| Revision as of 20:54, 14 May 2012 edit75.141.0.223 (talk) →In popular culture← Previous edit | Revision as of 13:44, 26 May 2012 edit undoArcandam (talk | contribs)10,103 edits →In popular culture: clean up, removed: Meld je aan of registreer je om een reactie te plaatsen! using AWBNext edit → | ||
| Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
| ==In popular culture== | ==In popular culture== | ||
| *In the Monty Python-derived ] show '']'' written by ], there is a song called “The Fisch Schlapping Song”, sung by pseudo-] people, before the historian abruptly ends the song. During the song, men and women dressed in stereotypical ]n garb slap each other with fish, very similar to the original sketch. | *In the Monty Python-derived ] show '']'' written by ], there is a song called “The Fisch Schlapping Song”, sung by pseudo-] people, before the historian abruptly ends the song. During the song, men and women dressed in stereotypical ]n garb slap each other with fish, very similar to the original sketch. | ||
| *The ] comedy team Angne & ] did their own version of the fish slapping dance in one episode of their popular TV show in the late 1980s. The sketch starts the same as the original: first Angne slaps Svullo a few times in the face with small fish, then Svullo takes out a big fish and with a single blow knocks Angne into the water, laughing hysterically. However, in their version an old lady with an umbrella then comes by and starts hitting Svullo with her umbrella until he too falls into the water.<ref>{{cite web|author= |
*The ] comedy team Angne & ] did their own version of the fish slapping dance in one episode of their popular TV show in the late 1980s. The sketch starts the same as the original: first Angne slaps Svullo a few times in the face with small fish, then Svullo takes out a big fish and with a single blow knocks Angne into the water, laughing hysterically. However, in their version an old lady with an umbrella then comes by and starts hitting Svullo with her umbrella until he too falls into the water.<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFRqakuBJf8 |title=Angne och Svullo - Fisk |publisher=YouTube |date=2010-09-03 |accessdate=2012-05-13}}</ref> | ||
| *In an interview, ]'s son, ], said that the Fish-Slapping Dance was one of his father's favourite Monty Python sketches. | *In an interview, ]'s son, ], said that the Fish-Slapping Dance was one of his father's favourite Monty Python sketches. | ||
| *The ]n ] TV show '']'' did a “British comedy sketch” that mainly parodied Monty Python. At one point, someone is slapped with a fish. | *The ]n ] TV show '']'' did a “British comedy sketch” that mainly parodied Monty Python. At one point, someone is slapped with a fish. | ||
Revision as of 13:44, 26 May 2012
The Fish-Slapping Dance is a comedy sketch written and performed by the Monty Python team. The sketch was originally recorded in 1971 for a pan-European May Day special entitled Euroshow 71. In 1972 it was broadcast as part of episode two of series three of Monty Python's Flying Circus, which was entitled "Mr & Mrs Brian Norris' Ford Popular".
The sketch stars John Cleese and Michael Palin in safari outfits and pith helmets at the side of a lock (Teddington Lock in west London). Both are facing each other and light-hearted music plays while Palin dances towards Cleese, lightly slapping him in the face with two small pilchards, and returning to his starting spot. After Palin does this four times, he returns to his starting spot and stands still. In traditional British folk dancing, of which this is reminiscent, one would now expect the other dancer to repeat these steps. Instead, the music stops, Cleese reveals his fish — a much, much larger halibut — and clobbers Palin on the head with it, knocking him into the water several feet below.
The music is "Merrymakers Dance" from "Nell Gwyn suite" by British composer Sir Edward German (1862–1936).
The sketch is about 30 seconds long, but its situational non-verbal portrayal endears it to the audience. It remains one of Michael Palin's favorite routines on the show, and he made it the centerpiece of his own choice of sketches for his Monty Python's Personal Best miniseries episode. Palin has stated that the sketch summarises concisely what Python is all about.
In popular culture
- In the Monty Python-derived Broadway show Spamalot written by Eric Idle, there is a song called “The Fisch Schlapping Song”, sung by pseudo-Finnish people, before the historian abruptly ends the song. During the song, men and women dressed in stereotypical Scandinavian garb slap each other with fish, very similar to the original sketch.
- The Swedish comedy team Angne & Svullo did their own version of the fish slapping dance in one episode of their popular TV show in the late 1980s. The sketch starts the same as the original: first Angne slaps Svullo a few times in the face with small fish, then Svullo takes out a big fish and with a single blow knocks Angne into the water, laughing hysterically. However, in their version an old lady with an umbrella then comes by and starts hitting Svullo with her umbrella until he too falls into the water.
- In an interview, George Harrison's son, Dhani Harrison, said that the Fish-Slapping Dance was one of his father's favourite Monty Python sketches.
- The Australian satirical TV show The Chaser's War on Everything did a “British comedy sketch” that mainly parodied Monty Python. At one point, someone is slapped with a fish.
- In Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie, one of the “sins” of the Ninevites is that they slap people with fish, even slapping each other with fishes (at which mention two Ninevites proceed to slap each other with increasingly huge fishes, cumulating with the second Ninevite crushing the first Ninevite with an impossibly large fish). The commentary track to the DVD confirms the inspiration for this to be the Monty Python sketch.
- On 14 March 2012 the Australian ABC comedy show "Adam Hills In Gordon Street" did a sketch where a 15 year old audience member did a repeat of The Fish-Slapping Dance with John Cleese.
References
- Pythonet: Python Night on BBC2, 1999
- Janáčková, Tereza (2007). "Monty Python vs Jára (da) Cimrman" (PDF). Masaryk University Faculty of Arts. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
- "Angne och Svullo - Fisk". YouTube. 3 September 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
External links
- Michael Palin writes about the dance, while setting the record straight about his reputation as 'the nice Python' - on Pythonline
- Michael Palin discusses the sketch (Youtube)
Categories: