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I think I’ve figured out how to embed an article in a post. If I can, you’ll be the first to know…

Pythons Sell Out!

If you tried and failed to get tickets to the Python reunion show July 1 at London’s 02 Arena (it sold out in less than a minute), at least you had another chance. The good news: they added four more shows–July 2-5–at the same venue. The bad news: if you didn’t get tickets to any of those, you’re probably out of luck, as those have all sold out as well. Take a look here.

Possibly good news: the show may be adding some dates in Europe and America. Nothing is official yet, but I’ll be posting here as soon as I hear something.

When John Cleese first told me about the show, he said they planned to perform July 2, 3, and 4, so I was a little puzzled when the first show announced was for July 1. Guess I needn’t have worried…

Behind the Python Trivia

Monty Python seems to have take over my blog this week, but I suppose it can’t be helped. After all, this is the first time in 30 years that they’ve performed together. If you tuned in here looking for chatter about improvisation, Mystery Science Theatre/Cinematic Titanic, or anything about comedy in general, things will return to normal soon…

But in the meantime, as I’ve just re-released my second-ever Python book as an e-book, I thought I’d explain how it all came about.

No one was more amazed than I was (unless it was my agent or my publisher) when my first book was released in late 1989. The First 200 Years of Monty Python sold amazingly well. Graham Chapman had passed away a few weeks before, the day before the Pythons had observed their 20th anniversary (in what Terry Jones had called “the worst case of party-pooping I’ve ever heard of”), so perhaps Python was on peoples’ minds more than usual.

And so, my editor and agent both approached me, basically saying “So what else have you got, Python-wise?” The problem was that I had thrown just about everything but the kitchen sink into the first book. John Cleese suggested I write a book on the solo projects of the various Pythons, but my editor and my agent weren’t terribly excited at the idea. I knew that a book like that would take a while to do right, so I tried to come up with an idea for something I could write rather quickly and painlessly. I thought about a quiz book, and I thought about a trivia book. There probably wasn’t enough material for either idea, so I thought I could combine the two and have a very nice, informative volume that I could turn out quickly and easily.

Boy, was I wrong.

I asked the surviving Pythons and they gave me their blessings. Michael Palin gave me a quote that I loved so much I insisted it go on the back cover: “Our forte was trivia.”

But I soon came to realize that if I was going to put together a list of each time one of them appeared as a Gumby, or performed in drag, or named a character Ken or Arthur, I was going to have to go back and watch every show several times, in great detail, stopping and starting the VHS copies that were all that existed then. It was not quick and easy.

But by the time I had finished, I had a compilation of Python data that amazed even me. Of course, it took nearly as long to write as did my first book, but it was well worth it.

It sold respectably well, well enough for my editor to ask for another Python book. And I went on to write a third book, on the solo projects of the Pythons, just as John had very wisely suggested.

But And Now For Something Completely Trivial was allowed to go out of print after that one printing. Seemed kind of a shame, and over the years I always thought it’d be nice to bring it back into print. And so now, over twenty years later, it’s back. If you buy it, I think you’ll enjoy reading it even more than I enjoyed writing it.

In fact, I’m sure of it.

Python Ticket Reminder

Just a quick reminder that tickets for the Monty Python reunion show go on sale early Monday morning. For more, scroll down or go here.

And good luck!

Python Ticket Info

As promised, here’s how to order tickets for the Monty Python reunion show, next July 1st at the O2 Arena in London. But first, a disclaimer: I’m not affiliated with the ticketing people, and if you try to drop my name with the ticket-sellers, everyone involved will be very disappointed. They go on sale at 10 am (London time) Monday, November 25, at montypythonlive.com. It might be a good idea to visit ahead of time and register to improve your chances.

If it sells out quickly, don’t be surprised if another show is added quickly, so keep checking the site.

To all my U.S. friends, enemies, and occasional associates–I don’t have extra tickets (in fact, I don’t have any tickets at the moment, though I’m hoping that will change)–so if you want tickets, the best way to do it is to drag yourself out of bed at some ridiculous hour, log on to your computer, and start trying.

