Product Description
With Monty Python's Flying Circus, Eric Idle proved he was one of the funniest people in the world. And with The Road to Mars he reaffirms this with a raucously sidesplitting vengence.

Muscroft and Ashby are a comedy team on "The Road to Mars," an interplanetary vaudeville circuit of the future. Accompanied by Carlton, a robot incapable of understanding irony but driven to learn the essence of humor, Alex and Lewis bumble their way into an intergalactic terrorist plot. Supported by a delicious cast, including a micropaleontologist narrator (he studies the evolutionary impact of the last ten minutes) and the ultra-diva Brenda Woolley, The Road to Mars is a fabulous trip through Eric Idle's inimitable world, a "universe expanding at the speed of laughter."Amazon.com Review
The Road to Mars is the second novel by Eric Idle--yes,that Eric Idle, the guy from Monty Python's Flying Circus. No,the book isn't like a Monty Python skit (and a good thing too, sincesilly sketches are no basis for a successful novel). Yes, Monty Pythonis mentioned in the book, but the self-referentiality is blessedlyconfined to two paragraphs. Yes, The Road to Mars isfunny. It's also genuine science fiction. And it's satirical, sharplycharacterized, well-written, thoughtful, fun, and more complex thanyou'd expect from its picaresque structure, in which astand-up-comedian odd couple and their robot knock around the outerplanets in search of decent gigs. Well, Alex and Lewis are looking forwork (and sex); their android, Carlton, unfazed by his own ironyimpairment, is trying to write a thesis about comedy. The trio quicklyfind themselves mixed up with a mysterious beauty, a famous diva, thecaptain of the solar cruise ship Princess Di, and a band ofterrorists determined to blow up Mars.

In addition to The Roadto Mars and Monty Python scripts, Eric Idle is the author of theSF/fantasy novel HelloSailor (1975), the play Pass the Butler (1982), and thechildren's book TheQuite Remarkable Adventures of the Owl and thePussycat. --Cynthia Ward ... Read more

Customer Reviews (64)

Road to Nowhere
I am a huge Python fan and a particularly devoted fan of Eric Idle.Keeping this in mind, this book is a huge disappointment.In this sci-fi novel, the humor is so untraceable that the Starship Enterprise crew members could not be less funny.

What was Eric Idle thinking?Terry Jones wrote a successful science fiction novel with Douglas Adams.Yet in the forum of science fiction, Idle's humor seems non-existent.In the story, a b-level comedy team and their robot attempt to foil a terrorist plot.While this plot unravels, Carlton the robot writes a thesis on comedy which seems more like an excuse for Idle to mock 20th Century humor.Even when Carlton dresses in women's clothes, I sensed Idle was desperately trying to find humor that was not there.The attempts at humor fall very flat.

Python fans and fans of literature can skip this book.Finding exactly where this book went wrong may require Carlton the robot to write a new thesis.While this book is a good idea in principle, the final product is unworthy of recommendation.

Perhaps not a masterpiece...
I belong to the generation that grew up on Monty Python. Therefore I had to get this book. I do have mixed feelings about it. First, do not expect a Monty Python style book! All the members of the Monty Python group are now making their own careers, on their own merits - not their Monty Python merits. Second, some parts of it are really good, others, shall we say, not so good....
Basically, the story is about a not very succesful comic duo and their robot. Superimposed on their story is a rather bland crime story, involving interplanetary terrorists.
The book has its funny moments, that is true, but that is not the reason for reading it. Rather, Idle uses the book to explain the nature of comedy and the character of the comedian. That is a serious and interesting topic. It is the robot who is not happy with its station in life and wants to become a comedian itself. To achieve that it must first work out what comedy is and how it works.

A decent read
I'm a huge Python fan so I thought I'd give the book a shot.To his credit, Eric Idle does write a decent book.I think that it's got some really awkward phrasing and an awkward plot line that detract from the overall fun.The funny moments are definitely funny but it takes some patience to get there with this book.I'm sure that it helps that I'm a Python fan because I'm not sure that all readers would have stuck with it.

Sci-fi fun!
A cross between Monty Python and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Engaging story. Great characters. And some truly insightful thinking about the roots of comedy. Wonderful. Highly Recommended.

The Road to Oblvion for Eric Idle if He Keeps This Up
Eric Idle tries very hard here to be funny while offering deep insights into the meaning and function of comedy, but unfortunately doesn't succeed at being either funny or meaningful.This is really more of Idle's excuse for why comics are so f***ed up and why we should really feel sorry for them.The first part of the story reads like bad Douglas Adams, but then Idle just starts trying too hard and the book gets worse.Ironically, the mystery of what is going on with the cruise ship Keppler on which Idle's fictional comedy team of Lewis and Muscroft gets stuck is more interesting than his musings on comedy.

