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In 1969, five overeducated British comics and an American
illustrator ambushed the BBC with the strangest show in British history. How
they got on the air is anyone's guess (rumors of blackmail were quickly hushed,
though the Python's penchant for sheep gags... but enough of speculation), but
their irreverent writing and ludicrous gags transformed the sketch comedy show
into a stream-of-consciousness loony bin of absurdity, connected by the
outrageous animations of Terry Gilliam. One marvels at how Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael
Palin and Terry Gilliam thoroughly subverted television convention with
"something completely different," like sketches with no punch lines ("You're
average TV viewer isn't going to understand this").
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