Ripping Yarns

Hot on the heels of John Cleese's first post-'Python' project 'Fawlty Towers' came this splendid spoof of stiff-upper-lipped schoolboy adventure tales from the days when Britain had an empire. Michael Palin and Terry Jones obviously had fun writing this, as well as performing ( although Jones only appeared in one edition ). 'Ripping Yarns' stretched Palin's acting abilities far more than 'Python'; check out 'The Curse Of The Claw' in which he played the utterly disgusting 'Uncle Jack'! Beautifully filmed, with wonderful period atmosphere, 'Yarns' featured impressive guest-stars such as Denholm Elliott, Iain Cuthbertson, and John Le Mesurier. The quality of the humour varied from Pythonesque romps such as 'Tompkinson's Schooldays' to the genteel, touching 'The Testing Of Eric Olthwaite'. My favourite, however, was 'Murder At Moorstones Manor', a whodunnit so convoluted its impossible to tell who did what to whom! Palin and Jones were wise to only make nine episodes of this gem.

The characters in this TV series reduce me to hysterics whenever I watch them. The Officers Mess dining room scene in 'Roger of the Raj' is indescribably funny (if you're British) and the ghastly traditions of 'Tomkinson Schooldays' brings back so many unfond memories. As for Eric Oldthawite - I had to work with him for three years. He drove me to the edge of suicide he was so boring. You have to be a British dimwitted upper class twit to find them funny. Oh, the irony....

Brilliant. 'More Ripping Yarns'#2 is the best tape. The Eric Olthwaite episode depicts the sudden charisma, which the most boring man in Yorkshire acquires when he accidentally becomes a robber of banks (and rain gauge records). Dialogue you'll drive your friends mad with for years to come. Visuals, which make loving mock of "When the boat comes in" and a host of other TV and film icons. The Whinfrey episode is only OK, but The Claw is back to form: sinister, sad, strange and screamingly funny. Buy it!! You must watch the other 2 tapes, #1 for Golden Gordon and the brilliant, cult-episode Tomkinson's Schooldays and #3 for the wonderfully anarchic but cosily conservative Roger of the Raj. They're all great, but Eric Olthwaite is the greatest and the most grating of them all. P.S. watch out for a sly fleeting reference to Eric in the "Golden Gordon" episode on tape 1.

This is a must buy ! Although I've not seen all 12 episodes, I have seen some, including the jewel: The Testing of Eric Othwaite. Inspired. Educational TV in S.C. serialized the show on Saturday evenings in the mid 70s, alongside the "Goodies" and their highly successful run of Python reruns. Palin and Jones were my favorites in Python. I felt the Oxford style was more accessible to the American audience, but still not to the Benny Hill extreme. As an example, The sight of Tomkinson and the other "faceless rabble" nailed to the walls of the school, by the school bullys (from Tomkinson's School Days) is one of my all-time favorite sight gags. I highly recommend this series to any Python fan. And almost any man over 40 whose ever read or seen a copy of Boys Life from the early 60s will howl in delight at Ripping Yarns.

First of all, there are only 9 episodes. Some comments here refer to there being 12, which might be a result of hallucinogenic drugs, no idea...

RY is very entertaining, quite Pythonesque in many ways. While not all stories are equally funny, all are at the very least interesting to watch. Sometimes weirdness alone in a comedy can keep one's attention, the (successful) gags being a bonus. "Golden", for example, is a comparatively subdued episode but has a certain charm, ditto "Winfrey".

"Tomkinson", "Escape" and "Murder" are the funniest episode, whereas "Roger" and "Frog" didn't turn out that well by comparison.

The DVD offers a relatively interesting running commentary by both Palin and Jones. If, like me, you are annoyed by left-leaning actors/directors promoting their ideology publicly, you should be warned that Jones uses any chance he can to connect what goes on in a scene to social or political issues. He is a Marxist to a fault, but I think we can forgive him for that due to his Python past and cheerful affability...