Terry Jones

You probably think of Monty Python as a symbol of the sad, forced eccentricity your uptight gay British dad used to display when he was in a cheery mood or when he was drunk on schnapps. In fact, maybe the very words “Monty Python” act as a Pavlovian trigger for traumatic memories of the shame of seeing your mum silently cry while Dad went on about the Spanish Inquisition and the Ministry of Funny Walks. But go a little deeper into your id and you’ll realize that your dad was a thwarted artist who secretly wanted to have you aborted so he could pursue an experimental theatrical comedy career. And it’s all Monty Python’s fault. The influence runs that deep.

Monty Python resulted from an improbable mess of diverse talents and lucky circumstances. It defied the sum of its parts, and for decades it molded the male undergraduate middle-class psyche of Britain and America. For far more men than would care to admit it, adolescence was a blur of furtive masturbation and Python references.

Fan rumors have it that the heart of Monty Python was a Welshman named Terry Jones. His enthusiasm kept them together even as he threw chairs at John Cleese, and he’s credited with introducing the rich, free-form style that is the root of most of the funny shit you like today. He also has the most complex of the Python solo careers, moving hyperactively between scriptwriting, acting, children’s fiction, film directing, medieval history, and, lately, political commentary in a book called —which is actually pretty good. He also recently wrote and directed an opera that was staged in Lisbon. It’s based on some of his fantasy stories about parking meters and other machines coming to life. There are chances of a movie coming out of it.

And PS: “Well, there’s egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and Spam; egg bacon and Spam; egg bacon sausage and Spam; Spam bacon sausage and Spam; Spam egg Spam Spam bacon and Spam; Spam sausage Spam Spam bacon Spam tomato and Spam.”

Shit. We’re nerds.
VICE: Did you try to make Monty Python satirical and groundbreaking, or were you just trying to be funny?

Terry Jones: Q5, Did you think it would last?
Do you ever watch any of the old shows?
Do you find any of Monty Python embarrassing now?
Were you and John Cleese the opposite poles of Monty Python?
Were there any Monty Python groupies?
No drug orgies?
But you were friends with the Beatles?
Life of Brian Flying Circus I was about 13 when I first saw the sex-education scene in The Meaning of Life. I think I may even have masturbated to it. Does it frighten you that you have spawned a generation of geek fans who know your sketches by heart and have learned about life from Monty Python?
I think it’s remembered so well partly because you all became writers, actors, and directors. You were like comedic Renaissance men.
Monty Python was very unpolitical, but now you’ve published this book protesting against the Iraq war.
Are there new things that make you angry?
So you support Obama?
You’re starting to sound like a radical.