Life of Python Life of Python Life of Python is the name of two documentaries, both intended to mark 20 years of the Monty Python team in 1989, but broadcast the following year after the death of team member Graham Chapman on 4 October - the eve of the 20th anniversary. The first version was broadcast in the US on the Showtime network on 16 March 1990, with the UK version finally airing on the team’s 21st anniversary on 5 October 1990, as part of the BBC’s "Omnibus" documentary series. Produced by Tiger Television in collaboration with Devillier-Donegan Enterprises, the documentaries take in
Monty Python settled on "Python". On other occasions, Idle has claimed that the name "Monty" was that of a popular and rotund fellow who drank in his local pub; people would often walk in and ask the barman, "Has Monty been in yet?", forcing the name to become stuck in his mind. The name Monty Python was later described by the BBC as being "envisaged by the team as the perfect name for a sleazy entertainment agent". "Flying Circus" popularised innovative formal techniques, such as the cold open, in which an episode began without the traditional opening titles or announcements. An example