Title: The Money Programme
Original Airdate: 2/11/1972
First, The Money Programme.
And now, it's: A skit on motorized bicycles about Elizabeth I where all the L's and R's are switched, the director of the previous skit almost getting arrested for fraud, a dead bishop on the landing, a fancy restaurant in the jungle ("Explorer's Sketch"), explorers on an African expedition and the director of the previous skit almost getting arrested for fraud.
After the credits, a man looks for an argument ("Argument Clinic").
Tropes:
- Argument of Contradictions: In the "Argument Clinic" sketch, a man goes to the eponymous clinic for an argument, but all he receives is negation - which is to say, this.
- Man: An argument's not the same as contradiction.
Mr. Barnard: It can be.
Man: No it can't. An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a definite proposition.
Mr. Barnard: No it isn't.
Man: Yes it is! It's isn't just contradiction.
Mr. Barnard: Look, if I argue with you, I must take up a contrary position.
Man: Well it isn't just saying "No it isn't."
Mr. Barnard: Yes it is!
Man: No it isn't!
- Blackface: Michael Palin as Mr. Akwekwe, owner of a restaurant somewhere in the heart of Darkest Africa; and Terry Jones as the director of said sketch.
- Fake-Out Opening: The episode opens with the then-contemporary theme tunenote and opening credits for The Money Programme, a financial affairs programme that ran on BBC2 from 1966-2010. Contemporary viewers were probably left scrambling for the week's Radio Times, wondering if Flying Circus had been pre-empted yet again.
- Gory Discretion Shot: In the "Explorer's Sketch", four explorers are dining at a jungle restaurant when it is attacked, but we don't get to see the attack; we are told by an announcer that it was very gory, and due to the unsuitability of the scene, we are shown a clip from "Ken Russell's Gardening Club (1958)", which instead of gorn, is porn; an establishing shot of a flowerbed is interrupted by the arrival of a large crowd of people in various states of undress (as well as a pantomime goose) for a pseudo-orgy in the flowerbed.
- Groin Attack: To prove the point of how violent he is, Inspector Leopard knees the policeman who's with him in the groin, and that policeman immediately doubles over in pain.
- Hey, That's My Line!: In the "Explorer's Sketch" at the British Explorer's Club, "Our Hero" approaches the counter and asks the porter if there's been word from Betty Bailey's expedition; the actor playing the porter hasn't rehearsed, and starts reading the wrong lines from the script, getting the response from the explorer.
- Info Dump: When Inspectors Leopard and Baboon call out the fake director for imitating Luchino Visconti and Michelangelo Antonioni, respectively, each of them then spend several minutes summing up those director's careers (Leopard even mentions he changed his work name after being impressed by The Leopard).
- Instant Emergency Response: In the "Dead Bishop" sketch, when the couple and their son find another dead bishop on their landing, they call for the Church Police, who arrive exactly two seconds later.
- Japanese Ranguage: A super-racist sketch called "Erisabeth L", a spoof of the then-popular "Elizabeth R
" series about Queen Elizabeth I. Everyone in the sketch reverses all their L's and R's. It turns out that the director is Japanese (and a mincing stereotype at that, played by Terry Jones). - Jungle Drums: During the sketch with the jungle restaurant.
- Male Frontal Nudity: Discussed and ultimately averted:BBC Announcer: And there's another bit where I'll swear you can see everything, but my friend says it's just the way he's holding the spear.
- Money Fetish: The host of "The Money Programme".Good evening and welcome to "The Money Programme". Tonight on "The Money Programme", we're going to look at money. Lots of it. On film, and in the studio. Some of it in nice piles, others in lovely clanky bits of loose change, (starting to get excited) some of it neatly counted into fat little hundreds, delicate fivers stuffed into bulging wallets, nice crisp clean cheques, pert pieces of copper coinage thrust deep into trouser pockets, romantic foreign money rolling against the thigh with rough familiarity, beautiful wayward curlicued banknotes, filigree copperplating cheek by jowl with tumbling hexagonal milled edges, rubbing gently against the terse leather of beautifully balanced bank books... (collects himself) I'm sorry. But I love money.
- Money Song: Trope Namer
- Not So Remote: One sketch started with explorers and a native guide trekking through close-set trees and underbrush in Darkest Africa. Eventually they come upon a clearing with a nice outdoor restaurant right in the middle of the jungle, where they decide to have lunch.
- Precision F-Strike: The African impersonating a film director uses the word "shit" when tormenting his actors.
- Prima Donna Director: The director of the "Elizabeth I" sketch mentioned in the summary, who tries to claim that the sketch is art while the actor playing Elizabeth yells that it's just a stupid piece of trash with the Tudor royalty riding around on motorized bicycles and talking in stupid accents.
- Reduced to Ratburgers: "One slice of strawberry tart without so much rat in it later..."
- Running Gag: "[Name] of the Yard?" "Shut up!" In fact, one of the offenses Inspector Thompson's Gazelle lists is "Always saying 'It's so and so of the Yard' every time the fuzz arrives."
- The Stinger: The "Argument Clinic" sketch, one of the most famous the group ever did, is presented as this. The credits roll, the episode appears to end, then Eric Idle's BBC announcer guy is heard to say "and now on BBC1, another six minutes of Monty Python's Flying Circus." Then the sketch plays out.
- Tap on the Head: The "Being Hit on the Head" lessons, as well as the inspectors who show up to hit people with billy clubs. Averted in that unlike most examples of this trope, no one gets knocked out by being hit on the head, they just double over and scream in pain.
- Tempting Fate:Klaus: What's for afters?
Wife: Well, there's rat cake... rat sorbet... rat pudding... or strawberry tart.
Klaus: Strawberry tart?!
Wife: Well, it's got some rat in it. - Unusually Uninteresting Sight: The diners in the "Explorer's Sketch" are untroubled when one diner is grabbed by a gorilla (and Mr. Akwekwe comes back covered in blood after shooting the gorilla), another diner is shot by a poison dart, etc.
