Monty Python's Flying Circus
Set 1 (Discs 1 & 2)

DVD Details: Full Frame Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English Talent Bios/Filmographies Tidbits/Pythonisms/etc. 204 minutes total

As I mentioned in the "And Now For Something Completely Different," Monty Python's Flying Circus debuted in England in 1969, and soon became very popular. This set is a compilation of the first 6 episodes. I don't know the exact number of episodes created, but it's my understanding that the plan is for A&E to release them all on DVD. If you enjoyed them, but never found tapes here in the states, or are just a fan of the movies and would like to see the original sketch comedy, then this is the series for you.

This set was a gift for Christmas, along with a nice new DVD drive for the computer. I truly enjoyed watching these episodes. As it says on the box: "Now in glorious digital DVD format so that you, the digital aficionado, can enjoy the original scratches, pops and hisses with crystal clarity." The opening to the first episode looked particularly bad to me, and I was afraid that it was going to be this way through all 3 hours of python. Lucky for me, it appears like a lot of the defects in the film were taken out, although quite a few remain. This is about as good as you're going to see the sketches, so you can't really knock it.

The episodes are hard to describe, and are hit and miss. These first few episodes are undoubtedly worse overall, but there are quite a few gems. You can see the first time "Nudge Nudge" ever appeared, which is quite a treat considering the popularity of the sketch since that time. The sound is what you expect, old British broadcast quality. It works fine, since the sketches are almost 100% talking, and no special sound is really required.

The people at A&E obviously tried to make this somewhat of a special edition, so that people that want more than just episodes would be satisfied. There's a nice little python-esque intro on the disc, and the menus are pretty self explanatory. None of the features are hidden, and everything's clearly labeled, and humorously at that. Both discs contain the same type of extras, a useless tidbit or two about each of the episodes, some Python-isms, a little sampling of some other episodes, and a nice bonus. On each disc, one of the now famous sketches on the disc has been selected and the live version from "Live at the Hollywood Bowl" is available for viewing. A nice touch, as you can see how much some people enjoy the Pythons.

It's not a must buy, but if you really want all the good Python DVDs, this is a nice set to add. If you're just looking for the better quality sketches, I would suggest "And Now for Something Completely Different," as it seems like most of the good sketches from these two discs were redone in that movie. However, there are a couple exceptions (like the crunchy frog). This is a nice set to own, but I don't think I'll run out to buy the rest of the series right away. Maybe when the prices drop.