I should have realized the book was going to be weak when I read Steve Martin's front cover testimonial, which says "I laugh. I cried.Then I read the book."Funny, but not exactly a testimonial, more like the thing your friend says when he wants to give you a good quote but doesn't really like the book.If you're jonesing for good science fiction comedy and have run out of Douglas Adams' books, try the British sci fi comedy series"Red Dwarf," or buy Sharyn McCrumb's "Bimbos of the Death Sun," which is dated but nevertheless excellent. But skip this book unless you really have nothing better to fall back on.It's readable, and it's moderately enjoyable, but it's not really very good.A disappointing effort from a genuine hero of the comedy world. ... Read more

Product Description

A stunningly witty exploration of the American landscape -- not to mention a brilliant comic's mind -- this diary is chock-full of everything you ever wanted to know about Eric Idle, Monty Python, America, and sleeping on a bus. In these pages, the sixth-nicest Python is cheeky, touching, and funny when recounting the riotous tales of his beginnings, his affectionate reminiscences of his fellow Pythons, traveling the world, and taking us backstage at the smash Broadway hit Spamalot.

Customer Reviews (3)

The back cover lies. Read this anyway.
I grabbed this book from a local bargain table to get me through (somewhat ironically) a rather long bus ride. As the "professional" reviewer blurbs on the back cover called it "very funny", I figured why not. Several pages in, I began to wonder if we were talking about the same book.

There is much humor in this book, witty asides as well as lyrics to a few Monty Python songs... but it is much more than a book of jokes. Part travelogue and part autobiography, the author tells tales of his travels all the while musing on fame, aging, and death. Reading his account of Graham Chapman's funeral left me comforted; hearing the story of his mother's passing made me weep for my own. I finished the book in one sitting - a quick and captivating read.

While unlikely to be reread, this book is highly likely to be re-gifted. Four stars.

Time Well Spent
This is a shameful confession to make for someone of my generation but I somehow missed most of the Monty Python juggernaut in its prime.Aside from friends through the ages citing lines and jokes, and glimpses on American television, I've mostly come to MP through its members' other, unironic projects like Michael Palin's travelogues and Terry Jones' medieval histories.All of which is to say, I can't tell you if this book will disappoint a canonical MP fan or if it will enhance the love, but I enjoyed it for what it is: a genuine diary of a creative soul on the road and a record of a certain time.

By "genuine diary" I mean that while it was back in 2003 an early adaptor to what would later be called the "blog" phenomenon and thus a public document, it remains an extemporaneous, personal laboratory of observation, record of current events, travelogue, memory pieces and jokes, with a coda written in July of 2004 recounting how the soon to debut Spamalot! came into being.Most of it is very witty, with fine descriptive accounts of the terrain the bus passes through and the venues (lots of Moorish theaters), but there are also some somber memory passages--growing up without a dad (killed in WWII when Idle was a baby), the death of his mother, the death of a friend during the tour, the intruder attack on his pal George Harrison and the latter's passing.Despite some silly marriage and sexual jokes, he celebrates his marriage and parenthood, and provides a nuts and bolts account of how a show goes on the road and evolves during the course of the tour.He also reflects insightfully on the nature of writing, diary-keeping and the difference between being a comedian and a comic actor.

Idle is a life affirming guy and this diary is very pleasant company.

Surprisingly disposable
I was quite surprised by the fact that I simply did not find the great majority of Idle's writing here to be either interesting, or funny. Honestly, despite the self effacing humor reflected in the title, it rather sums up the content of the book - as much of a Python fan as I am, this seems like a rather shallow ego stroke, and when Idle occasionally gets sexual I found it rather embarrassing, I guess because his observations and humor just seem pedestrian here and not particularly insightful. I also find his attitude of milking the python thing to any extent he can, even if it means going it alone, a bit distasteful, but this was not really in my thoughts BEFORE reading this book. Honestly, even as a tour diary or a glimpse in to the life of a legendary comedian on the road, it comes across as uninteresting and the kind of thing, dare I say it, that seems more suited to a blog, where you might choose to spend a few hours reading it for free. And yes I know how unfair that sounds. If you actually read it though, see if you disagree with me. ... Read more

Product Description
The man who brought you the anthems "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" and "Sit on My Face and Tell Me That You Love Me" shows his naughty bits -- and so much more

A stunningly witty exploration of the American landscape -- not to mention a brilliant comic's mind -- this diary is chock-full of everything you ever wanted to know about Eric Idle, Monty Python, America, and sleeping on a bus. In these pages the sixth-nicest Python is cheeky, touching and funny when recounting the riotous tales of his beginnings, his school days in a Dickensian academy for boys, and his affectionate reminiscences of fellow Pythons, traveling the world, as well as his longtime friend, George Harrison.

Astonishing, moving, at times even amusing, this chronicle of Idle's road trip during his Greedy Bastard Tour will improve your sex life dramatically. After only a few pages you will begin to feel intelligent, charming, and clever, then aroused, then funny. And after a few chapters whatever personal or health problems you are experiencing will immediately vanish. So come experience 80 days, 15,750 miles, and 49 cities as you never have before! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

I was Not Amused
Of all the Python books, either about the gang or from it's individual members, this has to be the weakest. Read Palin's diaries, read A Liars Autobiography or Calcium Made Interesting from Chapman, but don't waste your time with this diary full of uninteresting observations. I don't think I laughed once throughout this entire book, and listening to Idle's self absorbed inner dialogue and attempts at fairly obvious and self serving humor are quite painful in places. Skip it.