If you miss out entirely, you may have to wait and hope that a U.S. Tour materializes.

And if you didn’t see the press conference, and would like your appetite whetted, an edited version is available here.

Good luck!

And Now For Something Completely Trivial

My second Monty Python book has been out of print ever since 1991, and this seemed like a good time to rectify that. When Terry Jones leaked the news about the Python reunion, I rushed this into production as an e-book, and I’m rather delighted with the results. Here’s an easy way to order it.

Fantasia Frog Designs was able to construct a cover (above) in nearly record time, and did an amazing job. It’s on sale right now on amazon.com as an e-book at the shockingly low price of $1.99, and will provide hours of brain-hurting entertainment for Mom, Dad, Junior, and Sis.

I’ll write a little more soon on how I originally wrote this, and why it took so incredibly long to do so. Stay tuned.

Dead Parrots

My pal Mark Evanier and I have been trading comments about the Python reunion on our respective blogs. Here’s his latest.

I point this out in particular not because I disagree with him, because I very much agree with him. [Although I do disagree with Mark about something: the Hollywood Bowl shows were Sept. 26-29, 1980, not ’81.]

The Python reunion will inevitably be less of a performance and more of a rock concert, with people showing up to see the legends performing their legendary sketches. John Cleese always talks about how he was unnerved when they first performed the Dead Parrot Sketch live at the City Center in New York, because the audience was so quiet. He thought it has bombed, until he saw the audience members all mouthing the words.

On another occasion, performing the same sketch, Michael Palin had broken his concentration so badly that John had completely forgotten the words. He leaned over into the audience and said “What’s the next line?” And about a dozen people shouted it at him. He began conducting the audience, who knew all the lines as well as he did, for the rest of the sketch. Those are the kinds of moments that will be special for the audiences who see them live.

The guys are trying to satisfy both segments of the audience–those who want a “Greatest Hits” performance, and those who want to see something–well, something completely different. Which may be impossible. But it’s safe to say that there will be new spins on some of the old favorites, as well as some bits that have never been performed live, and several surprises.

A live show had been under serious discussion in 1999, to be held in Las Vegas. The opening number would have featured an over-the-top Vegas-style musical production, with showgirls pushing around Graham Chapman’s coffin. I doubt they’ll be taking the Vegas approach this time, but that gives you an idea of the sort of thinking they’re doing.

One thing is certain: whether audiences are going for the entertainment or the history, they’ll be getting both.

I’ll be posting ticket information here soon, along with some Python book information.

November 22

Happy birthday wishes to Terry Gilliam, 73 years young!

Isn’t that what we all think of when we think of November 22?

Pythons and Pole Vaulting

My old pal Mark Evanier writes one of the best blogs ever (here), and is one of the reasons why I started blogging. He’s always interesting, and I agree with him about 99-percent of the time. He’s also a huge Python fan, and recently wrote about the upcoming Monty Python reunion here. I think I should probably point out a couple of things to balance his thoughts.

It’s true–Graham Chapman will not be up there on the stage with them physically. My dear pal Graham made an ill-advised career move back in 1989. He has stubbornly insisted on remaining dead, so I suspect the other Pythons finally got fed up and decided to reunite without him. Yes, it will be sad to not have Graham there in person, but he will certainly be there in spirit and in video clips. Frankly, I’ve gone back and forth on this over the years, but have come to the conclusion that it’s good audiences will have a chance to see 5/6ths of the Pythons performing live, particularly when the other option is 0/6ths of the Pythons.

Several people have also asked me about the Pythons getting up there “at their age” and doing their old sketches. My feeling is that is if a championship pole vaulter decided to make a comeback at age 70, he may be missing a step or two. But with comedy, particularly the Python style of comedy, they can perform as well as ever. I saw John Cleese perform a couple of months ago, and believe me, he hasn’t lost his sense of timing, and the others are every bit as sharp. This is going to be fun.