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→‎See also: the see also section is for links to topics that are at least somewhat related to this one. There's no indication of any connection with this serial killer, whose original name is similar to a name mentioned in this skit, but who commited his crime after this skit was written. Equally there's no evidence on his article that he has anything to do with this skit or Monty Python in general. Merely similar names are not the province of the seealso section
 
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{{short description|Monty Python sketch}}
{{Short description|Monty Python sketch}}
{{redirect|Ethel the Frog|the [[NWOBHM]] band|Ethel the Frog (band)}}
{{Redirect|Ethel the Frog|the [[NWOBHM]] band|Ethel the Frog (band)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox television episode
{{multiple issues|
| series = [[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]
{{notability|Fiction|date=January 2011}}
| image = Ethel The Frog.png
{{Unreferenced|date=November 2008}}
| caption = Screenshot from the episode
| season =
| series_no = 2
| episode = 1
| segment = yes
| writer =
* [[John Cleese]]
* [[Graham Chapman]]
| airdate = {{Start date|1970|09|15}}
}}
}}
"'''Piranha Brothers'''" is a [[Monty Python]] [[Sketch comedy|sketch]] from the first episode of the second series of ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]''. The 14th episode of the series overall, it premiered on [[BBC One|BBC1]] in the [[United Kingdom]] on 15 September 1970. The sketch constitutes a loose [[pastiche]] of the real-life story of the [[Kray twins]], [[Organized crime|gangsters]] who maintained an underground criminal outfit based in the [[East End of London]] in the 1950s and 1960s.<ref name="computerworld"/><ref name="larsen"/>


A slightly re-worked version of the sketch appeared on the album ''[[Another Monty Python Record]]'', released in the UK on 8 October 1971, and in the United States on 21 August 1972. It was also featured in ''[[Monty Python's Big Red Book]]'', published in 1971.<ref name="topping"/>
⚫
"'''Piranha Brothers'''" is a [[Monty Python]] [[Sketch comedy|sketch]] that was first seen in the first episode (titled "Face the Press") of the second series of ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]''. Originally broadcast on television on 15 September 1970, the premise is a [[BBC]] current affairs documentary programme, inexplicably titled '''''Ethel the Frog''''', retrospectively covering the exploits of the brothers Doug and Dinsdale Piranha. The sociopathic criminals employed a combination of "violence and sarcasm" to intimidate the [[London]] underworld and bring the city to its knees. Dinsdale is also described as being afraid of "Spiny Norman", a gigantic imaginary [[hedgehog]] whose reported size varied based on Dinsdale's mood. The threat of Norman affected Dinsdale so severely that it led him to launch a nuclear weapon attack on an airplane hangar (where Norman was thought to have resided according to Dinsdale) at [[Luton International Airport]] (then Luton Airfield) on 22 February 1966. During the end of the sketch, which also ends the episode, the creature is apparently revealed as real and appearing (in the form of a [[Terry Gilliam]] animation bellowing "Dinsdale!") beside various English landmarks as the credits roll.


