NOBODY EXPECTS... Americans React To "Monty Python - The Spanish Inquisition"

[@susyward581]

They didn’t mess up. It is the result of incredibly clever writing, wit and a sense of the ridiculous

[@denysmace3874]

Amongst their planning are such diverse elements as clever writing, wit, a sense of the ridiculous, and comic timing... Doh, I'll come in again

[@jamesalexander5623]

No It Isn't!

[@sliceofheaven3026]

No one expects clever writing.

[@stuartmcivor2276]

I didn't expect you to start with The Spanish Inquisition - but then Nobody expects that!

[@davidmannion7333]

There is a third segment at the end of the episode where they're supposed to burst into a courtroom. Everyone looks at the doors but they're late. Cut to them catching a bus to make it there before the credits end.

[@BarryFrancis]

To me that’s the best bit, especially as at the end when they finally get there and burst in an start to say their spiel the screen goes black and you hear him say “Oh bugger”. 😂

[@RenaissanceEarCandy]

​@@BarryFrancisI hope they don't read your comment otherwise they'll be spoiled

[@thefilmsett]

Oh bugger

[@bluesrocker91]

The one playing Cardinal Fang is Terry Gilliam who went on to direct Brazil, The Fisher King, Time Bandits, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and Twelve Monkeys, along with a whole bunch of others great movies.

[@whitedwarf4986]

I have a soft spot for Michael Palin (not in that way) I've always been a massive fan of his acting. He steals almost every scene he's in and he arguably has the most variety of characters in the whole Python Team. I've read his diaries (not all of them I admit) he's lived an incredible life, been all over the world and made some amazing tv and films over the years. He's been Sir Michael Palin since 2019 and one of my British heroes.

[@thomasalexand]

I've met him.

[@sargonsblackgrandfather2072]

Seems like a thoroughly decent chap too.

[@whitedwarf4986]

@hammock879 Yeah, some of the characters he met in his travel shows and how he interacted with them, always having a good laugh with them and showing that laughter and comedy is universal, even if there is a language barrier, just made the show so much better and more enjoyable. He can make anyone laugh, doesn't matter who they are. An absolute gift.

[@tommyxbones5126]

I have massive respect for Sir Michael Palin after I noticed lately he does the voice for the clangers remake almost as good as Oliver Postgate (the original) - childhood memories restored.

[@Dyrla67]

His show Ripping Yarns, a series of parodies of schoolboy stories, is a hidden gem.

[@stevesoutar3405]

Terry Gilliam (Cardinal Fang) went on to become a successful director - Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Life of Brian, Time Bandits, Monty Python and the Holy Grail etc. He also did all the animations for Monty Python Michael Palin has also starred in a few movies, sometimes alongside John Cleese (A fish called Wanda for example)

[@TheAlmaward]

Monty Python is not an "improv" group. They are an absurdist humor troupe. This is all scripted. They're not "screwing up," it's all on purpose. LOL

[@arthur_p_dent]

actually they did improvise at times and sometimes the improvised parts remained in the show. Not sure whether this is the case with the Inquisition sketch, though.

[@jamesdignanmusic2765]

​@@arthur_p_dent​there certainly was some improv, but more in the films than the series IIRC - including most of the hilarious "Biggus Dickus" scene in Life of Brian.

[@arthur_p_dent]

@@jamesdignanmusic2765 don't know about more. There has also been a fair share of improv in the Flying Circus. For example, the sketch where a man reports his stolen wallet to a policeman, which ends with him askin the policeman, out of nowhere, "would you like to come to my place" and the policeman answering "alright, let's go". Completely improv the entire scene.

[@johnbernhardtsen3008]

When John Cleese messed up in "The Holy Grail" movie, he couldnt remember what his characers name was, so he said.... "Tim"

[@TheAlmaward]

@@johnbernhardtsen3008 that's not being an improv group, that's screwing up a scripted line! LOL

[@gcullen104]

I love the glorious absurdity of Monty Python. Torture by soft cushions and a comfy chair. Brilliant! 🤣

[@tonygriffin_]

I'm surprised YT allowed the comfy chair through. They're usually strict about violence of that level being shown.

[@MelanieMaguire]

I don't think it was a real comfy chair - it was just a mock-up.

[@donmurray3638]

"Biggles" was the pilot hero of several adventure books popular in the nineteen forties and fifties. Stirring tales of derring-do!

[@bobbyjackson1697]

I did stand-up around the midwest in the 90's and I can tell you that much of great comedy is being able to make a planned routine appear improvisational. It was just one of the many talents that the cast of Monty Python possessed.