Great book!!
I recieved this book for Christmas, and being a fan of Monty Python, and Eric Idle especially, it was a joy to read. Eric Idle is a fantastic writer, and it's nice to get to see the world the way he sees it. Some of my favorite parts of the book were his stories he told about George Harrison and himself. The book is great for fans, or anyone who'd like a laugh (or a cry.).

A Surprising Gem
Well, I picked up this book expecting a fast, pithy read from one of the great comics of recent memory.I also expected that he would focus on his annoyance with America (which he does to some extent) and his interactions with the audience.
Sure, he does give one some observations, however I was more impressed by this book than I ever expected to be.That's why I am writing this review, dear reader.Idle's description of the American countryside is well, at times, sheer poetry.I was surprised that I wanted to see these parts of the country for myself after reading his affectionate odes to them.
The most poignant thing about this work is that it is the work of a man (as he admits) who is at the end of his comedic career, but still wants to celebrate every moment he has left.His allusions to his personal relationships with his wife, daughter and the tragic deaths of his mother and father took me totally aback.I actually feel I garnered some true insight into this man.That's a difficult thing for comedians to do when they write a book, in my personal reading experience.
I really would highly recommend this book, and, I can't believe I am writing this, the main reason is because I found this book actually inspirational.A lovely story of a man who triumphed over tragedy and, in the end, reveals what many would never contemplate:this guy is just like the rest of us, insecure and not immune to the slings and arrows of life.Highly recommended.And no, I am not his agent :)

One of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time
I laughed out loud at this story of Eric Idle's bus tour for his Broadway show Spamalot. I've sent this book as a gift to several people and insisted they read it.

The book shows a cult celebrity who is indeed overly full of himself
The way Idle in his book badly treats anyone who saw his performance but didn't care for it shows how truly stuck up he is. Everyone over 10 who watches his performances has to believe he's every bit as great as he thinks he is or he gets negative about it. The drawing of Idle as a lady is thankfully missing from the new paperback version.

To the most recent reviewer here before me I say this. George Harrison was part of the arguably biggest bunch of musicians in history (The Beatles). There was a moment in the 1960's when almost every youngster in the US, England and Australia
between 13 and 18 years of age was into the Beatles. There was never a moment when the Pythons had such a fan following. Comparisons between Beatles and Pythons are ridiculous.
When Idle's time comes the only people who'll blab about him in their own books would be the surviving Pythons (even Carol Cleveland). ... Read more

Product Description
Eric Idle selects his favorite moments from the world-famous Monty Python films and TV series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Not Really A Book At All
Do not be fooled, dear readers- this is not really a book at all, but a mere compilation of some of the different Python sketches throughout the Flying Circus series, with some pictures and artwork thrown in.You can 'read' it within much less than an hour.However, those who love pictures will get plenty in here, and those Python nuts who like to recite the skits line by line can now have a chance at doing so with this pocket-sized book.

Great Material
There is some very, very excellent stuff in here, and enough to make up for the fact that it's a very blatant repackaging of old Python material. It seems a little like exploitation to tell you the truth, but the skits are so good that it's forgivable. Some of the best are Lumberjack Song, Madame Palm, Constitutional Peasants, Every Sperm is Sacred, and especially the Oxford Simplified Dictionary. Also included is a very funny preface by Terry Gilliam.

Glorious, simply glorious
Spamtastic!It's so nice and little, I can carry it around with me in my purse and backpack!It's great when I need a Python fix.It has "The Lumberjack Song" and "Spam" and "Every Sperm is Sacred" Lyrics, but it also has really funny, lesser known skits like "Constitutional Peasants" (from Holy Grail) and "What Have the Romans Ever Done For Us?" (from Life of Brian).I was really torn between this one and John Cleese's Pocketful of Python, but the "Truth About Protestants" skit (from Meaning of Life) made me get it.Every Python fan should own this. It's a funny and wonderful mix of popular and unpopular Python and will make you [at least] giggle every time you read it. ... Read more

Product Description
A story based on the characters, poems, and drawings created by Edward Lear chronicles the journey of the Owl and the Pussycat as they try to save the walking and talking Bong Tree. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

BRINGS THE WORK OF A GREAT HUMORIST TO CHILDREN
In an age when children are all fed the same diet of movies and TV shows, Eric Idle's work speaks to the individual, the special creative person in each child.The story, the style, the humor lets me laugh while reading it to children, and lets them laugh while hearing it (not to mention the laugh they get watching me laugh).The point?This is a wonderfully written story that pleases and amazes children and adults.If there is a person on AMAZON who hasn't already enjoyed Eric Idle's other work (not to mention his Monty Python work), then this is a great start ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

