Saw it at Cineworld in High Wycombe. Yes, there weas the occasional brief sound drop- out. One of these was during Cleese's rant about Paul Dacre, conspiracy fans!
Think that show was a lesson in why it's not always a good idea to revisit past triumphs. There is no doubt that the Monty Python team were groundbreaking and extremely funny in their day: young men doing daring new stuff. It just isn't the same seeing those sketches performed by septugenarian multi millionaires (well probably ex multimillionaires in Cleese's case). That's why I think I found myself laughing more at the filmed inserts of the old shows than the live material - The philosophers football match in particular.
That said Idle and Palin are still both great performers.
I was actually in the audience last night, not far back from the stage, and I do share some of your misgivings. The filmed excerpts were hilarious, especially Marx warming up as a substitute in the football match:D Cleese lacks power in his voice now and I thought they wasted the Pope and Michelangelo sketch which in it's original form (Amnesty's first ever comedy benefit) was done with Cleese and Jonathan Lynn - Cleese's outrage by the end of that sketch is legendary.
Terry Jones was clearly reading most of his lines, but is still loveable and Palin could have been sharper on his accent especially in the Spanish Inquisition sketch. Idle is a real trouper.
But I enjoyed it all, was so glad I was there and felt quite emotional when they said their farewells at the end.
Python was always special to me and always will be, so perhaps not the most unbiased review!
I was actually in the audience last night, not far back from the stage, and I do share some of your misgivings. The filmed excerpts were hilarious, especially Marx warming up as a substitute in the football match:D Cleese lacks power in his voice now and I thought they wasted the Pope and Michelangelo sketch which in it's original form (Amnesty's first ever comedy benefit) was done with Cleese and Jonathan Lynn - Cleese's outrage by the end of that sketch is legendary.
Terry Jones was clearly reading most of his lines, but is still loveable and Palin could have been sharper on his accent especially in the Spanish Inquisition sketch. Idle is a real trouper.
But I enjoyed it all, was so glad I was there and felt quite emotional when they said their farewells at the end.
Python was always special to me and always will be, so perhaps not the most unbiased review!
I was there last night and it exceeded my expectations..lovely atmosphere and Eric idle was astonishing :kitty:
I certainly did - i found the censorship hugely irritating. I admit i've never been the biggest Python fan but I don't mind some of the stuff.
Can't see why they didn't move the start time of the show back to 9pm personally. It's the final show and it's going out live on TV, so why not ?.
because i suspect they had to take in consideration the end time for Cinema Viewers as well as the people in the venue itself(it finished at 10.20 which was 10 minutes after the supposed finish time)if it had been pushed back to 9pm it would have finished around midnight
Try getting that number of people out of the O2 and back to their homes/hotels etc. That's why.
I expect most people who go to shows or gigs that start late are fully aware they'll be getting out late as well so I can't see why a 9pm start wasn't possible - they've done it for sports events.
We saw the live show on July 3 and as a Python fan it was a fantastic experience. The first half of the show was a little flat but the second half was brilliant. Atmosphere in the O2 was wonderful. My OH knows little about Python and has only seen a couple of the films but she enjoyed the show too.
Michael Palin and Eric Idle were the stand out performers as others have said.
Showing this live but bleeped was a mistake. The watershed should not apply to encrypted broadcasts which parents can block if required. As long as there are warnings in advance that strong language may be used that should suffice. Any live broadcast risks it and I find the craven apologies after any swearing to be utterly cringeworthy and worse than any possible offence given.
I expect most people who go to shows or gigs that start late are fully aware they'll be getting out late as well so I can't see why a 9pm start wasn't possible - they've done it for sports events.
The public transport around the Dome is an absolute nightmare as it is.
The should have juts aired it with a delay then. Would anyone really be that bothered that they weren't watching it live?
Some people enjoy the extra buzz of watching something live.
If you're not bothered about watching it live then it's repeated uncut tomorrow after the watershed. Best of both worlds
I saw it at the cinema and loved it. Yes, we had sound dips too but there was a note on the door of the screen saying storms in the area may effect the screening. Didn't spoil things too much, though. Singing along to The Penis Song and The Medical Song during the 30 minute countdown was a joy.
