Sketch o’the Week: Terry Jones!

THE BISHOP!!

And now for something not so completely different… another in our series of sketches of the members of “Monty Python’s Flying Circus!” This week’s subject is the late, great Terry Jones.

Terry was kind of an under appreciated member of the troupe in my opinion, at least in the sense that he wasn’t as much of a household name as John Cleese, Eric Idle, or Michael Palin. He did a lot more of his work behind the camera as a writer and director. He was instrumental in creating the structure of the “Flying Circus” TV show, where sketches would transition into one another without the obvious ending of a punchline between, something that became the troupe’s trademark. He co-directed “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” with Terry Gilliam, and was the sole director of “Life of Brian” and “The Meaning of Life”. After Python he continued to write, create and direct TV and film, eventually being honored with the BAFTA Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in the TV/film arts. He sadly passed away in 2020.

I really wanted to draw him as one of his dowdy English mother characters which I remember him as most, especially from “The Meaning of Life”. I just couldn’t find a “moment” that was representative of him as that type of character. So I went with him as “The Bishop” from a sketch from season two. In it, he’s a crimefighting clergyman in a satire of secret agent films and TV shows.

By the way, if you are wondering at what point in this “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” series I am finally going to draw Monty, stop reading this blog immediately and go watch several episodes of “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”.