Finally...Something Completely Different From Mr.Johnson!
I'll be the first to admit , when it comes to throwing stones at Kim Johnson , I'm the first one to put on my false beard! This comes not from jealousy , but from a sense of overkill. How many more books of the same redundant information can one man write to cash in on Monty Python? ( And it's even more irritating when I find things missing or incomplete in said books...he's NOT the messiah , he's just got a bigger toe in the door! ). That said. I REALLY did enjoy this book! Why? Because it's from a first person perspective! No cheats. This is from the heart , and memory , the dull bits , the nerdy bits , the thoughtful bits & the tourist bits!
( Okay and some naughty bits! ). The Pythons grant him interviews through out the filming of "Life Of Brian" , and Kim even finds himself as a film extra , assistant lighting guy , photographer , and oddjobs man.( This is also , probably , one of the only books to discuss George Harrison's time on set in Tunesia. ). It's a good read ,because Kim Johnson doesn't seem to be seeking anyone's approval or be catering to any sort of fan , he tells it the way it happened , good luck ,bad luck ,and the wierdness of being a tourist in a different land and a fanboy amongst his heroes. You really do feel the excitement he feels , and the "what a lucky guy I am" -ness of the whole adventure. Well done Mr.Johnson!

A Great View Into The Making Of "Brian"
Kim Howard Johnson took his written, audio recorded, and photographic diaries from the set of "Brian" and put it in the form of an interesting book. He was on the set for most of the shooting of "Monty Python's Life Of Brian", as well as sometimes in front of the camera as an "extra". He presents loads of behind the scenes photos and quotes by the six Pythons themselves throughout the fun, wet, hot, and sometimes dull days of filming. The Pythons also wrote forwards for this book in which they thank him for printing this since they are all too old to remember much of 1978. It's also a testament (no pun intended) to how sober, hard-working, and clear-thinking Graham Chapman was for this film. This is a must for die-hard Monty Python fans, as are all of Johnson's other Python books!

A must for Monty Python fans!!
Kim "Howard" Johnson was very lucky to experience what he did and we are lucky that he shares it with us. Johnson went from fan to friend and gives us intimate details behind the scenes during the filming Monty Python's Life of Brian. I recommend for anyone who is a Python fan or just liked Life of Brian.

A must for "Life of Brian" Fans
Kim "Howard" Johnson has written much about the Pythons, but it has taken him 30 years to publish the journal that he kept while working as an extra during the filming of "Monty Python's Life of Brian".

This is a day-by-day account of his time on the set in Tunisia interviewing the Pythons and the supporting cast as well as reporting on the progress of the filming.

Johnson gives the rest of us the closest thing we will ever have to spending time in the company of the Pythons both at work and at play.Despite the African heat, the long, hard hours and the tedium that went with making the film, no true Python fan will read this book without envying Johnson his unique opportunity.

This is a great gift for yourself or anyone you know who is a Python fan. ... Read more

Product Description
This text brings together unpublished and unmade scripts by the late Graham Chapman of Monty Python's Flying Circus. Included is the rumoured but never seen 1974 script, co-written with Douglas Adams for Ringo Star. ... Read more

Product Description
Carlton is an android working for Alex and Lewis, two comedians from the twenty-second century who travel the outer vaudeville circuit of the solar system known ironically as the "Road to Mars". Being a computer he can't understand irony, but is nevertheless attempting to write a thesis about comedy, its place in evolution, and whether it can ever be cured. He is studying the comedians of the late twentieth century (including obscure and esoteric comedy acts such as "Monty Python's Flying Circus") in his search for the comedy gene. Meanwhile, during an audition for a gig on the Princess Di (a solar cruise ship), his two employers inadvertently become involved in a terriorist plot against Mars, the planet of showbiz. Can Carlton prevent Alex and Lewis from losing their gigs, overcome the love thing and finally understand the meaning of comedy in the universe? From one of the original members of "Monty Python's Flying Circus". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not Free SF Reader
Not very interesting sf, and mostly not at all funny comedy.Therefore, this book is a waste of time.Unless it is aiming to be something else entirely, and I completely missed that in the middle of Red Dwarf ultra-lite, and other elements like that, to notice.For something like that though, you would be much better turning to Ben Elton and books like Stark.


... Read more

Product Description
Over thirty years ago, a group of six Englishmen - well, one was Welsh and another an interloping American - rewrote the rules of comedy.Monty Python's Flying Circus, an unheralded, previously unseen half-hour show of sketches, hilarities, inanities and animations, first appeared on the BBC late one night in 1969. Its impact has been felt the world over ever since. From its humble beginnings, it blossomed into the most influential movement in modern comedy. THE PYTHONS' AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE PYTHONS is a unique look at arguably the most important comic team of the modern age, with 64 pages of photographs, many culled from the team's own personal collections, and many more seen for the first time. This is the definitive word on all things Pythonesque. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

And now for something completely not funny, yet indispensible.
...but that's not a bad thing (explanation below).

