The Spanish Inquisition (Monty Python)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the Monty Python comedy sketch. For the historical event, see Spanish Inquisition.
"The Spanish Inquisition" was a series of Monty Python sketches, parodying the Spanish Inquisition. The principal catchphrase in these sketches was "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!"
Contents |
[edit] Plot synopsis
This was a recurring sketch always predicated on an unrelated sketch in which one character, expressing irritation at being questioned by another, would announce "I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition!" At this point the Inquisition—consisting of Cardinals Ximinez (Michael Palin), Biggles (Terry Jones), and Fang (Terry Gilliam)—would burst into the room. Ximinez would shout, with a particular and high-pitched emphasis on the first syllable, "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!"
- "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!" (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Set-up, cue, and entrance of the Inquisition
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.
After entering, the Inquisition frequently got bogged down in recitations of their weapons ("Amongst our weaponry are such diverse elements as fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope, and nice red uniforms!"). After several attempts, Ximinez would state, "I'll come in again...", and herd The Inquisition back off the set. The straight man would then deliver the cue line again, the Inquisition would burst back in (complete with jarring chord), and the introduction tried again. This was repeated two or three times before Ximinez gave up and moved on.
Ximinez repeatedly ran into the problem of not being able to reliably torture anyone. When he called for "the rack," his assistants produced a dish-drying rack. When poking the victim with soft cushions produced no confession, Ximinez would inquire whether his assistants had gotten all the stuffing together into one end of the cushions, for supposed maximum effectiveness. Failing that, making the victim sit in a comfy chair was tried.
In Monty Python's Flying Circus, Series 2 Episode 2 (itself entitled "The Spanish Inquisition"), the Inquisition makes several "unexpected" appearances. At the very end of the show, in "Court Charades", they are caught by surprise when a barrister in session at the Old Bailey says "I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition". The whole court rises and looks expectantly at the witness entrance door (obviously expecting the Spanish Inquisition). As the closing credits roll the Inquisitors race to the Old Bailey by bus, to the tune of Devil's Gallop, only to arrive just as the words "THE END" appear. Ximinez has just enough time to say "Nobody expects the Sp...oh, bugger!" before the episode ends. "Bugger" was a strong word for a BBC comedy show at the time, and some BBC regions omitted it from the broadcast.
[edit] References in other works
- In Mystery Science Theater 3000, a running gag was that when a character in the film being watched burst through a door, Tom Servo would yell out "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!"
- When the British Abbey National Bank was taken over by the Spanish Banco Santander Central Hispano in a surprise move in 2004, The Now Show used the phrase, "Nobody expects the Spanish acquisition".
- In the film Sliding Doors, John Hannah and Gwyneth Paltrow made a connection with each other using the phrase. At frequent intervals in the film, John Hannah's character would tell another to remember what the Monty Python boys always say. They reply with "Always look on the bright side of life?", to which he replies "No one expects the Spanish Inquisition."
- In one of his 1999 shows on Channel 4, Rory Bremner once impersonated Robin Cook, regarding the desire by the government of Spain to extradite former Chilean Dictator Augusto Pinochet during his visit to the UK: "Pinochet did not expect a Spanish extradition - HAHA! Nobody expects the Spanish Extradition! Our chief weapon is surprise!... And spin! Yes, our two chief weapons are surprise, and spin!... And Amnesty International! Yes, our three chief weapons are..."
- In the PC RTS game Tropico 2: Pirate Cove, one option for past occupation is "Inquisitor". At the end of the description, it reads, "...your chief weapon is fear. And surprise. Your two chief weapons are fear and surprise. And you can build the interrogation chamber for half Price...".
- The popular "Life of Python" sketch, featured in the BBC comedy program, Not The Nine O'Clock News, included a line in which "General Synod", in response to a question of how he expected the public to react to his film, exclaims "Well, I certainly didn't expect (slight pause) the Spanish Inquisition".
- In the Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
- In Zork Zero, among the devices in the castle's torture chamber is a comfy chair.
- In a Batman comic book, a fictional crossover occurred with the Monty Python Inquisition. Robin barrages Batgirl with questions, causing her to reply with "Hey, slow down, I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition!" The next panel features the Spanish Inquisition arriving on horseback. This unlikely event was actually worked in as a part of the overall plot. [1]
[edit] See also
- History of the World, Part I has a sketch with a singing and dancing inquisition.
