Monty Python's Flying Circus: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:03, 23 October 2024

Revision as of 20:44, 20 November 2024

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* '''The [[Gumbys]]''', a dim-witted group of identically attired people all wearing [[gumboot]]s (from which they take their name), high-water trousers, [[Braces (clothing)|braces]], [[Fair Isle (technique)|Fair Isle]] [[Sweater vest|tank top]]s, white shirts with rolled up sleeves, round wire-rimmed glasses, [[toothbrush mustache|toothbrush moustache]]s and knotted handkerchiefs worn on their heads (a stereotype of the English [[working class culture|working-class]] holidaymaker). Gumbys always stand in a hunched, square posture, holding their arms stiffly at their sides with their balled hands curled inwards. They speak slowly in loud, throaty voices punctuated by frequent grunts and groans, display a poor understanding of everything they encounter, and have a fondness for pointless violence. All of them are surnamed Gumby: D.P. Gumby, R.S. Gumby, etc. Even though all Pythons played Gumbys in the show's run, the character is most closely associated with Michael Palin.

* [[File:Gumbys-present-architects-sketch.jpg|thumb|Gumbys on parade]]'''The Knight with a Raw Chicken''' (Gilliam), who would hit characters over the head with the chicken when they said something particularly silly. The knight was a regular during the first series and made another appearance in the third.

* '''A nude [[organist]]''' (played in his first two appearances by Gilliam, later by Jones) who provided a brief fanfare to punctuate certain sketches, most notably on a sketch poking fun at ''[[Sale of the Century (UKBritish game show)|Sale of the Century]]'' or as yet another way to introduce the opening titles. This character was addressed as "[[Onan]]" by Palin's host character in the ersatz game show sketch "Blackmail". He wore only a tie and a white shirt collar.

* '''The "Pepper Pots"''' are screeching middle-aged, [[lower-middle class]] housewives, played by the Pythons in frocks and frumpy hats, and engage in surreal and inconsequential conversation. "The Pepper Pots" was the in-house name that the Pythons used to identify these characters, who were never identified as such on-screen. On the rare occasion these women were named, it was often for comic effect, featuring such names as Mrs. Scum, Mrs. Non-Gorilla, Mrs. Thing, Mrs. Entity, or the duo Mrs. Premise and Mrs. Conclusion. "Pepper pot" refers to what the Pythons believed was the typical body shape of middle-class, British housewives, as explained by John Cleese in ''[[How to Irritate People]]''.{{sfn|Larsen|2008|p=13}} [[Terry Jones]] is perhaps most closely associated with the Pepper Pots, but all the Pythons were frequent in performing the drag characters.

* Brief black-and-white [[stock footage]], lasting only two or three seconds, of '''middle-aged women sitting in an audience and applauding'''. The film was taken from a [[Women's Institutes (British)|Women's Institute]] meeting and was sometimes presented with a colour tint.{{sfn|Larsen|2008|p=292}}