Monty Python - Science Fiction Sketch (Part1)

from Monty Python's Flying Circus
Season 1 - Episode 07
You're No Fun Anymore
Recorded 10-10-69, Aired 30-11-69
I'm slowly uploading the entire Flying Circus series... Got any requests?

[@bobdobalina838]

" He didn't show any inclination to be a scotsman before this did he? No no he was not that kind of person". Hilarious.

[@DennisMoore664]

The baby in the pram with it's little fist in the air cracks me up.

[@annakareninacamara6580]

nlg was looking for him when the scotsmen troop was crossing the border

[@phousefilms]

And the massive beard.

[@rich56ca]

“Mummy’s been turned into a Scotsman!” “How horrible!” The look on Grahams face when he says that always makes me laugh.

[@kerpa]

I think Graham’s girlfriend absolutely steals the scene with her goofy expressions perfectly lampooning actresses in 1950s sci fi movies. And this is even given Graham’s typical genius acting.

[@cavewaller]

She’s lovely 👍

[@AndrewGivens]

Yes - Mara Corday's 'shock take' in 'The Giant Claw' when she sees the camera footage of the monster is a camp joy to see; exactly what they were spoofing here.

[@ian_b]

@@cavewaller Donna Marlow/Marlowe/Reading (credited as Donna Reading for this). She was indeed a lovely girl and you may be pleased to know she got her kit off.

[@JGalt-em4xu]

When she fusses about trying to show off her legs before answering Charles, but needs him to help her up... lol

[@lordeden2732]

Dam so that's how the S.D.P recruit, Devius buggers.

[@Jack_Warner]

Michael Palin's got one of those faces that makes me laugh without him even saying a word.

[@AndrewGivens]

The nervous, twitchy grin sells it every time. If he hadn't been a comic, he'd have been a second-hand car salesman.

[@Kemonokami]

The very heart of all Human civilization: New Pudsey. SEEMS LEGIT.

[@291rko]

Angus Podgorney, how are you going to get 48 million kilts into the van? Eh, I'll have to make it in two gos. 😂

[@Neckromorph]

The "McClosed" sign gets me every time.

[@briantaulbee6452]

McWoolworth's lol

[@user-fr1wg4tn7e]

McDonalds.@@briantaulbee6452

[@synthonaplinth5980]

06:36- That camera angle is a definite homage to sci-fi movies, somehow it contributes to the feeling of isolation and unease.

[@Jlipnicki]

' Wait a minute ' ' A whole minute ? ' ' No, I meant that metaphorically '

[@A1Authority]

I love that moment, when the chill goes up the back of one's neck, and one knows ...just knows ...that all this is based on true events. I knew it was odd that Scotsmen just happen to be in the reality, but nobody ever talk about or deals with it.

[@joshperry7643]

This is especially funny if you've seen old episodes of Doctor Who from the 70s

[@csc_03]

Actually, this was made before Pertwee's era of Who even began.

[@borgduck]

And there's something familiar about the blonde bombshell!

[@darkprose]

Fantastic camera joke -- the zoom out from the lover's close-up to reveal the lab. Really nice. I love visual jokes like that.

[@antoinepetrov]

Yes, that's called good directing

[@weaponmaster2916]

are u alive ?

[@PointyTailofSatan]

Imagine being an extra in an MP sketch, watching it with your grandkids, and yelling "That's me!" lol

[@rossbloom6490]

Possibly poking fun at scifi. Aliens turning people into something, a doctor working to cure it, and a pretty assistant to the doctor, who poses a lot. Just over emphasized for the purpose of the sketch. But I'm probably overthinking this. It's Monty python humor, after all.

[@kbbl102.5]

Ross Bloom you’re not overthinking it, you’re underestimating Monty Python!

[@GaryHall1071]

Dude, it’s meant to be ridiculously silly. Chill. 😊

[@paulazemeckis7835]

Sure did love the Flying Circus in the 70's here in the US. Then the Holy Grail movie! Hello from sunny and warm St. Petersburg, Fl. Wish London wasn't so damn cold!!!

[@crushingvanessa3277]

I love when he gets the bus and drives it to his bus stop.

[@priced80]

First line of harry potter: "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense." Coincidence, I think not. Maybe it was in her sub conscious though. Im not accusing her of blatantly copying

[@cube2fox]

And then there is a Harold Potter in the sketch! I think she liked that sketch.

