Bill Cotton, Head of Light Entertainment, was always very uneasy about the Pythons. They were frightening (for him - great for us) in their unpredictability. He let them have their own way - just - but chewed his fingernails to the elbows in so doing. That was the greatness of the man.
amazing stuff, I was a child in the late 1950's and early 1960 's and remember well having the test card on all morning waiting for watch with mother and then again awaiting children's hour , when i told my nephews we only had two channels , had to wait five minutes for the tube to warm up and everything was in black and white , he was most amused , many thanks for this .
By modern standards this does look boring, but you need to watch this material in the context in which it was produced. The world was a totally different place then. You say Python hated the BBC, but it was the BBC that produced their shows!
The monty python team have always spoken with fondness of the BBC and its willingness to give them complete independence and creative control to produce a a series. something I doubt would ever happen today.
Bill Cotton, Head of Light Entertainment, was always very uneasy about the Pythons. They were frightening (for him - great for us) in their unpredictability. He let them have their own way - just - but chewed his fingernails to the elbows in so doing. That was the greatness of the man.
FrederickDelarge 1 year ago
Wonderful stuff and very atmospheric of the times. Thank you!
405liner 1 year ago
I agree with Capsule 35, the minute from 5.27 is really beautiful, thank you for preserving it
ZXC5000 1 year ago
amazing stuff, I was a child in the late 1950's and early 1960 's and remember well having the test card on all morning waiting for watch with mother and then again awaiting children's hour , when i told my nephews we only had two channels , had to wait five minutes for the tube to warm up and everything was in black and white , he was most amused , many thanks for this .
missdeebates 1 year ago
The BBC must have been terminally boring , if this is any indication . No wonder Monty Python hated them so much .
chuckiejay 2 years ago
By modern standards this does look boring, but you need to watch this material in the context in which it was produced. The world was a totally different place then. You say Python hated the BBC, but it was the BBC that produced their shows!
aptsarchive 2 years ago 3
@aptsarchive its not boring as information but most of the time there were pictures but no information
martpast1 1 year ago
@chuckiejay
The monty python team have always spoken with fondness of the BBC and its willingness to give them complete independence and creative control to produce a a series. something I doubt would ever happen today.
hermankatnip 1 year ago 3
The sequence from 5.27 to 6.27 is truly magical.
capsule35 2 years ago
This is definately post-1951.
TashkentFox 2 years ago
I love old newsreels and things showing the history of Television. Thanks for posting these!
MDSJR67 2 years ago 6