Monty Python’s Flying Circus ranked fifth in the BFI TV 100 list compiled by the British Film Institute in 2000. The ranking placed the series among the most highly regarded programmes in British television history.
The BFI TV 100 was not a viewer popularity chart based simply on ratings. It was assembled from a survey of television professionals, who voted on the most significant and accomplished British programmes. That distinction matters: a programme could rank highly for innovation, influence and artistic importance even if it was not the largest contemporary ratings success.
The series began on BBC1 in 1969 and ran for four series, producing 45 episodes between 1969 and 1974. Its anarchic structure, abrupt transitions, animated interludes and refusal to rely on conventional punchlines helped reshape television sketch comedy.
The ranking is also easy to confuse with later lists. Monty Python has appeared in numerous “greatest television” and “best comedy” surveys, often at different positions. This question refers specifically to the BFI’s 2000 TV 100, where the programme was number five—not first, tenth or twentieth.