I got this book for Christmas and was concerned that because of it's size I would probably end up just thumbing through and reading select parts.Not the case.I started reading it and couldn't stop.

It covers the group and individuals from their pre-Python lives through discussions of working together again after The Live at Aspen event - though I won't tell you what conclusion they came to.In between is chock full of every detail about their influences, TV show, the movies, the stage shows and more.And because each member contributes (hence...autobiography) you get a great insider's perspective on the dynamics of the group.You learn first hand who doesn't like who, what they enjoyed and how, at times, they really struggled, and a bunch more behind the scenes insights into their personalities.

I found the book to be fascinating.It is formatted such that each event is discussed by multiple members of the troop.So you get a 360 degree view of their writing sessions, their fights, their good times, their movie productions, their business and artistic relationships.

The only downside (and here is why I titled this as such) is that it was rarely funny.That is by no means a fault, but could come as a surprise (as it did me) to the reader who expects it to be silly and funny like their performances.As a result this book is probably only going to be of interest to a true Python fan.And a true Python fan will find it indispensible.

Wonderful book
The Pythons were like the British Marx Brothers, Anti-authority,
subversive, surreal, and very very funny.Particularly interesting are the Python's accounts of their childhood and pre-fame days.

It seems "A Careful Reader" wasn't so careful after all.The picture of Dudley Moore (and it is most assuredly him) is on page 68 NOT 88.Here's a clue for ACR...he's about 30 years younger than he was when he appeared in the movie "10."Thank you and good night!

A few points about this Monty Python book
On page 88 it says that one of the four men in the photo is Dudley Moore. The fellow in the picture doesn't look at all like Dudley Moore. Furthermore, it says, on another page,that Ian MacNaughton is beseeching Terry Jones. But the man MacNaughton is begging seems to actually be Michael Palin. On a different note, in his autobiography part of the book Eric Idle seems too proud of his anti-authority stances. The 60's are very long gone now. Idle should grow up and not be so flaunting of his anti-societial ways. Being part of society is back in fashion. ... Read more

Product Description

When Charlie Bucket finds himself the proud winner of a Golden Ticket in a chocolate bar, he knows he has the greatest treat in the world in store for him. Join Charlie on his fantastic world-famous adventures in Willy Wonka's miraculous chocolate factory, where he sees strawberry-juice water pistols, luminous lollipops, a chocolate river, and rainbow drops -- and has the time of his life.

Performed by Eric Idle.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a singular delight,crammed with mad fantasy, childhood justice and revenge, and as muchcandy as you can eat. The book is also available in Spanish (Charlie y la Fabrica deChocolate). (The suggested age range for this book is 9-12,but nobody this reviewer has met can resist it, including New YorkCity bellhops, flight attendants, and grumpy teenagers.) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (490)

Later and uglier than expected.
Book wasn't in great condition but it did say that it was in "good" not "excellent" condition. It came pretty late too, but it came within the time frame. Love this book by the way.

Great book!
I bought this for my seven year old son and he loves it, it will be a book that we will probably read over and over.

Fizzy Lifting Drink?
My memories of Charlie are from the movies.I never read the book, but the movies do add things as movies will do and now I understand the differences arising between the two Chocolate Factory movies.The directors had to add some sort of conflict.Dahl's story is like this: Charlie is poor; Charlie gets golden ticket; Charlie is virtuous where the other children are bad; Charlie is awarded factory by Wonka.

Inthis, the original story, everything plays out nicely and everything is too simple.Charlie is poor but his family is entirely good.All the others we see are horrible and one-dimensional and their defining traits become the mode for their downfall.But if you're poor you can be good just by keeping your head down and good things will happen to you.I was dismayed to learn that Charlie and his grandpa avoided the Fizzy Lifting Drink and avoided any complexity to their characters as is in the version I cherished.

Wonka is an entirely wonderful and novel creation, and I understand why such talented actors wanted to fill his shoes.However, he is not a hero of the working class.Expelling all your workers as a way to avoid corporate espionage is bad enough, but enslaving a whole race of people as your personal worker-army is a little much.I would hope that the Salts or the Gloops or one of the other families enlighten the government as to the conditions at the factory.Also: Wonka has a beard.

In the end, reading the book for beloved stories like this always create more perspective.Dahl is a talented writer but this creation is written for a different audience than me.In that respects, I feel it is an effective text.For me however, it works in concert with the creative efforts spawned by it to forge a synthetic idea of just Who Willy Wonka and Charlie Bucket really are.I am glad I read it.

Actually a Horror Story
This book is a classic and I was thrilled to read it again this week. When I'm working on a middle grade project, I like to spice up my reading with both new books and books I loved from my childhood. Roald Dahl was/is my favorite author (him and Stephen King), and I figure when I'm seeking inspiration I could do a lot worse. For that reason, expect plenty more of Dahl's books to be my Book of the Week.


