The constant demands of life often beg us to cave in on issues that we care about. After all, victories can be hard-won, and the more-usual compromises that result can leave a bitter taste in our mouths. Worse are the fights we lose. They make us wonder what we might have accomplished had we devoted our time, our energies, and our resources to another goal. But worst of all is what happens when too many of our fights result in unsatisfactory compromises or losses. Disillusionment saps our willpower, our resolution to continue to create, to be productive, and in the process help make the world a better place for everyone. But sometimes it is necessary to fight in order to preserve what you have created, because the cost of not doing so can be truly terrible.
Not just for you, but for the entire world.
In 1975, Monty Python, as a creative entity, was fracturing. John Cleese had declined to participate in Season Four. Each member had numerous outside commitments. The process of combining each person’s talents and ideas was proving increasingly difficult. And not only had BBC executives cut the normal series run down to six episodes, but they were editing the shows more heavily than in the past. The group battled through all these issues, and produced six shows they felt reasonably proud of. But then, in November of that year, an incident occurred which the team found so objectionable that they felt they must fight to preserve not only their reputation, but also the very essence of what they worked so hard to create.
The American ABC Network had bought Season Four, and reorganized the episodes into two specials for a scheduled December 26th broadcast. The members were appalled by the numerous cuts made to nearly every skit. To quote Michael Palin, “Any reference to bodily function, anything slightly risqué, anything, as Douglas Adams put it, ‘to do with life,’ was single-mindedly expunged.” The group vowed to do what they could to let people in America know how thoroughly they disapproved of this emasculated version.
After spending thousands on legal advice, they determined that the best course of action was to seek an injunction. To have any realistic hope of winning, members of the group would need to argue their case in a New York City courtroom. So, after numerous weather delays and rescheduled flights, Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin flew to America.
On December 18th, they met with representatives from ABC in a hotel, hoping to resolve the issue outside court. The network’s position seemed to be that they were worried about offending viewers in more conservative states such as Iowa and Louisiana. Ironically, PBS had been showing earlier Python episodes in those regions for over a year, and without complaint. At this meeting, ABC offered the men a revised set of cuts to the group’s material. Perhaps some artists would have accepted such a compromise, as the number of viewers that ABC could reach was drastically greater than those who watched PBS. After all, wouldn’t it be better for American viewers to see some of Monty Python’s latest season, rather than nothing at all? Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam dug in their heels, believing that the cuts the network insisted upon would rob their material of too much of its creators’ original artistic vision.
It is interesting to note that this incident occurs after the group made “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” Is it possible that such a sustained focus upon the person of King Arthur and upon Knights fighting against perceived injustices bolstered the group’s fighting spirits? Would Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin have been willing to turn their backs on such a compromise had they not waged battles and stormed castles while making their movie? While we can never know the answers to such musings, we do know that Gilliam and Palin rejected this compromise. As unsavory as they found the prospect, these two men would have to battle the all-powerful American network in a New York City courtroom to preserve not only their reputations, but also the artistic merits of the Season Four episodes.
This story will continue in Monty Python’s Crusade Part Two: “...For You”
Research for this blog post was entirely taken from Michael Palin Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years, published by St. Martin’s Press. Ironically, in order to present his views in this abbreviated account, his entries had to be summarized, and yes, heavily edited.
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