

And now for something completely different: Monty Python's Flying Circus was simply the most influential comedy program television has ever seen. Five Englishmen, all working under the constraints of conventional TV shows such as The Frost Report (for which the five Englishmen wrote), gathered together with an expatriate American in the spring of 1969 to break the rules. The result, first airing on BBC-1 on October 5, 1969, has influenced countless future men and women in the media and comedy since.

Michael Palin
Michael Palin

Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam

Graham Chapman
Graham Chapman

Eric Idle
Eric Idle

John Cleese
John Cleese