And now for something completely different.
Many otherwise sane baby boomers grew up with, or, more accurately, resisted growing up with the great British comedy troupe Monty Python.
Not sophisticated satire, not politically savvy humor, theirs was giggle-inducing comedy based in debunking authority and drawing outside the lines at a particularly uptight time in British history.
Take the Fish Slapping Dance, please.
To mark the 40th anniversary of the group’s TV and film inanity, the IFC channel offers a sort of reunion this weekend, with a new documentary backed by a filmfest of some of the Python’s most memorably ridiculous fare.
IFC’s “Python-A-thon” examines the history of the company, the personalities of the players and the creative process that led to their early collaboration and their 1970s acclaim.
For some, the dead parrot sketch lives on in memory. For others, it’s the Spanish Inquisition, the disappointing inventory at the cheese shop or “Spam.” Personally, I’ve always been partial to the Ministry of Silly Walks. Of course, watching some sketches now proves that they were even more dopey than we suspected at the time.
It took a lot of schooling at Oxford and Cambridge for the Pythons to reach their heights of absurdity.
“Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer’s Cut),” is a new six-part “docu-series” on the Python legacy, Sunday through Friday at 7 p.m. on IFC. Recent interviews with John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, the five surviving members of the troupe, offer insight into the thoughts behind the buffoonery.
The first hour is followed by “Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl” (1982) at 8 p.m.
“Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” Season One, begins at 9:30 p.m. Saturday.
The group’s classic films, including “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and “Monty Python’s Life of Brian,” will unspool at 8 p.m. through the week.
Grab a set of coconut halves and gallop along with the knights in quest of the Grail.
Graham Chapman, who died in 1989 and who memorably played King Arthur in “Holy Grail” (1975) and the title role in “Life of Brian” (1979), is memorialized as the soul of the group. His acting was perhaps the best of the bunch.
Celebrity fans — among them Dan Aykroyd, Tim Roth, Eddie Izzard and Stephen Merchant — chime in with acolades.
In interviews conducted separately, Cleese comes across as the grumpy-funny old man of the group; Gilliam and Jones fondly spar over their co-directing ventures; Idle vacillates between bitterness and ongoing fun, sort of the Ringo of the pack. And Palin, who is recalled as the nicest guy of them all, seems most self-actualized and content, having gone on to other projects, including travel series.
This week’s invitation-only reunion at New York’s Ziegfield Theater, slated to magically include Chapman thanks to technology, can be streamed at IFC’s website.
Science quiz
How do you start a car battery with red wine? This is not a joke about designated drivers, but a typical question on a new Science Channel series (Comcast channel 272). “Head Games,” debuting Saturday at 7 p.m., is a half-hour show intended to get young viewers excited about science.
The trivia series, from Whoopi Goldberg’s production company Whoop, is hosted by comedian Greg Proops.
Q: How long is the average lightning bolt?
A: About 6 miles long but only as thick as your finger.
Another bit of trivia: Proops also serves as the voice of Bob the Builder on the PBS kids show of that title.
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830
