Customer Reviews

Do Not Adjust Your Set

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'll cover both the Do Not Adjust Your Set and At Last The 1948 Show. I'm ecstatic to have some of these shows finally available in the U.S. The 1948 Show includes the original Yorkshiremen sketch and Adjust Your Set is a must if only for the Bonzo Dog Band performances (including one with Eric Idle singing lead!). The 1948 Show is the funnier of the two shows, but at only five episodes, it's a bit brief. There are sketches here not so very different from what Cleese and Chapman would do shortly later in Python. Every bit as good. Tim Brooke-Taylor's chartered accountant's dance is brilliant (God knows how many Python sketches that inspired). And seeing Marty Feldman makes me ache to get those shows of his that played in the U.S. one summer decades ago. And of course the Yorkshiremen sketch is one of the great comedy sketches of all time (written by Brooke-Taylor and Feldman! Take that, dead parrot!). Adjust Your Set was designed to be a children's show and the humor tends to be juvenile for the most part. But every now and then something slips in that screams Python (The shop sketch where ordering a long list of groceries gets you only a can of shoe polish. The famous person hanging from a cliff. A couple other sketches about irritating people where you can just see Eric Idle warming up for Nudge Nudge.) And anyway, I'm a huge Bonzo Dog Band fan, and there are at least a couple performances of songs I've never heard before, songs never released on albums.

My problem here is the DVD packaging. There is NOTHING in the packaging to tell me when exactly these episodes were broadcast. The DVD packaging claims these are all recently discovered episodes. So are these the only 5 surviving episodes of The 1948 Show? Plus just what does recently discovered mean? The first episode of Adjust Your Set I have on tape from years ago, a copy from a copy from a copy, originally recorded off UK Gold before making its way to the U.S. I know for a fact these aren't all the surviving episodes of Adjust Your Set. Am I to believe these are all the surviving episodes from the first season? The packaging of Adjust Your Set also lists Terry Gilliam as animator. But Gilliam's name only appears in the credits on episode 3 and there is nothing like the cartoons for which he is famous. There is in fact no animation at all beyond a few special effects for Captain Fantastic. Goofy, too, is that the same Terry Jones and Tim Brooke-Taylor interviews appear on both sets. Why? It feels like a rip-off. Couldn't there have been a bonus episode of The Frost Report or Marty Feldman's show? The Do Not Adjust Your Stocking episode?

I'm also curious to know if these episodes are considered to be complete. At least the first episode of The 1948 Show lists people appearing in the show who aren't in the episode on DVD. Is it just that the credits were wrong? (At least the DVD's appear to be complete episodes rather than some sort of highlight reel. I appreciate that a great deal.)

So, complaints, rather than hitting on the head. Nevertheless, I'm hoping they put out the other Adjust Your Set episodes. The Do Not Adjust Your Stocking episode (or was it a special?) is the only other one I've seen and it is much funnier than the early episodes. And it actually has some famous Gilliam animation in it. And how about those Marty Feldman shows? Any other 1948 episodes?

I will assume most Americans are seeing these shows for the first time, and the few who even knew it existed probably always heard that DNAYS was a kind of prototypical version of Monty Python. It's written by and features three of the Python members, but it really is more of a broad and silly show aimed at children. (The later episodes on the set begin to show more fully-developed sketch ideas - so perhaps the second season of DNAYS, which featured Terry Gilliam's animations - and which are NOT presented here - better represent the show).

Still, DNAYS is fascinating - like discovering a hidden gem from someone else's past. The best bits throughout this volume are probably the crazy songs by the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band (good enough to make you want to look up one of their CD hit collections). It's also nice to finally see David Jason (a legend in the U.K., but a virtual unknown in the States) - who is quite good at physical comedy, and Denise Coffey - a likeable actress with a great comic presence. Their `Captain Fantastic' vignettes are probably the most memorable part of the show.

The future-Pythons (Idle, Jones, and Palin) are predictably good, especially Idle - who shows a gift for musical comedy with great pop lead vocals on the song that ends Episode 7.

Don't expect Monty Python - but do expect to be fascinated.

