Spam and Bunnies

Wednesday, March 01, 2006Spam, spam, spam, spam, eggs, bacon and spam.

Instantly recognizable, hey? PBS has recently been repackaging the Monty Python's Flying Circus TV episodes as six separate specials ("Best of"s of each of the original members), and I actually thought about recording them for multiple viewings. But then I sat down and watched a few minutes of the first pair, and realized that recording them would be redundant, since all of Pythin's best bits have already been permanently burned into my brain.

I still remember going to see AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT at the Kenmore Square Movie Theater during my undergrad days at Boston University. The film came out before the TV series started showing in this country, and I found my first exposure to Python both amusing and disorienting. Like all great art, the Python troupe had invented their own new rhythms for comedy, and it took me a bit of time to get used to them. FWIW, I remember instantly liking the Terry Gilliam animations, tho.

Another year went by, Python appeared on PBS, and I got with the program. The Python shows went on to be one of my favorite things, and became one of a number of influences (along with P.G. Wodehouse, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Pogo the Possum, L. Sprague de Camp, Robert Sheckley and others too numerous to mention) that fed into my humorous fantasies.

Speaking of which ... Ace has been regularly reissuing these early books of mine over the past couple years, and, in a couple more months, will be bringing back my personal favorite funny trilogy, the Cineverse Cycle. These books proved that B-movie worlds (from old time Westerns to Beach Party flicks) really existed, but could only be visited through the use of a Captain Crusader Decoder Ring, available only in specially marked boxes of Nut Crunchies. The three books are SLAVES OF THE VOLCANO GOD, BRIDE OF THE SILME MONSTER and (maybe my favorite title ever) REVENGE OF THE FLUFFY BUNNIES. I love these books, and could probably write three more, if time and market conditions ever let me. But the original trilogy will be out this summer. Read them and see if you can spot the Python influence!

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