Smidget

I'm thinking about getting this set but have never seen an episode, I greatly enjoy the humor of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, This is Spinal Tap, Coen Bros movies, and shows like The Simpsons and Malcolm in the Middle. And I don't really wanna buy one volume to realize I want all the volumes..... So any opinions on people who have seen some episodes or have the set?

garmonbozia

In that case I would just buy the whole collection and if you don't like it, you can easily unload it for near or equla to what you paid on eBay or half.com
it's only $108.76 shipped at DDD.

Smidget

Yeah I saw it at DDD That's where I got the idea....... I think I might just go for it and worse comes to worse I ebay it Still would appreciated opinions.......

Slumbering Fist

I pre-ordered it from buy.com it was like 50% off and there was another coupon so it was only around $80 max. Usually box sets start dropping in price after they've been out a long time, but if you dont want to wait, I say go for it. I spent the first two weeks I had it watching a disc every night, and have popped in a few selected episodes since then. Its classic.

bdots48

It's a treasure. Buy it. Now.

HoNuts

Buy it.

"Wink. Wink. Nudge. Nudge."

innocentfreak

I just picked up my set for 99.99 plus tax at Costco

retihsuhnt

Okay Ive now brought this thread back from the dead, but I figured rather than starting off another thread and someone pointing me toward the search button I would save them the time.

I actually picked up this set from Costco ($89.99) right after xmas as a gift from my boss. Now I have not spent any "out of pocket money" on this, but I am wondering if I should keep it.

Some background, I liked (have seen two [2] episodes via the net) Fawlty Towers, actually I just got the whole set via the DDD 20% sale as a xmas gift from another person. I have not seen all of the Holy Grail, but seem to really like brit comedies (ie; Fawlty and Coupling).

I just thought I would ask some of the MP fans what you think the odds of me really liking the set, Im aware that not everything is "on par" with The Lumberjack.

Also, how do you folks alphabetize this in your collection, according to Amazon it's "official" title is The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus Megaset? Im just wondering since I use an Excel ss to list my collection/library. My guess is to go with Monty Python's Flying Circus, and simply list it as one (1) item. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

obscurelabel

Disclaimer: big (but not fanatical) fan.

Just about everything in this series is brilliant. If you're not familiar with the series and aren't old enough, you can't appreciate the impact that it had when first broadcast here in he U.S. I remember the enormous buzz that it generated when broadcast on public TV (Tuesdays 11:00pm) in the early 70s (when I was in middle school). Ministry of Silly Walks, Twit of the Year Contest, "It's the Mind", Summarizing Proust, Cheeseshop, Dead Parrot sketch, "Deaf - End - Ant!", one brilliant bit after another. Sure there are some lulls, but when they got a good sketch they hit it out of the park, to mangle a metaphor. Some of the last shows, when John Cleese had left, do drop off quite a bit in quality, but the earlier shows are terrific.

I have not viewed the current DVD release but it reportedly has a few problems that have been discussed here. There has also been some discussion of a re-release.

Movie_Man

I have this set, and my opinion that many of the sketches are "hit or miss". Some are just so stupid that you're not even sure what they were trying to accomplish, and some are so briliantly hysterical that I can't stop talking about them. Nevertheless, I could never part with the set. John Cleese is the backbone of this production, so the epsiodes without him are especially lacking.

gutwrencher

I grew up watching brit shows like MP, Fawlty Towers and The Goodies. my mother never missed a show on pbs and so neither did I. I really need to pick this set up one day. the FT collection is outstanding....too bad there is just not enough of it.

obscurelabel

Just 12 shows I believe (two "series" of six shows in the British parlance). I remember reading that John Cleese said it took six weeks to write each half hour show, it's easy to see why, with all of the intricate jokes and complex layering of the farcical story elements.

tonyc3742

I think on the interviews on the FT set, Cleese says that in addition to the time it took to work on them, after those 12 episodes, they had said all they wanted to say.

Anyway, MPFC was one of the first DVD's I bought--and I still haven't made my way all the way through it. There is a LOT of material on it. The movies are obviously more cohesive, while MPFC is more surreal and disjointed [being a sketch comedy show.] To me, even the sketches that weren't hits, were interesting if only just from a historical stand point, ie, What are they doing there? It never got as unenjoyable as, say, SNL for the last, oh, decade.

I grew up watching MPFC--it came on right before Dr. Who on my local public TV station, and my dad and I would stay up late and watch them both. Fawlty Towers, I don't think, is a great comparison to MPFC--some of Cleese's characters in MPFC sketches are very similar to Basil Fawlty, but the show itself has a much greater range.

porieux

Best. TV. Show. Ever.

jackson walker

This is really one of the seminal shows in broadcasting. Inspired the whole "Saturday Night Live" type of humor, not to mention the shift of comedy sensiblities in the seventies and beyond. Worth owning and watching and rewatching.

Fromundacheese

bump...I am considering this set..but have really never seen the show.

I enjoyed Holy Grail less than The Meaning of Life...if that helps at all.

Gil Jawetz

If you like Meaning of Life then you should definitely get this. It's obviously very fragmented like MOL. I've wanted to pick this up for a long time. Next time DDD does 20% maybe I will.

And since it hasn't been mentioned, the Life of Brian is my favorite MP production. So brilliant it just makes my head spin.

Dan Average

Wait for the UK releases.

Fromundacheese

What are the UK releases and when are they coming out?

Tyler2310

Excellent Collection, I'm also planning to get the Set sometime soon...
I used to stay up late as a kid to watch the Episodes (they were aired around midnight here in Germany - still wonder why)...

If you dig british Humor like other Monty Python Movies, Terry Gilliams Work, series like Coupling or Spaced and movies like A Fish calles Wanda you will love the Flying Circus!!!

By the Way: Go and watch Shawn of the Dead in cinemas near you...

RKillgore

An indispensable set! Oh, wait, I managed to find a set used for $90, so someone did dispense with it. An invaluable set! Oh, damn, there was a rather affordable price on it and slightly higher $100-110 price isn't too extravagant for the content. A good?...set? Hmmm, yes, no problems there, I think that qualifies.....Yes! A good set!

Hope that helps.

Even better! I just checked DDD and they have a Megaset plus either Life of Python or Monty Python Live! for $99.88, available 11/9/04, so hope you haven't splurged yet.

Bill Needle

Since the set itself lists online for $120, this is: The easiest blind buy recommendation. Ever.

LasVegasMichael

It is $89.99 at Costco

Nutter

One problem not discussed frequently enough is the absolutely horrendous menu's A&E slapped on this set. Everything is locked down so that the maximum ammount of irritation is inflicted before you can get into an episode. Seek is disabled... Stupid stuff like that. This is the one and only A&E DVD set I will ever own. Still, it's freakin' Monty Python!

P.S. For humour in the same vein, check out "Kids in the Hall". Season 1 of that show is out on DVD now. It's very similar to Monty Python in spirit, although they got away with stuff that was a little more sick and twisted. MP and KITH are my two all-time favorite sketch comedy shows. SNL, MadTV, In Living Color, etc. aren't fit to lick the boots of the janitor that mopped up the stage after either one of these brilliant troupes finished a day's work.

bigrederik

i would encourage anyone to buy this set. There are so many jokes and skits that you have heard about, but may not know where they came from. Well, they are Monty Python! They are the insperation for so much of the great comedy of today. Everyone should watch this show