Title: You're No Fun Anymore
Original Airdate: 30/11/1969
Guest starring: Donna Reading
It's: A failed camel spotter, a collection of people complaining to other people that they're no fun anymore, an accountant caught embezzling a whole penny from the corporation he works for ("The Audit"), and a fairly long story about alien blancmanges turning Englishmen into Scotsmen in order to win Wimbledon ("Science Fiction Sketch").
Nearly 3/4 of the episode is taken up by the "Science Fiction Sketch", which was far longer than anything the Pythons had done through the first six episodes.
Tropes:
- Action Survivor: Parodied in the "Science Fiction Sketch", which paints average-Joe, loser Angus Podgorny as the everyman who survives the Blancmanges and goes on to defeat them; during the final battle, the Wimbledon tennis final, Angus gets his ass handed to him by a Blancmange, and only wins because someone else ate the blancmange.
- Animal Athlete Loophole: Inverted in the "Science Fiction Sketch", where the rules of Wimbledon state that at least one human is to be involved in the final, preventing the Blancmanges from sweeping the tournament. They've prepared for this situation, by making sure the only human not eaten in the tournament is from Scotland, the worst tennis playing nation in the world.
- Anthropomorphic Food: A blancmange is a kind of British dessert, think of a dairy based gelatin that tastes like almonds.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Played for laughs; John Cleese's policeman is quite happy to believe in the existence of tennis playing blancmanges, but refuses to believe that five people could play mixed doubles.
- Badass Normal: Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Brainsample, until they reveal they are from another planet.
- Brainless Beauty: The scientist's Dumb Blonde girlfriend in the "Science Fiction Sketch". He eventually gets tired of her stupidity, and knocks her out with a sock filled with sand. Twice.
- Chekhov's Gunman: After "a brief and misleading appearance in the early part of the film", it's Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Brainsample who ultimately defeat the Blancmanges.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Eric Idle's character in the camelspotting sketch threatens to throw the next person who steals his catchphrase under a camel, and since he mistakes camels for trains, this equates to them being Chained to a Railway.
- Distant Finale: The narration actually gives Angus Podgorny one by noting at the end he'll become the first Scotsman to win Wimbledon in 15 years.
- Dumb Blonde: The scientist's assistant is portrayed this way. Especially near the end when she gives the wrong answers to the scientist's questions.
- Eating the Enemy: In one episode the Earth is threatened by an invasion of giant blancmanges from outer space who plan to defeat England by changing everyone in the country into Scotsmen and winning Wimbledon. Just as it appears that they will succeed, two people run onto the Wimbledon finals court and eat the tennis-playing blancmange.
- Epic Fail: How bad are Scotsmen at tennis? Angus was up against an alien that is an anthropomorphic British gelatin mold and he still lost.
- Gender Bender: The blancmanges turn their victims, male and female alike, into into Scotsmen.
- Homage Shot: A number of Scotsmen are shown marching across the horizon in a fashion similar to the danse macabre at the ending of The Seventh Seal.
- Insistent Terminology: Courtesy of the camel spotter.Spotter: Now look, if anybody else pinches my phrase I'll throw them under a camel.
- Mirror Match: During the credits, Angus Podgorny gets so good at tennis that he plays against himself.
- Ms. Fanservice: Donna Reading taking over the usual Carol Cleveland role, appearing as Charles's girlfriend in the "Science Fiction Sketch". She constantly preens for and casts come-hither looks at the camera.
- Oddball in the Series: The "It's" man does not appear at the end of the show.
- Science Hero: The "Science Fiction Sketch" has Charles, the Chief Scientist at the Anthropological Research Institute at Butley Down, who is an expert on what makes a person change from one nationality to another, perfect for determining why people are turning into Scotsmen. Although he figures out the Blancmanges' nefarious plan to win Wimbledon, he has nothing to do with their defeat; instead they are (b)eaten by Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Brainsample.
- Serious Business: Alien Blancmanges travel 2,200,000 light years and turn everyone in England into Scotsmen to... win Wimbledon?
- Stealing from the Till: The accountant in sketch "The Audit" who is fired for embezzling a whole penny from his corporation.
- Sting: Played for laughs when Chief Scientist Charles realizes the alien's plans, as well as a dose of ham with the reveal: "They mean to win Wimbledon!" Played for slightly less laughs when it's used to punctuate someone being eaten unless one realizes they're being eaten by a British gelatin-based dessert.
- Tap on the Head: The scientist to his female assistant during the Blancmange sketch.
- Technicolor Science: All the brightly colored bubbling beakers in Charles's lab.
- To Serve Man: The alien Blancmanges come to Earth to win Wimbledon; they eliminate any competition by turning them into Scotsmen, or just eating them.
- Unwitting Pawn: Angus Podgorny was one to the Blancmanges, making him a literal Cosmic Plaything. The rules for Wimbledon said that there must be at least one human being involved in the final; so the Blancmanges arrange for the Scottish tailor to enter the tournament, and then eat all the other human players, leaving the final down to a Blancmange, and Angus who is hopelessly incompetent at tennis.
- Verbal Backspace: After a blancmange eats Mrs. Podgorny, a policeman tells a grieving Angus that what happened is terribly funny—tragic.
- "YEAH!" Shot: The credits end with Podgorny jumping in the air and freezing as "THE END" is superimposed over it.
