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There is a documentary series about Monty Python on Netflix that is tremendous. Strongly recommend. Relevant if you’re a fan of business stories or comedy. Lots of little gems.
- got their start with BBC because the industry was so young there were no barriers. Didn’t need details sorted out. Wouldn’t have gotten accepted later.
- if you have anything that creates a conflict between generations, then you know you’ve really got something
- group worked in pods, not close person friends as many would imagine, different skill sets and personalities, needed multiple big personalities to balance each other
- incredible specificity with what they were “attacking.” Life Of Brian process about attacking the human foibles in misinterpreting Jesus, not attacking Jesus. Despite effort taken, much of audience hated. This created the conflict which drove engagement.
- Much of their innovation was not in doing anything new. But were willing to abandon old techniques in writing, structure, shooting that didnt increase efficacy. Sketch plots didn’t need closure. Things didn’t need to make sense. Combine incomplete A material = A+ composition
- everything that is now regarded as a masterpiece was a complete nightmare in production. Everything went wrong, they thought it sucked, and they ended up with Holy Grail. They turned constraints ($ and location) into more comedy.
- team pushed each other to move forward, even threatening to leave or stop when the work was a repeat or backwards looking. Every project had to be an evolution off of the last.
- source research focused on trimming down to core elements that would add disproportionate value to the composition. The “muck” look in Holy Grail is obsessed over decades later.
- the team functioned as a network. There were conflicts between people but the rest of the network would stabilize. The mutual focus was on the best output material, not whose joke, whose narrative, etc. Decades later, they still remember bits they loved but ceded as suboptimal.
- composition and medium mattered a lot. Structures and orders of bits on TV would have different reactions in theater. They tested their material considerably, re ordered bits. Sequencing determined which feature was most noticed by viewers.
- sometimes an A+ bit needed to be sacrificed in sequencing for the benefit of a C+ bit if the aggregate impact on the composition (film/episode) was B -> A.
- without even defining it, they had rigid ideals for what they were doing, what “Python was.” Consistency to core principles and ideals built their subversive brand, ability to reach audiences, and durability over time. In short, authenticity.
- speaking of ideals and authenticity, John Cleese’s incredibly offensive speech at Graham Chapman’s memorial service is one of the most touching things I’ve ever seen. Could talk about this for hours. The highest level of respect.
