Spam (Monty Python sketch): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 02:19, 9 March 2021

Revision as of 14:07, 21 March 2021

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==Production notes==

The sketch premiered on 15 December 1970 as the final sketch of the 25th show of ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'', and the end credits for the episode were changed so every member of the crew has either Spam or some other food item from the menu added to their names. ([[Terry Jones|Spam Terry Jones]], [[Michael Palin|Michael Spam Palin]], [[John Cleese|John Spam John Spam John Spam Cleese]], [[Graham Chapman|Graham Spam Spam Spam Chapman]], [[Eric Idle|Eric Spam Egg and Chips Idle]], [[Terry Gilliam|Terry Spam Sausage Spam Egg Spam Gilliam]], etc.) The “Spam”"Spam" sketch became immensely popular, and was ranked the fifth favourite Python sketch in a poll.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Dead Parrot voted top Monty Python sketch by UK public |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a583514/the-dead-parrot-voted-top-monty-python-sketch-by-uk-public/ |access-date=23 August 2019 |agency=Digital Spy}}</ref> The word "Spam" is uttered at least 132 times. The Vikings' Spam song is a parody of "The Viking Song" by [[Samuel Coleridge-Taylor]].

This sketch has also been featured in several Monty Python videos including ''[[Parrot Sketch Not Included - 20 Years of Monty Python]]''. A [[lead sheet]] for the song appears in ''[[Monty Python's Big Red Book]]''. The DVD release of the episode contains a deliberate subtitling error. When the Hungarian tries to order food, his words are "My lower intestine is full of Spam, Egg, Spam, Bacon, Spam, Tomatoes, Spam." Yet the subtitles read "Your intestine is full of [[Spermatozoon|Sperm]]." This is a continuation of the "[[Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook]]" sketch from the same episode.<ref>All the Words, Volume Two, pp. 27–28.</ref>

The audio version of the sketch excludes the Hungarian and historian, and instead has the Vikings reaching a dramatic [[crescendo]]. The waitress, resigned to these disruptions, mutters "[[Bloody]] Vikings!" In the 2014 version of the sketch performed in ''[[Monty Python Live (Mostly)]]'', one of the Vikings replies "Racist bastard!" before leading the group into an operatic chorus that includes a sampling of "[[Finland (song)|Finland]]" from the team's ''[[Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album|Contractual Obligation Album]]''.