At last, the chance to compare what's left of this show (bringing John Cleese and Graham Chapman together with Tim Brooke-Taylor and Marty Feldman, with 'the lovely' Aimi MacDonald) with the other pre-Python comedy show, Do Not Adjust Your Set.
Five compilation episodes from the 1948 Show are now available on DVD, and although the viewing quality is pretty poor, there are some gems here - the Four Yorkshiremen (done later by Python at the Hollywood Bowl and by Python plus Rowan Atkinson at the Secret Policeman's Ball); the Plain Clothes Policeman (where Cleese, Chapman and Feldman are in unconvincing drag); the Chartered Accountant Dance (Tim Brooke-Taylor in one of the highlights of the set); the Sidney Lockerbys; and much more.
Aimi MacDonald, all set hair and impish smile, soon gets tedious with her introductions and her links; but the comedy sketches stand up well. Not as mad or as silly as DNAYS (which after all was aimed at a younger audience) but just as valuable in seeing where the roots of Python (and The Goodies) came from. The real scene-stealer here though is Marty Feldman (how could he not be with those eyes?) although all four are a lot of fun.
Five compilation episodes from the 1948 Show are now available on DVD, and although the viewing quality is pretty poor, there are some gems here - the Four Yorkshiremen (done later by Python at the Hollywood Bowl and by Python plus Rowan Atkinson at the Secret Policeman's Ball); the Plain Clothes Policeman (where Cleese, Chapman and Feldman are in unconvincing drag); the Chartered Accountant Dance (Tim Brooke-Taylor in one of the highlights of the set); the Sidney Lockerbys; and much more.
Aimi MacDonald, all set hair and impish smile, soon gets tedious with her introductions and her links; but the comedy sketches stand up well. Not as mad or as silly as DNAYS (which after all was aimed at a younger audience) but just as valuable in seeing where the roots of Python (and The Goodies) came from. The real scene-stealer here though is Marty Feldman (how could he not be with those eyes?) although all four are a lot of fun.