[@PhilBagels]

"You're a Scotsman, Harry!"

[@snokful]

Not that I’m a fan of JKR at all but it’s perfectly possible to pay tribute like this in a humorous way without it being considered a copyright breach. Writers do it quite often.

[@aurelienyonrac]

It is just a ... Hum. Yes. Homage. Like the hobbits being rabbits like Peter rabbit.😅

[@cube2fox]

@@aurelienyonrac Now hobbits and rabbits have really nothing in common. Sure their name may be similar, but rabbits live in burrows in the ground while hobbits ... oh.

[@olsmokey]

Palin does sleaze to perfection.

[@MikeHL78]

I don't think I have ever laughed as hard at anything in my life as I did when I saw this sketch for the first time in 1993. Still my favorite piece of work they ever did.

[@lylelay]

It's my second favorite, The best is the sheep trying to fly.

[@stuartcathcart5525]

This was also my favourite, international hide and seek came a close second😂😂

[@lynnfisher3037]

Totally lame

[@weaponmaster2916]

hello are u alive?

[@srbrant5391]

The greatest cities of mankind's long civilized legacy: Babylon. Alexandria. Rome. And, most spectacular of them all, New Pudsey.

[@Uinb]

I'm scottish and i love all thse jokes about the Scots :P The McKamikazes was the best.

[@dharmaseed]

Ya gotta love the scantily-clad bimbo who takes any and all tension out of the laboratory scene!

[@ewaf88]

Wonderfully daft. I can faintly remember watching it first time around. It deserves a $200m Hollywood budget.

[@LordMondegrene]

... and it would be better than 90% of the junk they make now.

[@Faawl]

I love how the footballer is acting like it's an ordinary game xD

[@DenkyManner]

The bus joke was filmed on India Way, White City, Shepherd's Bush, quite near BBC Television Centre. Someone in twelve thousand years might find that trivia interesting

[@StuckeyMurdog]

I love the way the scottsman walk

[@winstonho0805c]

"Harold Potter, gardener and tax official?" Does that mean we saw Ginny Weasley being interviewed by that detective? And why was the spectator in that football match wearing Gryffindor colors? And a Welshman named Llewellyn is transformed into a Scot?

[@KraeganWolf]

Also, since I saw so many requests for this in the comments, I do believe that the song played on the bagpipes is "Scotland The Brave"

[@mrbond59]

"Let's Have a Ceilidh"

[@infantry4lyfe252]

It's "liberton pipe band" also known as "liberton polka"

[@standardheadache]

Surely, Charles. You're the chief scientist at the Anthropological Research Institute at Buckydam, an expert in what makes people change from one nationality to another. - - SO I AM!

[@jerryleroy9187]

The opening music with the monologue at the start is the same music that was used during the "LIBRARIAN" sketch on Hilarious House Of Frightenstein. I remember it well.

[@LeeNTien]

amaizing.... such a girl in a comedy scetch results in extra laugh, while most movie stars (and singers, for that matter) are exactly the same kind... >__

[@stijnvandamme76]

Cleese was genius for raging but Palin was unbeatable at doing the Sketchy slightly overexcited schemer

[@JanaSzIsBasicGlitch]

oh yeah that hits the spot I didn't watch it for loooonnnngggg time...

[@HCShannon]

Her name is Donna Reading she only appears in this episode.

[@EthelredHardrede-nz8yv]

THREE episodes Donna Reading S1.E3 Court Scene, The Larch, Bicycle Repair Man, Children's Stories, Restaurant Sketch, Seduced Milkmen, Stolen News Reader, Children's Interview, and Nudge Nudge. How to Recognise Different Types of Trees from Quite a Long Way Away Milkman Seducer(uncredited) This one in the video S1.E7 Invaders from another galaxy turn Englishmen into Scotsmen. Also: a comedy about camels; a corporate board meeting. You're No Fun Any More Donna Reading Girl in bed… S1.E8 Full Frontal Nudity Girl in Bikini with Its Man(u A classic episode with A pet-shop customer returns his dead parrot; a gang of female senior citizens attacks a town's young men; a young army officer who joined the service to water-ski tries to resign. All from the first season. Maybe they liked Carol better or Donna went to off to make movies.

