Russell Brand Quotes

I was greatly influenced by 'The Goons' and 'Monty Python' reconstituting what comedy was - it could come from a funny word, not just a set up and a pay-off. I liked the zaniness; they were satirical, slightly saucy and very literary in their references.

I love British humor. It's just so - surreal.

When I was in my late teens, I discovered 'Fawlty Towers' and 'Monty Python,' and they still make me laugh.

It's curious that apart from the baroque ranting, 'Sarah & Duck' is very similar to 'The Thick Of It' - great characters, excellent writing and lots of humor!

'Fawlty Towers' was a huge influence on me. I mean, it was so slapstick, too. 'Are You Being Served?' was on 15 times a day, it seemed like, and I loved it.

I shouldn't be surprised if John Cleese's scripts don't become set texts for examinations-they're classics. And I can't tell you how service in English hotels has improved since 'Fawlty Towers.'

Comedy. It was just huge in my house. Peter Sellers and Alec Guinness, Monty Python and all those James Bond movies were highly regarded.

When we created 'Goodness Gracious Me,' it was quoting 'Python' and Woody Allen lines that really bonded the writers, and the 'Spamalot' material is so utterly, wonderfully surreal that it hasn't dated.

But as a kid, I loved 'Monty Python.' My Dad was a devout watcher. We used to watch it when we ate dinner!

'Monty Python' is now more recognised by the films than by the TV series.

John Cleese was with a group called Cambridge Circus, who had come to New York, and we became friends. Years later that produced a certain team effort.

Sometimes people get passionate about the obscure jokes.

If someone said, 'Sit down and write a 'Community' episode,' I would be panicked.

I see myself as the female John Cleese.

It was just at the end of the golden era of BBC comedy, which was fantastic.

So the laughs had to come from the character, not because we had balloons in our shirts or were speaking in high voices. That was very important to us.

Becoming interested in poetics got me interested in theater. Theater is supposed to be poetry, you know, before it's anything else. It just doesn't fly if it isn't musical.

I am a comic writer, which means I get to slay the dragons, and shoot the bull.

There is still a lot to be said for the well-made, witty, clever, three-act comedy.

At the end of Season Four of 'Mr. Show,' instead of doing another season, everyone just thought they wanted to go and do a movie. Kind of like Monty Python. Monty Python went right into 'And Now For Something Completely Different,' and everyone kind of compared 'Mr. Show' to Monty Python.

I like smart jokes, I like dumb jokes, and I like dumb jokes done smartly.

I miss the comedy of the '70s and '80s, like 'Only Fools And Horses' and 'Fawlty Towers,' so I'm glad I'm put in that category.

My dad's sense of humor was direct and sometimes surreal - his quick wit is well known amongst our family and friends. He raised me on Spike Jones records and W.C. Fields movies, and his sense of humor fell somewhere in between.

I can't even look at daily comic strips. And I hate sitcoms because they don't seem like real people to me: they're props that often say horrible things to each other, which I don't find funny. I have to feel like they're real people.

You can trust a Neil Simon script. Every dot. Every dash; that pause means something. He takes all the jokes out, practically.