Title: The Ant, an Introduction
Original Airdate: 14/12/1969
Guest starring: Carol Cleveland, Connie Booth, The Fred Tomlinson Singers (the choir in "The Lumberjack Song")
It's: A description of llamas in Spanish, a man with a tape recorder up his nose, interviews for a expedition to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, a man with a tape recorder up his brother's nose, a possible murderer failing to cut a man's hair because he really wanted to be a lumberjack which he then sings about ("Lumberjack Song"), a maitre d' overselling tonight's entertainment, incompetent hunters, and the "Wink Wink Nudge Nudge" guy and his friends interrupting another guy's date.
"Kilimanjaro Expedition (Sir George Head)," "Man With A Tape Recorder Up His [Brother's] Nose," and "The Lumberjack Song" were reshot for And Now For Something Completely Different.
Tropes:
- Bawdy Song: "The Lumberjack Song"
- Bloody Hilarious: The barber, who apparently is only barely restraining himself from murdering his customer. His coat is drenched with blood and he's washing blood off his hands as his new customer comes in.
- Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: The "Lumberjack Song" starts off with the lumberjack describing his daily life, which seems perfectly normal until he begins to describe his passion for crossdressing.
- Buxom Beauty Standard: Brian Equator sees Iris (Carol Cleveland) at the party and says "You've got a nice pair, haven't you?"
- Double Vision: The "Kilimanjaro Expedition" sketch has Sir George Head OBE who suffered from double vision and keeps seeing two people in place of one, or four in the case of twins, including two of himself. At the end of the sketch, it turns out there are two George Heads, shown with one George Head on a Chroma Key screen superimposed next to the other one.
- Drop the Cow: Averted. The Knight with Chicken waits backstage for his cue, until a stage manager informs him they don't need him this week.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: The Gumby portrayed by Graham Chapman speaks almost coherently with a West Country accent, but sings in the familiar slow voice.
- Gasshole: Audrey Equator in "The Visitors" sketch; her husband Brian tells her to "lay off the beans".
- Improvised Platform: Described in the Lumberjack scene: "I always wanted... to be a lumberjack! Leaping from tree to tree, as they float down the mighty rivers of British Columbia!"
- Jerkass: Wink Wink Nudge Nudge guy and all of his friends, who barge into a man's house when he's wooing a woman, expect him to give them drinks and put up with their horrific behavior, then one shoots the man when he demands they get out.
- Lame Pun Reaction: After the Lumberjack Song, a Pepperpot appears and says: "Well, I object to all this sex on the television. I mean, I keep falling off!" This is followed by an image of an award and text scroll reading "That joke was nominated for this year's Rubber Mac of Zurich Award. It came last."
- Moose and Maple Syrup: The barber in the “Homicidal Barber/Lumberjack Song” sketch wants to be a lumberjack in British Columbia. During the song, the backing vocals are provided by several Mounties (played by the Fred Tomlinson Singers, along with Graham Chapman and John Cleese).
- The Name Is Bond, James Bond: Brian Equator introduces himself this way in the "Visitors" sketch.
- Pursue the Dream Job: A barber gives it all up to become a lumberjack. He has a hair phobia and he never really wanted to be a barber anyway.
- Scaling the Summit: In the "Mountaineering Sketch" a man plans an expedition to the "dual peaks" of Mount Kilimanjaro - except there is only one peak. He has double vision.
- Strongly Worded Letter: As always when portrayed on this show, Played for Laughs:Dear Sir, I wish to complain in the strongest possible terms about the song which you have just broadcast about the lumberjack who wears women's clothes. Many of my best friends are lumberjacks, and only a few of them are transvestites.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: Sir Brigadier Charles Arthur Strong (Mrs.) has never kissed the editor of the Radio Times.
- The Tape Knew You Would Say That: Used in the "Barber Sketch" where the barber leaves a recording of himself chatting with the customer, the deception was so good that it repeated a line when the customer said he didn't hear it.
- Toilet Humour: "What's brown and sounds like a bell? Dung!"