I'm not going to bother with a summary of this book. If you're reading a blog about middle grade novels, I'll assume you're familiar with the basic story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. That's one of the reasons I chose to reread the book now. Its story is so well known to me I can all but ignore it and focus my attention on Dahl's craftsmanship. I know that Charlie is a character we're hoping will find a golden ticket and get to tour the chocolate factory, but why do we hope this? How does Dahl convince us to care about Charlie and his lack of a chocolate factory tour?

What I learned this time through is that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is actually a horror story for children. Seriously. How else is one to explain the chapter in which a little girl is attacked by an army of squirrels in what has to be one of the creepiest scenes in all of middle grade and adult fiction? And after all, Roald Dahl wrote a great deal of horror for adults (another reason I love him). When I read this book as a child, I hadn't spent any time watching, reading, or writing horror, so I never picked up on it before. Reading the book again as an adult, I have now written a fair amount of horror and I know it when I see it.

Willy Wonka is a scary dude. So get this: he invites 5 children to tour his chocolate factory, then disposes of one child after another until he is left with one child (innocent and pure like the best teenage virgin horror heroines) who is rewarded with survival and a chocolate factory. Note to any screenwriters reading this blog: you could totally adapt this plot to a teen scream fest. Imagine five teenagers go someplace creepy, like say a factory, and a maniac kills the ones who have sex, who do drugs, who drink, who pollute the environment (it's your morality play, pick your vices), until there is only the one virgin left who defeats the maniac or reaches a compromise and gets to live happily ever after because he/she is a virgin.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the same story, only instead of doing drugs or having sex, the sinners in this tale watch too much television, chew too much gum, eat too much food, and are spoiled to the point of being a "bad nut." If you don't believe me, reread the rhymes spoken by the oompa loompas who serve mainly as a Greek chorus, and are pleased when each sinner has been disposed of. Willy Wonka accidentally on purpose puts each of these terrible children in a situation where their own vice is turned against them, sort of like Kevin Spacey's character in Se7en, but for kids! If I were Charlie, by the end of that tour I would be screaming my head off in terror, worried about how Willy Wonka was going to blow me up into a blueberry, shrink me to the size of cockroach, let me get sucked into a pipe, or sick an army of squirrels on me (just thinking about it sends a shiver up my spine).

Don't get me wrong. Knowing that Dahl wrote a horror story for children almost as scary as The Witches only makes me love him more. Part of the appeal of the horror story is that the reader is able to see characters get what they deserve. If a person is a jerk in a horror story, the reader can look forward to seeing that character get what's coming to him. Children have to deal with jerks just as surely as adults do. I think part of the reason I loved this story as a child is because it was fun to see the bad kids punished.


The last observation I want to make is just how skilled Dahl is at moving a story. He conveys settings and actions through dialogue, thus saving space and increasing his pace. He jump cuts frequently and isn't afraid to have characters state their motivations so long as they do it in a funny or clever fashion. Roald Dahl moves his stories along so fast he could have written War and Peace in about 150 pages or so and you wouldn't notice anything missing from the original.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl

Charlie Bucket's story touched my heart the first time I read "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," when I was much younger. I still like to pull it out from time to time and relive the magic of Willy Wonka's amazing chocolate creations, and the humor of the four nasty children who got what they deserved.

Charlie is a poor child, and lives with his four grandparents and parents in a little ramshackle house. The family barely has enough money to buy food, and survive mostly on cabbage. Mr. Bucket, Charlie's father, works screwing toothpaste caps on full tubes. The only bright spot in their lives are Grandpa Joe's stories, particularly the ones about the mysterious Willy Wonka.

Wonka's factory has been closed to the public for over a decade, but when he puts five Golden Tickets in candy bars, five lucky children have the chance to enter the factory, as well as win a lifetime supply of goodies. Charlie's desperate for a ticket, but his family can only afford one candy bar a year, and he isn't lucky. But as readers of Dahl's works know, good children get their due, and Charlie and Grandpa Joe find a Golden Ticket...

What can I say about "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?" It's one of my favorite of the author's works, and I tend to reread it every few years. If you've never read anything by Roald Dahl, this book is a great place to start.

5/5. ... Read more

Product Description
Forty-five classic episodes of the most entertaining writing to have gone into television anywhere. The minister of silly walks, the dead parrot, banter in a cheese shop - here is every silly, satirical skit, every snide insult, every saucy aside. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

I DON'T LIKE SPAM!!!
If you're a Python fan (like me) you want this book (in fact, you want both volumes).I own the entire series on DVD and the books are a great complement to the DVDs.So, if you want to read along or maybe even memorize the whole "Johann Gambol-puddy...." sequence, pick up your copy today.

Essential for Monty Python fans
This is the second volume of the set. Yes, all the words and cues are there.If you like Python, you need this!

great for those who know the series
This was a lot of fun for getting down into the intricacies of some of the sketches.You catch things that make you laugh at the memory of watching them.

