The new documentary (Almost the Truth) is a wonder — I’ve seen a ton of Python doc material, read the oral history, read various histories of other sorts…. but this is bliss, full of anecdotes and footage that concisely reiterates yet also breaks new ground. Even with a bit too much Russell Brand, I fell in love.
I have to say, I was a little disappointed in this. It seemed a little short (at 6 hours!). The history of the Pythons is longer and more interesting than that of the Beatles. But the mop-tops managed to crank out almost 11 1/2 hours of material for their Anthology. In Almost the Truth, episode 5 of 6 is devoted to Life of Brian. Really? Only one episode to encompass everything post-Brian? Disappointing.
I agree that’s there’s a bit too much Russell Brand. But there’s a bit too much Coogan as well. Do I need to sit through his verbatim recital of various bits of sketches? That’s a waste of the viewer’s time. Take all that unnecessary footage out and give us more stuff like footage from At Last the 1948 Show.
Still, it’s a must-see. But the book, The Pythons by The Pythons, remains the definitive source.
all i’ve seen so far is the first episode. some interesting tidbits about their early lives and careers, but not edited together in a terribly compelling way. it was interesting to hear them talk about their debt to the goons, “beyond the fringe” etc. but it would have been nice if the documentary had situated them a little more precisely among those influences and in the rest of the new comedy world of the 60s.
but i did learn that terry gilliam is from minnesota. yay, minnesota!
two episodes in: fuck russell brand.
to return to a theme from my previous post: the second episode notes in the beginning that spike milligan’s q series had more or less done all the surrealist, frame-breaking stuff associated with the pythons. however, everyone then proceeds to talk about the pythons independent of this observation. it would have been nice to get some sense of where (other than gilliam’s animation) they departed from milligan’s show in formal terms.
I finished it; my appreciation dimmed, some. I’d love the show you describe, Arnab, intent on more than the kind of sweeping this-was-England-then Time-magazine cultural context, and a lot more about Milligan, and (especially) Peter Cook. And I was frustrated by the too-pat wrap-up, rushing from Meaning of Life ’til now. What I continued to like was the personal stuff, particularly about Chapman, who I had the great good fortune to see when he did college tours in the ’80s. And the stories of squabbling, the small rifts and ruffled feathers.
But, yes, fucking Russell Brand.
i’ve seen a fair bit of cook’s stuff (“not only but also”) but i’ve never seen any of milligan’s series. i don’t know if they’re available on dvd etc.. he was a major formative influence on me (before i’d ever heard of the pythons) courtesy his world war 2 books which i read in early high school. the problem with this documentary is that it’s clearly in hagiographic mode. what would be more interesting would be a documentary on that entire scene, not merely focused on the pythons. i read a book along those lines in late high school, courtesy the british council library (this was right after i’d discovered the pythons–not via the tv show, mind, but via audio tapes–i didn’t see most of the sketches till i came to the u.s in 1993), that was pretty good. i believe it may have been titled from fringe to flying circus.
Here’s another brief glimpse of some later Milligan (this may be from his Q Series but I can’t be sure).
Didn’t they mention in the doc that BBC had erased all the old Milligan tapes?
i may not have got there yet–but there does seem to be stuff on youtube. i do know that most of not only…but also got wiped. there’s still a pretty decent greatest hits compilation available. i have it on tape if you want to borrow it.
A really good documentary, The Secret Life of Brian, is available on YouTube. I highly recommend it. Here’s part 1.
Not sure where else to put this, so I’m putting “In praise of Coogan” here. Although not amazing by any stretch, “Saxondale” is enjoyable. I told myself I’d give it a go (watching instantly on Netflix) and that if I got bored by episode 3, I’d move on to something else. Well, I’m still here–which is exactly the mood of this series. He tries desperately to charm, but whatever he charm he may have had (perhaps none) is long gone. Still, for some odd reason, you get attached and decide to hang around (even, perhaps, against your better judgment). Basically, the viewer is like Mags, the woman in his life.
The reason you decide to stick around is because Tommy Saxondale, though he’s a bit wobbly when things don’t go his way (he’s enrolled in anger management class), he’s basically a decent bloke. And it become evident in the first episode that his anger is due to the fact that people can be fucking stupid and hopeless, yet no one seems to notice–especially when the stupidity and hopelessness envelopes whatever situation he thought he commanded.
What I like best is its working-class aesthetic. Reminds me of early Frears–though in somewhat slicker fashion. Tommy is in pest control, and he’s hired as his sidekick a young bloke named Raymond, played by Rasmus Hardiker. Take a look at this shot of the two of them making their way to their next job (“People, just people. Imperfect like all the rest of us.”):
Has anyone else watched this series? I’d like to hear what other people think.
I’m not sure it isn’t amazing. Dayna and I loved it, though we saw it a long time ago (2, maybe 3 years?) and I have a hard time remembering why I loved it so. Part of it had to do with the style of humor: It refused to take the easy shots. Mags is heavy, but there are not fat jokes. That’s one example, but I remember it held through the whole thing. Tommy is a decent guy. While I did not laugh as hard as often as “I’m Alan Partridge” (the mere thought of the owl sanctuary makes me laugh) It’s a more subtle and more rewarding series. I think it’s as good as anything Coogan’s done, and I’m sorry it didn’t keep going with a third series.
I think the whole show is summed up by its opening credits — Tommy cruising in his big fucking yellow car, rock and roll playing loudly, a big smug happy look on his face. It seems at first like an arch send-up, but no: it’s a portrait of unfettered pleasure. It’s that appreciation of Tommy’s delight that makes the endless obstacles thereto both very funny and somewhat suprisingly tinged by sadness. I love that Saxondale’s desires are so minimal–not mindless, not really mocked, but minor–Tommy doesn’t want fame, or fortune, he just wants to remember many glancing impressions of fame, and get an audience to listen to his tales, and have a pint or hang out with Mags. He reminded me of W.C. Fields–a poetry built on ineffectual rage and a generally amiable selfishness. (I was a huge fan of Tommy’s nemesis Vicky, too.)
Frears is an intriguing connection–perhaps especially the Frears who adapted Roddy Doyle so well, or perhaps it’s a reminder of the complex, well-meaning, thoughtful pub-loving men of a certain age in Doyle’s north Dublin. (Oh–and I briefly noted liking this show a while back, but in a post where I was complaining about Guy Ritchie, who idealizes a slick vicious version of “comic working-class” England, which Coogan makes look even more terrible in comparison.)
I’m glad to hear you guys like this series. I imagine I’ll like it more and more as it goes on.
I was speaking with the Head of Humanities and Cultural Industries at Bath Spa University, UK, and he told me that the British television industry has taken a serious hit the past few years. Shows like “Saxondale” are getting harder and harder to produce. Nowadays, only big concept game shows seem to get the money. Sad.
I’m for some reason reminded of an exchange Tommy has with someone who asks about his days as a roadie. Tommy rattles off a list of bands he toured with–the Tull, Deep Purple, 10cc–with such pride. And the guy he’s talking to asks him, “Led Zeppelin?” And Tommy stops, his face falls, and he quietly says “no.”