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But I'll reply in general, because maybe there are some big Python fans on these boards.
>>I heard that Rutland Weekend Television doesn't exist anywhere. Can I ask why? Does anyone have them?
Of course Rutland Weekend Television EXISTS.
It hasn't been shown in America, ever, and has never been rerun in its entirety. It is almost never seen, has never been released on VHS.
This is because Eric Idle turned into rather a jerk after 1983, started making a lot of junk and decided that Rutland Weekend Television, which I consider his best work, should not be viewed by anyone. At first it was because no one was offering him enough money for it, then he just decided it shouldn't be seen period.
This may be because he was cheating on and getting divorced from his first wife Lyn Ashley. in a very public way that is obvious watching the episodes.
Recently there has been talk of a DVD anyway.
The best copies of the Rutlands are AVI files somebody smuggled out of the BBC in broadcast quality pretty recently.
Neil Innes' The Innes Book of Records is must-see viewing immediately after you see the Rutlands. Michael Palin, Viv Stanshall and other interesting people appear.
>>Also, I have recently heard that the Out of the Tree Chapman TV show was found. Is that true?
Yes. The quality is unknown. It will be screened at Missing Believed Wiped in Britain this year. A DVD release is unlikely, as with most Missing Believed Wiped stuff. I've read the script and it was damn good, so again, who the hell needs Yellowbeard?
Graham Chapman material is all difficult to release because this idiot named Jim Yoakum thinks he owns it all, and the man is pure evil with the brains of a half-eaten donut.
Where the hell is Jake's Journey, I ask you - never turned up a copy of that myself.
You haven't asked about At Last the 1948 Show, but I'm sure it doesn't compare to masterworks like Splitting Heirs and Yellowbeard and Spamalot and etc.
There are about 10 episodes' worth of 1948 Show sketches still in existence. Only 5 were released on DVD, because the people who released it didn't know anything about what they were releasing.
You want your Marty Feldman fix, watch this, not Yellowbeard. (Feldman fans might want to check out It's Marty! also, which is very 1948 Show ish in nature, albeit with very little Python involvement.)
I have about 3 episodes not on that DVD.
The Do Not Adjust Your Set DVD from the same people was also conspicuously missing any "series 2" material - I have a Christmas special and an episode with Beautiful Zelda in it, not on their release. Perhaps owned by a different company now, as the show switched stations.
Apart from the presence of the Bonzos (who aren't at their best either), Do Not Adjust ... is crap though .... worth watching, but not to the level of 1948 or Rutland. Always felt that, as much as I love 'em, most Palin/Jones stuff that's not Python is rather dull, particularly their early stuff.
To counter this, the Ripping Yarns are nice albeit very laid back, and I love Terry Jones' film of The Wind in the Willows (US title Mr. Toad's Wild Ride).
>>Are there enough features to host a Life of Brian second disk?
Not a good one.
Can we stop this now?