And now for something completely different
I've seen "Monty Python's Flying Circus" so many times that I can recite long stretches of it. But those guys are always using weird accents and manic deliveries ("My neeples explode with delight!"), and sometimes they're hard to understad.

Fortunately for those times, Python fans have "The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus: All the Words," a series from the second half of the classic comedy skit show. These are only trascripts (a bit lacking in details), but still enormous fun and full of delightfully quotable lines ("And now my lords, my ladies... your LUPINS!").

It opes with the weird "Conquistador Coffee" sketch, in which a boss berates his employee for changing the brand's name to Conquistador Instant Leprosy. ("The tingling fresh coffee that brings you exciting new cholera, mange, dropsy, the clap, hard pad, and athlete's foot." "It was a soft sell, sir.")

And then it contains plenty of others: the cheese shop with no cheese, films with giant teeth, spam spam spam, cannibal undertakers, Njorl's it's-not-that-terrible saga, the BBC's financial troubles, the Money Programme, the pantomime horse, hairdressers climbing Everest, the war against pornography, Gumbys, Dennis Moore, kamikaze highlanders, and the golden age of ballooning ("I am so excited I can hardly wash!").

The dialogue to each one is carefully outlined, with each character identified as being played by one of the guys (like "Interviewer (JOHN)"), although we usually don't get to hear much about Terry Gilliam's mad animations. Most of these episodes are one long continuing sketch that spills from one scenario to the next, but occasionally we'll have different ones patched together.

These guys had a rare, crazy talent -- these sketches are crammed with glorious dialogue ("Drop your panties, Sir William. I cannot wait till lunchtime") and bizarre insults ("you cloth-eared heap of anteater's catarrh"). Not much description of the action in places, although in a few we get plenty of detail when it's called for (such as the weirdness convention).

The problem is that this should only be read after you've seen the series. If you don't, it all seems like a befuddling string of of stream-of-consciousness comedy numbers, full of in-jokes and surreal twists. You have a better chance of finding Ilchester in a cheese shop than understanding this without seeing the skits first.

In case you couldn't understand what Eric Idle was bibbling in one episode, or John Cleese was screaming in another, "The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus: All the Words Volume 2" will tell you what is going on. No time to lose!

Monthy Python
This item was purchased for my daughter and she absolutely loved it. It was received in good order and in a timely manner ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Hard to remember - impossible to forget - I WANT THAT BOOK!

As my mid-life crisis climaxes (well at least one part of me should!), questions keep popping into my head:"How did I end up here?" "Are these kids mine?" "Where is my Monty Python Book?!?"

Of all the purchases I made in my formative years, it seems that this one, perhaps along with Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon", was the most discriminating. Which makes it all that more annoying that I can no longer find the book! Did it simply disappear? Did one of the various flat-mates and visitors of the time borrow it? Was it a victim of a certain-member-of-my-family's value judgement about suitable bookshelf material for our home?

I find it impossible to forget some parts of the book: the colour page; bloody tennis; the M page; but the rest is getting harder and harder to remember.

Checkingout Amazon for professional reasons (web design), I casually typed in "Monty Python". There in the HUGE list of titles, down towards the end, was the bok (sic). Web-design ?!?! This site is brilliant! "(Hard to Find)" - How did they know? I WANT THAT BOOK! ... Read more

Product Description
Forty-five classic episodes of the most entertaining writing to have gone into television anywhere.The minister of silly walks, the dead parrot, banter in a cheese shop - here is every silly, satirical skit, every snide insult, every saucy aside.Amazon.com Review
If you haven't yet memorized any of Monty Python'sscripts, here's your chance. It's difficult to read this book withoutbreaking into a broken English accent -- or at least without laughingaloud. Alarm luckless pedestrians as yougesticulate wildly with an halibut, learn how to determine whethera parrot is really dead or not...

"Nudge, nudge. Snap snap. Grin, grin, wink, wink, say no more". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

It's...
I've seen "Monty Python's Flying Circus" so many times that I can recite long stretches of it by memory. But due to all those weird accents and manic deliveries ("GREET! GREET!"), sometimes not everything they say is totally coherent.

Fortunately for those times, Python fans have "The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus: All the Words," a series of transcripts of every sketch they did. They're lacking in detail at times, but still enormous fun and full of delightfully quotable lines ("It's probably pining for the fjords!").

Basically, ther first volume contains the first half the series, starting with the Mozart show and ending with "Long John Silver Impersonators Vs. Gynecologists. Among the classic comedy sketches: the Spanmish Inquisition, the Ministry of Silly Walks, the lethal joke used against the Germans, semprini, the Lumberjack song, the Attila the Hun show, how to defend yourself from fresh fruit, camel-spotting, Secret Service dentists, and the invasion of tennis-playing blamcmanges from the galaxy of Andromeda.

The dialogue to each one is laid out carefully, with each character identified (like "Interviewer (JOHN)"). Most of these episodes are one long continuing sketch -- ots of sketches that spill over into each other, with bare-bones descriptions of Terry Gilliam's bizarre animations. And, of course, the opening sequences, often with the "It's" man.

