IT WAS... MONTY PYTHON

The Pink Floyd of comedy.

It's always disappointing when a favorite band breaks up. It's doubly disappointing when the break-up is acrimonious. Joining this hallowed trend is Monty Python.

Now, it's difficult to say, really, that Monty Python "broke up". They simply stopped working together on a regular basis; all had other projects to keep them busy, and would reunite when the mood (or the money) struck them. 

There were tensions in Python-land, of course. How could there not be when you've got six talented people working together, each with a separate point of view? It would have been strange if they didn't have the occasional kerfuffle. John Cleese and Eric Idle continue to be famous for going at it.

The last time they laughed together.

Idle is at again, not just going after Cleese but Terry Gilliam as well -- and Gilliam's daughter Holly. The latter dispute is due to money, as these things often are. Holly is essentially Python's manager, and Idle doesn't think she's doing a good job. There doesn't seem to be much, if any, of an income stream for Python-related matters these days, forcing Idle, at age 80, to continue working. "One Gilliam is bad enough," he Tweeted. "Two can take out any company." Oof.

Despite what your wife or girlfriend says,
it's an investment.

I can't speak to Holly Gilliam's management skills. But Python-related stuff has been available
for years. Want the entire Flying Circus series? Get it at Amazon now at 10% off the list price. Maybe the Holy Grail 40th anniversary edition Blu-Ray from Belgium with a miniature castle and farm animals? A steal at $64.95! DVDs, CDs, books, posters, toys -- anything they filmed, recorded, written or have their names slapped on can be yours without problem. 

Isn't it possible, then, that hardcore Python fans -- the only people who collect these things -- have everything their heroes ever did? How many more editions of And Now for Something Completely Different does one need? How many times is Monty Python's Spamalot going to be revived on Broadway?

Then there's another possibility, one that could be too painful for Eric Idle to admit: the Monty Python craze has come and gone. Consider: their TV series ran only 45 episodes from 1969 to 1974. They made five movies over the course of 22 years. Their final release, Meaning of Life, was in 1983 -- 41 years ago! 

So much comedy, British and American, has come and gone in the two generations since then, it's inevitable even a giant like Monty Python would gradually become something of an historical artifact. Last December's theatrical re-release of Life of Brian was arranged for only two days probably for that very reason. It was enough time for everybody who wanted to see it with a crowd to do so. 

Remember us?

Just because one generation loved something doesn't mean subsequent generations are obliged to get onboard. Let's recall another enormously popular wacky British comedy troupe, the Crazy Gang, which lasted on and off from 1933 to 1960. Like Python, the Crazy Gang had six members -- to be precise, three comedy teams who occasionally got together in various media. Also like Python, they made only five movies. But unlike Python, you probably haven't heard of them. That's because newer styles of comedy and comedians came along over the years -- like Monty Python. For younger generations, perhaps it really is time for something completely different.                                         

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