Top 20 Best Monty Python Solo Moments

#20: “Rutland Weekend Television” (1975-76)

Eric Idle

A year after “Flying Circus” concluded, Idle didn’t hesitate to create his own sketch show. This resulted in this whimsical series, which covers a fictionalised news station located in Rutland, one of England’s smallest counties. Sadly, Idle was given a minuscule budget, but managed to use it to his advantage, centring many jokes around Rutland’s lack of funds. Despite this limitation, it was instantly adored by fans. It also led to Idle’s comedy rock band, The Rutles. Originally written for a sketch, people found them so hilarious they became a real band, touring, releasing albums, and even getting their own mockumentary.

#19: The President

Michael Palin

Few people expected that the guy from “Flying Circus” who dresses in rags and crawls out of the sea in the first episode would become a respected geographer. After becoming a household name, rather than focusing solely on comedy, he pivoted to doing travel documentaries. This eventually led to him becoming the President of the Royal Geographical Society. It was only from 2009 until 2012, but he did a remarkable job of encouraging geographical research. Palin is such an admirable person that it’s hard to disagree with him being labelled not only as “Britain’s Nicest Man,” but also the greatest Yorkshireman ever.

#18: The Saga of Erik the Viking

Terry Jones

Similarly to Palin’s career, you probably wouldn’t expect Mr Creosote’s actor to become a children’s author. Well, that’s exactly what happened in 1983, when Jones released this cherished kids’ novel. As the name suggests, it’s about a Viking who embarks on an action-packed voyage. It was so celebrated that it won awards and even got a live-action adaptation plus a video game. The plot was significantly altered for both of these versions, however, and the movie didn’t receive stellar reviews. Despite the flick being a commercial failure, we have to praise Jones for putting so much passion into telling a heartwarming children’s story.

#17: Rincewind

Eric Idle

Terry Pratchett’s Discworld is easily the world’s most famous comic fantasy series. He’s one of the most quintessentially British authors of the modern era, with one of his most iconic characters being the “wizzard” Rincewind. His defining characteristics are an eagerness to flee and almost zero magical skill. In live action, he was played by David Jason, but in the video games, Idle did the voice acting and even wrote its theme song, “That’s Death.” It’s unlikely that they’ll do more live-action Discworld adaptations, but Idle would easily be our dream casting choice for the cowardly magician.

#16: North Korea

Michael Palin

Palin is the only Python to ever be knighted, and that’s never likely to change. This was on account of his contributions to “travel, culture, and geography.” Many of these contributions came in the form of excellently crafted travel documentaries, such as his 2018 one about North Korea. It was significant because the North Korean government has extreme censorship laws, meaning little is known about average life there. Palin’s documentary was a landmark moment in revealing what life in one of Earth’s most brutal dictatorships is like. It was such a big deal that Palin was convinced it would never get made in the years leading up to it.

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#15: The Secret Policeman’s Ball

John Cleese

Five Pythons appeared at these benefit shows in total, but the idea was almost entirely John Cleese’s. He came up with the idea of these fundraisers with Peter Luff, a former senior figure at Amnesty International. It led to four separate eras of shows, with performances from the first 5 years being the most remembered, on account of having five Pythons plus Rowan Atkinson. It continued for decades, though, with the most recent tour happening in 2019. Outside of the shows, many figures have claimed it inspired them to get involved in altruistic causes, including Amnesty alongside a plethora of other charities.

#14: “A Fish Called Wanda” (1988)

Michael Palin

When this comedic heist flick was released in 1988, it became an instant classic. It centres around the whimsical escapades of a group of diamond robbers who won’t hesitate for a second to backstab one another. Palin plays one of the lead roles, Ken Pile, and it’s easily one of the greatest performances of his career. Ken has a severe speech impediment and is teeming with kindness and empathy. The sweet animal lover is actually a sometimes brutal criminal, as proven by his escapades with Mrs Coady. He’s also got a noticeable stutter, but Palin tried hard to make sure it wasn’t disrespectful, therefore avoiding poking fun at speech impediments. He even helped create the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering in 1993.