These guys had a rare and hysterical writing talent -- it's full of crazy glorious dialogue ("The black death, typhus, cholera, consumption, bubonic plague..." "Ah, those were the days"). Not much description of the action in places, though, especially where there is lots of action. But when necessary, they describe everything down to clothing and tear-shedding.

The problem is that this should only be read after you've seen the series, because otherwise it becomes a bewildering blur of stream-of-consciousness comedy numbers. You have a better chance of finding Ilchester in a cheese shop than of unerstainding what the heck is going on.

The first volume of "The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus: All the Words" is a hilarious companion book to the legendary TV series, and an excellent refresher for all those great lines. Now, alduce me to introlow myslef!

What the books make one realize
That Monty Python is actually very limited a franchise. These few Python book which script the entire series in it's four year run (as there was only a few eps each year) really leave one saying "Is that all the fuss is about?" Sure there were Python movies (but about half of these films were simply rehashes of the series). I never understood when Python became so big. In the late 70's they were just something I watched on a UHF station latenight. Benny Hill was really funnier than Python (even the UHF station advertised Hill that way) but he didn't become as much of a franchise. Python shouldn't of either. Really there isn't that much to it!

Great!
A great book for any Monty Python fan. Like the title said "All The Words". I got both books (1 & 2) along with the dvd set and I read along with the dvd. Also great for sketches seeing as the desribe the scene as stuff is going on.

I laughed until I stopped
As a fan of MPFC since it first aired on PBS in 1973, these two volumes sort of put a cap on a 30 year fascination with the team. Maybe like me, you've watched every Python-Marathon or taped every show, but having these scripts really is the icing on the cake.

What's striking to me is the simplicity of the scripts. When you watch the episodes, the gags seem so complicated. Then to see The Dead Parrot sketch reduced to just a few pages, you realize how brilliant those guys were in terms of compression, and in terms of acting. An added plus, for me at least, was to finally see the words and phrases that I never quite "got" because they were unique to British English. From there, I logged on to a few websites on British slang and, boy, I realized what MPFC got away with...some of it was pretty raunchy. Anyway, this is two-volume set is priceless for any fan.

So much more fun to see it on TV...
..but as a relaxed reading for someone who wants to learn the sketches by heart, this is the ultimate book. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Bill Oddie, Eric Idle, Frankie Howerd, Vincent Price, Timothy West, George Grossmith, Malcolm Sargent, Jessie Bond, Beverly Sills, Rutland Barrington, Jon English, John Reed, Henry Lytton, John Lithgow, Florence Louise Pettitt, John Coates, Charles Mackerras, Eric Lewis, Martyn Green, Elaine Malbin, Valerie Masterson, Gillian Knight, Lillian Russell, Florence St. John, Ian Wallace, Kevin Kline, Nellie Farren, Amy Evans, Richard Temple, Fred Sullivan, Isidore Godfrey, Joel Grey, David Hobson, Peter Dawson, Decima Moore, Lottie Venne, Richard Suart, John Lawrence Toole, Henry Bracy, Darrell Fancourt, Ilka Pálmay, Donald Adams, Charles Manners, Kenneth Sandford, Owen Brannigan, Rosina Brandram, Reg Livermore, Elizabeth Harwood, Geoffrey Toye, Leonora Braham, Frank Thornton, Nellie Stewart, Geraint Evans, Derek Oldham, Peter Allen, Signor Brocolini, Della Fox, Anthony Warlow, Richard Van Allan, Dennis Olsen, Leo Sheffield, Louie Henri, Walter Passmore, Louie Pounds, Dewolf Hopper, Durward Lely, Dave Ross, Sylvia Cecil, Peter Pratt, Thomas Round, Ellen Beach Yaw, Patricia Leonard, Frank Wyatt, Nellie Briercliffe, Charles H. Workman, the Gala Ensemble, Harry Norris, Ruth Vincent, Sydney Granville, George Baker, Sybil Grey, May Fortescue, Marjorie Thomas, William Lugg, Ivor Emmanuel, Julia Goss, Robert Cuccioli, Clara Dow, Muriel Dickson, Isabel Jay, Richard Mansfield, George Rose, Geoffrey Shovelton, Pauline Joran, Ann Drummond-Grant, Eleanor Evans, Boyd Neel, Margaret Nisbett, Hugh Enes Blackmore, Fred Billington, Walter H. Fisher, Furneaux Cook, Fisher Morgan, Grahame Clifford, R. Scott Fishe, Wallace Brownlow, Alice May, Jones Hewson, Courtice Pounds, Barry Clark, Opera Babes, Julia Gwynne, Jean Hindmarsh, Paul Eddington, Ian Belsey, Keith Michell, Hugh Talbot, Nancy Mcintosh, Robert Evett, Louie René, June Bronhill, W. S. Penley, George Thorne, John Ayldon, Victoria Clark, W. H. Denny, Sir George Power, 7th Baronet, ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=326510 ... Read more