In 1968, one year before "Monty Python's Flying Circus," Eric Idle & Terry Jones were approached by producer Humphrey Barclay (who knew Idle from Cambridge revues & Jones from Oxford revues) to do a kid's TV show which would also feature the abrsurdist Bonzo Dog Dooh Dah Band (featuring Neil Innes of future "Rutles" fame). Desperate to gain exposure as performers as well as writers (having previously written for, among other shows, "The Frost Report"), they hastily agreed. Jones automatically brought in his writing partner, Michael Palin (another Oxford revue alum), and, at Barclay's suggestion, the cast was rounded out with two non-University performers, Denise Coffey and David Jason (who would go on to the classic series "Only Fools & Horses). The writers of the show (Idle, Jones, & Palin) agreed not to specifically write for children but to simply write what they found funny. And, thus, "Do Not Adjust Your Set" was born and quickly developed a following among adults as well as kids. At the end of it's first series (there would be two in all), an American animator/writer, Terry Gilliam, would join the fold. Among the show's many admirers were two writer/performers of "At Last the 1948 Show," Graham Chapman & John Cleese, who knew the Idle, Jones, & Palin as fellow "Frost" writers. The following year, the two camps got together and "Python" was created.
Unfortunately, as was the standard practice at the time, after being broadcast, the video for the programmes were erased and the show was lost to time. Or so was the belief until recently, when a handful of the shows were rediscovered and, now, released on DVD. So, now that the history of the show is out of the way, the question remains, "Is it funny?"
The answer for me is, "Yes," but it's not as funny as Python or Chapman & Cleese's "'48 Show" (which has also rediscovered and released on DVD concurrently with this title). Being for kids, many of the items are more cute than side-splitting and certainly a lot less harder edged than Python would be. Noticeably missing is the darkness and savagery of Python, which was clearly brought to the table by Chapman & Cleese (and is visible in the "'48 Show"). The pieces tend to be on the juvenile and zany side with quick blackouts abounding. All in all, it's very much like "Laugh In" but with a more English sensibility.
All of the performers are very good and mesh well together. The Bonzos especially stand out with their oddball musical numbers. There are 9 episodes here and they are all of a consistent quality. I very much enjoyed them but can't say that I was doubled over in laughter. And, much to my disappointment, there are no Gilliam cartoons on this release, despite him being listed in the credits of one episode.
The main problem is that all of the performers are rather diminutive and cuddly and, thus, there are no real authority figures for them to play off of. Idle is the most authoritarian of the bunch but no one is near as upright, straight, or fearsome as Chapman & Cleese could be. This X factor gave Python much of its strength, where, for example, putting an irritating Palin together with an exasperated Cleese could produce a "Dead Parrot" sketch. "At Last the 1948 Show" does not suffer from this problem as Chapman & Cleese's co-stars, Tim Brooke-Taylor & Marty Feldman, were smaller in stature and played a different range of characters from Graham & John.
David Jason & Denise Coffey have a running serial, "Captain Fantastic" that is reminiscent of silent films that is amusing but overdone. From a historical viewpoint, of course, the show is fascinating... you can see Idle, Jones, & Palin developing the characterizations and ideas that they would later polish to perfection in "Python." Don't get me wrong, every once in a while, there will be a great scene and the tone for the whole show is light and fun. It's just not as hysterical as "'48 Show" or "Python."

I gave this video five stars because it is the only thing I've seen yet that has actual moving pictures of the Bonzo Dog Band. Being that they weren't on TV in the US at all during the 60's, it is quite amazing to be able to see them here in all their original glory. I was completely open mouthed amazed with all of them. Vivian of course was a major howl, but the rest of the lads were right up there with him. Roger Ruskin Spear in particular was a major scream. Rodney Slater was a real oddity as well and Legs Larry was hilarious. So was Neil. It was just so amazingly great to come upon this. Like coming upon a time capsule. There is quite a bit of the Bonzos throughout these shows. Unfortunately, most of it is not done live, however it is fascinating to hear a lot of their songs in developmental stages. There is almost an hour and a half of Bonzo material on these disks. There are no chapter stops except for the beginning of each show. There is no copy guard either, so it is possible to assemble all the Bonzo clips on your own disc. This is what I did using a hard disc DVD recorder. It all worked out beautifully and made the purchase of these DVD's very much worth it. As for the comedy bits with all the others on the show, well, there are a few things but it really is truly amazing how much improved things got when the Pythons became the Pythons. I bought this for the Bonzos and it did not disappoint.

With Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Eric Idle in the cast, Do Not Adjust Your Set is worth watching. But it's not as good as Monty Python's Flying Circus. This was originally a kid's show, became a cultish hit with adults and helped bolster Palin, Jones and Idle's reputations as writers and actors. But the grainy black-and-white sketches are hit and miss and some of the stuff here is simply awful (latter-day TV detective David Jason's Captain Fantastic is a waste of time and Denise Coffey is nothing special). As well, Terry Gilliam, later the animator for Python, is credited with some writing but is nowhere to be found, either in person or in cartoon form.
For Python completists, this is a must-have. Same goes for the John Cleese-Graham Chapman show from this same time, At Last The 1948 Show.

The Please Adjust Your Set DVD Set is a worthwhile purchase on several levels. Watching the episodes that comprise the set, you can see what Idle, Jones & Palin brought to Monty Python. In fact, when I was watching the sketchs, many of them seemed like dry runs for later Monty Python sketches. The other worthwhile aspect to this set is seeing the Bonzo Dog Band w/Viv Stanshall in their 1960's glory. Although I have heard that the Bonzos have recently got back together & are touring England w/worthies such as Stephen Fry, there is nothing that can quite replace the absurd brilliance of Vivian Stanshall. To me watching the Bonzos perform on video on this set is like finding video footage of ancient Egyptians walking around the Pyramids. You get glimpses of what the Bonzos would have been like when they played live. The fact that this set is in glorious black & white instead of dull drab color gives it an almost Victorian patina from a time which is as distant from today as the 1920's were in the 1960's. This is a very entertaining set, especially for fans of British rubbish, erm humor (or should I say "humour"?)

Maybe my title is a bit off. On second thought, you may have to adjust your expectations ever so slightly. The problem here is that the show is being marketed as "the classic series that lead to the creation of 'Monty Python.'" (Of course so is "At Last The 1948 Show," which actually is more prototypical of "Python.") If you are expecting the level of sustained cleverness or wit found in "Python," you may be somewhat disappointed; if you view this for what it is, you will be pleased.

"Do Not Adjust Your Set" began as a children's show, but with elements that would become trademarks of "Python" such as sketches with non-linear elements, no conclusions, absurdist twists, etc. The show began to gather a wide adult audience as well and it is obvious that over time the show became more geared toward subtle adult humor. The three proto-Pythons (Palin, Idle, and Jones) are the standouts here (of course) while David Jason (a British actor who is best remembered from the "Captain Fantastic" segments in every episode, and who later went on to become the voice of a toad in a television production of "Doctor at Large" in 1971) is middling. He has some good lines, but falls short of the other three guys. Denise Coffey is the token female cast member, and is by far the weakest of the five, though nowhere near as bad as Aimi MacDonald on "At Last The 1948 Show."

The other big feature of the show is the musical presence of the mysterious "Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band," who are extremely odd performers. Although they never perform my favorite of their songs, "Canyons of Your Mind," they do perform some amazingly unusual musical numbers, including "Love is a Cylindrical Piano," "Death Cab for Cutie," "Tubas in Moonlight" (which features and early musical adaptation of silly string,) and their notorious musical intro, this time adapted to have Terry Jones performing with toast. (You'll just have to see it.) Overall the Bonzo's are a mixed bag, some of their numbers are merely boring, but some of the more unusual ones are worth their weight in gold. Speaking of music, I found the "Captain Fantastic" segments (a spoof of older serials) to drag and not be that amusing, though I did like the concept of a "horrible handbag" that could end the world, and was greatly amused by the walking tree. The one thing that I can't forget is the theme song to the segments: I warn you, if you watch "Captain Fantastic" you will almost assuredly get the theme song stuck in your head for an extended period of time.

