Michael Palin

It's not unfair to say that Michael Palin has had three distinct careers since the Monty Python TV series ended.

The first (and shortest) was immediately after Monty Python, when he and Terry Jones wrote Ripping Yarns (review coming soon)...and he went on to star in the two series.

TV Series:

Ripping Yarns DVD, (written with Terry Jones)

"...Each yarn is built on a premise of what should be a young boy's adventure story but instead becomes a farcical tale...some...outlandishly hilarious...Tomkinson's Schooldays & Escape from Stalag Luft 1128...others... deliver more subtle humor, like Winfrey's Last Case"& The Testing of Eric Olthwaite...still others like Curse of the Claw tend to be dark in nature - yet still brilliantly funny!..." Amazon Reviewer C. Gerace

"...There are some great extras on the DVD. Perhaps best of all, you can watch the episodes without the laughter track. There are commentaries from Michael Palin and Terry Jones as well as a documentary made in 1982..." Amazon Reviewer SJ Buck

Palin recently published his diaries from that era, which, I'm told, make fascinating reading. I've actually purchased it but haven't read it yet!

Michael Palin: Diaries 1969-1979

"...Michael Palin writes as he speaks, without pretension, and with a great deal of humor. These are his diaries, not initially meant for publication and thus full of honest, blunt observations regarding films, books, his own performances and the foibles of his fellow Pythons. Nobody escapes unscathed here, though I doubt anyone that Mr. Palin wrote about would dispute his conclusions.

The years 1969-1979 are some of the most amazing in Python history; they begin as the Monty Python starts filming its first television series, and concludes as Life of Brian is released and there is backlash from the religious folks who don't understand the premise (and many of whom proudly state that they haven't even bothered to see the film they're condemning).

Between these two seminal events are discussions of filming on other projects, the need and the attempt to write, and a man's deep and abiding love for his wife, children and parents. Reading the passages about Palin's father weakening was moving in the extreme, and his pain was palpable as the roles between father and son slowly reverse themselves..." Amazon reviewer Grace Ann McLeod

"...The moods ebb and flow from the tragic yet dignified descriptions of parental decline and death to the absolutely hilarious description of dancing with live cats down his trousers on Saturday Night LIVE. (It's) a genuine portrayal of a human being..." Amazon UK reviewer Chubworth

Palin's second career was as a film actor diring the late 1970s and much of the 1980s when, (besides the Monty Python movies) he was offered featured roles, sometimes as the star, in such movies as:

Jabberwocky 1977
Time Bandits 1981
The Missionary 1982
A Private Function 1984
Brazil 1985
A Fish Called Wanda 1988
American Friends 1991
GBH 1991
The Wind In The Willows 1996
The Wind In The Willows / The Willows In Winter 1996 (animation)
Fierce Creatures 1997

Though Palin has received much acclaim for his acting, it would be remiss to not point out that more than half of his major roles have been in movies written &/or directed by fellow Pythons.

In 1980, Palin was invited by the BBC to host Great Rail Journeys...and then in 1990 he started his third career properly, that as adventurer & genial host for travelogues in all corners of the world. These have included:

Pole To Pole 1992
Full Circle 1997
Hemingway 2000
Sahara 2002
Around The World In 80 days 2004

All the series have also had DVDs and companion coffee table books. I hope to be presenting reviews of most of them by mid-2009.