Can't help but notice the very different reaction to the show from those who saw it live/at screenings to those who watched on Gold. Those around me in the cinema appeared to enjoy it as much as I did and Tweets I've seen by those who were at the O2 express much happiness. Gold viewers seem to be not so enamoured. My theory, which my theory, is this. This is my theory what it is, is my theory it is. *cough* My theory *cough* that what is my theory is *cough* *cough* which is my theory is this. *cough* *cough* *coooooooooooouuuuuuuugh* This next thing I will say is my theory...what it is which is my theory. *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *COOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUGH* My theory is this, what is is this my theory.
Those watching the TV by themselves in their living rooms and being half distracted by being on their laptops at the same time were perhaps missing the atmosphere of a live show created for a large concert venue and sharing the collective enjoyment along with many fellow fans in the same space.
Could you, and anyone else who watched this at the cinema, tell my if the show was censored in anyway. Also, was it 12A or 15 rated? as there seems to be some confusion about this.
Comments
I was actually in the audience last night, not far back from the stage, and I do share some of your misgivings. The filmed excerpts were hilarious, especially Marx warming up as a substitute in the football match:D Cleese lacks power in his voice now and I thought they wasted the Pope and Michelangelo sketch which in it's original form (Amnesty's first ever comedy benefit) was done with Cleese and Jonathan Lynn - Cleese's outrage by the end of that sketch is legendary.
Terry Jones was clearly reading most of his lines, but is still loveable and Palin could have been sharper on his accent especially in the Spanish Inquisition sketch. Idle is a real trouper.
But I enjoyed it all, was so glad I was there and felt quite emotional when they said their farewells at the end.
Python was always special to me and always will be, so perhaps not the most unbiased review!
https://twitter.com/robinparker55/status/491140071303946240
Out of interest, I wonder at what point that figure is taken, I think quite a few viewers probably turned off in the first half due to the censorship.
We got that during the build up yea, can't comment on the rest as the cinema lost all power after a direct hit by lightening and we got sent home >:(
Some idiot behind me thought it was the cinema's fault, he didn't even think it was a live stream.
It was to do with electrical storms over London and the surrounding area disrupting the satellite signal
I certainly did - i found the censorship hugely irritating. I admit i've never been the biggest Python fan but I don't mind some of the stuff.
Can't see why they didn't move the start time of the show back to 9pm personally. It's the final show and it's going out live on TV, so why not ?.
because i suspect they had to take in consideration the end time for Cinema Viewers as well as the people in the venue itself(it finished at 10.20 which was 10 minutes after the supposed finish time)if it had been pushed back to 9pm it would have finished around midnight
As with all ratings it's an average for the entire duration of the show.
Try getting that number of people out of the O2 and back to their homes/hotels etc. That's why.
The should have juts aired it with a delay then. Would anyone really be that bothered that they weren't watching it live?
I expect most people who go to shows or gigs that start late are fully aware they'll be getting out late as well so I can't see why a 9pm start wasn't possible - they've done it for sports events.
Michael Palin and Eric Idle were the stand out performers as others have said.
Showing this live but bleeped was a mistake. The watershed should not apply to encrypted broadcasts which parents can block if required. As long as there are warnings in advance that strong language may be used that should suffice. Any live broadcast risks it and I find the craven apologies after any swearing to be utterly cringeworthy and worse than any possible offence given.
Maybe the O2 have an 11pm curfew which is why they start at 7:30 giving them time to over-run like last night
The public transport around the Dome is an absolute nightmare as it is.
If you're not bothered about watching it live then it's repeated uncut tomorrow after the watershed. Best of both worlds
Good point actually - didn't think of that.
Can't help but notice the very different reaction to the show from those who saw it live/at screenings to those who watched on Gold. Those around me in the cinema appeared to enjoy it as much as I did and Tweets I've seen by those who were at the O2 express much happiness. Gold viewers seem to be not so enamoured. My theory, which my theory, is this. This is my theory what it is, is my theory it is. *cough* My theory *cough* that what is my theory is *cough* *cough* which is my theory is this. *cough* *cough* *coooooooooooouuuuuuuugh* This next thing I will say is my theory...what it is which is my theory. *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *COOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUGH* My theory is this, what is is this my theory.
Those watching the TV by themselves in their living rooms and being half distracted by being on their laptops at the same time were perhaps missing the atmosphere of a live show created for a large concert venue and sharing the collective enjoyment along with many fellow fans in the same space.
Could you, and anyone else who watched this at the cinema, tell my if the show was censored in anyway. Also, was it 12A or 15 rated? as there seems to be some confusion about this.