The Fish Licence is part one of a two-part segment of the popular British television series, Monty Python's Flying Circus, in it Eric Praline, played by John Cleese, takes on the roll of the put-upon custumer who, when seeking to obtain a licence for his pet halibut named Eric has difficulty explaining to the clerk how all pets should be licensed. Monty Pythons Flying Circus (also known as Flying Circus, MPFC or just Monty Python during the fourth season) was a popular, surreal BBC sketch comedy show from Monty Python, and the groups initial claim to fame. ... Mr. ... John Marwood Cleese (born October 27, 1939) is an English comedian and actor best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for co-writing the TV series Fawlty Towers in which he played Basil Fawlty. ... A large halibut with a fisher to its right A halibut is a type of flatfish from the family of the righteye flounders (Pleuronectidae). ...

This is one of the three appearances of the Eric Praline persona, along with the Cheese Shop and Dead Parrot sketches. The Cheese Shop sketch is a famous sketch from Monty Pythons Flying Circus. ... Palin, Cleese and the dead parrot. ...

Part two of this segment was the Eric the Half a Bee song.

Trivia

• OpenBSD's 3.5 release contained a parody track of both the Fish Licence skit and the Eric the Half a Bee song, titled CARP Licence and Redundancy Must Be Free.