# The greatest Monty Python sketches and scenes

The best of Monty Python's Flying Circus (BBC, 1969-1974) and their films, from the Dead Parrot to the Black Knight. Ranked by how often they top fans' and critics' polls.

- 51 votes · 19 items
- Jan 26, 2020 · Zoe Marshall
- https://even.best/en/l/921/the-greatest-monty-python-sketches-and-scenes

## Top 15

1. **Dead Parrot sketch** (8 · ▲9 ▼1) — «This is an ex-parrot!» John Cleese returns a dead Norwegian Blue to Michael Palin's pet shop; series 1, episode 8 (1969). <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Parrot_sketch>
2. **The Ministry of Silly Walks** (5 · ▲5 ▼0) — John Cleese as a civil servant with an absurd walk; series 2, episode 1 (1970). <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ministry_of_Silly_Walks>
3. **Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!** (5 · ▲5 ▼0) — Michael Palin's cardinal bursts in, again and again; series 2, episode 2 (1970). <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spanish_Inquisition_(Monty_Python)>
4. **What have the Romans ever done for us?** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — The People's Front of Judea meeting in Life of Brian (1979).
5. **The Funniest Joke in the World** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — A joke so funny it kills anyone who hears it, weaponized in WWII; series 1, episode 1 (1969).
6. **The Argument Clinic** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — Michael Palin pays for an argument and gets contradiction instead; series 3, episode 3 (1972). <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_Clinic>
7. **The Fish-Slapping Dance** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — Michael Palin slapped into a canal by John Cleese with a fish; series 3, episode 2 (1972).
8. **The Black Knight** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — «'Tis but a scratch!» A knight who refuses to give up while losing all his limbs, in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975).
9. **Always Look on the Bright Side of Life** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Eric Idle's song from the crucifixion finale of Life of Brian (1979), now sung at football grounds and funerals. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Always_Look_on_the_Bright_Side_of_Life>
10. **Spam** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — A café where everything comes with Spam, sung by Vikings; series 2, episode 12 (1970). It gave its name to junk email. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_(Monty_Python_sketch)>
11. **Cheese Shop** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — John Cleese tries to buy any cheese at all in a shop that has none; series 3, episode 7 (1972). <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese_Shop_sketch>
12. **Mr Creosote** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — The world's greediest diner and «just one wafer-thin mint» in The Meaning of Life (1983).
13. **«He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!»** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Brian's mother (Terry Jones) to the crowd in Life of Brian (1979).
14. **Four Yorkshiremen** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Rich men competing over who had the poorest childhood; written for At Last the 1948 Show (1967) and a Python live favourite. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Yorkshiremen_sketch>
15. **The Knights Who Say «Ni!»** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — Knights who demand a shrubbery, in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975).
16. **Nudge Nudge** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Eric Idle's «wink wink, say no more» man in the pub; series 1, episode 3 (1969).
17. **The Bridge of Death** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The bridgekeeper's three questions, including the airspeed of an unladen swallow, in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975).
18. **Self-Defence Against Fresh Fruit** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — John Cleese teaching how to defend yourself against an attacker armed with a banana; series 1, episode 4 (1969).
19. **The Lumberjack Song** (-2 · ▲0 ▼2) — «I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay», series 1, episode 9 (1969).

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.