IFC celebrates the 40th anniversary of Monty Python with a six-hour history lesson on the groundbreaking British comedy troupe. Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut) carries its running time extremely well and, screened in hourlong installments over six consecutive nights, it delivers an exhaustive take that is anything but exhausting.
Of course, Python devotees are the target audience; but non-fans can find much of interest, from the portrait of post-World War II England in which the team's members grew up to interviews with other comedians about Python's enduring influence.
Perhaps most interesting of all is the light shed on the dynamics at work within the group and how the personalities of its members - John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and the late Graham Chapman - fueled their creative output on TV and in movies.
Monty Pyton: Almost The Truth (The Lawyer's Cut) premieres on IFC Sunday, Oct. 18 at 9 p.m.
