Do Not Adjust Your Set - Episode 5
24m
Directed by Daphne Shadwell • Drama • With Denise Coffey, Eric Idle, David Jason, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band • 1967 • 25 minutes
With the series in full flow, we witness some splendid interplay between the team – as seen in the beautifully crafted How to Eat sketch, which features some sumptuous mugging from David Jason. Later on Terry Jones shines as an overbearing, cruel insurance salesman (overcoming props that look somewhat flimsy), while the Captain Fantastic sketch provides another expansive showcase for some ever-more odd visual craziness. Meanwhile, there’s some artful absurdist slippage between sound and image as the Bonzos perform Equestrian Statue whilst playing football, as you do, providing Neil Innes with a chance to take centre stage for a change. And – for the first time – Terry Gilliam gets a credit for ‘additional material’.