Monty Python's Flying Circus, Disc 8 - Region 1 DVD

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 film How 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 watching The 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