Title: The Spanish Inquisition
Original Airdate: 22/9/1970
Guest starring: Carol Cleveland, Marjorie Wilde
First, a failed flying machine
And now for something completely different, it's: multiple failed attempts at torture by The Spanish Inquisition ("The Spanish Inquisition"), a door-to-door novelty joke salesman, government employees discussing taxing thingynote , people on the streets suggesting what they would tax, Wuthering Heights performed on semaphore, Julius Caesar performed on Aldis lamps, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral performed in Morse Code, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes performed with smoke signals, and charades performed in court leading to a judge being put on trial.
Tropes:
- Acronym and Abbreviation Overload: Gentlemen, our MP saw the PM this AM, and the PM wants more LSD from the PIB by tomorrow AM or PM at the latest. I told the PM's PPS that AM was NBG so tomorrow PM it is for the PM nem. con. note
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: "Amongst our weaponry are such diverse elements as fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope, and nice red uniforms..."
- Artistic License – History: Ximénez and the other inquisitors are dressed in blood red uniforms resembling Cardinal Richelieu's classical attire that were never used in Spain. In real life, Spanish inquisitors wore white and black.
- Biting-the-Hand Humor: In one of the links, John Cleese's man from the BBC is in comedy. He wanted to do programme planning, but "unfortunately, I've got a degree."
- Black Cap of Death: Put on by a Judge sentencing another Judge to be burnt at the stake.
- Cross-Cast Role: For once, there is a subversion. The sweet old lady showing photographs to Carol Cleveland is not played by one of the Pythons in drag, but is instead played by Marjorie Wilde.
- Disorganized Outline Speech: "Our two weapons are fear and surprise and a ruthless efficiency..."
- Expospeak Gag:Politician 1: Now, the fiscal deficit with regard to the monetary balance, the current financial year excluding invisible exports, but adjusted of course for seasonal variations and the incremental statistics of the fiscal and revenue arrangements for the forthcoming annual budgetary period terminating in April.Politician 2: I think he's talking about taxation.
- Failed Attempt at Drama: The Spanish Inquisition.
- Most egregious towards the end. Most every other time one could say they weren't expecting the first appearance of the Inquisition. But the judge on trial says the usual catchphrase... and judge, jury, witness, judge-on-trial, and exhibit ALL expectantly turn to face the door the Inquisition will come out of on the other side of the credits.
- Faux Horrific: The torture techniques of the soft cushions and the comfy chair.
- Hanging Judge: A judge trying another judge says that he'll follow other judges by emigrating to South Africa, where he can "get some decent sentencing done," unlike in England, where the hardest punishment allowed is life imprisonment:"It's hardly worth coming in in the morning. Now, South Africa? You've got your cat of nine tails, you've got four death sentences a week, you've got cheap drinks, slave labour and a booming stock market. I'm off, I tell you. Yes, I'm up to here with probation and bleeding psychiatric reports. That's it, I'm off. That's it. Right. But I'm going to have one final fling before I leave, so I sentence you to be burnt at the stake."
- Interrupted by the End: The end credits shows the Spanish Inquisition catching a bus to reach the last sketch before the show is over. When they arrive, Cardinal Ximénez makes his usual introduction but is cut off.
- Laughably Evil: Despite all the sting chords and maniacal cackling, the Spanish Inquisition can't even get their lines straight, let alone intimidate anyone.
- Losing Your Head: Graham Chapman once had his head cut off for use in a piece of animation.
- Medium Awareness: The Spanish Inquisitions are aware of the credits as they play, noticing the Lighting and Producer credits.
- Minion with an F in Evil: Cardinal Ximénez, head of the Spanish Inquisition, is not helped in his quest for legitimacy by subordinates Cardinal Biggles and Cardinal Fang.
- New Year Has Come: The first sketch starts in Jarrow, New Years Eve: 1911 and then shifting to Jarrow: 1912.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Cardinal Ximénez is presumably a stand in for Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, who was third Grand Inquisitor of Spain after Tomás de Torquemada and Diego Deza.
- Nonverbal Miscommunication: The courtroom where the participants communicate using Charades, resulting in a judge misinterpreting a jury's decision as "Not guilcup".
- Precision F-Strike: Cardinal Ximénez has one at the end when he and his henchmen show up at the Old Bailey only for the black screen to cut him off.Ximénez: Nobody expects the Sp... oh, bugger!
- Pun: The novelty joke salesman says that his plastic flesh wounds will "keep your friends in stitches".
- Shout-Out: The period drama that the Spanish Inquisition interrupts is a takeoff on the 1967 ITV series Inheritance, with the first line, "trouble at mill!" a direct quote of that show's Catchphrase.
- Speak of the Devil: Whenever someone says "I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition" or something similar, the trio storms into the room.
- Inconvenient Summons: The final time the Inquisition appears, they have to take a bus to the courthouse and race the credits to storm into the room.
- Take Our Word for It: The Punchline to the "Jokes and Novelties Salesman" sketch:BBC Man: Ha, ha, ha, very good. What a good punchline. Pity we missed that. Still, never mind, we can always do it again.
- Unusual Euphemism: When a group of politicians are looking for something new to tax, one brings up "Thingy" as a suggestion. "Poo-Poos" and "Number Ones" are guessed, until it dawns on everyone. note
- Visual Pun: When asked for "The Rack", Cardinal Biggles pulls out an ordinary dish rack instead of the traditional torture device.
