Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus (known during the final series as just Monty Python) is a British surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring the comedy group Monty Python. The first episode was recorded at the BBC on 7 September and premiered on 5 October 1969 on BBC One, with 45 episodes airing over four series from 1969 to 1974, plus two episodes for German TV.
British comedy
One of the most influential groups in comedy is Monty Python. Their "Flying Circus" sketch show aired on the BBC between 1969-1974. The group itself consisted of six members, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. All were UK-born except Gilliam, who was US-born. Chapman, Cleese, and Idle attended the University of Cambridge, while Jones and Palin attended the University of Oxford. Gilliam was an alumnus of Occidental College. The Pythons went on to produce a large body of other legendary work including two TV specials for Germany, four feature films, a concert film, and various documentary specials detailing the group's history. Their unique brand of humor has had a profound influence on British comedy and on comedy in general. They themselves had been influenced by The Goons and Spike Milligan's "Q" series. Python found surprising popularity in the US in the 1970s, as did the less cerebral humour of Benny Hill and his ITV sketch series "The Benny Hill Show".