifled with.



Jeff Massey (Wantagh, NY) is professor of English language and literature at Molloy College, where he teaches courses on medieval literature, classical mythology, monstrosity, comedy, superheroes, and linguistics. He has published on Anglo-Saxon philology, Chaucerian desire, Victorian mimesis, and neo-medievalisms (not) found in Star Trek. Massey is also a co-author of Everything I Ever Needed to Know About _________* I Learned from Monty Python. Massey enjoys coffee but has never read Proust.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: The Lasting Importance of Monty Python xi

1 Every Sperm Is Sacred: In Which the Pythons Are Born 1

2 The Origins of British Silliness: The Goon Show 14

3 Frost/Python: In Which David Frost Gives Comedy a Go 21

4 And Now, for Something Oddly Familiar: At Last the 1948 Show 27

5 The Real Pre-Python; Do Not Adjust Your Set 40

6 Whither the BBC?: Monty Python's Flying Circus and How It Began at the Beginning 46

7 Under the Big Top: Monty Python's Flying Circus: Season One 59

8 Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Wonderful Spam! Monty Python's Flying Circus: Season Two 81

9 The First Rip-Offs: And Now for Something Completely Different and Fliegender Zirkus 102

10 Blood, Devastation, Death, War, and Horror: Monty Python's Flying Circus, Season Three 113

11 All That's Left: Monty Python (sans Flying Circus): The Final Season 130

12 What Hath We Wrought? The Pythons Storm America 146

13 Of Course It's a Good Idea! Monty Python and the Holy Grail 156

14 Moving On: John Cleese Checks into Fawlty Towers 179

15 "I'm Not the Messiah!": The Very Naughty life of Brian 194

16 A Fish Film: The Meaning of Life 207

17 Post-Python: "Jolly, Jolly Good!": John Cleese-The Most Prolific Python 223

18 Post-Python: "I'm … Dead Yet!": Graham Chapman-The Least Alive Python 234

19 Post-Python: "There's Nothing Quite as Wonderful as Money": Eric Idle-The Showman 248

20 Post-Python: "It's Only a Model": Terry Gilliam-The Director-y Python 263

21 Post-Python: "I'm Bounder of Adventure": Michael Palin-The Nicest Python 283

22 Post-Python: "He's a Very Naughty Boy!": Terry Jones: The Medieval-est Python 295

23 Seven for Seventh: The Semi-Pythons 309

24 After Python: The Influencers and Referencers 324

25 Spamalot! The Pythons Go to Broadway … and a Long Line for the Restroom Ensues! 332

26 We're Not Dead Yet! The Recurring Resurrections, Reunion Tours, and Ex-Chapmans 345

Selected Bibliography 355

Index 363

Index of Bits, Episodes, Sketches, and Songs 371