The Monty Python spinoffs every comedy nerd needs to watch

You thought this all going to be about time travel and angst, didn't you?

One of the main things we wanted to do with Kasterborous, but never did, was incorporate non-Doctor Who stuff. Feeling that daft old TV show with its 10 million weekly viewers (no, really) was enough for the readers, I opted instead to work on a couple of side projects, Cult Britannia (which was surprisingly popular) and Quintessential Comedy (which was not).

Neither exists today, although the spirit of both are with me in this new incarnation of Kasterborous.

Me and Monty Python

I’m not sure when I first discovered Monty Python’s Flying Circus, but suspect it was around 1980, when my dad played some of their audio stuff. There was the “Spam Song” and the “Lumberjack Song” the latter specifically played on Monty Python’s Tiny Black Round Thing, a black flexidisc from a 1974 NME, which I still have (the disc, not the rag).

And of course, there was the BBC’s Fawlty Towers repeats throughout my childhood. In fact, one of the first videos my dad ever rented (following a protracted Brazil-like bureaucratic seesaw) was a Fawlty Towers collection on VHS.

For some reason, my mum let me stay up and watch the 1986 repeat run on BBC TV, and I’ve been hooked ever since. (Fun fact: my mum used to refer to Cleese as “Monty Python” as if it was his name, for the simple fact she couldn’t remember it but knew it wasn’t “Basil Fawlty.”)

It’s fair to say, I love the Pythons, even the “less good” episodes.

So, when I’ve blasted through all 45 episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus and their movies, and still want more, these are the things I dig out. More surreal hilarity, lampoons of bureaucracy, daft Eric Idle songs, insane Gilliam animations, and volcanic anger.

Be careful what you wish for.

1. Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus

Following the success of the first two series of Monty Python's Flying Circus, the team was invited to Germany by producer Alfred Biolek. Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, and Michael Palin created two 45-minute episodes. These have rarely been seen in the USA and United Kingdom but feature some well-known sketches.

Broadcast in January and December 1972, they feature the Silly Olympics (including the 200 meters freestyle for non-swimmers) and The Philosophers' Football Match.

These episodes were finally released on DVD in 2019, and you can find Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus on Amazon.

2. Fawlty Towers

Regarded as one of the greatest British sitcoms, if you haven't seen Fawlty Towers, now is the time. Written by and starring John Cleese and Connie Booth, it's about a hotelier who is completely unsuited to the job.

You see, Basil Fawlty is a snob, one with a strong misanthropic streak. He's also petrified of his wife, Sybil (Prunella Scales) which leads him to make countless, snowballing, farcical errors of judgement.

Cleese was already well-known when Monty Python's Flying Circus began, thanks to years of writing and performance on UK television. However, Fawlty Towers (screened in two six-part series in 1975 and 1979), is considered his finest work.

Curiously had to find on streaming services, Fawlty Towers is out on Blu-ray.

3. Ripping Yarns

Following the end of Monty Python's Flying Circus, Michael Palin and Terry Jones also wrote a sitcom for the BBC. However, this was not a typical show, rather an anthology in classic pulp boy's fiction style.

Ripping Yarns stars Palin (with occasional appearances by Jones) in a series of memorable roles. The first, “Tomkinson's School Days,” is memorable for being set in a classic English school with its own tiger. Other adventures include “Escape From Stalag Luft 112B”, “Across the Andes by Frog”, and the soccer-oriented “Golden Gordon.”

This show, which aired from 1976 to 1979 is as barmy as it sounds, and every episode superb. Unfortunately, despite being shot on film, it hasn’t been released on Blu-ray, but you can still get the Ripping Yarns DVD.

4. All You Need Is Cash (1978)

Telling the story of rock band The Rutles ("The Pre-fab Four"), All You Need Is Cash is in truth a parody of The Beatles. Written by Eric Idle and occasional Python collaborator Neil Innes (the minstrel in Monty Python and The Holy Grail), All You Need Is Cash was produced by Idle and Saturday Night Live’s Lorne Michaels, a name that is more well known in the USA than here in the UK.

