England has certainly produced its fair share of successful comedians over the years. And yet, when someone across “the pond” refers to British humor, there is a pretty good chance they are talking about Monty Python, one of the most beloved comedy troupes to ever hit American shores. Over the years, there have been plenty of successful movies, albums and tours by this group of five performers, but it all started with a silly little television show called Monty Python’s Flying Circus, a tour de force of comedy within a half-hour window that set the gold standard for British comedy.

First appearing on the BBC in 1969, Monty Python's Flying Circus paired British performers John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Eric Idle, with American writer/animator Terry Gilliam. The result was anything-goes approach to sketch comedy that was part satire, part spoof, and a whole lot of absurd. Mixing sketches with animation and blackout gags, the result was some of the most guffaw-inducing humor ever seen on British television and the show became an overnight hit. Running for a total of five seasons on the BBC, the show was eventually syndicated on PBS in America. It wasn’t long before talk of the show was spreading around American college campuses about this unusual, but side-splittingly funny, comedy show. Soon, Month Python had as many fans in America as they did in England.

And while nobody could deny that the chemistry between the performers was magical, it was the sketches themselves that will remain in the memories of fans forever. While there were countless classics, some of the more memorable ones include “The SPAM Diner” where the entire menu consists of items that include SPAM, and a happy group of Vikings sing their love of the canned meat product. “The Lumberjack Sketch” featured an enthusiastic lumberjack singing about his cross-dressing fantasies. “Sam Peckinpah’s Salad Days” saw an innocent country outing devolve into a blood bath of epic proportions. At “The Argument Clinic,” a man discovers that, instead of purchasing an argument, he has instead only purchased a collection of simple contradictions. There were cheese shops and silly walks and dead parrots and, of course, The Spanish Inquisition (which nobody expects.) And that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

Interspersed between the comedy sketches were the animations of Terry Gilliam (who also animated the memorable opening segment for the show,) which were a collage of cut-and-pasted images depicting such items as carnivorous baby carriages, dancing teeth, and a surprising amount of nude female images. Oh, and a big stomping foot which came from above and took out plenty of little running animated characters whenever they got too annoying. Gilliam’s animation style was unique, hilarious and a perfect fit for the rest of the show.

After the successful run of Monty Python’s Flying Circus on television, the group changed their attention to film, creating one of the most beloved English comedies to ever hit the screen, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. They followed up with such classics as The Life of Brian, The Meaning of Life and Live at the Hollywood Bowl. The troupe also released a total of 14 comedy albums including Another Monty Python Record and Monty Python’s Contractual Obligation Album.

Even after the group stopped performing together as Monty Python, they often appeared in each other’s projects, such as A Fish Called Wanda, a film written by and starring John Cleese, which featured old friend Michael Palin in a hilarious role as a stuttering jewel thief. Still, fans were hopeful that they would one day see the entire group reunite, a dream that, sadly, would never materialize due to the untimely death of Graham Chapman in 1989.     

But while Monty Python may be gone, they are certainly not forgotten. The entire television series is available on DVD and is still shown on television. Rabid fans that can recite many of the sketches word-for-word are not in short supply either. Monty Python still lives - and will do so, as long as there is SPAM in this world, and lumberjacks, and dead parrots and just a general need for laughter.