Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a British surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring the comedy group Monty Python, consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam, aka the "Pythons". The first episode was recorded at the BBC on 7 September and premiered on 5 October 1969 on BBC1, with 45 episodes airing over four series from 1969 to 1974, plus two episodes for German TV.

Plot

Monty Python's Flying Circus is a sketch comedy show, though it does not adhere to any regular format. The sketches include live-action skits performed by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam, along with animations created by Gilliam, frequently used as linking devices or interstitial between skits. The show's introductory theme, which varied with each series, was also based on Gilliam's animations, its theme music set to "The Liberty Bell" march by John Philip Sousa, and ending with a shot of the show's title before being crushed by a giant foot. Gilliam selected the rendition of the march performed by the Band of the Grenadier Guards, published in 1893, as under the Berne Convention and United States copyright law, the work had fallen into the public domain, allowing them to avoid royalty payments.