A spoof rockumentary six years before This Is Spinal Tap, All You Need Is Cash features appearances from The Beatles' George Harrison, alongside Michael Palin, Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, and Mick Jagger. Again, no Blu-ray version is available for this, but you can get an All You Need Is Cash DVD.

The Rutles began life as a shorter spoof mockumentary on Idle's Rutland Weekend Television show in 1975. In total, 14 episodes of that BBC show were produced, with more Idle/Innes madness. There's also a Boxing Day special which features George Harrison in a pirate-obsessed guest appearance.

This is probably one of the greatest moments of television ever, and I challenge everyone to prove me wrong.

5. Clockwise (1986)

John Cleese appeared as punctuality-obsessed school headmaster Brian Stimpson who accidentally finds himself late for everything in this movie. Rarely seen in the USA, Cleese is in fine form, interpreting playwright Michael Frayn's script as if it were his own.

You can find Clockwise on Blu-ray and DVD. Cleese isn’t afraid of making his work available to buy!

While not quite hitting the same notes as Fawlty Towers, the trademark Cleese mania is largely bubbling under, but it does have a couple of key moments. While it has the feel of an overlong sitcom, Cleese is excellent, and stars alongside Penelope Wilton (After Life).

6. A Fish Called Wanda (1989)

Another feature length comedy from John Cleese and arguably his best work, A Fish Called Wanda is out on Blu-ray. As barrister Archie Leach, Cleese is bored with life, and finds himself seduced by Jamie Lee Curtis' femme fatale.

With Kevin Kline and Michael Palin co-starring, the movie is a comedy heist film. Curtis' character Wanda Gershwitz and Kline's Otto West are looking for stolen diamonds. Palin's Ken Pile knows how to find them but is hampered by a terrible stammer and deep love of animals.

Everyone is excellent in A Fish Called Wanda, a true comedy movie that you won't want to miss. Although I feel Palin probably steals it.

7. Spamalot

A little bit different, this one. To watch Spamalot, you'll have to wait for the tour to come somewhere near you (see spamalotthemusical.com for details) or the long-awaited releases of a film of the show.

But you won't regret it.

An insane combination of Monty Python and the Holy Grail’s skewed Arthurian take and every Broadway musical cliché you can think of, Spamalot even features "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from The Life of Brian for good measure.

Tim Curry, Peter Davison, and Alan Dale have all headlined on Broadway and London's West End as King Arthur. These days you're likely to see a more low-key performance, but it's certainly worth every penny. At least, until the inevitable movie comes along…

8. Monty Python Live (Mostly) - One Down, Five to Go

Well, what can you say about this? It’s bittersweet, 10 years on, as Terry Jones has sadly passed since this series of shows at the London O2.

Performed between 1 July and 20 July, 2014, Monty Python Live (Mostly) is the final night of the 10 show run, and features the five surviving Pythons in person, with film inserts of Graham Chapman. Palin, Cleese, and Jones stuck to performing, while Eric Idle created and directed the show. Gilliam designed it, and Carol Cleveland dressed up.

It’s almost like the TV show, done live, but with Arlene Phillips-choreographed musical numbers (conducted by John du Prez) inserted, and is as cheerfully barmy as it had to be.

I didn’t get the chance to go (although I did watch the live stream), and so bought Monty Python Live (Mostly) the day of release.

Pythons Everywhere

Want more Pythons? Look out for Michael Palin's ongoing travelogues (Around the World in 80 Days, Sahara, Himalaya, all the way through to Iraq, Nigeria, and probably beyond.), John Cleese making cameos (he starred in a UK sitcom, Hold the Sunset, 2018-2019, and likes to annoy people on the internet), and Terry Gilliam's movies.

Oh, and Eric Idle still whinging singing about everything under the sun, probably.