[@bobbuethe1477]

This is my second favourite Python sketch, just closely behind "The Hungarian-English Phrase Book."

[@davesilkstone6912]

ah! memories of "nobody expects the Spanish inquisition" and "not the comfy chair" echoing around the school playground for week after

[@dianebrown8046]

I SO LOVE IT !! I turned 65 yesterday ( lived in Maryland, 20 yrs. now Love the flag behind you😁) I 1st saw Monty Python around Xmas in 1974 on PBS TV ( late night, got turned on by couple of guys saw it 1st from Drama club & word of mouth spread like fire & it became almost "Cult" thing for LOTS of us to watch & repeat sketches later, I Got nicknamed Penguin for spot on copy of Penguin on Telly ,right to parts of Death of Mary Queen of Scots,& Graham Chapman mumbling song " I Dream of Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair" LOL )...Yesterday got over 40 Facebook Happy B-Day Wishes, 17 were MEMES, sketches or songs from Monty Python...most from old H.S. friends, 3 from R&R friends ( won't go far into that Rabbit hole, met lots of FAMOUS in R&R by making stage clothes& friends in bands,DO have to THANK Tina Weymouth from TALKING HEADS getting me on that trip in 1978 ) ANYWAY to continue...got 2 from friends I got when I 1st went on Facebook & found Python Fan site...Best got 2 from friend ended up meeting from the site she sent meme 1st then posted song " Bright Side of Life".....2 HUGE Smiles I got Today...driving home from grocery shopping today...WMMR played " Bright Side" ( tribute to old DJ, DJ on deck, substituting for DJ I met) &&& BEST Grin....came home pulled up KZbin & saw this !!! HOPE You Don't Mind an OLD LADY'S OVERSHARE !!! just want to THANKS I LOVED IT !!!🥰

[@anthonyholton9376]

Before Monty Python, there was The Goon Show. It was a radio programme, but one or two video clips of it being produced are on KZbin.

[@abestm8]

At 70, I remember watching all these shows for the first time around. A very popular saying back in my younger days, when some one kept asking you questions annoyingly. Was just that phrase. So that's what made this very much more funny to us in the day. The Python team would pick up on this type of thing. It also picked up on people's attitudes and even silly walks when you stood back and looked at London Commuters of the time. This was one of my favourite scenes though lol.

[@ratowey]

Did you know the Cardinal on the right is American, he is Terry Gilliam and he also did all the animations in the films and series.

[@jamesdignanmusic2765]

Neil Innes wasn't in Monty Python, but was involved in a pre-Python children's show with Eric Idle called "Do not adjust your set". Python basically developed out of that series and another one called "At last the 1948 show". He did appear in some of the live shows of Python, IIRC - and Idle and Innes worked together on the hilarious Beatles parody, The Rutles.

[@sandemike]

He was also a member of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.

[@jamesdignanmusic2765]

@@sandemike True - the Bonzos were regular guests on "Do Not Adjust Your Set".

[@joaopauloadlergomesdacosta282]

I bet you were not expecting THAT!

[@lynnd1874]

Listen to some of the songs the Monty Python Team sung..... There is one called "the Lumberjack Song" and another charming little ditty called "Sit on my face. I can promise that you will laugh over these, but I don't thing KZbin's algorithm would let you do a reaction vlog to them. It might be okay for the Lumberjack song", but I think "Sit on my face" might be pushing the boundaries a bit far

[@TheOriginalFILIBUSTA]

Ok, the Kool Aid man reference was the coolest thing I've heard in a while.

[@LoriTalbot-du2qt]

The dead parrot sketch is my favourite!

[@madmadgeoffers3982]

no no not the comfy chair Palin was in a group of stories called ripping yarns, curse of the monkey fist was exceptionally funny, also i am sure he did something playing a vicker in a brothel but i cant remember the name of it

[@Gomorragh]

well depending on what you watch of the monty python stuff, they had a script, but would also have certain amounts of improv. Best example being the Incontinentia Buttox part of life of brian, the meeting was scripted, but then extended when the guards kept giggling, they were scripted to stay stoic at all times, so the central character just added a few improvissed bits, there have been a few interviews about how this part of the film went on a fair bit longer than it was meant to

[@JimRoper1976]

There is a 3rd part of the Spanish Inquisition set in a courtroom as the credits roll. They come in just as it ends

[@sargonsblackgrandfather2072]

Me and my buddies used to watch Monty Python that I’d taped off the tv religiously as kids and then quote the lines to eachother in school. Good times

[@stue2298]

The best comedy feels like it is improvised but is written and rehearsed, Morecambe and Wise where the masters of this type of rehearsed humour.

