How Monty Python says goodbye

In honor of fans worldwide who were able to enjoy a historic reunion of the surviving Monty Python members, we take a look at what the troupe achieved outside of Python:

John Cleese, now 74, created and starred in the immortal TV show "Fawlty Towers" in the 1970s and co-founded Video Arts, a company that makes training films. Younger viewers may know him best for his roles in the "Shrek" films (as King Harold), a pair of James Bond films (as Q) and the Harry Potter series (as Nearly Headless Nick). His most recent film role was in "Planes."

Terry Gilliam, 73, became a noted film director, best known for "Brazil" (1985), "The Fisher King" (1991) and "Twelve Monkeys" (1995). J.K. Rowling wanted him to direct the first Harry Potter film, but the studio didn't want the famously independent Gilliam. His latest film, "The Zero Theorem," is due for U.S. release this summer.

Terry Jones, 72, has created TV shows about the Middle Ages, an era on which he's an expert. (He's written two books about Geoffrey Chaucer.) He's also written several children's books and was a regular contributor to UK newspapers during the Iraq war, which he opposed. With songwriter Jim Steinman, he's been working on a rock version of "The Nutcracker."

Michael Palin, 71, has probably spent as much time traveling in the past 25 years as he has acting. Among his projects: "Pole to Pole," "Full Circle" and "Michael Palin's New Europe." His most recent venture was "Brazil with Michael Palin," which came out in 2012.

Eric Idle, 71, has probably done the most to maintain the Python tradition. He engaged in "The Greedy Bastard Tour" in 2003, which included performances of Python material, and turned "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" into "Spamalot," which won the Tony for best musical in 2005. He also helped create the Rutles, perhaps the sharpest Beatles parody. And he sang his song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" at the 2012 Olympics closing ceremony.

Graham Chapman died in 1989. Before then, he performed material at several colleges and appeared in an Iron Maiden video. Since his death, at least one of his plays, "O Happy Day," has been performed. The Pythons haven't forgotten their colleague: They did a wonderfully uncomfortable routine with Chapman's "ashes" at the Aspen Comedy Festival in 1998, and in 2012, all the Pythons except Idle lent their voices to a film based on Chapman's memoirs.

• "Monty Python Live (Mostly)" concluded Sunday


• Show was live in London, simulcast all over world


• Group looked like it was having fun, didn't break new ground

(CNN) -- If there were any doubt that the members of the Monty Python troupe wouldn't be holding back in their farewell show, it came with a rousing version of "Every Sperm Is Sacred."

The performance of the "Meaning of Life" song included a whole range of props, including cannons in the shape of phalluses. And what's the point of bringing out phallus-shaped cannons if you're not going to, uh, set them off?

Python has always been equal parts deadpan and silly, highbrow and low, and the "Monty Python Live (Mostly)" show -- which concluded Sunday at London's O2 Arena and was simulcast all over the world -- highlighted those distinctions.

Among the sketches performed by the group were the Yorkshiremen, in which the four attempt to one-up each another in remembering horrible childhoods; "Crunchy Frog," in which John Cleese's inspector challenges Terry Jones' confectioner over some interesting chocolate creations; and, of course, the "Parrot Sketch," which was combined with the "Cheese Shop" sketch, allowing Cleese and Michael Palin to indulge in their fondness for synonyms and euphemisms.

Monty Python emerges for a last show at London's O2 Arena.

In that one, Cleese and Palin seemed to be having a particularly good time, stepping on each other's lines in high-spirited confusion. Cleese also got in an impromptu knock against a British newspaper editor.

The "Monty Python Live (Mostly)" show has gotten decent reviews (mostly) during its three-week run, many praising the group for its contribution to comedy if lamenting the casualness of the live production. The final show was apparently little changed from the debut, with its many musical numbers and occasional hesitations. There were a couple special guests for the final show -- Eddie Izzard and Mike Myers -- and physicist Stephen Hawking, who joined a videotaped skit, was in the live audience.

Nevertheless, if the group didn't break any new ground, then again, it didn't have to.

"It gives the crowd exactly what they want but relies pretty heavily on the fan love and makes a hefty withdrawal from the reputation bank," wrote The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw when the show debuted.

In a not-quite-full Atlanta theater where the show was simulcast, fans cheered their favorites, anticipating the Spanish Inquisition and singing along with "The Lumberjack Song." There were a couple audio glitches at the beginning, but for the most part it was an enjoyable afternoon, with the show functioning more as a celebration of Python history than a demand for new material.

Indeed, fans looked on the bright side of Python all over. In Calgary, Alberta, a storm knocked out the audio, but the audience simply started a singalong.

As the show came to a close, two frames came up on the O2's big screen: "Graham Chapman 1941-1989," in memory of the late Python member, and "Monty Python 1969-2014." If this is indeed the end, Python can go out knowing its legacy is secure.

And that's not so completely different.

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