List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes


This is a list of all 45 episodes from the television series Monty Python's Flying Circus:


The original air dates do not all apply to BBC Scotland, which took a different approach to airing the series.

1. Whither Canada?

This episode had the longest title.
Owl Stretching Time was a proposed name for the series itself.
Many sketches in this episode are ended prematurely by Graham Chapman's army character, who protests rip offs of the British Army's slogan, "It's a Man's Life in the Modern Army"

5. Man's Crisis of Identity in the Latter Half of the 20th Century

BBC-1 began colour broadcasting officially on 15 November 1969. Since September 1969, however, they had been broadcasting colour programmes "unofficially", so while the whole of the first series was broadcast in colour, this episode was the first to be advertised as being in colour. This was also the first episode where John Cleese says the title in a silly voice rather than calmly in his normal voice.
This episode repeats a running gag from episode 4: a female cast member delivers a terrible joke, and upon protest from fellow cast members wails "But it's my only line!"
Most sketches in this episode are ended prematurely by Graham Chapman's army character from the first sketch, who protests that they are "too silly."

9. The Ant, an Introduction

This is the first episode not to show an episode title at the beginning of the closing credits.

11. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Goes to the Bathroom

1. Face the Press (or: Dinsdale!)

Introductory music of Ethel the Frog/Piranha Brothers: from Karelia Suite by Jean Sibelius

2. The Spanish Inquisition

The Spanish Inquisitors appear 7 times throughout this episode.

3. Déjà Vu (or: Show 5)

This episode introduces a running gag that is used for the next two episodes: A character says, "Walk this way." The character told this responds, "If I could walk that way…" only to be stopped when the first character warns them about finishing the punchline by raising a finger.

4. The Buzz Aldrin Show

The "Walk this way" gag is used for the last time, except the words "I" and "walk" are replaced with "we" and "run", respectively.

6. It's a Living (or: School Prizes)

John Cleese's "And now for something completely different" and the opening sequence have a repeating groove.

12. Spam

This episode includes a reference to Episode 14: Spiny Norman appears from behind Trafalgar Square and says, "Dinsdale!"

Series 3

In this series only, the opening sequence begins with a nude organist, John Cleese saying "and now," and the "It's" Man.

1. Whicker's World (or: Njorl's Saga)

Anagrams appear throughout this episode: "Tony M. Nyphot's Flying Risccu" for Monty Python's Flying Circus; "Chamran Knebt" for Merchant Bank, "Mary Recruitment Office" for Army Recruitment Office. The end credits are all in anagrams.
Richard Baker has also done gestures to indicate pauses in the news.

5. The All-England Summarize Proust Competition

A running gag throughout this episode is that whenever anyone answers the phone, they take off their shoe as if the person on the other end asked their shoe size.

6. The War Against Pornography

This episode is the first episode of Flying Circus to feature a full-length story.
This is the first episode that doesn't have a formal opening sequence; instead, a simple caption "The Cycling Tour" appears at the beginning of the episode.
John Tomiczek, Graham Chapman's adopted son, makes a brief non-speaking appearance as an autograph seeker.
The episode was written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones with the exception of the last third which was re-written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman. Michael Palin and Terry Jones play only one character each throughout the whole show.
The music to which Mr. Pither cycles is the Waltz from Act II of Faust by Charles Gounod.

9. The Nude Organist (or: The Nude Man)

Most sketches are interrupted by Mr. Badger right from the opening of the show. In addition, Michael Palin's Compère and Terry Gilliam's Knight both made one-time reappearances since Series 1 in this episode.

10. E. Henry Thripshaw's Disease

The BBC censored this episode probably more than any other, cutting three sketches as well as much of Gilliam's animation.

11. Dennis Moore

"Party Political Broadcast " and "Dad's Doctors, Dad's Pooves and Other Interesting Stories" have been cut out in many versions of this episode. A clip of "Party Political Broadcast " has surfaced on YouTube. "Dad's Doctors" has been restored to the iTunes version of the show as well as added to the Netflix streaming video version of the series.

13. Grandstand (or: The British Showbiz Awards)

This is the second episode without a formal opening sequence.
During the Light Entertainment Awards, Richard Baker briefly appears, saying "Lemon Curry?"

Series 4

John Cleese was not interested in doing more of the series, so the rest of the troupe decided to do one last, shortened series under the simple banner, Monty Python. Cleese did receive writing credits on some episodes that featured material he'd written for the first draft of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

1. The Golden Age of Ballooning

This is the third episode without a formal opening sequence.
Almost the entire episode was written by Michael Palin himself.

2. Michael Ellis

This is the third episode to feature a full-length story. It was mainly written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman with some help from Michael Palin and Neil Innes.
The end credits appear immediately after the opening sequence.
The Nude Organist and the It's Man appear for the last time, in footage taken from the Dennis Moore episode.
Most of the sketches of the episode have a shared theme yet no apparent narrative.
This is the fourth episode to feature a full-length story.
With the exception of "Post-box Ceremony," nearly the entire episode was co-written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones.

6. Party Political Broadcast

As the episode opens and closes, there are announcements related to the "Party Political Broadcast on Behalf of the Liberal Party."