[@inexplicablyleft2729]

I don't think anyone has said it much in 40 or 50 years, but "I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition!" was a common way of saying "Back off with all the questions!" After Monty Python it wasn't possible to say it as a complaint.

[@lindadoswell9396]

These are so off the wall great!!!!

[@imocchidoro]

The Pythons were the most brilliantly, silly troupe EVER.

[@nellgwenn]

Here's a fun fact. Luke and Owen Wilson's dad was the person responsible for getting Monty Python's Flying Circus on the air. He worked at a PBS station in Texas and got the show to air I believe it was Dallas, but don't quote me. From there it shot through every PBS station in the country.

[@janicecostall5897]

I can’t believe you haven’t got the end bit of the show when there running for the bus so brilliant 😂

[@carlriggs5413]

Id enjoy you guys reacting to some red dwarf at some point :) An old english gem of a comedy

[@simonharper4199]

The Python playing the Inquisitor with the red hood is Terry Gilliam , a fellow American. He did all the wacky animations for the show

[@bagpiper2k_]

Best beginning to a video ever 🥱😂😂

[@steveb1972]

I love Monty Python! Incidentally the Inquisition had to give a moth’s notice before visiting and 90-odd % were found innocent!

[@andrewmccullough9334]

When they did this live at the O2, it was the greatest thing I ever saw

[@braces2]

I watched this when it was first broadcast in the UK in 1971. I was 18 and in my final year in school. I remember that the next day after broadcast all you could here in school was people shouting, "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!" And that included some of the teachers.

[@mark-nm4tc]

Guys, you need to watch the entire Python show this sketch is in, especially the ending😂.

[@CowmanUK]

I just hit the "like" that took this video from 999 to 1000. So cool. I love Python. Always have. Python and Spike Milligan, who inspired Python. And YES who wouldn't want someone to react the The Rutles. I once met Neil Innes (RIP) a true genius of comedy and a great musician. As he used to say before his gig: "I've suffered for my art. Now it's your turn."

[@starhawk4855]

the term of comfy chair during spanish inquisition.

[@lilacfiddler1]

We could all recite this at school back in the early 70’s

[@AndreA-ke2id]

You guys should do these Python sketches......... 1 The Argument sketch 2 The Dead Parrot sketch 3 The Dirty Fork sketch

[@Wabbit_Hunta]

I don't know if you have watched it, if not then have a look at Fawlty Towers. John Cleese, a Monty Python icon, plays the owner of the hotel, Basil Fawlty. It was actually based on an Hotel he stayed at in North Devon, and the owner was as bad, if not worse than the charater he plays. Connie Booth, the girl in the clip you his wife at that time, was also in Fawlty Towers, and also co-wrote the script with John Cleese. That's also got some great stuff in it that will have you in stitches too.

[@JonathanReynolds1]

I’ve been to Doune Castle 🏰 in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 where Monty Python’s The Holy Grail was filmed.

[@colinwilson4609]

Thanks for comparing the Spanish Inquisition sketch to the Kool-Aid man. One of my good friends and LSD cosmonauts from the 1990s loved the Pythons but had nightmares as a child about a 200 ton pitcher of Kool-Aid bursting through the backyard fence. I miss you, old friend, Mr. David Patrick Clarke from Oshawa, Ontario via the University of Toronto? This may just be a message in a bottle, but let's keep in touch.

[@thefilmsett]

The guy who read the charges is American too Terry Gilliam

[@barriehull7076]

In 1968, Terry Gilliam, Cardinal Fang, obtained British citizenship. He held dual American and British citizenship for the next 38 years, until he renounced his American citizenship in January 2006.

[@mikepaulus4766]

I used to play WWII Online. One of the guys I played with was from Spain. So whenever he asked a question ⁉️

[@Pluggit1953]

Yes! All You Need Is Cash from the Rutles!

[@patrickholt2270]

"Cardinal Fang! Fetch... the COMFY CHAIR!"

[@howardchambers9679]

See Count Duckula. "Tie him to the comfy sofa!" No sax please we're Egyptian is so funny. Very English so you probably wont get the humour

[@lisaburris9045]

Monty Python were not improv. They were comedy writers that happened to be on TV. Rarely did any Python go off script. It did happen, and it was usually Eric Idol that did so.

[@MichaelYoder1961]

Classic Python

[@robertwright7937]

Have you ever listened to a band called The Sundays? Definitely worth a listen. Their first single is called "Can't Be Sure." (Love Monty Python, by the way.)😄👍

[@kumasenlac5504]

3:28 No, it was completely unplanned - they always wear red robes when they burst into a random room...

