Baked Beans Are Off

I hope you have been watching "Monty Python's Personal Best" on PBS. It is a real joy to see humor that has stood the test of time. So far, individual episodes have focused on Eric Idle, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, and Terry Gilliam. I know many people who watched Monty Python when PBS first aired it in the 1970s and who enjoyed it just because it was silly . . . but there's much more to it than that. Monty Python aired some of the most potent social satire of the day. And while some of the political references may be dated (e.g., "Margaret Thatcher's brain"), the sketches are still funny.

Some of my personal "best of the best" sketches that have already aired include "The Lumberjack Song," "The Philosophy Department at the University of Wallamaloo," "Wink, Wink, Nudge, Nudge" (Eric Idle); "The Dead Parrot," "The Penguin on the Telly," "Spam" (Graham Chapman) [How can you NOT love a sketch that gave a name to a whole category of unwanted internet emails?--Ed.] ; "Confuse-A-Cat," "The Upper Class Twit of the Year" (John Cleese); and the entire hour of animation, but especially "Conrad Poohs and His Dancing Teeth" (Terry Gilliam).

One oddity: 3 of the 4 episodes aired so far have included "The Fish-Slapping Dance." Don't get me wrong: I adore "The Fish-Slapping Dance." When viewed in the context of other great confrontations, like Bugs Bunny's "The Rabbit of Seville," "The Fish-Slapping Dance" comments succinctly on the futility of arms races. But is it the best Monty Python sketch of all time? It's the only one so far to be included in its entirety in more than one episode. Maybe saying it's "the best" is a bit strong. Perhaps saying it's the "all-time favorite" of the Pythons themselves is better.

I eagerly await "Hell's Grannies," "The Killer Joke," "The Piranha Brothers," "The Spanish Inquisition," and "Election Night Special," among other gems yet to air. Heck, just thinking about them makes me giggle.

"Monty Python's Personal Best" also reminds me that: (1) "Saturday Night Live," notably in its first incarnation with the Not Ready for Prime Time Players, among other shows, owes an incalculable debt to the Pythons; and (2) even the Pythons owe a debt to Ernie Kovacs.

Kovacs did it first; Kovacs did it better (just imagine what he'd have been able to accomplish had he lived long enough to use more recent technologies); Kovacs knew whereof he spoke when he said "Television is a medium because it is neither rare nor well done."

"Monty Python's Personal Best" may be television, but it is rare, and it is very well done indeed. If you haven't been watching, see the additional airings. You won't regret it.