Top 5 Underrated Monty Python Sketches
Image source: TVInsider
In the history of sketch comedy, there hasn’t been a group as famous, influential, and, dare I say, funny as the British comedy troupe Monty Python. From a movie where every line is quotable, and coconuts are horses to a skit where we get the phrase internet spam to the namesake of a programming language, Monty Python’s influence on culture cannot be overstated. However, while there are skits that everybody knows (dead parrot, fish slapping, cheese shop, Spanish inquisition and many, many others) there are still hidden gems in their catalogue, and they’re worth taking a look at. Some die-hard Python fans might see some of these entries and go, “How can you call that underrated?!” Well, some of them have to be. Anyway, without further ado and in no particular order…
5. Royal Society For Putting Things On Top Of Other Things
Image source: YouTube
The skit is about exactly what you’d think reading that title. It’s a group of snobbish, overly self-important men who make up the Royal Society For Putting Things on Top of Other Things. It’s a perfect representation of Python’s skill of mixing completely serious with completely absurd. It’s also a great example of Monty Python’s perfect casting. Graham Chapman’s pompous attitude and delivery are flawless here, and none of the other Pythons could have done it as well as he did. This is another great example of a sketch that still has relevance. Even if we’ve never been to a meeting like this one, it’s still relatable at some point in our lives. The overall punchline of the sketch is one that I dare not spoil here.
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4. Communist Quiz Show
Image source: Rumble
This sketch somehow flawlessly combined over-the-top with less is more. Eric Idle plays a chipper, energetic game show host whose contestants just happen to be several influential communist leaders. He asks them questions about football (soccer to us Yankees).
A lesser troupe would have the leader blustering about trying to find some semblance of a right answer. Instead, the response is… silence. The Pythons pull off an expression of subtle bewilderment almost without moving a muscle. It’s glorious. Once again, there’s a hilarious punchline to really nail the landing.
3. Four Yorkshiremen
Image Source: YouTube
The premise of this one is incredibly simple. Four upper class men all recount tales of their childhoods, and each story gets more and more absurd as they try to one-up the others. The thing that really makes this one work is that none of them are visibly trying to one-up the others, with the occasional exception of a lean in or a shift, they’re talking about it like they’re discussing the weather. Once again, a lesser troupe would have all of them visibly trying to one-up the others, but it’s left a little more implied. This kind of skit has been done multiple times before, but never this well.
2. Argument Clinic
Image Source: YouTube
Once again, the premise is simple: A man goes into an office building where one of the services offered is having an argument with somebody. He pays for the time like someone might pay for a therapist and goes into a room where he has an argument with someone about absolutely nothing at all.
Along the way he also enters rooms that offer “getting hit on the head” lessons and “abuse.” It makes one wonder exactly what kind of surreal building this is. The skit keeps building in absurdity until it’s stopped by Graham Chapman’s iconic military officer who chides the whole thing for being too silly. Although these days, there are real life argument clinics. They’re called Facebook, X/Twitter, and any comments section.
1. How To Irritate People
Image Source: Plex
Okay, this one is cheating. A lot. It’s not technically Monty Python, as it came out before they fully got going. It might better be called Proto-Python. However, I can’t help but add it here. It has all of Monty Python’s absurdity and a large portion of the core cast in it. Several of the sketches in the special did go on to either appear in Flying Circus or heavily inspired future sketches.
There’s a sketch involving a customer complaining to a mechanic about an increasingly broken car that would obviously go on to influence their most iconic sketch: the dead parrot. Every sketch in this collection wouldn’t be out of place in the main series. It’s well worth a watch.
Monty Python is arguably the most influential comedy group of all time. This was a really difficult list to make because so many of their sketches are iconic and part of the cultural lexicon. If you haven’t seen any of these, definitely check them out. If you have seen them, they’re certainly worth another watch.
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