Do Not Adjust Your Set
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Movie Reviews of Do Not Adjust Your Set
Movie Review: Cool historical document
Summary: 4 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)Movie Review: Please Do Adjust Your Set To This
Summary: 4 Stars
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"?)Movie Review: Worth watching
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Tamer version of Python, but just as enjoyable
Summary: 4 Stars
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.Movie Review: Great early stuff, but US viewers, the blackface is startling!
Summary: 4 Stars
I enjoyed the sketches of the 1948 show-- good early stuff, including one of my fav Brit actors, David Jason!! Its great to see him doing silly comedy different from 'Fools and Horses', or 'Open All Hours'...
That said, I'm not enthralled with the Bonzos... I know the UK hasn't excised the "minstral show" as here in the US, but sheesh! I wasn't ready for that, and am still forwarding through those scenes.
Four stars for the sketches, but the blackface is just too shocking for me to even put in the rating.