Monty Python's Flying Circus, Disc 8
Still loony after all these years. This volume contains episodes 23  through 26 from the second groundbreaking season ofMonty Python's Flying Circus. For discriminating collectors and recent initiates, episode 23 may not show the legendary troupe to its best advantage. But even averageMonty Pythonis funnier and more inventive than, say, a new episode ofSaturday Night Live.  It does include some cherished bits of Pythonia, including the animated Conrad Poohs and His Dancing Teeth and the Fish License sketch. But the foreign film parody and the epic Scott of the Antarctic are for aficionados only.The final episodes of the second season, however, were fit for the Queen. These three episodes "give new meaning to the word 'vomit.'" No, wait: That's the ill-advised ad campaign devised by Eric Idle's S. Frog for Conquistador Coffee, a very silly sketch that begins this volume with a jolt of comedic caffeine. Among the "humorous vignettes and spoofs" that appear here include classic and cherished bits from the Python pantheon, including an ad for American Defense; the training filmHow Not to Be Seen; the alleged Hungarian-English phrasebook; Crackpot Religions, Ltd; World Forum, in which questions about Cup finals stump Marx, Lenin, Chairman Mao, and Che; the Hospital for Over-Acting; the exploding Blue Danube; and the immortal ode to Spam.The season-ending royal episode, which concludes this DVD, is a particular favorite. John Cleese soberly informs viewers that Her Royal Majesty will tune in during the course of the show (she is presently watchingThe Virginian). One wonders how she would stomach the Lifeboat and Undertaker cannibalism sketches that inspire the outraged studio audience to rush the stage in mock revolt.--Donald Liebenson