Farced Perspective

Nathan and Ben return with a scheme called "The Other Podcast" where we threaten to analyse episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus if you don't listen.  The next podcast scheme might be the turning point. Until then, enjoy their musings on Graham Chapman's depictions of camp and a quiz on Cartesian Dualism.

Anna and Ben sit down to investigate the rebellious origins of BBS Productions' film Five Easy Pieces. While not actually a comedy, they examine it as a forerunner of Nicholson's manic performances and an extension of Rafelson's work with The Monkees, and then delve into trivia surrounding the classical music featured in the soundtrack.

Anna sits in with Ben to once again revisit anniversary cinema and discuss Billy Wilder's The Apartment on the event of its sixtieth anniversary. Does the romance hold up under contemporary power strictures, how has Mad Men influenced our opinions about office culture in the '60s, and who knows anything about that mishegas down at Cape Canaveral?

Diverting somewhat from the mainstream of their remit, Nathan and Ben celebrate the 45th anniversary of the original broadcast of Eric Idle's Rutland Weekend Television by watching the first episode, "Gibberish", and weighing it against half a century of Python comparisons.

A one-off episode in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the theatrical release of Robert Altman's M*A*S*H and inspired by avoiding the stress and pressure of social distancing.  Join Ben and special co-host Anna as they discuss the sexism, criticism, and other isms embedded in the trauma and drama of this wartime comedy.

Nathan and Ben come to the end of the first series of the Flying Circus, weigh the episode's anarchic nature, tally its in-jokes, and other phrases, man. Money isn't real, but their hiatus until the next episode will be. There will now be a whopping great intermission.

Nathan and Ben heed the legend of the Sloan Rangers and peer into the inherited tendencies of the landed gentry. As they weigh the tension of delaying the expectations of an obvious laugh, does that mean they're falling for stalling? Or mauling for trawling, or squalling while zalling? "Zalling"? Is that even a word?

Nathan and Ben offer context on celebrity boutiques and the internal lives of Python's characters, while speculating on editing and group dynamics. And a quiz on Gumbies is deadly enough to qualify for the Batley Townswomen's Guild historical re-enactments.

Nathan and Ben delve into the episode's running question: is this satire or "zany madcap humour", or does one change to the other as references fade from currency? Can they find an answer by looking at daredevil stunts, wooden hosts, and the censoring of lurid libraries?

Nathan and Ben try to figure out how to pronounce "Brian Equatol" and whether his permissiveness is a secret foil for repression or just delicious raunch.  They also still are finding Python legacy firsts this late in the series, and lamenting their utter unfamiliarity with Spanish.