==Plot==
== Background and details ==
The premise for the sketch is a [[BBC]] current affairs documentary programme, inexplicably titled ''Ethel the Frog'', retrospectively covering the exploits of the brothers Doug and Dinsdale Piranha. We learn through the mockumentary that Dinsdale and Doug were born 'on probation' in the slums of London, with their father, Arthur Piranha, employed as a scrap‐metal dealer and TV quizmaster. The brothers are reported to intimidate their victims through 'violence and sarcasm'. Through a series of interviews with their victims, we find out that Dinsdale has a peculiar habit of nailing his foes' heads to the floor, while Doug is reported to be more vicious by assailing his enemies with '[[sarcasm]]', and that "He knew all the tricks - [[dramatic irony]], [[metaphor]], [[bathos]], [[pun]]s, [[parody]], [[litotes]] and... [[satire]]." One of those interviewed says he has 'seen grown men pull off their own heads rather than face Doug'.
The sketch constitutes a loose pastiche of the real-life story of the [[Kray twins]], [[Organized crime|gangsters]] who maintained an underground criminal outfit based in the [[East End of London]] in the 1950s and 1960s. Doug and Dinsdale Piranha were loosely based on Reggie and Ronnie Kray, and the policeman who pursued them, Harry "Snapper" Organs, was loosely based on the policeman who led the investigation against the Krays, Detective Superintendent [[Leonard "Nipper" Read]]. However, the Piranhas' described methods seem to resemble more closely those used by the rival [[the Richardson Gang|Richardson Gang]] and their associate [[Frankie Fraser|"Mad" Frankie Fraser]].
⚫
We are also told by another interviewee, that Dinsdale is afraid of "Spiny Norman", a gigantic imaginary [[hedgehog]] whose reported size varies based on his mood. The threat of Norman has affected Dinsdale so severely that it leads him to launch a nuclear weapon attack on an airplane hangar, where Norman was thought to have resided, at [[Luton International Airport|Luton Airfield]] on 22 February 1966. At the end of the sketch, which also ends the episode, the creature is revealed as being real and appearing in an animated form bellowing Dinsdale, beside various English landmarks as the credits roll.


==Album and book==
The sketch is introduced by a piece of music (the Intermezzo from [[Jean Sibelius|Sibelius]]'s [[Karelia Suite]]) which was used for many years, until 1992, to introduce the [[Thames Television]] (and previously [[Associated-Rediffusion]] and [[Rediffusion London]]) current affairs series ''[[This Week (ITV TV series)|This Week]].''
⚫
''[[Another Monty Python Record]]'', released in 1971, features the sketch with a slightly different version, whereas instead of a nuclear attack on the airport, the brothers are said to have [[napalm]]ed [[Cheltenham]].<ref name="napalm"/> This version ends with one of the Piranha Brothers' associates interrupting the recording and accidentally scratching the record, causing a continuous loop in the album's run out groove.<ref name="scratch"/> The sketch can also be found being re-told in ''[[Monty Python's Big Red Book]]''.


⚫
== Influence and in culture==
⚫
A slightly re-worked version of the sketch also appeared on the album ''[[Another Monty Python Record]]'' where, in addition to Doug's wide repertoire of sarcasm, [[hyperbole]] is also included. Rather than nuke [[Luton Airport]], the brothers are said to have [[napalm]]ed [[Cheltenham]]. This version ends with one of the Piranha Brothers' associates interrupting the recording and "accidentally" scratching the record, causing a continuous loop in the album's run out groove. An almost word-for-word transcript appeared in ''[[Monty Python's Big Red Book]]''.
A [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] group took its name, [[Ethel the Frog (band)|Ethel the Frog]], from this sketch.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=Ethel The Frog |encyclopedia=[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]] |date=1 January 2009 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195313734.001.0001/acref-9780195313734-e-8256 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-531373-4 |url-access=subscription |language=en}}</ref> The band is best known for taking part in the ''[[Metal for Muthas]]'' multi-artist [[compilation album]], released in 1980.<ref>{{cite news |editor1-last=Blows |editor1-first=David |title=Ethel Back |work=Hull Daily Mail |date=13 March 1980 |page=10 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/hull-daily-mail-ethel-back/140724401/ |location=Hull, Humberside, England}}</ref>


The sketch is notable for being highlighted on various 'best of Month Python lists' featured in magazines, newspapers and websites. ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' listed the act at number 5 on their top 20 essential sketches;<ref name="entweekly"/> ''[[GQ]] Magazine'' said it was one of four notable [[Mockumentary|mockumentaries]];<ref name="gqmag"/> ''[[The Daily Beast]]'' included it in their funniest routines from the series;<ref name="beast"/> ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' reported it as number 5 on their 10 funniest skits;<ref name="telegraph"/> ''[[GamesRadar]]'' gave it top ranking as number 1 on their compilation of funniest performances;<ref name="radar"/> and ''[[Nerdist]]'' said the piece was one of "The 8 and a Half Most Underrated Monty Python Sketches".<ref name="nerdist"/>
⚫
== Influence ==

