The Spanish Inquisition - S2-E2
Revealing mistake: At the very end when The Spanish Inquisition bursts into the courtroom, you can see that Biggles is not played by Terry Jones (as he is playing the accused judge in the court sketch).
Continuity mistake: In the Marriage Counselor sketch, Deidre Pewty is wearing such a tiny miniskirt that when she sits we see she is wearing white knickers. When she undresses behind the screen she throws a pair of black knickers out.
Plot hole: In the Upper Class Twit of the Year Show, there are five contestants. However, after Oliver runs himself over, in the events that follow there are only four props for the remaining twits (four mannequins, rabbits, and guns); since Oliver's death was unforeseen, shouldn't there be five of each? (This mistake, by the way, is rectified in the film version of this sketch).
Trivia: The band "Toad the Wet Sprocket" took their name from a sketch on this show.
The Spanish Inquisition - S2-E2
Trivia: In the "Semaphore version of Wuthering Heights" sketch, much of the sempaphore is nearly correct. The first two subtitled lines are "Oh. Catherine" "Oh. Heathcliff" - what is actually signalled is "Oh Oh" "Oheath". The nurse signals "SS" and the sleeping man does signal "ZZ".
Trivia: The German joke versions are spoken in an intelligible, pseudo-German gibberish (perhaps fortunate, if the joke would really work). I happen to live in Germany, and even with close scrutinizing I haven't been able to filter a meaning out of this.
The Ant, an Introduction - S1-E6
Figgis: Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, Panties...I'm sorry...Schumann, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Bach. Names that will live for ever. But there is one composer whose name is never included with the greats. Why is it the world never remembered the name of Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern-schplenden-schlitter-crasscrenbon-fried-digger-dangle-dungle-burstein-von-knacker-thrasher-apple-banger-horowitz-ticolensic-grander-knotty-spelltinkle-grandlich-grumblemeyer-spelterwasser-kürstlich-himbleeisen-bahnwagen-gutenabend-bitte-eine-nürnburger-bratwustle-gerspurten-mit-zweimache-luber-hundsfut -gumberaber-shönendanker-kalbsfleisch-mittler-raucher von Hautkopft of Ulm?
Father: Now I understand that you want to marry my daughter?
Shabby: [sniffing and coughing.] That's right ... Yeah... Yeah...
Father: Yes, you realize of course that Rosaround is still rather young?
Rosamund: Daddy you make me feel like a child. [she gazes at Shabby fondly.]
Shabby: [lasciviously.] Oh yeah ... You know... Get 'em when they're young eh... Eh! OOOOH! Know what I mean eh, oooh! [makes obscene gesture involving elbow.]
Father: Well I'm sure you know what I mean, Mr ... Er... Mr... Er . Er?
Shabby: Shabby... Ken Shabby...
Father: Mr Shabby... I just want to make sure that you'll be able to look after my daughter...
Shabby: Oh yeah, yeah. I'll be able to look after 'er all right sport, eh, know what I mean, eh emggh!
Father: And, er, what job do you do?
Shabby: I clean out public lavatories.
Father: Is there promotion involved?
Shabby: Oh yeah, yeah. [produces handkerchief and clean throat horribly into it.] After five years they give me a brush.
The Ant, an Introduction - S1-E6
Kenny Lust: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the refreshment room here at Bletchley. My name is Kenny Lust and I'm your compère for tonight. You know, once in a while it is my pleasure, and my privilege, to welcome here at the refreshment room, some of the truly great international artists of our time. And tonight we have one such artist. Ladies and gentlemen, someone whom I've always personally admired, perhaps more deeply, more strongly, more abjectly than ever before. A man... Well, more than a man, a god, a great god, whose personality is so totally and utterly wonderful my feeble words of welcome sound wretchedly and pathetically inadequate. Someone whose boots I would gladly lick clean until holes wore through my tongue, a man who is so totally and utterly wonderful, that I would rather be sealed in a pit of my own filth than dare tread on the same stage with him! Ladies and gentlemen... The incomparably superior human being, Harry Fink!
Man: [from offstage.] He can't come!
Kenny Lust: Never mind, he's not all he's cracked up to be.
Question: Does anyone know what the killer joke (German version anyway) translates to in English? I tried running it through BabelFish, but it still made no sense.
Question: Does anyone know who played the knight that hit people over the head with a dead chicken?
Chosen answer: That would be Terry Gilliam, who played a lot of non-speaking roles in the series, and some speaking ones like Cardinal Fang in 'The Spanish Inquisition.' He did all the animation as well, but I'm sure you knew that.
Question: Is there any significance behind the song "England's Mountains Green" (or whatever it's called)? It seems to be the only song anyone ever sings, outside of sketch-specific songs (like the Lumberjack Song).
Chosen answer: The song you talk of was originally a poem by William Blake called 'Jerusalem'. It speaks of the possibility of Jesus having visited England. The poem has four verses but you only ever hear the Monty Python boys sing the first one which goes, "And did those feet in ancient time/Walk upon England's mountains green/And was the holy Lamb of God/On England's pleasant pastures seen?" If there's any sort of in-joke connected to it's use, I'm not aware of it. It seemed to just be the standard song/hymn they used when a song was needed that wasn't sketch specific. Some of the sketches it appeared in were 'Salvation Fuzz/Church Police', 'Buying a Bed' and 'The Art Gallery Sketch'. Something that may be relevant, though, is that the only one who was present every time it was sung was Eric Idle. Perhaps he just liked it?
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Chosen answer: Fortunately for the entire English speaking world, there is no translation. It is not real German.
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