[@alro2434]

The 3 overcrowded Scotsmen per caber really got me, on PBS 1970 USof A! Didn't know WTF a Blancmange was, and still don't, and the Scottish stuff except for red hair via Vikings, was unknown but for Sean Connery/007. After BRAVEHEART and IRA it became a little more clear. John C officiously questioning 5 person doubles is priceless!

[@CoriantonHalladay]

Ok so no one's gonna talk about how they very literally described the Dursleys? And that dude's name is Harold Potter??? J.K. Rowling must have been a Monty Python fan 😂

[@claymor8241]

What about the comment under the comment below yours, posted 13 years ago?

[@synthonaplinth5980]

-John Cleese in the first HP movie -'Cockroach Cluster' from 'Crunchy Frog' sketch in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Ya think?

[@MontytheHorse]

The aliens were improving these poor Englishmen by making them Scots. 😂

[@markpaterson2053]

This was the first mention of Harry Potter in media

[@alex35agm]

One of their best and funniest sketches.

[@dragonflysurgeon]

This sketch is the first thing I remember ever seeing on TV. I was about 5 years old. This is etched in my mind as my first TV memory.

[@The-Plaguefellow]

One of my best friends is a Scots-Irish German; What should I do to prevent him from running around in a kilt while playing a bagpipe, covered in whiskey and playing _Das Deutschlandlied_?

[@tjimicole2677]

Tell him … the joke.

[@BodallaGaming]

This is sooo hilariously random. haha

[@txrndf3698]

absolument génial, vous avez un beau brexit !

[@apospichal]

That was the very first MP FC I ever saw. I was hooked from there. And my mother wondered why I turned out this way :)

[@t.b.a.r.r.o.]

Origin of the "Unexploded Scotsman" perhaps?

[@josephnotoempire2949]

Shocked, because I've never had the pleasure of seeing this before. Have to say baby fist in crib was a delight. Please do carry on. Full stop.//

[@contscot]

The description of the couple at the beginning was like Tolkein introducing Bilbo and Rowling introducing the Dursleys.

[@sarjenka]

Now I know where Douglas Adams got his inspiration with The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy ;) at least part of it... this is truly hilarious

[@SkatingErinsMom]

Grew up ion Monty Python, thanks! Keeps me (in)sane.

[@JesusRocksTryPrayin]

Havent seen this, thx for uploading!

[@Novazi74]

(scottish accent) Was about to write "This would never happen to me!" but now, ALL HAIL SCOTLAND!

[@BoyKagome]

There are worse fates then becoming a Scotsman.

[@lervish1966]

Becoming an Irish is worse.

[@Kemonokami]

Brainsample: Best. Surname. Ever.

[@lynntrotman]

Funny, 1969 and they describe the size of the universe/galaxy/space, in a comic fashion, better than the main stream media of their day.

[@FeliciaZezili]

I've been looking for this sketch!

[@g.b569]

Any one notice the Harold Potter? Known maybe as Harry?

[@QuikVidGuy]

There were a lot of harry potters in fiction, it turns out. hilarious in hindsight

[@danielgardecki1046]

It's also funny that this sketch is filmed all over Bradford, the home of Bradford City AFC, who are the only English football club to wear Claret and Amber colours, the same colours as Harry Potter's Gryffindor house, had a player in the early 1900's called Harry Potter, and the original pre modern Valley Parade stadium (the ground they play at) is seen at 7:23 in this video.

[@ErichoTTA]

Monty Python/Science fiction? Brilliant!

[@stewux]

Graham and Eric always crack me up at 1.27 haha!

[@Cheeseitnow]

What can you say another awesome !! sketch from the pythons

[@cattathat]

This is hysterical. Gone to Scotland, McClosed 😂😂😂😂😂😂 I don't remember this!!! Glad I don't. 🙏🏽😊👍🏻👇🏼👇🏼👆🏽👆🏽👍🏻👍🏻👋🏾👏🏽👏🏽

[@RobEdwards369]

"Look I'll show you." Zoom into words on TV. "I see"

[@chinookvalley]

I've been taking an online class on how to become a Scotsman. After months of study and research I realize - I DON"T DRINK! My parents will be so disappointed. I got sheep and everything. I've been crying for days. Does ANYONE have any idea of what I might do to become a REAL Scotsman??? Sad and forlorn.