A [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] group took its name, [[Ethel the Frog (band)|Ethel the Frog]], from this sketch. The band is best known for taking part in the ''[[Metal for Muthas]]'' multi-artist [[compilation album]], released in 1980.
Memorable quotes from the sketch have also been referenced in newspaper and magazine articles throughout the years since it was first broadcast in 1970.<ref name="humanlife"/><ref name="financialtimes"/><ref name="chronicle"/><ref name="nyt"/>

==See also==
{{Portal|Comedy|Television}}
* [[List of recurring Monty Python's Flying Circus characters|List of recurring ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' characters]]
* [[Python (Monty) Pictures]]


== References ==
== References ==
{{reflist|30em|refs=
⚫
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050208093356/http://orangecow.org/pythonet/sketches/piranha.htm The Monty Python script]
<ref name="humanlife">{{cite magazine |last1=Maffucci |first1=Maria McFadden |title=Madame Restell: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York's Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist |magazine=Human Life Review |date=Summer 2023 |volume=49 |issue=3 |pages=78–82}}</ref>

<ref name="larsen">{{cite book |last1=Larsen |first1=Darl |title=Monty Python's Flying Circus: An Utterly Complete, Thoroughly Unillustrated, Absolutely Unauthorized Guide to Possibly All the References |date=13 June 2008 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-1-4616-6970-8 |page=194 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ud9h3kdxQNQC&pg=PA194}}</ref>

<ref name="computerworld">{{cite magazine |last1=Ford |first1=Robert |title=Make The Pain Stop, Please |magazine=[[Computerworld]] |date=September 19, 2003 |volume=19 |issue=19 |quote=(The tale of the Piranha Brothers from episode 1 of series 2, Monty Python's Flying Circus)}}</ref>

<ref name="financialtimes">{{cite news |last1=Hill |first1=Andrew |title=Protection Money |work=[[Financial Times]] |date=23 June 2010 |page=38}}</ref>

<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/04/18/archives/for-something-completely.html |last1=Meehan |first1=Thomas |author-link1=Thomas Meehan (writer)|title=For Something Completely |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=18 April 1976}}</ref>

<ref name="chronicle">{{cite news |last1=Malamud |first1=Randy |title=Monty Python's Academic Circus |work=[[The Chronicle of Higher Education]] |date=January 30, 2011 |quote=Martin Carter, a senior lecturer ... at Sheffield Hallam University ... has studied how the Piranha Brothers sketch keenly reworks the lurid careers of two infamous contemporary criminals.}}</ref>

<ref name="topping">{{cite book |last1=Topping |first1=Richard |last2=Long |first2=Chris |title=Monty Python: A Celebration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/montypythonceleb00topp/page/156/mode/2up |date=1999 |publisher=[[Virgin Publishing]] |location=London |isbn=1-85227-825-0 |page=156 |chapter=Books, Records And All Manner Of Magnificent Monty Merchandise}}</ref>

<ref name="napalm">{{cite AV media |chapter=Piranha Brothers |date=8 October 1971 |title=[[Another Monty Python Record]] |type=Vinyl LP |time=7:20 |location=Marquee Studios, London |publisher=[[Charisma Records]] |id= CAS-1049}}</ref>

<ref name="scratch">{{cite AV media |chapter=Piranha Brothers |date=8 October 1971 |title=[[Another Monty Python Record]] |type=Vinyl LP |time=9:19 |location=Marquee Studios, London |publisher=[[Charisma Records]] |id= CAS-1049}}</ref>

<ref name="entweekly">{{cite magazine |last1=Coggan |first1=Devan |title=Celebrate 50 years of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' with 20 essential sketches |url=https://ew.com/tv/2019/10/04/essential-monty-pythons-flying-circus-sketches-50th-anniversary/ |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=4 October 2019}}</ref>

