The Spanish Inquisition was one of the most popular Monty Python sketches. The principal catchphrase in this sketch was "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!" January 2006 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → 31 January 2006 (Tuesday) U.S. President George W. Bush delivers the State of the Union Address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress (the House of Representatives and the Senate). ... The Monty Python troupe in 1970. ... A catch phrase is a phrase or expression that is popularized, usually through repeated use, by a real person or fictional character. ...

Nobody in their right mind could have expected this form of Spanish Inquisition, in which the inquisitors proceed to use such extremities of torture as poking with soft cushions and forcible seating in a comfy chair as a means of forcing a heretic (a housewife) to recant. This Inquisition has a hard time starting to inquisit, as they get bogged down in recitations of their chief weapons, among which are such diverse elements as fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope, and nice red uniforms. (Listen: 15 seconds audio sample .ogg file.) Pedro Berruguete. ... Representation of an Auto de fe, (1475). ... A homemaker is a person whose prime occupation is to care for their family and/or home. ... The Pope (from Greek: pappas, father; from Latin: papa, Papa, father) is the head of the Catholic Church. ...

This was a recurring sketch, always predicated by an unrelated sketch in which one character, expressing irritation at being questioned by another, would announce "I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition!" At this point the Inquisition, consisting of Cardinal Ximinez (Michael Palin), Cardinal Biggles (Terry Jones), and Cardinal Fang (Terry Gilliam) would burst into the room. Ximinez would shout, with a particular and high-pitched emphasis on the first syllable, "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!" Cisneros (sitting) directs the construction of the Hospital of the Charity. ... Michael Palin (1999) Michael Edward Palin, CBE (born May 5, 1943 in Broomhill, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England) is an English comedian, actor and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python, as well as for his travel documentaries. ... Terry Jones Terence Graham Parry Jones (born February 1, 1942) is a British comedian and writer. ... Terry Gilliam at Cannes 2001. ...

One of the sketch's features was that Ximinez's blood-thirsty bluster ran into the problem of not being able to produce the desired tortures. When he called for "the Rack," his assistants immediately produced a dish-drying 'rack.' After expressing his frustration with a furious clench-toothed grin, Ximinez was barely able to seriously order the victim to be tied to the 'rack,' and interrogated. When poking the victim with soft cushions produced no confession, Ximinez would inquire whether his assistants had gotten all the stuffing together into one end of the cushions, for supposed maximum effectiveness. The rack is a torture device. ...

In the original Monty Python's Flying Circus TV episode (episode 15), the Spanish Inquisition makes several "unexpected" appearances, until at the very end of the show they are caught by surprise. As the closing credits roll the Inquisitors race to where they weren't expected, only to arrive just as the words THE END appear, Ximinez crying "Nobody expects the Sp...oh, bugger!" (which, incidentally, was a strong word for a BBC comedy show at the time, and some BBC regions omitted it from the broadcast). Monty Pythons Flying Circus (also known as Flying Circus or MPFC, known during the fourth season as Monty Python) was a popular BBC sketch comedy show from Monty Python. ... Bugger is an expletive used in vernacular British English, Australian English, New Zealand English and Sri Lankan English. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the largest publicly-funded radio and television broadcasting corporation of the United Kingdom (see British television) and the world. ...

Its influence

"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!" appeared as a fictional crossover in a Batman comic book; Robin is fighting desperately against terrible odds when Batgirl unexpectedly arrives to help. After the villains are safely dispatched, in the panel at the bottom right corner of the page Robin unleashes a barrage of questions at Batgirl, asking "What are you doing here? Why did you come? How did you know where I was?" and so on, causing the overwhelmed Batgirl to reply with "Hey, slow down, I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition!" When the reader turns the page, the first panel on the next page features the Spanish Inquisition arriving on horseback, shouting "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!". In a clever bit of plot twisting, this unlikely event was actually worked in as a rational part of the overall plot. A fictional crossover occurs when otherwise separated fictional characters, stories, settings, universes, or media meet and interact with each other. ... Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-man, and still sometimes as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional character and superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... A classic image of Batman and Robin reinterpreted by painter Alex Ross. ... Batgirl is a DC Comics superhero, a female crime-fighter modeled after and associated with Batman. ...

In the cult series Mystery Science Theater 3000, a running gag was that when a character in the film being watched would burst through a door, Tom Servo would yell out "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!" Movie theater view, featuring the short film Hired!. Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988–1999), usually abbreviated MST3K, is a cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson featuring a man and his robot sidekicks who are trapped on a satellite in space and forced to watch particularly bad movies. ... Tom Servo and his friends. ...

When the British Abbey National Bank was taken over by the Spanish Banco Santander in a surprise move in 2004, The Now Show used the phrase, "Nobody expects the Spanish acquisition". Abbey National plc is the UKs sixth biggest bank, and Europes second largest mortgage lender, after Halifax. ... Banco Santander Central Hispano is the largest bank in Spain and now has large scale operations in both the continents of Europe and South America. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Now Show is a British radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, which satirises the weeks news. ...

John Hannah and Gwyneth Paltrow made a connection with each other in the film Sliding Doors using the phrase. John Hannah (born April 23, 1962) is a Scottish actor from East Kilbride. ... Gwyneth Paltrow in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. ... Sliding Doors is a 1998 film written and directed by former actor Peter Howitt. ...

Rory Bremner once impersonated Robin Cook in one of his 1999 shows on Channel 4, regarding the desire by the government of Spain to extradite former Chilean Dictator Augusto Pinochet during his visit to the UK - "Pinochet did not expect a Spanish extradition - HAHA! Nobody expects the Spanish Extradition! Our chief weapon is surprise!... And spin! Yes, our two chief weapons are surprise, and spin!... And Amnesty International! Yes, our three chief weapons are..." Rory Bremner Rory Bremner FKC (born April 6, 1961) is a British impressionist and comedian, born in Edinburgh, in Scotland, noted for his political satire. ... Rt. ... Channel 4 is a public service television broadcaster in the United Kingdom (see British television). ... General Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte[1] (born November 25, 1915) was head of the military dictatorship that ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990. ... In public relations, spin is a usually pejorative term signifying a heavily biased portrayal in ones own favor of an event or situation. ... Amnesty International logo Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is an international, non-governmental organization with the stated purpose of promoting all the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international standards. ...

See also

• Mel Brooks's film History of the World, Part I has a sketch with a singing and dancing inquisition.

Mel Brooks on the talk show Parkinson. ... History of the World, Part I is a 1981 film directed by Mel Brooks. ...

References

• The Monty Python script
• A YTMND page featuring the Robin and Batgirl joke mentioned in the article

Monty Python
Members	Graham Chapman • John Cleese • Terry Gilliam • Eric Idle • Terry Jones • Michael Palin
Other Contributors	Douglas Adams • Connie Booth • Carol Cleveland • Neil Innes
Films & TV Series	Monty Python's Flying Circus • Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus • And Now For Something Completely Different • Monty Python and the Holy Grail • Monty Python's Life of Brian • Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl • Monty Python's The Meaning of Life • Monty Python's Personal Best