[@jedsithor]

The irony of course is that EVERYONE expected the Spanish Inquisition. They'd send notice ahead of time of any interviews they wanted to conduct. Their chief weapon was a sense of decorum.

[@SwearyCyclist]

Legends but even the Pythons admitted they were massively influenced by Milligan's Q series.

[@sashcramp2099]

Yes, without Spike much of the humour that followed would never have existed.

[@gosccc]

It's a shame you didn't go to the end. One of the funniest moments ever.

[@amclellan100]

Its by handmade films with with Michael Palin

[@zee2012]

As a side note it took Napoleon's invasion of Spain in 1808 to put an end to the Spanish Inquisition.

[@mattinykanen4780]

Since you are so into beards, might I propose the original Rare Exports (part 1)? The short film of about 8 minutes.

[@RalphBrooker-gn9iv]

"… … In fact those who do expect …"

[@robertobrien5709]

In actuality the inquisition legally gave 30 days notice.

[@Roberto_79]

Classic!!!

[@blackcountryme]

Absurdity is the key....

[@janicecostall5897]

This is totally planned Michael Pailin and Terry Jones where writing partners as was John Cleese and Graham Chapman Eric wrote on his own

[@dexstewart2450]

...and now you need to go to the source - Spike Milligan

[@angelavara4097]

The people in the background get me lol

[@gordoncameron5082]

Is Cardinal Biggles related to the famous flyer whose body so offended his fellow flyers?

[@RichardX1]

And whose name I am convinced inspired Charles Schultz to make Snoopy a WW1 flying ace?

[@rickb.4168]

Crossbeams gone out of skew on Treadle

[@stewedfishproductions7959]

Eeeee by gum !!!

[@jessicapayne8622]

Should watch them live at the O2…

[@gary.h.turner]

The position that I always hold is that Monty Python should be utterly banished from the face of the Earth - but that's only because... NOBODY expects the banishing position! 😂 [Not my joke, but courtesy of the subtitles of this video!]

[@cathyb46]

Lumberjack song pls Michael Palin

[@MultiNacnud]

If anybody plays EU IV one of the Castillion ideas is the Spanish inquisition . It states nobody expected that.

[@DanielRobertspiano]

Ah you missed the end!!!!

[@1nikg]

Without Monty Python there would be no SNL . MP gave birth satirical sketch shows✌️

[@777petew]

If you start asking why, then you won't enjoy it. Thanks, great reaction.

[@sargonsblackgrandfather2072]

Nobody *expects* the Spanish Inquisition

[@sharonellis8776]

This is a brilliantly planned sketch ! No one like Monty Python gang. xx

[@thefilmsett]

This sketch is hilarious. I'll come back in. And later I know you can't I didn't want to say anything. I just wanted to try and ignore your crass mistake.

[@annedunne4526]

As far as I know it was all scripted tho different people may have added their ideas.

[@stevemurrell6167]

It's all planned....they were just genius performers.

[@jessicapayne8622]

Nooooo!! Not the comfy chair

[@Deceased858]

It was all planned. Just what they do, take the mickey out of so many things at the same time.

[@mpmlopes]

Monty Python are known for not improvising, they were very very strict about what they thought was funny and what wasn't, and everything you see is the result of them tirelessly discussing what's funny or not.

[@iansmith1286]

No improv or mistakes, this was scripted all the way through.

[@davepoul8483]

I think you will find that Python was written... otherwise they would loose it and end up in fits of laughter..

[@WHNorthcote]

No part 3? For shame.

[@citizenkane4831]

Monthy Pythons Four yourksher men and The department of silly walks is also rathre fun

[@donpietruk1517]

Also the Piranha Brothers. That's one of my favorites 😅

[@davidduncan1444]

HELLO TO MY YANK COUSINS

[@martinhegelius7445]

Its verry pland!

[@williambell8282]

Who is the Kool Aid man?

[@ianelley]

Monty P stole most of their stuff from Spike Milligans Q series, they are quite happy to admit it ! You want to see absurd, even avant garde at times comedy give him a try !!

[@Al_Ellisande]

Everyone watching yawned.

[@jeffdee]

The Pythons scripted their shows. If there was ever any improvisation, it was minor. The show feels a bit rough because it was performed live.

[@declanmagee58]

its Python. Every single word, every single tone, is figured out in advance. They didn't like the others, they were all too flat.

[@ghichens3418]

Welcome to world of British University Educated humour ! Tis brill (From the 70s ) Too friggin PC now !! Cheers

[@amclellan100]

Unless you have try jabbering so funny

[@יובלקונסקר]

lol