Albatross (Monty Python sketch)
Encyclopedia
"Albatross" is a well known sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus
. It is particularly known for its opening lines: "Albatross!! Albatross!! Albatross!!" and the question: "What flavour is it?"
The sketch first appeared on British television on 11 January 1970 in the 13th episode of the first series: "Intermissions" . It features John Cleese
and Terry Jones
. Despite its short running time (40 seconds) it has proven to be quite memorable for Python fans and was frequently performed during the team's live shows.
. A man (Terry Jones
) approaches her and asks for two choc ice
s. The girl aggressively makes clear she only sells an albatross and continues shouting. The customer then asks what flavour the animal has, whereupon she shouts back it has no flavour, since it's a "bloody sea bird". She continues shouting and trying to draw attention to her merchandise, while the potential customer keeps asking questions about the product, like "Do you get wafers with it?". Finally the man buys two albatrosses for nine pence. The salesgirl then shouts she is selling a "gannet
on a stick."
Later during the episode the sketch is referenced again, when Jones' character is seen sitting in his theatre seat with the albatross, shouting the line "Albatross", followed by several other characters in the episode for seemingly no particular reason at all.
(1982), where Cleese uses stronger language than in the original tv broadcast ("Of course you don't get fuckin' wafers with it!") and actually insults the customer by calling him a "cunt
" and "a cocksucker". Eventually their dialogue is interrupted by the Colonel (Graham Chapman
), who stops the sketch because of the "filthy" language.
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
. It is particularly known for its opening lines: "Albatross!! Albatross!! Albatross!!" and the question: "What flavour is it?"
The sketch first appeared on British television on 11 January 1970 in the 13th episode of the first series: "Intermissions" . It features John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
and Terry Jones
Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
. Despite its short running time (40 seconds) it has proven to be quite memorable for Python fans and was frequently performed during the team's live shows.
The sketch
John Cleese plays a girl selling snacks in a film theater. Instead of the regular movie snacks she is selling a dead albatrossAlbatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes . They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific...
. A man (Terry Jones
Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
) approaches her and asks for two choc ice
Choc ice
A Choc ice is a generic frozen dessert generally consisting of a block of rectangular ice cream, typically vanilla flavour. A common variant is purported to be rum and raisin flavour. A choc-ice is coated with a thin layer of chocolate or chocolate flavoured shell and does not have a stick...
s. The girl aggressively makes clear she only sells an albatross and continues shouting. The customer then asks what flavour the animal has, whereupon she shouts back it has no flavour, since it's a "bloody sea bird". She continues shouting and trying to draw attention to her merchandise, while the potential customer keeps asking questions about the product, like "Do you get wafers with it?". Finally the man buys two albatrosses for nine pence. The salesgirl then shouts she is selling a "gannet
Gannet
Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus Morus, in the family Sulidae, closely related to the boobies.The gannets are large black and white birds with yellow heads. They have long pointed wings and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic, with a wingspan of up...
on a stick."
Later during the episode the sketch is referenced again, when Jones' character is seen sitting in his theatre seat with the albatross, shouting the line "Albatross", followed by several other characters in the episode for seemingly no particular reason at all.
Other appearances
The sketch was frequently performed live. It can also be seen in the film Monty Python Live at the Hollywood BowlMonty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl
Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl is a 1982 concert film in which the Monty Python team perform many of their greatest sketches at the Hollywood Bowl. The show also included filmed inserts which were mostly taken from two Monty Python specials, Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus, which had been...
(1982), where Cleese uses stronger language than in the original tv broadcast ("Of course you don't get fuckin' wafers with it!") and actually insults the customer by calling him a "cunt
Cunt
Cunt is a vulgarism, primarily referring to the female genitalia, specifically the vulva, and including the cleft of Venus. The earliest citation of this usage in the 1972 Oxford English Dictionary, c 1230, refers to the London street known as Gropecunt Lane...
" and "a cocksucker". Eventually their dialogue is interrupted by the Colonel (Graham Chapman
Graham Chapman
Graham Arthur Chapman was a British comedian, physician, writer, actor, and one of the six members of the Monty Python comedy troupe.-Early life and education:...
), who stops the sketch because of the "filthy" language.