Do Not Adjust Your Set [DVD]

On the plus side, it's been a long wait to view this legendary series. Pre-Pythons Eric Idle, Michael Palin and Terry Jones, ably assisted by a young David Jason and Denise Coffey, put their early comic ideas to the test. Idle's irreverant wordplay is already in place. Jones and Palin's visual prowess is coming to the fore. There are glimpses of what was to come in DNAYS.

The Bonzo Dog Band, led by Viv Stanshall and Neil Innes, take the lunacy to another level and probably did for DNAYS what Terry Gilliam's animations would do for Python.

Those expecting a Monty Python-ish romp will probably feel let down. What blots this first series of DNAYS is the reliance of the traditional formula of every sketch having a punchline or ending. Some bits work, some do not. Other material is screaming for the stream-of-consciousness approach that Python championed.

It has to be noted that the second series of DNAYS (run by Thames in early 1969) is more familiar and experimental, aided by a sympathetic director and Gilliam's revolutionary "Elephants" animation ; a key signpost to the way Python would be made later in the year. A DVD release for the second series would be welcomed, however many of these shows are missing. A shame.

Did it live up to expectations? Yes and no - I agree with much of what previous reviewers have written. There are certainly plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, the Bonzo's are superb - worth the price for their performances alone - and the evil Mrs Black is kinda cute (and has a wicked laugh). But my fading memories of the show do seem to recall more of a Terry Gilliam influence than is evident here.

Technically this series is fairly primitive - it's in B&W for a start, it doesn't always fit on the screen, the sets are basic, and where there are edits, they are not subtle. But as Terry Jones explains in his feature interview, although this was (mostly?) recorded on tape, it was essentially live - there was no editing equipment (other than scissors) and editing was in any event heavily discouraged, as it devalued the tape. Considering these constraints, it holds up very well.

Note - the DVD is only divided into whole episodes, making finding individual sketches a real chore. This was an unnecessarily retro thing to do. The packaging is also careless at times ("...series that lead to the creation of Monty Python" - I think "led to" is the phrase you were looking for). But I do appreciate the decision to make the discs region-free.

I hope there is a second series to come - I'll buy it anyway, but a little more attention to detail would be nice.