[@riconui5227]

Start with some ale.

[@JamesJNothingIsTooSensitive]

You cannot, because there really is no true Scotsman!

[@synthonaplinth5980]

Perhaps you could stash your money in a cairn for safekeeping?

[@gavingoff4056]

No control over their own destiny. Now we know Englands little game. Sassenachs!

[@NvdVeen]

It's so stupid I freakin love it

[@RocketTCoyote]

Blancmanges from outer space! Run! Run for your lives!

[@GeoffWardsPacE]

Good onya Chadner, yr a saint!! Keep it going ma pango.

[@Uttrediay]

Funny how time goes. I've been trying to drop hints to this sketch the whole week. But nobody reacts.

[@drahoop]

also there to be the fool to make the scientist guy seem like he knows what hes talking about

[@henrikhyrup3995]

5:32 - and that's how Lemmings started

[@Oct23rd4004BC]

Thanks Gabbahead. In retrospect some of that should have been obvious SOLar system, SOLar calender, SOLar panels etc.

[@angbandsbane]

"He didn't have inadequate brain capacity?" Heh. It sounds like England makes fun of Scotland in the same way we make fun of Canada. (I got nothing against Canada: I'm just saying that a lot of people joke about it.)

[@Ruth42]

Not always. In the "Spam" sketch, it was Chapman who was the wife "I don't like spam!!" while Idle played the husband.

[@JesseJetter]

I love seeing the Scotsmen marching in fast motion. 5:21

[@ju_asi_]

my favorite one! :D

[@NorthWay_no]

I can't be the only one who got the Lemmings vibe from this...

[@oferbarsadeh2920]

... based on a true story - names' places' and titles withheld.

[@TheFunkywhiteboy63]

It sure took some acting skills to play the scientist in this sketch!

[@darganx]

3:57 Good acting, Graham... ; P

[@inherentdoubt]

At around the 7 minute mark there's a guy watching a soccer match with red and gold scarf, the colours for griffindor.

[@SmokeyMcPot420yee]

YESI HVE a request plz, its the one with the the underground agent as a dog and the guy wants to find the guy who can "Destroy Universe with his wrist and countrys with his pinky" and he has to give the dog a meatball and a walkyies to get theinfo it's funny. Like this clip

[@wullieg7269]

our cat was called Pudsey from t yard next t station

[@Jayfive276]

Oh sure I'd go with the blonde lassie... But I'd still be thinking about Carol Cleveland...

[@florete2310]

The introduction alone at 1:13 (till 1: 31 especially)😂

[@romantheasket]

"What? Mr. Llewellyn?" lost it right here.

[@hemmibemmi]

oh what a masterpiece...the story...THE STORY!!!thanks for posting this!!

[@lissagaiasmit]

Why is this so funny? oh that's right, my sense of humour does not get over (spoilers) aliens turning everyone into scotsmen to win wimbledon...

[@Xzeihoranth]

Single digits or early double digits was probably too early to watch this. I remember being scared. Scared by the Flying Circus. And the sloshing noises.

[@trippjohnson7393]

Rick Dagless worst nightmare!

[@cjt1881]

When she says "Please help me!!" I fall apart!!!!

[@amonster8mymother]

A scotsman in every pot I say.

[@obiwan2112]

A Scot has won Wimbledon! Congratulations to Andy Murray!

[@kungfuninja55]

Harold Potter...

[@TazmanianTyler]

i love the billion billion galaxies intro lol

[@gmaasry]

Wait ... so the first man to encounter aliens was Harry Potter???? Did JK Rowling know of this sketch? ...

[@gargleblasta]

So, that is where the opening of Harry Potter came from

[@michaelmooserraelx2013]

All I know is, kick the ball, goes in the back of the net, openin' a boutique, thank god for every member of monty python and second city tv who helped get me through life in spite of all the screwed up crap others have put on me in my lifetime. I fart in your general direction for bringing anything but love to this post.

[@lastswordfighter]

@suprememasterj2 You guys are the world's jokers and we thank you for it. Without Britain or the English we wouldn't have Monty Python.

[@pisotones2348]

Come on, for all us non british people: why all scotchmen in this skit go marching with the right arm straight?

[@amonster8mymother]

Thank goodness I'm only a half scotsman.