The show is definitely worth watching, especially if you are interested in the early careers of Michael Palin, Terry Jones, and Eric Idle, just realize that you aren't buying "Monty Python," you are buying proto-Python for kids with a pit band. For those that may be animation fans, the box claims it is "featuring original animation by Terry Gilliam." While I know that Gilliam did work on the show, I never noticed it in these episodes, and if it is here, it is certainly in extremely insignificant quantities.

I recommend this without reservation to fans of "Monty Python" or other fans of period British comedies, but outside of that group, this set will have fairly limited appeal. As for me, I love "Python," and I enjoyed it: four stars.

This short-lived BBC series is, indeed a proto-Flying Circus, with the core of the Monty Python crew waiting for John Cleese to arrive. Many reviewers have mentioned that this was originally intended as a children's programme, which in effect meant that the comedy skits, while often quite similar to the later versions that would appear on "Monty Python," are mainly different because of their brevity: the same kooky tone is present, but the ensemble generally quit a skit at the simplest iteration of the joke, whereas in the later shows, they would have things get much weirder and let the jokes go on and build up to greater degrees of absurdity, with the excessiveness of the repeated punchlines being a big part of the humor. Still, it's pretty cool to see Idle, Jones and Palin testing their craft. Probably more immediately gratifying is the extensive footage of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, which generally performed 2-3 songs per show, in a variety of daft concepts and weird clothing: for fans of the band, this collection is a clear must-have, and a great chance to see Vivian Stanshall and cohorts in their early glory years. (Joe Sixpack, Slipcue film reviews)

The humor is a bit more subtle than Monty Python's Flying Circus (this was originally intended for kids after all), but you can see where the show got its start. Being a fan of both Python and Only Fools and Horses, I was also delighted to see that David Jason (Del Boy Derek Trotter) was part of the cast. And check out the performance of "Monster Mash" in the very first episode! The only drawback for some people may be the picture quality, it is in black and white, and, the film is a bit old. Well I enjoyed it anyway, and I'm looking forward to seeing the next series with John Cleese, Graham Chapman, et al.

"At Last the 1948 Show " + "Do Not Adjust Your Set" = "Monty Python's Flying Circus". Really.

There are skits on these DVD sets that are as funny as those by Monty Python.

I have read since the 1970s that British viewers of Monty Python recognized the cast from earlier TV series such as these. Pythons John Cleese and Graham Chapman (along with Marty Feldman!) starred in "At Last the 1948 Show" (with a few small parts by Eric Idle). Pythons Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin starred in "Do Not Adjust Your Set".

"At Last the 1948 Show" was, as seen on these DVDs, very much an on-stage skit program with lots of dialog. In contrast "Do Not Adjust Your Set" had a lot more outdoor location scenes and special effects for more of a visual gag-type program.

"Monty Python's Flying Circus" was the next step in a growing community of comedians in the U. K. Surely this is what British viewers must have thought, at least some. Here in the U. S. the initial exposure of Monty Python came with no advance warning. It was a delightful shock. In fact most of everything Monty Python had released by the mid-1970s (TV series, movies, books, records, live stage show) was dumped on the American market at about the same time. It was pretty amazing. We just didn't get to work-up to Monty Python by first viewing TV series such as "At Last the 1948 Show" and "Do Not Adjust Your Set".

After the years of reading about the numerous pre-Python TV series it is nice to finally see some.

It might be worth noting that the picture and sound quality of the shows (particularly in the case of "At Last the 1948 Show") were probably a bit clearer than seen on these DVDs. I am very sure that what are seen here are cinescopes of the original programs. Cinescopes were made by placing a film camera directly at a TV monitor and filming live or video tape TV programs directly off of a TV screen. Once made the films were permanent. The original video tapes of these programs very likely no longer exist as British TV and radio producers were notorious for reusing video and audio tape through the 1970s leaving no archive copy of many TV and radio programs unless they happened to be cinescoped, often for broadcast in other countries like Australia, for instance. Many fondly remembered British TV shows originally recorded on video tape are long gone. When shows like these finally turn up in any form, fans can be thankful, as I am.