Series 3, Episode 34: The Cycling Tour; Trotsky

PITHER

Michael Palin

M. BRUN

John Cleese

MME. BRUN

Eric Idle

GENEVIEVE

Graham Chapman

The sketch:

Gen.: C'est Trotsky le revolutionaire.

M. Brun: Trotsky!

Mme. Brun: Trotsky ne chante pas.

M. Brun: Un peu.

Mme. Brun: Mais pas professionalement. Tu penses de Lenin.

M. Brun: Lenin!! Quel chanteur: 'If I ruled the world'.

(Cut to stock shot of famous Lenin-addressing-the-crowd scene doctored so that we can dub the words 'Every day would be the first day of spring' onto it. Cut back to clearing as before.)

Gulliver: Lenin. My friend. I come. (He dashes off into the forest possessed.)

Pither: (aux Bruns) Oh excuse me, she's not very well you know, pressure of work, laryngitis... (He gets on his bike and pedals off hurriedly after Gulliver into the forest.)

M. Brun: (still reminiscing) Et Kerensky avec le 'Little White Bull'.

Mme. Brun: Formidable.

(Cut to a few quick shots of Gulliver dashing through the trees and then of Pither making much slower progress due to his bike.)

(Cut to a shot possibly of two frogs in a signal box, but probably a mundane setting and it's not worth wasting too much time on, of Gulliver passing within sight of the two aforesaid frogs; Frog1 and Frog2.)

Frog1: (seeing Gulliver) Maurice! Regardez! C'est la chanteuse Anglaise Clodagh Rogers.

Frog2: Ah mais oui! (sings) Jacques dans la boite (he switches on a nearby horn gramophone and the song is heard throughout the forest)

(Cut to Russian street. Pither cycles along with Gulliver, looking like Trotsky, on the back.)