PRALINE: It's not pining, it's passed on. This parrot is no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and gone to meet it's maker. This is a late parrot. It's a stiff. Bereft of life, it rests in peace. If you hadn't nailed it to the perch, it would be pushing up the daisies. It's rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-parrot! This is one of the most famous of all Python rants. Found in episode 8, many fans have it memorized. If you don't and would like help getting it right, Monty Python's Flying Circus: Complete and Annotated is the book for you. At 880 colorful illustrated pages, it is a brick of a book in weight and in its great utility to Python fans. There is no excuse for misunderstanding a silly accent now. This book tells you exactly what the Pythons said and when they said it.
What's also fun is that the annotations clue readers in on the back-stories of some pieces. "The Dead Parrot Sketch" came from the pens of John Cleese and Graham Chapman after hearing about Michael Palin's auto mechanic, who would never admit anything was wrong with his car. In Cleese and Chapman's first draft, the verbose Cleese was to return a toaster. Luckily for us, the Pythons had the idea of using the Norwegian Blue.
Python fans should set aside a nice long winter's night (or several) for looking up their favorite episodes.
XIMINEZ: Nobody expects the Spanish Inquistion.
Monty Python's Flying Circus: Complete and Annotated: All the Bits. Black Dog and Leventhal, 2012. 880p. ISBN 9781579129132.
2 comments:
Hello! Thanks for the commentary. Can you tell me whether "The History of the Joke" (with the banana peel and pies-in-the-face) is included (or where I might find it if not)?
Thanks!
Valerie
Valerie, Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I had never heard of "The History of the Joke."
I will look but I believe the Complete and Annotated only refers to the television scripts. I think the "The History of the Joke" was only on stage from what I see on YouTube.
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