#13: “Crusades” (1995)

Terry Jones

Palin wasn’t the only Python who worked on informative documentaries; Jones did the same, but with a focus on history. This resulted in his excellent documentary, “Crusades.” It was pretty stylistically unique for its genre, with a focus on making the historical figures look like living artwork. It wasn’t the only documentary he created; he later made one called “Medieval Lives,” one about “Barbarians,” then one purely about map mysteries. They’re all worth watching in our opinion, not only because we adore Jones, but because he put a great deal of passion into them, and it clearly shows.

#12: Not the Messiah (He’s a Very Naughty Boy)

Eric Idle

For years, Idle wanted to adapt their iconic movies into musicals. In 2007, he collaborated with John Du Prez to finally give “Life of Brian” the musical treatment. It was originally an Idle solo project, but to celebrate their 40th anniversary, Palin, Jones, and Gilliam joined in with a 2009 performance. It was only performed live for a few years, but thankfully it’s not lost media, as a recording was released for physical media in 2010. It’s a blast to watch for any fans of the original, especially when the closing track comes, and you find it impossible to avoid joyfully singing along.

#11: “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” (1998)

Terry Gilliam

The only Python born in the States finally makes an appearance. Any Python fan will tell you Gilliam’s directing career is astounding. First, he directed “Holy Grail,” but later on created a variety of his own movies. One of our favourites is this late-90s flick based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Hunter S. Thompson from 1971. The psychedelic adventure was inherently difficult to adapt, on account of how incoherent it can often be. Gilliam didn’t shy away from the challenge, and to us, we think it’s the greatest adaptation the book could ever have. It was sadly a box office failure, though, but over time it’s become a highly adored cult classic.

#10: A Liar’s Autobiography

Graham Chapman

Volume 6 of Chapman’s fictionalised biography was released in 1980, and remains the only volume publicly available. It was primarily written by Chapman, but it had contributions from five other authors, including the acclaimed Douglas Adams. Quite a few Python biographies exist, but to us this one’s the most humorous. It’s also complete lies, according to Terry Jones. For instance, he can’t settle on one birthday, and gives three instead. It was eventually made into a feature-length animated movie in 2012, but reviews were only average, so it’s only worth watching for the most hardcore fans.

#9: “Brazil” (1985)

Terry Gilliam

The fourth film Gilliam directed is often cited by fans as one of their favourites. “Brazil” was released a decade after “Holy Grail,” and ended up being a perfect example of Gilliam’s unique style. It’s set in a dystopian society that loves bureaucracy, heavily inspired by “Nineteen Eighty-Four” except far more surreal. Gilliam created it as a satire of the industrial world he was born and raised in. It was popular in Europe, but Americans weren’t interested, making it a bit of a flop. That hasn’t stopped it from becoming a cult classic adored by millions today, with many calling it essential Gilliam viewing.

#8: “A Fish Called Wanda” (1988)

John Cleese

We’ve already talked about Palin’s role in this classic comedy, but its screenplay was written by John Cleese, with help from the legend Charles Crichton. It was the first film the latter worked on in over two decades, and it ended up getting him tons of nominations, with plenty of people calling it his best. To many, it’s the best film Cleese ever wrote outside of the core Python series. It was followed up by a spiritual successor, “Fierce Creatures,” in 1997, but this failed to live up to the first one’s success, and Cleese later admitted to it being a mistake.

#7: “Labyrinth” (1986)

Terry Jones

Labyrinth is one of the 80s most iconic pictures, featuring David Bowie as one of the most stylish villains in cinema. Not a single Python starred in it, but the script was crafted by Jones himself. He wasn’t the sole writer; it was inspired by a story Dennis Lee and director Jim Henson had come up with. Still, Jones had sole screenwriting credits, and his charm definitely shows. Like a few of Gilliam’s movies, it was a box office failure in America, but people loved it abroad. Opinions of it have improved over time, making it a perfect example of a cult classic.

