Monty Python’s Flying Circus: Complete and Annotated... All the Bits

Characterized by a level of detail that firmly plants Dempsey (A Supremely Bad Idea), the deputy editor of Bookish.com, in the obsessive fan-boy camp, this annotated transcription of all 45 Monty Python episodes occupies a ludicrously colorful and silly space between scrapbook and bible of the absurd. Including stills of more than 2,000 key scenes, as well as a litany of trivia for each sketch, this is a perfect supplement to the British troupe’s subversive comedic oeuvre. Dempsey keeps his comments and criticism to the margins of the page, allowing classic sketches like “Dead Parrot,” “The Ministry of Silly Walks,” and “The Lumberjack Song” to speak for themselves. But it’s in those margins that readers will likely find the most gold, as Dempsey’s running commentary covers everything from expected Python minutiae, gaffes, and in-jokes, to British history and culture, effectively situating the show’s crisp writing and sly references in their proper context. Clocking in at nearly 900 pages, folks won’t be toting this book far from the coffee table, but the engaging combination of asides, fun facts, illustrations, and screen shots (not to mention the episode transcriptions themselves) make for an immersive and addictive read; Python fans needn’t look any further—it’s all here, literally. (Nov.)