Talk:Spam (Monty Python sketch)

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Renaming[edit]

"Spam (Monty Pythons Flying Circus sketch)" is a bit cumbersome. Shall we make it Spam (sketch), Spam (Monty Python), or something completely different...? -- Oliver P. 00:09 Feb 24, 2003 (UTC)

Does anyone call it just "Spam"? How about "Spam sketch" or "The Spam Sketch"? -- Tarquin
Ah, okay... I'll vote for Spam sketch. Argh, I still can't cope with this naming business... -- Oliver P. 00:42 Feb 24, 2003 (UTC)

Discrepancy in menu between audio and video of sketch[edit]

The audio of the sketch available at http://www.detritus.org/spam/skit.html and the video from http://linux.gda.pl/pub/spam/ seem to have different menus! Specifically, the video does not have the following menu item:

- Spam, Sausage, Spam, Spam, Spam, Bacon, Spam, Tomato and Spam

and the final menu item in the audio is:

- Lobster Thermidor aux Crevettes with a Mornay sauce Served in a Provençale Manner with Shallots and Aubergines garnished with Truffle Paté, Brandy and a Fried egg on top and Spam,

while in the video it is:

- Lobster Thermidor aux Crevettes with a Mornay sauce garnished with Truffle Paté, Brandy and with a Fried egg on top and Spam,

without the italicized portion.

The transcript of the sketch available from http://www.epicure.demon.co.uk/spamsketch.html seems to support the video rather than the audio.

Would appreciate any light on this issue!

  • The italicized part is sometimes present in different renditions of the sketch; I know it's there in The Final Rip Off. - Dasyati (talk) 18:08, 1 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

More Discrepancies[edit]

In the video on Google at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5627694446211716271

The Waitress suggests Spam, Egg, Sausage and Spam which is not listed on the Wiki menu.

Mr. Bun suggest Egg, Bacon, spam and sausage which is on the menu but in a different order (how pedantic is that!)

The Hungarian on the video actually says Spam, Egg, Spam, Bacon, Spam, Tomato, Spam, Spam, Spam not as listed Spam, sausage, spam, spam, spam, bacon, spam, tomato and spam which is listed as being from the radio version (which I have not listened to).

As an British English speaker I'd say that although it sounds like "sperm" he actually says on the video "Spam" with an attempted Hungarian accent.

"Spam" vs. "SPAM"[edit]

According to the spam.com website, the correct spelling of the product is "SPAM", not "Spam". Unless there's an authentic Monty Python transcript available where they use the spelling "Spam", I think all references to the meat product in the quotes from the skit should be changed to "SPAM". —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Atkinson 291 (talkcontribs) 3 March 2006.

The manual of style says to "follow standard English text formatting and capitalization rules even if the trademark owner encourages special treatment". (The Wikipedia page on Spam doesn't capitalise the product's name.) --McGeddon 16:10, 5 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

missing the other side of the same coin[edit]

I can't believe people are also missing the other side of the skit.

It is a comedy against spam, ok, pretty obvious.

But it's just 1 person who don't like it, everyone else does.

That note should be on the article, and if quoting in wikipedia is permited, then quoting showing that should be there too!

I'm not saying eletronic spam is good, but I suppose articles should be NPOV.

--Cacumer 02:40, 8 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Shortness?[edit]

I'm taking out this bit: "Despite its shortness," since it's pretty normal length for a Monty Python sketch. Juryen (talk) 18:39, 15 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Spam link[edit]

I changed the Spam link in the restaraunt menu to Spam (food) since that is what it is referencing, not Disambiguous Spam --user:chewbacca1010

I am disappointed. Nobody seems to know why the Internet nuisance is called spam. Yes, it is derived from the sketch, but through an intermediary, just as in radiation implosion, the x-rays bounce off the internal walls of the hohlraum before they evaporate the pusher-tamper to compress the thermonuclear fuel.

What happened is this: in 1994, an immigration law firm of Kanter (and another guy who got disbarred) created an advertisement about the green card lottery and their expertise at helping illegal aliens win the lottery. They then crossposted it to the entire Usenet. All 2000+ groups. (Remember, the internet was very small in those days, and the WWW was still embryonic; gopherspace was the bee's knees and Telnet: was the way to go.)

So when you loaded your Usenet point into the nn reader (gawrsh I feel OLD!!) you got the greencard add over and over and over and over and over and over. Kanter Kanter Kanter <Roadkill on the infobahn> Kanter Kanter Kanter <<Content>> Rinse Repeat.

THAT dear children, is where SPAM comes from.38.125.99.85 (talk) 15:35, 26 March 2011 (UTC)Kevin J. Connolly, Esq., decorated veteran of the Domain Name War a/k/a cybersharque kjconnollyesq@yahoo.com[reply]

You're just in the wrong article. Try Spam (electronic)#Etymology. - Denimadept (talk) 17:33, 26 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

World War 2[edit]

The USSR and Japan were at peace until after the Hiroshima bomb, and during the war Japan permitted non-weapons shipments from the US to the USSR. Much of this was food aid, in the form of Spam, probably because it had a long shelf life and was a the most calories you could pack into a can. Russian troops called it "Second Front". I have seen quotations from Soviet generals that "without Spam, they couldn't have made it to Berlin". I have also seen a figure that Spam was something like 10 or 15 per cent of the entire calories of Soviet troops. When you examine the wartime Soviet economy, Spam is a factor.

Firstly, is this type of info relevant, even if it is a Python page?

Secondly, does this type of info need citations?

fbaube at saunalahti.fi —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.197.240.134 (talk) 09:11, 28 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This article is for the monty python sketch. Unless you have a source mentioning these facts in relation to the sketch, it is superfluous. It may be appropriate information for the article on the food product, spam (I'm not familiar with the state of that article). -Verdatum (talk) 17:07, 23 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

SPAM Museum[edit]

Removed "...and is performed every day by local actors". I've been there. It is a video, not actors. --MartyChang (talk) 20:00, 15 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Spam source[edit]

The name "SPAM" comes from Hormel, true. The term spam as linked to in this article, does indeed come from this sketch, which references the Hormel product. - Denimadept (talk) 18:33, 13 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Inspiration for the SPAM sketch: Bob Rafelson's iconic 60s counterculture film, 'Five Easy Pieces' has been cited as the inspiration for the 'Spam' sketch. Its most famous scene is Jack Nicholson's rant at a waitress in a roadside diner who refuses to accept his order to mix items from the menu, noted as a brilliant encapsulation of the rebellious attitude of 1960s American youth against the unthinking conformity of the older generation. Python managed to make their spoof even more iconic and subversive, suggesting both attitudes were equally ridiculous, as well as riffing on one of their key themes, namely British embarrassment when complaining about poor service. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.40.207.96 (talk) 19:50, 10 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Rationing[edit]

The article states "Spam was one of the few meats excluded from the British food rationing that began in World War II ..."; in fact SPAM was rationed, but not as restrictively as fresh meat. See Talk:Spam (food)#Spam as WWII Provisions Sent from U.S. to Britain --Redrose64 (talk) 10:55, 21 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Invalid external link[edit]

The external link to YouTube now goes to a video that has been copyright claimed and removed from the platform.

A new source should be referenced. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.219.72.214 (talk) 14:48, 31 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Spam Song sleeve photo[edit]

Apparently that's the actual cover of a 7" single released by Charisma, but the photo is not from Spam: it's from the Dirty Fork restaurant sketch.