Do Not Adjust Your Set

Monty Python enthusiasts will want to see this double-disc set of episodes from Do Not Adjust Your Set, a 1967-69 children's show for British television starring Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Also onboard are the animation services of fellow future Python alumnus Terry Gilliam and occasional collaborator Neil Innes, whose musical ensemble at the time, the Bonzo Dog Dooh Dah Band, were featured artists on the series. In many respects, Do Not Adjust Your Set was a precursor to Monty Python's Flying Circus, with Palin playing incompetent shopkeepers much in the manner of the Python troupe's famous “Dead Parrot” sketch, Jones as an insurance agent who wrecks Palin's house, and Idle warming up to the role of unctuous BBC newsreader. Although lacking any DVD extras, this compilation is a real discovery for those who don't know much about the performers' early television work as well as the legion of Python fans. Highly recommended. (T. Keogh)