And now for something completely different, unless you own the Spiny Norman-sized "The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus Collector's Edition Megaset", which includes this pair of authoritative, entertaining, and not at all silly 2008 documentaries as bonus features. "Before the Flying Circus" is present at the creation, chronicling the formative years of John Cleese, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Terry Gilliam, and how they met, formed creative partnerships, and developed their singular comic voice. "Monty Python Conquers America" follows the troupe's long and winding road to the States and acknowledges the unsung heroes in the Python story, the tenacious marketing reps and risk-taking public television execs (Luke and Owen Wilson's father among them) and radio djs and program directors who helped to unleash upon unsuspecting citizens the troupe that conventional wisdom said was too crazy, too eccentric, too British, and too silly to be a success here. Both programs eschew the usual bits to present rarely seen footage. "Before" boasts a treasure trove of clips of pre-Python projects, such as the loony children's show "Do Not Adjust Your Set". "Conquers" contains priceless home-movie glimpses of fledgling Python-mania as well as new interviews with the Montys and some admirers, including Hank Azaria, David Hyde Pierce, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Judd Apatow, and Carl Reiner. For passionate Pythoneers and the uninitiated who may be wondering what's all this then, "The Other British Invasion" is an invaluable addition to the "Python" canon. "--Donald Liebenson"