#6: “Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin” (1989)

Michael Palin

French author Jules Verne published the novel that inspired this adventure in 1872. At the time, the idea of someone circumnavigating the world in only 80 days was wild. Over a century later, Palin put it to the test and ended up being brilliantly successful. He could’ve simply flown, but decided to go solely by land and sea, as they didn’t have jets in the 19th century. Afterwards, Palin wrote a book providing even more insight into the adventure. It wouldn’t be the last time Palin would cross the globe; he later travelled from one pole to the other, then also circumnavigated the Pacific Rim.

#5: Spamalot

Eric Idle

We’ve already discussed the musical version of “Life of Brian,” but we think “Spamalot” is the more iconic of the two. It’s instead based on “Holy Grail,” turning the original movie into a spectcacular broadway musical. Idle had been trying to make it for years, but eventually decided to just get it done himself. Its first run was massively successful, featuring the talented Tim Curry as King Arthur. Sadly, the rest of Monty Python weren’t that into it. For example, Jones and Gilliam weren’t that interested in it, but Palin said he loved it, mainly because he made a bunch of money from it.

#4: “Twelve Monkeys” (1995)

Terry Gilliam

While everyone will have different preferences regarding their favourite Gilliam movie, “Twelve Monkeys” is his most celebrated and successful. Unlike the other films we mentioned, this one was a titan at the box office. It earned over 168 million dollars on a 29 million budget, receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews. The film is set in the future where almost all humans have been eradicated by a virus. One human is then selected to go back in time to try and prevent it from happening. It has some massive names for the era, with Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt playing two of the primary characters. If you’re not into Gilliam’s solo movies already, this is an excellent one to start with.

#3: Don’t Mention the War

John Cleese

We could include the entirety of “Fawlty Towers” on here, as every episode is timeless. We instead decided to focus on the iconic conclusion to series 1 episode “The Germans.” Tons of fans consider this the show’s greatest moment, and we find it hard to disagree. Every episode builds up to a disaster of meteoric proportions, almost always the result of hotel owner Basil’s incompetence. This one comes after the kitchen almost burns down, causing Basil to end up with a concussion. Rather than waiting to heal, he returns to work almost immediately, which is debatably one of the worst decisions he ever made.

#2: Coming Out

Graham Chapman

Many people consider Chapman to be the greatest actor among the group, alongside just all around being impossible not to love. Our respect for him was already through the roof, but it got even greater when he became the UK’s first openly gay comedian. This happened in 1972 on a talk show hosted by George Melly. Sadly, the difficulties of being gay during an era when it was stigmatised led to Chapman developing a drinking problem, explaining why he’s clearly drunk during the interview. Not everyone was supportive, sadly, with some fans complaining about them having a gay member. Thankfully, the rest of the troupe provided nothing but support for their beloved friend, and now people have nothing but nice things to say about Chapman.

#1: Chapman’s Eulogy

John Cleese

The first Python to tragically pass away was Chapman, who died of cancer in 1989 with Palin by his side. The Pythons avoided his real funeral, as they didn’t want to attract too much publicity. Later, at his memorial service, John Cleese gave an incredibly heartfelt eulogy. It began by referencing the Parrot Sketch, one of Chapman’s most celebrated creations. It’s a challenge to listen to the whole thing without crying both tears of laughter and sorrow. Cleese also hilariously made it noteworthy for being the first televised memorial service where someone said the f-word. In the following decades, we’ve only grown to miss Chapman more, but as the saying goes, “when you’re chewing on life’s gristle, don’t grumble, give a whistle.”

What was your favourite Python moment from outside of “Monty Python”, and did we give it a mention today? Let us know down in the comments below!