Ripping Yarns

by Michael Palin, Terry Jones

After Monty Python's Flying Circus ended, the performers went their separate ways, and writing partners Michael Palin and Terry Jones enjoyed a modest success with Ripping Yarns, a series that gently mocked the kind of stiff-upper-lipped adventure stories that thrilled generations of schoolboys.

This book contains the scripts of six classic episodes, beginning with "Tomkinson's Schooldays," in which Palin plays a boy trapped in a bizarre boarding school where the pupils beat the headmaster and the school bully wields all the real power. When Tomkinson is caught trying to escape his punishment, he is to be entered in a grueling long-distance hopping race. Will his leg hold out? "Escape from Stalag Luft 112B" finds Palin in a German prisoner-of-war camp during the First World War. Sent there because of his repeated attempts to break out of every other camp, he finds his fellow prisoners curiously reluctant to make a bid for freedom. Undaunted, and determined to become the first man to escape from Stalag Luft 112B, he begins to build a glider from empty toilet-paper tubes.

Genres: Humor, Short Stories, Fiction, Comedy, Tv

Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Sir Michael Edward Palin, KCMG, CBE, FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries.

Palin wrote most of his material with Terry Jones. Before Monty Python, they had worked on other shows such as The Ken Dodd Show, The Frost Report and Do Not Adjust Your Set. Palin appeared in some of the most famous Python sketches, including "The Dead Parrot", "The Lumberjack Song", "The Spanish Inquisition" and "Spam". Palin continued to work with Jones, co-writing Ripping Yarns. He has also appeared in several films directed by fellow Python Terry Gilliam and made notable appearances in other films such as A Fish Called Wanda, for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted the 30th favourite by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.

After Python, he began a new career as a travel writer. His journeys have taken him across the world, the North and South Poles, the Sahara desert, the Himalayas and most recently, Eastern Europe. In 2000 Palin became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to television.

Reviews

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just realised I had not logged this. Ripping Yarns was a spiffing obscure comedy from my youth so when I found a secondhand copy of the book of the series I had to have it. Probably bought twenty years ago

[Fishface · Rating 5 out of 5]

The complete scripts from each episode of the understated, philosophical series "Ripping Yarns." The show is not to be missed, and neither is this book.

[Stephen Hero · Rating 4 out of 5]

The series of scripts contained within Ripping Yarns simply remind me of someone who is, to say the very least, professionally flirtatious. Note the 'professionally' up there in the last sentence, for it makes quite a difference.

Let me expand upon my main and only point up there in the first sentence by leveraging several examples which are conveniently located directly below the upcoming next sentence.


These several examples are sadly culled from my very own livelihood:

1. Yesterday afternoon I asked my on-staff manager if I could take an additional half-hour during the luncheon portion of my day simply to be afforded additional personal time in order to flag down unmarried Filipino women. He said "I guess so" and quickly returned to his vigorous pursuit of obtaining a US patent for his yeast infection kit.

2. The next afternoon, quite bored with the vast majority of unmarried Filipino women in the local area, I decided the bring my lunch, an undercooked meat sandwich, into the lingerie section of my local Target department store where I attempted to make light conversion with the brave frumpy women guardedly examining rack-displayed unmentionable undergarments. More often than not I was quite successful engaging in conversation with my denoted targets simply by awkwardly employing my favourite flirtatious opening statement, "May I use your lines for guidance?" as a conversation starter. And although my favourite flirtatious opening statement does indeed sound a bit naughty I do have it on good authority that the aforementioned conversation starter will not thoroughly implicate me in any court of law.



And the sandwich was fine, thank you for asking.

[Ian Wood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collected in this volume are the scripts from the first series of the hugely popular television series Ripping Yarns. Generally speaking script books are not the most representative way of presenting film however with all of these stories being set during the early part of the twentieth century then heavy cream paper and sepia photographs actually make it look more authentic than it actually did on the screen.

Obviously Palin impeccable delivery is missing but the scripts are strong enough to stand up on there own. ‘Across the Andes by Frog’, ‘The Testing of Eric Olthwaite’ and ‘Escape from Stalag Luft 112 B’ being my own particular favourites.

The warmth Palin and Jones obviously felt for the source material of these affectionate parodies shines through and leaves the reader digging out an old copy of The 39 Steps to read afterwards.

[Ietrio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iconoclastic as usual, the ex Monty Pythons deliver what they do best: a parody.

[Suzanne Fournier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really disliked the first couple of stories for gratuitous violence, but enjoyed "The Testing of Eric Olthwaite", "Escape from Stalag Luft 112B", and "The Curse of the Claw".

[CD]

Funny funny stuff.