Lynne Kiesling
Many thanks to Tyler Cowen for pointing out this Entertainment Weekly list of top-20 Monty Python skits. I agree that the Argument Clinic belongs a lot higher than #20; it’s easily in my top 5. I don’t think the Kilimanjaro skit deserves to be in the top 20. And as a little nit pick: at #5 it’s the Killer Joke, not the Funniest Joke in the World skit.
So here’s my top 25, for what it’s worth (I tried to stop at 20 but couldn’t):
25. Stoning (Life of Brian)
24. Bicycle Repairman
23. The Village Idiot in Society
22. Summarize Proust
21. Crunchy Frog
20. Oscar Wilde, GB Shaw, JM Whistler
19. Lancelot and Swamp Castle (Holy Grail)
18. The Bruces
17. Cheese Shop
16. The Fish-Slapping Dance
15. The Lumberjack Song
14. Spam
13. Guy Lombard?s Castle (Holy Grail)
12. Killer Joke
11. ?Romans they go to the house? Latin Conjugation (Life of Brian)
10. Self Defence
9. Miss Anne Elk
8. The Piranha Brothers
7.5. Nudge Nudge
7. Proletariat Peasants (Holy Grail)
6. Dead Parrot
5. Mrs. Premise and Mrs. Conclusion Visit Jean-Paul Sartre
4.5. Penguin on the Telly
4. Ministry of Silly Walks
3. ?Yes, we are all individuals.? ?I?m not.? ?SSSH!? (Life of Brian)
2. Argument Clinic
1. Spanish Inquisition
What are yours?
UPDATE: Doh! I forgot Nudge Nudge, which should go in at 7.5. Funny that, because Nudge Nudge is the skit from which the title of a recent post derives.
UPDATE 2: DOH! How could I forget? I was sitting in my TV room while I wrote this post, staring at the small plastic figurine top of the TV, and still I forgot about Penguin on the Telly! I have inserted it at number 4.5.