<ref name="gqmag">{{cite magazine |author1=((GQ Editors)) |title=21 Documentaries Everyone Should See |magazine=[[GQ]] |date=3 November 2016 |volume=86 |issue=11 |url=https://www.gq.com/story/21-best-documentaries}}</ref>

<ref name="beast">{{cite web |title=Monty Python at 40 |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/monty-python-at-40 |website=The Daily Beast |date=15 October 2009}}</ref>

<ref name="telegraph">{{cite news |author1=((Telegraph Reporters)) |title=Monty Python's 10 Funniest Sketches |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comedy/what-to-see/monty-pythons-10-funniest-sketches/ |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |date=16 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007164032/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comedy/what-to-see/monty-pythons-10-funniest-sketches/ |url-status=live |archive-date=7 October 2023}}</ref>

<ref name="radar">{{cite web |last1=Nelson |first1=Jayne |title=The 40 Greatest Monty Python Sketches |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/the-40-greatest-monty-python-sketches/ |website=[[GamesRadar]] |date=14 October 2009}}</ref>

<ref name="nerdist">{{cite web |last1=Anderson |first1=Kyle |title=The 8 and a Half Most Underrated Monty Python Sketches |url=https://archive.nerdist.com/most-underrated-monty-python-sketches/ |website=[[Nerdist]] |date=27 March 2018}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
⚫
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050208093356/http://orangecow.org/pythonet/sketches/piranha.htm The Piranha Brothers script] at ''OrangeCow.org''


{{Monty Python}}
{{Monty Python}}

Latest revision as of 01:12, 2 May 2024

"Ethel the Frog" redirects here. For the NWOBHM band, see Ethel the Frog (band).

"Piranha Brothers"
Monty Python's Flying Circus segment
Screenshot from the episode
Episode no.Series 2
Episode 1 (segment)
Written by
Original air dateSeptember 15, 1970 (1970-09-15)
List of episodes

"Piranha Brothers" is a Monty Python sketch from the first episode of the second series of Monty Python's Flying Circus. The 14th episode of the series overall, it premiered on BBC1 in the United Kingdom on 15 September 1970. The sketch constitutes a loose pastiche of the real-life story of the Kray twins, gangsters who maintained an underground criminal outfit based in the East End of London in the 1950s and 1960s.[1][2]

A slightly re-worked version of the sketch appeared on the album Another Monty Python Record, released in the UK on 8 October 1971, and in the United States on 21 August 1972. It was also featured in Monty Python's Big Red Book, published in 1971.[3]

Plot[edit]

The premise for the sketch is a BBC current affairs documentary programme, inexplicably titled Ethel the Frog, retrospectively covering the exploits of the brothers Doug and Dinsdale Piranha. We learn through the mockumentary that Dinsdale and Doug were born 'on probation' in the slums of London, with their father, Arthur Piranha, employed as a scrap‐metal dealer and TV quizmaster. The brothers are reported to intimidate their victims through 'violence and sarcasm'. Through a series of interviews with their victims, we find out that Dinsdale has a peculiar habit of nailing his foes' heads to the floor, while Doug is reported to be more vicious by assailing his enemies with 'sarcasm', and that "He knew all the tricks - dramatic irony, metaphor, bathos, puns, parody, litotes and... satire." One of those interviewed says he has 'seen grown men pull off their own heads rather than face Doug'.

We are also told by another interviewee, that Dinsdale is afraid of "Spiny Norman", a gigantic imaginary hedgehog whose reported size varies based on his mood. The threat of Norman has affected Dinsdale so severely that it leads him to launch a nuclear weapon attack on an airplane hangar, where Norman was thought to have resided, at Luton Airfield on 22 February 1966. At the end of the sketch, which also ends the episode, the creature is revealed as being real and appearing in an animated form bellowing Dinsdale, beside various English landmarks as the credits roll.

