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Ripping Yarns - The Complete Ripping Yarns (2 disc)
I normally like
Brit comedy and so the chance to see Michael Palin, probably most famous
for Monty Python, commandeering on his own show seemed like a
good idea. I sat down and watched the two discs. Each half-hour episode
is a rip-off of a famous story adapted for the purposes of comedy. The
result, however, I found quite difficult to stomach.
It must be my
sense of humour, but I found the gags a bit stale. Everyone is so
pallid, the English they speak so utterly dry and the whole bleak 70s
Britishness of it choked me. I also found the jokes self-indulgent. This
differs sharply from Monty Python, whose episodes you can walk in
on and start cackling till your tummy muscles plead STOP. I guess
because each ‘yarn’ consumes an entire episode, you really do have to
watch from start to finish.
Then again, it
may not have made such a good impression on me because I watched it
sober. I imagine if one were to watch Ripping Yarns drunk with
some clever mates who can comment about things they see and the
allusions entailed, it would be quite good material to pass those party
hours!
You can watch
the episodes with or without a laughter track (except numbers 1 and 4)
plus there is a commentary from Palin et al; here is also a doco on
Palin’s life and comedy. This is something I would not spend money on
solely on reasons of taste. The quality is generally good otherwise,
except for the audio coming off muffled now and then. If you’re a fan or
a collector, go for it.
Felix Staica
Special Features:
23 Page Commemorative booklet written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones
Commentaries by Michael Palin & Terry Jones for all 9 episodes
Deleted Scenes from Murder at Moorstones Manor
Comic Roots Michael Palin documentary 1982
Secrets a black comedy written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones from the
Black And Blue series
Michael Palin's original PDF's
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