The Golden Age Of Ballooning

The fourth and final season of Monty Python's Flying Circus was launched on October 31, 1974, with the episode titled "The Golden Age of Ballooning." The Montgolfier Brothers develop a lighter-than-air craft with the reluctant assistance of Joseph Montgolfier's fiancée Antoinette, who makes a very lovely gondola. Louis XIV shows up in 1783, oblivious to the fact that he's been dead since 1717. Pioneer British aerialist Sir Charles Dividends shows up on a talk show with Lord Interest and King George III, who is then serenaded by the Ronettes (their song, "King George the Third," was written by Neil Innes, who later collaborated with Eric Idle on The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash). Ferdinand Von Zeppelin inflates his brother Benny, while the bodies of failed aviators drop into the living room of Helmut and Holweig. Carol Cleveland, Peter Brett, Frank Lester, Bob E. Raymond, and Stenson Falke make guest appearances, but John Cleese is conspicuous by his absence, as he would be in the five remaining "Python" installments. A severely edited version of "The Golden Age of Ballooning" was seen in America on ABC in the Summer of 1975.