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The Colonel is a recurring fictional character from the British television show Monty Python's Flying Circus , played by Graham Chapman.
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The Colonel is a recurring fictional character from the British television show Monty Python's Flying Circus , played by Graham Chapman.
The Colonel acts as a "straight man" comic foil to the show's absurd characters and sketches. He maintains a rigidly mirthless personality and is always dressed in British Army No. 2 Dress uniform. He occasionally makes appearances in the show, usually breaking the fourth wall and disrupting sketches to pronounce them too silly for the public and, therefore, demanding that something else be shown. He often orders the show to proceed in a different direction (sometimes to the unshown director) and frequently makes offhanded insults to men with long hair.
The Colonel's role in stopping or redirecting sketches has been discussed as an example of a character breaking the fourth wall of theatrical production, challenging the "fictional credibility" of the presentation, and has been compared to the work of Luigi Pirandello. [1] [2]
The Colonel appeared first in the pilot episode, "Whither Canada?" in a documentary-formatted sketch, to help describe the Allied Forces involvement in joke warfare during World War II.
He appears four times in "Owl-Stretching Time", protesting rip-offs of the British army's slogan, "It's a Man's Life in the Modern Army."
The Colonel appears most frequently in "Full Frontal Nudity". In this episode, the Colonel is writing in his office when he is suddenly approached by Private Watkins (played by Eric Idle), a young soldier who has been in the army for one day, claiming he wants to leave as it's dangerous and people get killed. They're interrupted by the entrance of two gangsters, Dino and Luigi Vercotti, who attempt an outrageously obvious protection racket, hoping to extort money from the Colonel in exchange for agreeing to protect his army. After a brief dialogue between the gangsters and the humourless Colonel, the latter stands up, exclaiming that the whole premise is too silly. He addresses the unseen director of the sketch and begins to take over the show. He claims that he has not been given a single funny line and demands to have the camera zoom in on his face. Looking straight into the camera, the Colonel orders that the show proceed to an animated segment, which it does.
Later on, the Colonel again stops the episode to announce "Now, I’ve noticed a tendency for this programme to get rather silly". After a brief speech of condemnation, he lets the show move on to an outdoor hermit sketch. He then interrupts this sketch in the middle of a scene, forcing the actors and, in fact, the entire filming crew to desert the set.
Afterwards, he later interrupts the famous Dead Parrot sketch, when after Mr Praline calls the situation too silly, the Colonel bursts in on the scene, expressing his agreement and demanding that the show "Get on with it!”
The Colonel lastly appears in this episode during the documentary sketch about "Hell’s Grannies", when a vicar (Eric Idle) is attacked by a vicious gang of keep-left signs. The Colonel effectively ends the episode, by staring straight into the camera and saying "Now for a complete change of mood".
The Colonel has made appearances in Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl , at Pink Floyd's 1975 concert at Knebworth UK, and in a May 1982 episode of Saturday Night Live in which the character is used to comment on NBC's earlier refusal to air a commercial (featuring Chapman as the Colonel) for the Amnesty International benefit The Secret Policeman's Other Ball . [3]
Archive footage of the Colonel was used in Monty Python Live (Mostly) for 2014.
The surviving members of Monty Python sent a "boot-shaped floral arrangement" to Graham Chapman's funeral, which included the phrase "stop us if we're all getting too silly", in recognition of his role as The Colonel. [4]
Graham Chapman was a British actor, comedian and writer. He was one of the six members of the surreal comedy group Monty Python. He portrayed authority figures such as The Colonel and the lead role in two Python films, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) and Life of Brian (1979).
Monty Python were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus, which aired on the BBC from 1969 to 1974. Their work then developed into a larger collection that included live shows, films, albums, books, and musicals; their influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles' influence on music. Their sketch show has been called "an important moment in the evolution of television comedy".
"The Spanish Inquisition" is a series of sketches in Monty Python's Flying Circus, Series 2 Episode 2, first broadcast 22 September 1970, satirizing the Spanish Inquisition. This episode is itself titled "The Spanish Inquisition". The sketches are notable for their principal catchphrase, "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!", which has become a frequently used quote and internet meme. The final instance of the sketch uses music from the composition "Devil's Galop" by Charles Williams. Rewritten audio versions of the sketches were included on Another Monty Python Record in 1971.
