[// Pregenerate link to episode ahead of time: - clicktotweet.com- sharelinkgenerator.com]: #

We've no room for dead parrots, flying circus, silly walks, or arguments... or do we? This week, we're talking about fans of that iconic English comedy group that are definitely not snakes: Monty Python!

Next week, we'll be travelling to Themyscira to learn about fans... of Wonder Woman!

## Episode outline

### Fandom Facts

**History and Origins:**

Monty Python (or _The Pythons_) were a group of British comedians for formed a surreal comedy group and created their own sketch comedy show, _Monty Python's Flying Circus_ which first aired on the BBC in 1969. The group consisted of six members, who you may know from many different works: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. As a group responsible for their own comedy writing and performances, they went on to create many different work including at least three movies (_Holy Grail_, _Life of Brian_, _The Meaning of Life_), 5 years of their television program, and several specials and other live performances.

> Their influence on British comedy has been apparent for years, while in North America, it has coloured the work of cult performers from the early editions of Saturday Night Live through to more recent absurdist trends in television comedy. "Pythonesque" has entered the English lexicon as a result.
>
> — [Wikipedia - Monty Python](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python)

**Search Data:**

Looking at search data for [Monty Python](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F04sd0), interest in Monty Python has been on the decline since 2004. The most dramatic change was between 2004 and 2010, but has otherwise been quite slow (and mostly flat). Nonetheless, there have been some spikes in interest in July 2014 (_Monty Python Live (Mostly): One Down, Five to Go_), November 2013 (a reunion to pay for legal fees for _Spamalot!_), and October 2009 (_Monty Python: Almost the Truth - The Lawyer's Cut_).

The top ten countries for Monty Python, by search interest, are: United Kingdom, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, Czechia, Canada, Poland, and Finland.

**Size of Fandom:**

Given the age of the works of Monty Python, it is quite difficult to get an accurate assessment of the size of the fandom as we are well past the time of their zeitgeist. That being said, here is the data that we have:

- The [Monty Python Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/montypython/) has over 7500 subscribers
- The [IMDB page for Monty Python and the Holy Grail](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071853/) has over 400 000 ratings

[// Twitter / Youtube ]: #

We were unable to collect any other data, so a rough estimate of fandom size today probably puts it within the **low millions**.

**Famous fan works:**

It's hard to draw a line between inspiration and fan works, but in this case, one example sticks out: [_Spamalot!_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spamalot), a musical 'ripped off' from the movie, _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_.

**Fast Facts:**

- Archive Of Our Own has upwards of 170 fan works related to Monty Python's works or actors (the largest of which are [real-person fiction (RPF) at 86 works](https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Monty%20Python%20RPF/works))

### [Last Episode's](http://fanthropological.com/e/rick-and-morty-ah-geez-fans-i-dunno/) Famous Last Words

**G**

Why does reciting a thing that you're watch make it better??

**Tyler**

How important is it to a fan to have grown up watching it?

[// Didn't find a lot about that ]: #

**T**

Why do so many groups ape Monty Python given a lot of their appeal is their absurdity and unpredictability?

[// It turns out, I was remembering an ancient XKCD comic (#16... Jan 1, 2006). I don't think this is unique to Monty Python; at this point, we've also seen it with the Simpsons, Family Guy, etc. I think it's a kind of geek signalling. "This is akin to a commo...

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