Life of Brian (TV Debate)

Friday Night, Saturday Morning was a live chatshow, that was one day in 1979 the site of a strange debate between on the one hand John Cleese and Michael Palin, representing Monty Python, and on the other hand Malcolm Muggeridge and the Bishop of Southwark. The subject was wether or not "Life of Brian" was a blasphemous movie or not.

As one of the Pythons commented later, it was a very strange scene, quite a Python sketch in itself, except that the Pythons discussed the matter seriously while their opponents were quite ludicrous in their statements. Also, it is one of the few occasions where Michael Palin gets angry.

This video was made from a few different sources and is not 100% complete. However it appears to be 'the most complete' version available at this time.

FROM WIKIPEDIA:

Shortly after the film was released, Cleese and Palin engaged in a what would become an infamous debate on the BBC2 discussion programme Friday Night, Saturday Morning, in which Malcolm Muggeridge and Mervyn Stockwood, the Bishop of Southwark, put the case against the film.

Muggeridge and the Bishop had arrived 15 minutes late to see a screening of the picture prior to the debate, missing the establishing scenes demonstrating that Brian and Jesus were two different characters, and hence contended that it was a send-up of Christ himself.

Both Pythons later felt that there had been a strange role reversal in the manner of the debate, with two young upstart comedians attempting to make serious, well-researched points, while the establishment figures engaged in cheap jibes and point scoring.

They also expressed disappointment in Muggeridge, whom all in Python had previously respected as a satirist. Cleese expressed that his reputation had "plummeted" in his eyes, while Palin commented that, "He was just being Muggeridge, preferring to have a very strong contrary opinion as opposed to none at all"

Category:

Comedy

Tags:

• monty
• python
• life
• brian
• bbc
• debate
• michael
• palin
• john
• cleese
• malcolm
• muggeridge
• bishop
• mervyn
• stockwood
• jesus
• christian

[DODODADATUMTEETAAA]

'You started with an open mind, I respect that' I love Palin!

[livedandletdie]

There is no higher Logical thing in the universe than a Theory.

A hypothesis isn't a Theory. It's a thought that is defined as False until Proven Right. A theory is a Thought Thas is defined True until Disproven.

To Disprove a theory need you to Use the same Question as the theory then do experiments to get an observation which leads to new questions and so on till you have a proof that is Proven that your hypothesis is in fact a theory.

Christians do not have a Theory. They have nothing.

[KajiCarson]

Self-righteous old farts.

[15Peter30]

Comedy overpowers the cross.

[mankytoes]

The host shouldn't have let the bishop rant like that at the start. He starts by talking about how you can't get rid of Christianity, and goes onto say you shouldn't mock Auschwitz. When asked what he thinks about the film. Moron, no wonder the membership of his church has halved in recent decades, while Pythons remain as popular as ever.

[RafaelSantosRS]

@acasouk Yes, me too. She's a funny lady.

[jeremiahjc]

@jorchs83 FACTSLAM!!!! Levites were the specific caste of Jews charged with administering temple rites. Lots of Jews are named Cohen. FACTSLAM ENDED!!!!!

[goodie23]

On the first question the bishop rambled on without actually answering it. He should've been a politician.

[killerwhaleocelot]

The whole debate I kept waiting for some one to say 'cut'. I find it quite depressing to know this occasion of narrow mindedness and malice actually occurred.

On another note, the Pythons got some funny remarks in, at least.

[jorchs83]

Anyone named Cohen could not be the Messiah anyway. Cohen is a Levite name and not a Jewish one.

[Ephrones]

This is by no means the "most complete" version of the debate. You cut everything together, so that it would ridicule the bishops (although I bet they laughed at some scenes, because noone could resist xD)