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Average customer rating:

Not a lot of pictures
Utterly Useless To Real Pythophiles!
How did this get such good reviews?
Not quite what it professes to be
A very Good book for a Monty Python Fan

Monty Python Encyclopedia
Robert Ross
Manufacturer: TV Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

The Pythons: Autobiography
Monty Python and Philosophy: Nudge Nudge, Think Think! (Popular Culture and Philosophy)

ASIN: 1575000369

Customer Reviews:

Not a lot of pictures.......2003-01-23

This encyclopedia is filled with information not just on Monty Python, but on the individual members as well. What I mean is, not only do we read about things like "Life of Brian" and "The Meaning of Life," but we also hear about "Silverado" and "Splitting Heirs."

The book provides a chronology starting with John Cleese's birthday in 1939 to 1997. There is also a list of videos and books as well as addresses for the British and American fan clubs.

The focus for the entries is on the Monty Python cast. For instance, not a lot of information is given on the movie "Silverado," but there is quite a bit of information about John Cleese's role in the movie.

Unfortunately, there are not a lot of pictures in the book. Personally, I think that would be a grand addition to this work.

I would recommend this for diehard fans of Monty Python.

Utterly Useless To Real Pythophiles!.......2002-02-09

The back cover alone,should be the biggest tip off,to this gigantic rip-off! Mr.Ross is payed to write books about British television shows. Besides Python,he has written books on The Avengers,and The Saint. ( Heaven help their fans as well! ).He doesn't have to be a fan of the show,just a flunky who collects information. It's easy enough to get a Python endorsement as well,since a book about them,obviously generates intrest in their own projects.

One thing I wonder about is this: why do the authors of books about funny people,naturally assume they themselves are the comic event of the decade? ( Please,leave the comedy to the professionals.). Mr.Ross is no more a comedian,than Geoffrey Guiliano is a musician. Mr.Ross's overly long decriptions of every Python episode,are like being trapped in a pub with a drunken neo-Python fan,intent on retelling every joke to you until you laugh at it.

Frankly,if you wanted a run down of cast and crew for any Python film,you could run it down on the Internet Movie Data Base.( And more than likely see the information spelled correctly as well.).Obviously all Mr.Ross had to do,was pay someone to surf for the information,and copy it down for his book.

This book would benefit from being,simply,the facts. Most "encylopedias" tend to state facts,rather than personal opinions. As a Python fan,I frankly don't care if Mr.Ross laughs at the same jokes I do,or "gets" the social ramifications of certain subjects.We all laugh differently,and Python offers much to laugh about.

Instead of having every film,ruined by a full out synopsis that kills every joke,why not give just a general overview? Instead of merely listing the albums,why not list the variants? ( And yes,original Python vinyl came with extras!). Instead of going over every episode with a fine tooth comb,why not give just a season intro?

Mr.Ross wants too hard to be Kim Johnson,and fails.

How did this get such good reviews?.......2001-10-28

I found this book somewhat informative as far is just raw data is concerned but poorly written. The author seems more intent at getting his opinions across than providing information. Specifically I refer to his occasional remarks about how British comedy is far superior to anything that the United States could produce (I was actually waiting for him to refer to the States as "the colonies").

LUCKILY I received this book free for purchasing the complete set of Python videos. Had I paid money for it I would have been very disappointed.

The ONLY reason I gave this two stars instead of one is because it does have good information. However reading through the author's comments are just too frustrating. At some point in the future it will provide me with kindling for a nice warm fire. I haven't touched it since my first and only reading.

Not quite what it professes to be.......1999-09-22

I find this flawed effort nevertheless very enjoyable; but I am of two minds about its not quite beign what it professes to be. An encyclopedia should (as Sgt. Friday used to insist) just give the facts. Almost every sentence here is concerned with Mr. Ross's personal opinion about the facts--opinion, by the way, stated as fact. When he says, for example, that episode 7 of the lst series of MP's Flying Circus is "one of the most unfunny," this can scarcely be accepted as fact (it is the one about the transformation into Scotsmen). The format is also inconsistent. A complete treatment of an Avengers episode is offered because John Cleese makes a brief appearance but another episode in which Carol Cleveland plays a major role is not featured and barely mentioned in her own write up. Also--and this is a Good Thing--Ross includes any film or tv show in which even a single Pythonite has had a hand. So with an eye open for typos and occasional inaccuracies, I will continue to peruse this book but always careful to separate fact from opinion. And all the more so now that the MPFC tapes and DVDs are being made available by A&E!

A very Good book for a Monty Python Fan.......1999-09-01

I bought this book the same day I bought Monty Python Speaks. This book is good to let you know what movis and tv shows each python member is in. It is a very good book for a Monty Python fan.

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