View source for The Colonel (Monty Python)

[[File:Graham Chapman Colonel.jpg|thumb|right|Graham Chapman in character as The Colonel]]
'''The Colonel''' is a recurring [[fictional character]] from the British television show ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'', played by [[Graham Chapman]].

==Character==
The Colonel acts as a "[[Double act|straight man]]" [[comic foil]] to the show's absurd characters and sketches. He maintains a rigidly mirthless personality and is always dressed in olive green [[British Army]] uniform. He occasionally makes appearances in the show, usually [[breaking the fourth wall]] and disrupting sketches to pronounce them too silly for the public and, therefore, demanding that something else be shown. He often orders the show to proceed in a different direction (sometimes to the unshown director) and frequently makes offhanded insults to men with long hair.

The Colonel's role in stopping or redirecting sketches has been discussed as an example of a character breaking the fourth wall of theatrical production, challenging the "fictional credibility" of the presentation, and has been compared to the work of [[Luigi Pirandello]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Robert I.|last=Williams|title=Comic Practice/comic Response|publisher=[[University of Delaware Press]]|location=Newark, Delaware|date=1993|isbn=978-0874134636|page=151|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQ23S8m0-p0C&q=colonel&pg=PA151|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Darl|last=Larsen|title=Monty Python's Flying Circus: An Utterly Complete, Thoroughly Unillustrated, Absolutely Unauthorized Guide to Possibly All the References : from Arthur "Two-Sheds" Jackson to Zambesi|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|location=Lanham, Maryland|date=2008|isbn=978-0810861312|pages=120, 57, & passim|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gSFYYKbtDCsC&q=colonel+&pg=PA120|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

==Main appearances==
The Colonel appeared first in the pilot episode, "Whither Canada?" in a documentary-formatted sketch, to help describe the [[Allies of World War II|Allied Forces]] involvement in [[The Funniest Joke in the World|joke warfare]] during [[World War II]].

He appears four times in "Owl-Stretching Time", protesting rip-offs of the British army's slogan, "It's a Man's Life in the Modern Army."

The Colonel appears most frequently in "Full Frontal Nudity". In this episode, the Colonel is writing in his office when he is suddenly approached by Private Watkins (played by [[Eric Idle]]), a young soldier who has been in the army for one day, claiming he wants to leave as it's dangerous and people get killed. They're interrupted by the entrance of two gangsters, [[List of recurring Monty Python's Flying Circus characters#Luigi Vercotti|Dino and Luigi Vercotti]], who attempt an outrageously obvious [[protection racket]], hoping to extort money from the Colonel in exchange for agreeing to protect his army. After a brief dialogue between the gangsters and the humourless Colonel, the latter stands up, exclaiming that the whole premise is too silly. He addresses the unseen director of the sketch and begins to take over the show. He claims that he has not been given a single funny line and demands to have the camera zoom in on his face. Looking straight into the camera, the Colonel orders that the show proceed to an animated segment, which it does.

Later on, the Colonel again stops the episode to announce "Now, I’ve noticed a tendency for this programme to get rather silly". After a brief speech of condemnation, he lets the show move on to an outdoor hermit sketch. He then interrupts this sketch in the middle of a scene, forcing the actors and, in fact, the entire filming crew to desert the set.

Afterwards, he later interrupts the famous [[Dead Parrot sketch]], when after [[Mr Praline]] calls the situation too silly, the Colonel bursts in on the scene, expressing his agreement and demanding that the show "Get on with it!”

The Colonel lastly appears in this episode during the documentary sketch about "Hell’s Grannies", when a vicar (Eric Idle) is attacked by a vicious gang of keep-left signs. The Colonel effectively ends the episode, by staring straight into the camera and saying "Now for a complete change of mood".

==Other appearances==
The Colonel has made appearances in ''[[Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl]]'', at [[Pink Floyd]]'s 1975 concert at Knebworth UK, and in a May 1982 episode of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' in which the character is used to comment on [[NBC]]'s earlier refusal to air a commercial (featuring Chapman as the Colonel) for the [[Amnesty International]] benefit ''[[The Secret Policeman's Other Ball]]''.<ref>{{cite book|first=Douglas|last=McCall|title=Monty Python: A Chronology, 1969-2012|edition=2nd|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|date=2013|isbn=978-0786478118|pages=87–88|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RS0FAgAAQBAJ&q=colonel+%22monty+python%22+%22saturday+night+live%22&pg=PA88|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

Archive footage of the Colonel was used in ''[[Monty Python Live (Mostly)]]'' for 2014.

The surviving members of Monty Python sent a "boot-shaped floral arrangement" to Graham Chapman's funeral, which included the phrase "stop us if we're all getting too silly", in recognition of his role as The Colonel.<ref>{{cite magazine|first1=Susan|last1=Schindehette|first2=Janine|last2=Di Giovanni|url=https://people.com/archive/mourning-monty-python-lays-to-rest-silly-brave-unique-graham-chapman-vol-32-no-18/|title=Mourning Monty Python Lays to Rest Silly, Brave, Unique Graham Chapman|magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]|publisher=[[Time, Inc.]]|location=New York City|date=30 October 1989}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite web |
url=https://www.imdb.com/character/ch0045378/|
title=The Colonel (character) |
access-date=2010-11-06}} on [[IMDb]]

{{Monty Python}}

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[[Category:Fictional British Army officers]]
[[Category:Fictional colonels]]
[[Category:Fictional English people]]
[[Category:Monty Python characters]]
[[Category:Television characters introduced in 1969]]