Previously Unreleased Monty Python Audio to Get Airing for Troupe’s 50th Anniversary

By Stewart Clarke

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Michael Palin will exec-produce series of radio specials containing never-before-released audio from Monty Python as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations for the iconic comedy troupe. They will play on the BBC in the U.K. and then go out in the U.S.

Palin and his fellow Pythons – John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and the late Graham Chapman – will have their film, TV and radio work showcased to celebrate their group hitting the half-century mark. BBC Radio will premiere five specials, produced by Palin, in September. They will then go out on in the U.S.

“Join Michael to find out what John’s mother thought about her care home, the extra unpleasant things that were planned for Eric’s Brave Sir Robin, what exactly Terry Jones is so worried about, and why the infamous Fat Ignorant Bastards have never been more relevant to the world today,” the producers said as they announced the series.

There will also be various events showcasing the Pythons’ prolific output, running throughout September. A Python season at the British Film Institute’s riverside base on London’s South Bank will include screenings of a restored “’s Flying Circus” series.

There will be rare screenings of pre-Python shows “At Last the 1948 Show” and “Do Not Adjust Your Set” and post-Python work from the group, including “Fawlty Towers,” “Ripping Yarns” and movies such as “Jabberwocky” and “Time Bandits.” In the U.S., BBC America will run a marathon of “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” episodes, plus “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” and “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

UMC and Virgin EMI will be re-issuing “Monty Python Sings” (again) on double vinyl, with the addition of the “Stephen Hawking Sings Monty Python…Galaxy Song” track and new artwork overseen by Terry Gilliam.

“Python has survived because we live in an increasingly Pythonesque world,” they said in a joint statement. “Extreme silliness seems more relevant now than it ever was.”