And Now for Something Completely Different

It has been 40 years since five Brits and a Yank debuted on British television as a group of comic writer/performers with the oddly-named "Monty Python's Flying Circus." The free-wheeling series and their later films, books and records have been cult favorites and an inspiration to countless comedians, yet few have ever matched the anarchic brilliance of the Pythons' work.

By CBSNews.com producer David Morgan

Credit: BBC