I think in the U.S. The Goodies and Monty Python were broadcast on public TV around the same time--somewhere in 1974-75. While I liked Python, at the age I was (around 11-12) I thought that the Goodies was much funnier. I always loved Bill Oddie the most. It took a few years of maturity to understand that Python was the truly groundbreaking series.
Still, I'd love to see some of those old Goodies episodes again. Unfortunately, it seems to be the one British TV series that you can't easily get DVDs of here in the U.S.