It’s time to break out your dad’s old Monty Python DVDs — the infamous British sketch comedy troupe are back together again after more than 30 years of hiatus.
After their reunion show at London’s infamous O2 arena sold out in a staggering 43 seconds, veteran Pythons John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones have announced four more reunion shows slated for July 2014.
If you’re unfamiliar with the comedy team, it first came to fame in 1969 for their BBC comedy series “Monty Python’s Flying Circus.” The group later went on to create and star in feature films like “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and “Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life.”
Described as “The Beatles of comedy,” the Pythons amassed millions of fans for their wildly anarchic comedy skits and also launched their own successful solo careers in film and television.
The success of the Pythons in the ‘70s is not dissimilar to the success of the sketch comedy stars of our own Saturday Night Live. However, with Saturday Night Live’s own legacy seemingly in swift decline, the return of the British troupe is a welcome sight to comedy junkies.
Or is it?
Last week, State Press columnist Zane Jennings weighed in on the disturbing trend of nostalgia in our lives as it functions both as a marketing tool and as a way to feel connected and establish our own identities in a chaotic world.
In the same vein, State Press reporter Maggie Spear bemoaned the practice when ‘70s punk band Black Flag announced its official revival, much to her chagrin.
“Getting the ol’ band back together almost 30 years after its disbandment isn’t heroic or something to be applauded. It’s quite the contrary,” Spear wrote. “That was almost 30 years ago, and you all have changed. You are all entirely new adults now, and trying to reclaim the Black Flag name as the people you’ve become over the past 28 years is insane.”
Is the reappearance of Monty Python simply an echo of Black Flag’s cheesy move? Are they merely a bunch of old has-beens grasping at straws for their last chance of glory?
I’d have to say this is a negative way to look at the reunion.
A friend of mine recently grimaced when she heard the news that Bill Cosby would be returning for his own stand-up special on Comedy Central. “Watching that would be like watching Bob Dylan play the guitar now” — in short, painful and unnecessary.
However, I have to disagree with the naysayers of these comedians of old attempting to snatch back their old glory.
Fans of Monty Python will recognize the timelessness of their appeal; their skits were often childish, unruly humor that managed to simultaneously insert social commentary and set an almost impossibly high bar for British comedians to meet.
Comedy is a fluid and ever-changing beast, and while different generations demand different things from their comedians, rarely is it a bad thing when the truly great comedians of old reunite to remind us of their appeal.
While this obsession with the past can become annoying and cumbersome, I often find myself feeling nostalgic for the Python’s humor, even if I wasn’t even alive for their heyday. This can perhaps be explained by my old childhood experiences with the group, sat on the couch with my father watching his old Python DVDs on repeat.
That being said, Cleese revealed that a performance from one of his most beloved skits, the Ministry of Funny Walks, is out of the question.
"I have an artificial knee and an artificial hip, so there's no chance of that,” Cleese clarified, to the disappointment of ardent fans.
Just because they’re aging doesn’t mean they’ve aged out. The reunion of the infamous group of British comedians and other beloved acts from your childhood should never make you doubt their quality as performers.
Reach the columnist at llonghi@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @lolonghi.
