No ISBN stated

Although I have almost memorized the entire length of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, I was never that conversant with the original series. Hark! Look here. What’s this? All the Words: The Complete Monty Python’s Flying Circus (Pantheon, 1989). Danger, danger, Will Robinson. Now I can be insufferable at parties, as I quickly memorize pertinent sections of this compendium. Now I too can say “Your Majesty is like a big jam doughnut with cream on the top,” and know that the follow-up is “like a doughnut, your arrival gives us pleasure, and your departure only makes us hungry for more.” Unfortunately, All the Words is only the TV series. You have to (and can, fortunately) buy the scripts for the movies separately. If that doesn’t satisfy your need for the python of fun, check out Kim “Howard” Johnson’s The First 20 Years of Monty Python (St. Martin’s, 1989), which supplies a wonderful biography of the group as a whole, and compliments George Perry’s earlier Life of Python (Little Brown, 1983). ( )

As the title suggests, this two-volume set of books contains all the sketches and skits from the famous comedy troupe. Each volume has an index at the back, listing the names of each skit, with the skits that appear in the opposite volume being italicized, so the reader knows which volume to search. Lovely for browsing, and of course each sketch that I read makes me want to watch the show again! ( )

"Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam...lovely Spam, wonderful Spam!" "Oh, I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay..." "It's..." "He's Pinin' for the Fjords??!!" "Now then, some cheese please, my good man!" "And now, for something completely different..." If any of these snippets of dialog bring a smile to your face, you probably number yourself among the millions of Monty Python fans in the world. If so, this two-volume set, The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus: All the Words, is right up your alley. This is a collection of the complete scripts to all of the episodes of the classic Monty Python's Flying Circus series, including stage directions and character names (which often didn't make it onto the screen!). This is entertaining reading for both the casual viewer, and for the hard-core Python fan who wants to test their memory for Python trivia. Just remember... "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!"

Originally reviewed for my local library's website: http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/depts/bookguide/srec/staffrec09-07.htm ( )

Volume one of all the Python TV scripts. A must for rabid Python fans like myself. ( )