All episodes Season 1 S01E05 1969-11-16 30 min 1960s BBC

Monty Python's Flying Circus

Man's Crisis of Identity in the Latter Half of the Twentieth Century

TV Flash files “Man's Crisis of Identity in the Latter Half of the Twentieth Century” as hour 5 of 45 in the TV Flash guide — Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974) on BBC, season 1, episode 5, aired 1969-11-16, 30 min.

From the desk

How this hour is filed

This leaf is S01E05: listed hour 5 of 45 in the Monty Python's Flying Circus guide, hour 5 of 13 in season 1. It aired 1969-11-16 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Owl-Stretching Time” (S01E04). Next is “It's the Arts” (S01E06).

Monty Python's Flying Circus — Man's Crisis of Identity in the Latter Half of the Twentieth Century (S01E05)

Catalog log

Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.

A team of experts is called upon to confuse a cat. A newsreader announces a newsreader's arrest. A management training interviewee receives top marks.

Viewer FAQ

Where does Man's Crisis of Identity in the Latter Half of the Twentieth Century sit in the Monty Python's Flying Circus guide?

S01E05 is listed hour 5 of 45 — hour 5 of 13 in season 1, season 1 episode 5.

When did Monty Python's Flying Circus S01E05 air?

Man's Crisis of Identity in the Latter Half of the Twentieth Century aired 1969-11-16 and is listed at 30 minutes.

Where should I start?

Any early BBC hour with a Gilliam cutout and a sketch that refuses to bow is the collage contract. Four seasons; the troupe is the constant, not a guest host.

In the series

Why this series still plays

Monty Python's Flying Circus arrived from the BBC in 1969 and rewired sketch comedy: no punchline bow, Gilliam cutouts, and six Oxbridge wits treating television as a collage. It went global in syndication and still supplies catchphrases on demand. British absurdism jumping the Atlantic — stream-of-consciousness TV that made later sketch shows look tidy by comparison.

The work is a sketch that refuses the bow. Monty Python's Flying Circus arrived from the BBC on October 5, 1969, and rewired sketch comedy: no punchline safety net, Gilliam cutouts, six Oxbridge wits treating television as a collage. Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin wrote and performed four seasons into 1974. Absurdism, callbacks, animated interstitial madness. And now for something completely different. Gossip will file the troupe as a cult export; the cut…

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Also in season 1

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