“Have you got anything without Spam in it?”
Why, yes, in fact, we do. We’ve got silly walks and Spanish inquisitions and … yes, “Spam,” the 1970 comedy sketch that eventually spawned the term for all of those junk e-mails cluttering your in-box.
To mark Tuesday’s opening of the national touring production of “Monty Python’s Spamalot,” the ribald stage adaptation of the hugely popular 1975 film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” we asked cast members to offer their favorite comic moments from the Python catalog.
We also submit our own suggested top 10 (including said “Spam,” in which two customers are trying to order breakfast from a menu that has Spam in every dish).
You can help us determine the greatest moment in Python history by voting from our list at the top left of this page.
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Michael Siberry (King Arthur)
The moment: “The Interrogation,” from “Life of Brian.”
What happens: “Brian (Graham Chapman) is interrogated by Pontius Pilate (Michael Palin), who cannot pronounce his R’s, and his Roman “colleague,” who cannot pronounce his S’s.
Why it’s funny: “Is thelf explantwy.”
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Christopher Sutton (Historian, Not Dead Fred, others)
The moment: “The Ministry of Silly Walks,” from “Flying Circus”
What happens: “John Cleese, walking in the most absurd way possible, plays a civil servant responsible for developing silly walks through grants. Palin presents a ‘walk in progress’ that is not silly enough to qualify for funding.”
Why it’s funny: “Because Cleese and Palin are so absolutely sincere. ‘Well, sir, I have a silly walk, and I’d like to obtain a government grant to help me develop it.’ Having that honesty and truth in an absurd situation is the hallmark of Python humor … and Cleese does things with his legs that shouldn’t be physically possible.”
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Callie Carter (dance captain)
The moment: “The Spanish Inquisition,” from “Flying Circus”
What happens: (in the words of castmate Robert Petkoff): “Graham Chapman complains, ‘I wasn’t expecting a sort of Spanish Inquisition.’ Then Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam jump through the door dressed as cardinals, and Palin announces: ‘NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition! Our chief weapon is surprise! … Surprise and fear, … fear and surprise. … Our TWO weapons are fear and surprise … and ruthless efficiency. … Our THREE weapons are fear and surprise and ruthless efficiency … and an almost fanatical devotion to the pope. … Our FOUR … no … ‘ He gives up and announces he’ll come in again.”
Why it’s funny: “Because they just can’t seem to get it right,” said Carter. “They don’t realize that a pillow won’t hurt you or that ‘the rack’ is not a dish rack.”
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Robert Petkoff (Sir Robin)
The moment: “Aliens,” from “Flying Circus”
What happens: “Aliens are turning ordinary people into Scotsmen. Their clothes change to kilts and bonnets, and they get instant red beards. The Scotsmen then thrust out one of their arms and start marching north to Scotland.”
Why it’s funny: “Loony and inspired. I can remember my friends and me marching around school like that after we had seen it, thinking we were so funny. We were complete nerds. What joy!”
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Jeff Dumas (Patsy)
The moment: “The Garibaldi Family,” from “Flying Circus”
What happens: The family is trying to defend their title as “The Worst Family in Britain.”
Why it’s funny: “The contest is judged by something called the disgustometer, with Gilliam lying on a couch yelling for ‘more beans!’ and Palin bumping into things and almost single-handedly destroying the house. Better than any reality TV we have today.”
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Christopher Gurr (Mrs. Galahad, others)
The moment: “The Four Yorkshiremen,” from “Live at the Hollywood Bowl”
What happens: “Four Yorkshiremen, dressed in white dinner jackets, sitting around with cocktails, boasting about how rough they had it growing up.”
Why it’s funny: “The accents rock, the contrast between the setting and what they are saying is brilliant, and the stellar one-upsmanship is Python gold. It’s exactly the kind of thing that hooked me on these guys.”
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Anthony Holds (Sir Galahad)
The moment: “Mount Kilimanjaro,” from “And Now for Something Completely Different.”
What happens: “A young, earnest Eric Idle shows up to apply for a position on an expedition to said mountain, and is interviewed by the leader of the expedition, played by Cleese, who inexplicably sees and perceives everything in twos. Thus, Idle is left answering questions for two of himself. Hilarity ensues.”
Why it’s funny: “Various characters exhibit complete earnestness in the most absurd of situations. It’s what I enjoy most about Python in general. Whether perpetrating absurdity or being forced to cope with it, there is never a wink that lets you know the characters are in on the joke. They just exist as best they know how within their situations, and we get to enjoy the results.”
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Patrick Heusinger (Sir Lancelot, others)
The moment: “The 27th Silly Olympiad,” an event held every 3.7 years.
What happens: “One race is ‘the 100-meter dash for men with no sense of direction.’ Another is ‘the 200-meter freestyle for nonswimmers.”‘
Why it’s funny: “In the former, the starting gun is fired, and all eight runners sprint in opposite directions. In the latter, the starting gun is fired and all four swimmers dive in the pool – and never surface.”
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Matt Allen (Frog, Nun, others)
The moment: “The Bruces Sketch,” from “Flying Circus”
What happens: “Faculty members of the University of Woolloomooloo in Australia, all named Bruce, welcome a newcomer, name him Bruce, review the rules of the department, crack open beers, launch into an Idle song describing the drinking prowess of the world’s major philosophers.”
Why it’s funny: “Through their brilliant writing, they point out that no one should take themselves too seriously … especially themselves! Genius.”
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Martin Moran (Denver native playing Sir Robin on Broadway)
The moment: “The Wedding Guard,” from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”
What happens: “The guard at Herbert’s impending wedding can’t get his instructions right.”
Why it’s funny: “That’s the scene I love playing most onstage every night. The dumb, slightly tipsy guard who gets it all wrong. (Director) Mike Nichols told me: ‘It’s like talking to the person from the phone company, who keeps screwing it up.”‘
Theater critic John Moore can be reached at 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com.
Denver Post’s Top 10 Monty Python moments
Vote for your favorite moments – or suggest your own – in our poll at the top left of this page
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* “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” (left), from “Life of Brian”
* “Bring Out Your Dead,” from “Holy Grail”
*”Every Sperm Is Sacred,” from “The Meaning of Life”
*”The Dead Parrot,” from “Flying Circus”
*”The Ministry of Silly Walks,” from “Flying Circus”
*”The Spanish Inquisition,” from “Flying Circus”
*”Knights Who Say, ‘Ni,’ ” from “Holy Grail”
*”The Lumberjack Song,” from “Flying Circus”
*”Spam,” from “Flying Circus”
*”Chapman’s Ashes” (“accidentally” spilled and vacuumed up during 1998 reunion interview at Aspen Comedy Festival)
-Compiled by John Moore
Who was Monty Python?
The collective name of the British comedy team of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. Their seminal TV show, “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” ran from 1969 to 1984, and they made four films between 1971 and 1983.
About “Monty Python’s Spamalot”
“Spamalot” is a “lovingly ripped-off” stage adaptation of the 1975 film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” It is a faithful retelling of King Arthur’s quest for the Holy Grail, complete with a chorus line of dancing divas and knights, flatulent Frenchmen, killer rabbits and one legless knight. The book was adapted by Idle, with new songs by John Du Prez. “Spamalot” won the Tony Award for best musical in 2005.
Ticket information
MUSICAL COMEDY | National touring production|Directed by Mike Nichols|At the Buell Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex | SEPT. 18-OCT. 7 | 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays | $30-$125|303-893-4100, 866-464-2626 (800-641-1222 outside Denver), all King Soopers or .
