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"Piranha Brothers" is a

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...

sketch that was first seen in the first episode (titled "Face the Press") of the second series of ''

Monty Python's Flying Circus ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam, who became known ...

''. Originally broadcast on television on 15 September 1970, the premise is a

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

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 London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

underworld and bring the city to its knees. Dinsdale is also described as being afraid of "Spiny Norman", a gigantic imaginary

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introducti ...

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 London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by ...

(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 Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including ''Time Bandits'' (1981), ''B ...

animation bellowing "Dinsdale!") beside various English landmarks as the credits roll.

Background and details

The sketch constitutes a loose pastiche of the real-life story of the

Kray twins Ronald Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000) were identical twin brothers, gangsters and convicted criminals. They were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London, Engl ...

gangsters A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and r ...

who maintained an underground criminal outfit based in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

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

Richardson Gang The Richardson Gang was an English crime gang based in South London, England in the 1960s. Also known as the "Torture Gang", they had a reputation as some of London's most sadistic gangsters. Their alleged specialities included pulling teeth ...

and their associate "Mad" Frankie Fraser. The sketch is introduced by a piece of music (the Intermezzo from

Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

Karelia Suite ''Karelia Suite'', Op. 11 is a subset of pieces from the longer ''Karelia Music'' (named after the region of Karelia) written by Jean Sibelius in 1893 for the Viipuri Students' Association and premiered, with Sibelius conducting, at the Imper ...

) which was used for many years, until 1992, to introduce the

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...

(and previously

Associated-Rediffusion Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, ...

and

Rediffusion London Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, ...

) current affairs series '' This Week.'' A slightly re-worked version of the sketch also appeared on the album ''

Another Monty Python Record ''Another Monty Python Record'' is the second album produced by the Monty Python comedy group, released in 1971. Dissatisfied with their monaural BBC debut album released the previous year, the group took full control of the follow-up, which w ...

'' where, in addition to Doug's wide repertoire of sarcasm,

hyperbole Hyperbole (; adj. hyperbolic ) is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. In rhetoric, it is also sometimes known as auxesis (literally 'growth'). In poetry and oratory, it emphasizes, evokes strong feelings, and ...

is also included. Rather than nuke

Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by L ...

, the brothers are said to have

napalm Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated al ...

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

. 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 ''Monty Python's Big Red Book'' is a humour book comprising mostly material derived and reworked from the first two series of the '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'' BBC television series. Edited by Eric Idle, it was first published in the UK in 19 ...

''.

Influence

A heavy metal group took its name, Ethel the Frog, from this sketch. The band is best known for taking part in the ''

Metal for Muthas ''Metal for Muthas'' is the name given to a series of heavy metal compilations made during the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM). The original compilation was ''Metal for Muthas'', released in February 1980. The compilation was a sampl ...

'' multi-artist

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

, released in 1980.

References

The Monty Python script
{{Monty Python Monty Python sketches 1970 in British television Works about the Kray twins

Background and details

Influence

See also

References