History Main / AudienceMurmurs

* Spoof-Victorian comedy ''The Brothers Faversham'' had a running gag one episode using this. Whenever something astonishing happened, a crowd would murmur over each other: "Good Lord! - I say! - Unbelievable! - What! - That's impossible!". Unfortunately, the murmurs would die down just as one of them said, very distinctly, "Shit".

May be preceded by an audience-wide {{GASP}}

-->''General murmuring of no''

** In ''Discworld/{{Maskerade}}'' Nanny Ogg, having joined an angry mob in order to divert them from their target, is revealed as the rest of the crowd dissipates to be waving her torch and pitchfork and muttering "Rhubarb... rhubarb..."
** Another parody occurs in ''Discworld/InterestingTimes'', where a samurai yells "Itiyorshu! Yutimishu!" -- "I tie your shoe, you tie my shoe" was the rhubarb phrase specifically given to extras who were meant to sound like they were speaking Japanese.

* PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/TheFellowshipOfTheRing'' when Bilbo is giving his farewell and says "I don't know half of you half as well as I should like and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve". This is straight out of the book where it describes the response as scattered applause with most of the audience working it out to see if it came out to a compliment. The movie conveys this reaction with mostly blank looks in the audience.

* In ''[[Literature/{{Sophie}} Sophie Hits Six]]'' by Creator/DickKingSmith, the titular Sophie gets into big trouble with her teacher when she follows her dad's advice and plays her crowd scene by shouting, "Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb!"

* ''Radio/TheGoonShow'' {{lampshaded}} this - audience murmurs were always played by the full cast muttering "rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb". Considering that "the full cast" was only three people, and that they would occasionally intersperse the "rhubarbs" with "custard!", the effect was usually unconvincing.

* {{Creator/Detsniy Off Skiword}}’s Ace Attorney fanfics often reference the series’ canon examples. Apparently, the audience just constantly saying “Ah, yes, yes, yes, yes” until Judge bangs his “[[RougeAnglesOfSatin litle hamer]] [[BuffySpeak thing]]”

* This happens in Sai's BackStory in ''Manga/HikaruNoGo'' during a public game of Go. After his opponent blames him for cheating (the opponent was actually the one who cheated) and Sai denies, the whole crowd begins to whisper.

--> '''Cabinet men:''' ''harrumphharrumphharrumphharrumphharrumphharrumphharrumph''
--> '''Governor:''' ''I didn't get a "harrumph" outta that guy!''
--> '''Hedley Lamarr:''' ''Give the governor a "harrumph!"''
--> '''That Guy:''' ''Harrumph.''
--> '''Governor:''' ''You watch your ass.''
-> -- ''Film/BlazingSaddles''

--> '''Hedley Lamarr:''' ''Give the governer a "harrumph!"''

* In ''Fanfiction/ChrysalisVisitsTheHague'': This happens occasionally during the hearings, with one problem - the actual gallery is separated from the courtroom by a security window, so the implication of this is that not even the court's ''own staff'' can help but comment or react on the revelations.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgers'' episode "Green Loonturn", Dodgers' ComicBook/GreenLantern oath includes "Watermelon, cantaloupe, yadda-e-yadda".

* ''TheMonkees'' parody this with the "rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb" variation in the episode "Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers".

** Mocking of ''PrinceOfSpace'' (a Japanese film), Mike and the Bots riff on the MediaScrum by muttering random Japanese and East Asian phrases ("Wasabi." "Bok choy." "Yakisoba." "Samurai.").

* In a bit discussing PM's Question Time, EddieIzzard renders the background murmurs in Parliament as "Toilet paper! Toilet paper! Toilet paper in our time!"

* In ''ChrysalisVisitsTheHague'': This happens occasionally during the hearings, with one problem - the actual gallery is separated from the courtroom by a security window, so the implication of this is that not even the court's ''own staff'' can help but comment or react on the revelations.

'''Crew:''' Rumble, rumble, rumble. Mutiny, mutiny, mutiny.\\

* ''TheGoonShow'' {{lampshaded}} this - audience murmurs were always played by the full cast muttering "rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb". Considering that "the full cast" was only three people, and that they would occasionally intersperse the "rhubarbs" with "custard!", the effect was usually unconvincing.

* DaveBarry has mocked this a few times, as when a murmur ran through a courtroom--then jumped up and bit the judge on the nose.
* In Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel ''Discworld/{{Maskerade}}'' Nanny Ogg, having joined an angry mob in order to divert them from their target, is revealed as the rest of the crowd dissipates to be waving her torch and pitchfork and muttering "Rhubarb... rhubarb..."
** Another parody occurs in ''Discworld/InterestingTimes'' where characters yell "Itiyorshu! Yutimishu!" "I tie your shoe, you tie my shoe" was the rhubarb phrase specifically given to extras who were meant to sound like they were speaking Japanese.

* Issue #34 of Marvel's "What If?" series (first series) was a series of one-page spoofs of the Marvel Universe. One such example was "What if anyone who had been an Avenger had remained an Avenger?" So naturally, just about every Marvel hero shows up upon the call "Avengers Assemble!", with the multi-stemmed word balloon "Watermelon cantaloupe watermelon cantaloupe watermelon cantaloupe" employed to simulate crowd noise.

* Music/RidersInTheSky's novelty album ''Riders Go Commercial'' features the fake ads "Geezer Training Course" to become a background extra in Western films. Part of the class is learning to mumble "rhubarb" and "peas and carrots."