Monty Python's Flying Circus
Season 2
13 listed hours · 1969–1974 · BBC
From the desk
How this season is filed
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.
TV Flash files Season 2 of Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974) on BBC as a mid listed season (2; 2 of 4) — 13 listed hours, 1970-09-15–1970-12-22 from “Dinsdale” (S02E01) to “Royal Episode Thirteen” (S02E13). Titles, dates, and synopses on file — no invented recaps.
Desk essentials in this season
- S02E10 Scott of the Antarctic
Scott of the Antarctic is a second-season landmark hour: British absurdism packing a whole theme without a sitcom reset.
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S02E01 Dinsdale
For quicker service, a housewife chooses death. The Ministry of Silly Walks fields a grant applicant. The crimes of the Piranha Brothers are recalled.
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S02E02 The Spanish Inquisition
The Spanish Inquisition is unexpected and ill-equipped for torture. Semaphores perform "Wuthering Heights." A court case is conducted by charades.
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S02E03 Déjà Vu
A look at the work of cash-strapped poet Ewan McTeagle. A milkman-psychiatrist provides diagnoses, cream and yogurt. "It's the Mind" examines déjà vu.
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S02E04 The Buzz Aldrin Show
Action hero "The Bishop" tries to stop a series of vicar attacks. The Poet Board hopes to get a poet in every home. A nude man objects to titillation.
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S02E05 Live from the Grill-o-mat
In a show hosted from the Grill-o-Mat, the Society for Putting Things on Top of Other Things disbands. A butcher is alternately rude and polite.
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S02E06 It's a Living
A school prize ceremony is hijacked. A couple receives dung from the Book of the Month Club. Silly candidates sweep the Sensibles on election night.
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S02E07 The Attila the Hun Show
Attila comes home to the wife and kids on "The Attila the Hun Show." Killer sheep are on a rampage. Village idiots provide a vital social function.
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S02E08 Archaeology Today
Height is a critical factor in a showdown between archaeologists. Australian backwoodsmen hunt mosquitoes. Beethoven can't get a moment's peace.
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S02E09 How to Recognize Different Parts of the Body
An Australian university's philosophy department -- all Bruces -- welcomes a Michael. "The Death of Mary, Queen of Scots" is performed on the radio.
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S02E10 Scott of the Antarctic
Contractual obligations trouble an epic film production. A pet owner seeks a fish license. Gynecologists vs. Long John Silver impersonators at soccer.
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S02E11 How Not to Be Seen
A coffee ad campaign is a disaster. Crackpot Religions Ltd. has a variety of options. A government instructional film offers tips on not being seen.
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S02E12 Spam
The world's great communist thinkers are quizzed about sports. A hospital caters to overactors. The Green Midget Café menu leans heavily towards Spam.
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S02E13 Royal Episode Thirteen
The show awaits Her Majesty's royal viewing. Welsh coal miners dispute a fine point of history. Lifeboat survivors debate who they'd rather eat.
More from the 1960s.