The Complete Ripping Yarns Reviews

Ripping!

Three superb self-contained comedies from ex-Pythons Michael Palin and Terry Jones.

To describe the pilot episode of the series, Tomkinson?s Schooldays, as Pythonesque would be trite, although it does contain trademark lampooning of the ruling classes, grotesque violence in its portrayal of crucified schoolchildren and all the usual reversals of accepted realities (e.g. the headmaster is ritually beaten by his charges). It also has a superb guest performer in Ian Ogilvy as the sadistic school bully. Escape from Escape from Stalag Luft 112B showcases Palin as an irritatingly resourceful prisoner of war, confounding the Kaiser?s army and his fellow captives in equal measure with his numerous escape attempts, and is notable for the much-missed Roy Kinnear?s performance as a laconic German guard. However, the final show on the disc (indeed, one of the last to be made in the series) is the gem ? Golden Gordon. Excessive worship of anything can be described as fanaticism, and this show brings into conflict an unconditional love of a hopeless football team with an industrialist?s pursuit of profit, destroying a way of life through that process. The writers manage a broadly redemptive ending, although perhaps not the one that you are rooting for.

In all, a highly recommended DVD.

Even more ripping than the first disc!

Three more cracking, self-contained comedies, bristling with Michael Palin and Terry Jones? trademark off-the-wall wit. The best known of these episodes ? The Curse of the Claw ? remains as funny today as it was on first transmission. Uncle Jack is a classic comic creation (a sort of precursor to Father Jack of Father Ted fame) who manages to be vile yet lovable and heroic all at once. Never mind the incongruity in the story?s ending, this is top stuff! Another highlight of the disc is The Testing of Eric Olthwaite, in which a Northern lead with a rain fixation manages to become a feared criminal, his boring persona being discarded in favour of an exciting new revealed self whom everybody wants to associate with. And yet it is the attitudes of those around him that really affect the change, not Eric.

In my view, this is even better than the first Ripping Yarns disc. Shame on the BBC for not making this whole series of excellent comedies readily available to own on DVD.

If you like Michael Palin, you'll love this. "Tomkinson's Schooldays" is wonderful. It really does pastiche all those "boys own "stories. The scene where Tomkinson builds a model of an ice-breaker makes me roar with laughter.

"Golden Gordon" is also excellent. The weak link is "Escape from Stalag Luft 112B"

Rent this if you remember the original-or even if you don't.

RIPPING FANTASTIC !!

I was thrilled to be able to see Ripping Yarns again after so long. It was worth it for Golden Gordon alone!!This just shows what a master of comedy Michael Palin was in his heyday and away from the Pythons. I just wish that he still did comedy instead of cavorting around the world making travel programmes.Top marks for this title. I hope we see more in time.

Entertaining in places

Inevitably mining a very similar comic seam to Monty Python, Ripping Yarns has the same patchiness that much of the Pythons' work suffered from. While funny and well observed it suffers from trying to cram in too many laughs which as often as not fall flat. Its interesting to see the Terry Jones/Michael Palin writing style in isolation from the other Pythons and it show they were responsible for the slightly hysterical material as well as the stereotyped Northern and Olde England characters. Its at its best when lampooning the English, whether the public school system, the Raj in India or the passionate Northern football fans of Barnestonesworth FC.

If you're a fan of the Pythons, the Goons or even the Goodies then this is worth a watch, if only for the rather splendid Golden Gordon and The Curse of the Claw, and its probably worth a look for the stellar supporting cast (can you spot the very brief John Cleese cameo?)

Good Stuff

Micheal Palin is ACE. Very good, but of it's time.

basic, but the hidden gem

The proper Ripping Yarns stuff is ok, but the Black and Blue film in the extras of this second disk is a true gem 5 stars for it.

quality comedy

i got this dvd purely for the episode, the testing of eric othelwaite. eric is so boring even his family speak french just to avoid talking to him. it also socially accurate today, it reflects on how the british public have an unhealthy obsession with famous people... and so when boring eric becomes infamous, everybody suddenly finds him interesting. superb!

classic britsh comedy from the post-pythons

Surreally funny, and spanks the bare botty of 'Little Britain'.

Both the Ripping Yarns discs are brilliant - that great British 'Boys' Own Adventure' p*ss-take style that we saw a LITTLE of in Monty Python's Holy Grail. If you liked the Comic Strip Presents series, Python, et al, rent this one.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Ripping yawn more like

I was so looking forward to this as I remembered laughing til it hurt when I saw it as a Kid.

Sadly, either I've got old and lost my sense of fun or its become quite dated. A bit of both I suspect.

For the unintitiated the series consists of typical Boys Own style adventures reinterpreted in an extremely silly manner.

I'd love to know what a teenager from 2005 thought of it.