Album and book[edit]

Another Monty Python Record, released in 1971, features the sketch with a slightly different version, whereas instead of a nuclear attack on the airport, the brothers are said to have napalmed Cheltenham.[4] This version ends with one of the Piranha Brothers' associates interrupting the recording and accidentally scratching the record, causing a continuous loop in the album's run out groove.[5] The sketch can also be found being re-told in Monty Python's Big Red Book.

Influence and in culture[edit]

A heavy metal group took its name, Ethel the Frog, from this sketch.[6] The band is best known for taking part in the Metal for Muthas multi-artist compilation album, released in 1980.[7]

The sketch is notable for being highlighted on various 'best of Month Python lists' featured in magazines, newspapers and websites. Entertainment Weekly listed the act at number 5 on their top 20 essential sketches;[8] GQ Magazine said it was one of four notable mockumentaries;[9] The Daily Beast included it in their funniest routines from the series;[10] The Daily Telegraph reported it as number 5 on their 10 funniest skits;[11] GamesRadar gave it top ranking as number 1 on their compilation of funniest performances;[12] and Nerdist said the piece was one of "The 8 and a Half Most Underrated Monty Python Sketches".[13]

Memorable quotes from the sketch have also been referenced in newspaper and magazine articles throughout the years since it was first broadcast in 1970.[14][15][16][17]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Ford, Robert (19 September 2003). "Make The Pain Stop, Please". Computerworld. Vol. 19, no. 19. (The tale of the Piranha Brothers from episode 1 of series 2, Monty Python's Flying Circus)
  2. ^ Larsen, Darl (13 June 2008). Monty Python's Flying Circus: An Utterly Complete, Thoroughly Unillustrated, Absolutely Unauthorized Guide to Possibly All the References. Scarecrow Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-4616-6970-8.
  3. ^ Topping, Richard; Long, Chris (1999). "Books, Records And All Manner Of Magnificent Monty Merchandise". Monty Python: A Celebration. London: Virgin Publishing. p. 156. ISBN 1-85227-825-0.
  4. ^ "Piranha Brothers". Another Monty Python Record (Vinyl LP). Marquee Studios, London: Charisma Records. 8 October 1971. Event occurs at 7:20. CAS-1049.
  5. ^ "Piranha Brothers". Another Monty Python Record (Vinyl LP). Marquee Studios, London: Charisma Records. 8 October 1971. Event occurs at 9:19. CAS-1049.
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin (1 January 2009). "Ethel The Frog". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
  7. ^ Blows, David, ed. (13 March 1980). "Ethel Back". Hull Daily Mail. Hull, Humberside, England. p. 10.
  8. ^ Coggan, Devan (4 October 2019). "Celebrate 50 years of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' with 20 essential sketches". Entertainment Weekly.
  9. ^ GQ Editors (3 November 2016). "21 Documentaries Everyone Should See". GQ. Vol. 86, no. 11.
  10. ^ "Monty Python at 40". The Daily Beast. 15 October 2009.
  11. ^ Telegraph Reporters (16 April 2018). "Monty Python's 10 Funniest Sketches". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023.
  12. ^ Nelson, Jayne (14 October 2009). "The 40 Greatest Monty Python Sketches". GamesRadar.
  13. ^ Anderson, Kyle (27 March 2018). "The 8 and a Half Most Underrated Monty Python Sketches". Nerdist.
  14. ^ Maffucci, Maria McFadden (Summer 2023). "Madame Restell: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York's Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist". Human Life Review. Vol. 49, no. 3. pp. 78–82.
  15. ^ Hill, Andrew (23 June 2010). "Protection Money". Financial Times. p. 38.
  16. ^ Malamud, Randy (30 January 2011). "Monty Python's Academic Circus". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Martin Carter, a senior lecturer ... at Sheffield Hallam University ... has studied how the Piranha Brothers sketch keenly reworks the lurid careers of two infamous contemporary criminals.
  17. ^ Meehan, Thomas (18 April 1976). "For Something Completely". The New York Times.

External links[edit]

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