"Crunchy Frog" is the common name for a Monty Python sketch officially titled "Trade Description Act", inspired by the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 in British law. It features two health inspectors interrogating the owner of a sweet shop about the increasingly bizarre ingredients in his confections, including the titular crunchy frog. Written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman, it originally appeared in episode 6 of the first series of Monty Python's Flying Circus, and later appeared in several Monty Python stage shows. In the original sketch, Cleese and Chapman play the inspectors, while Terry Jones plays the sweet shop owner. In later versions, the second inspector is played by Terry Gilliam or left out of the sketch entirely.
Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl is a 1982 concert comedy film directed by Terry Hughes and starring the Monty Python comedy troupe as they perform many of their sketches at the Hollywood Bowl. The film also features Carol Cleveland in numerous supporting roles and Neil Innes performing songs. Also present for the shows and participating as an 'extra' was Python superfan Kim "Howard" Johnson.
And Now for Something Completely Different is a 1971 British sketch comedy film based on the television comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus featuring sketches from the show's first two series. The title was taken from a catchphrase used in the television show.
The Dirty Fork, also known simply as Restaurant Sketch, is a Monty Python sketch that appeared in episode 3 of the first series of the television series Monty Python's Flying Circus, and later in the film, And Now For Something Completely Different. It is notable for being the first Monty Python sketch wherein the characters react to the audience "booing" them.
How to Irritate People is a US sketch comedy television broadcast recorded in the UK at LWT on 14 November 1968 and written by John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Marty Feldman and Tim Brooke-Taylor. Cleese, Chapman, and Brooke-Taylor also feature in it, along with future Monty Python collaborators Michael Palin and Connie Booth.
"Candid Photography", better known as "Nudge Nudge", is a sketch from the third Monty Python's Flying Circus episode, "How to Recognise Different Types of Trees From Quite a Long Way Away" featuring Eric Idle and Terry Jones as two strangers who meet in a pub.
The "Four Yorkshiremen" is a comedy sketch that parodies nostalgic conversations about humble beginnings or difficult childhoods. It features four men from Yorkshire who reminisce about their upbringing. As the conversation progresses they try to outdo one another, and their accounts of deprived childhoods become increasingly absurd.
The Undertakers sketch is a comedy sketch from the 26th episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus, entitled "Royal Episode 13". It was the final sketch of the thirteenth and final episode of the second season, and was perhaps the most notorious of the Python team's television sketches.
Monty Python's Personal Best is a miniseries of six one-hour specials, each showcasing the contributions of a particular Monty Python member. Produced by Python (Monty) Pictures Ltd., the series first aired on PBS stations between 22 February and 8 March 2006, although the Eric Idle and Michael Palin episodes were initially released by A&E on two Region 1 DVDs in 2005; the remaining episodes were released in late February 2006.
"Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook" is a Monty Python sketch. It first aired in 1970 on Monty Python's Flying Circus as part of Episode 25, and also appears in the film And Now for Something Completely Different. Atlas Obscura has noted that it may have been inspired by English as She Is Spoke, a 19th-century Portuguese–English phrase book regarded as a classic source of unintentional humour, as the given English translations are generally completely incoherent.
Python Night was an evening of Monty Python-related programmes broadcast on BBC2 on 9 October 1999, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first broadcast of Monty Python's Flying Circus. It featured newly written sketches, three documentaries and a screening of Monty Python's Life of Brian.
"Live from the Grill-O-Mat" is the fifth episode of Series 2 of Monty Python's Flying Circus. This show aired 27 October 1970 and was recorded 10 September 1970. The episode featured sketches including "Blackmail", "Society for Putting Things on Top of Other Things", "Accidents Sketch " and "The Butcher Who is Alternately Rude and Polite".
Monty Python's Flying Circus is a British surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam, who became known collectively as "Monty Python", or the "Pythons". The first episode was recorded at the BBC on 7 September 1969 and premiered on 5 October on BBC1, with 45 episodes airing over four series from 1969 to 1974, plus two episodes for German TV. A feature film adaptation of several sketches, And Now for Something Completely Different, was released in 1971.
"Albatross" is a sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus. It is particularly known for its opening lines: "Albatross! Albatross! Albatross!"
Monty Python Live (Mostly) (also billed as Monty Python Live (Mostly): One Down, Five to Go) was a variety show by the Monty Python comedy group at The O2 in London in July 2014. Planned as a single performance for 1 July, it was expanded to 10 shows due to the high demand for tickets. It was their first live performance together in 16 years, the second without member Graham Chapman (who died in 1989) and the last with Terry Jones (who died in 2020).