Original Broadcast Date: Jan. 11, 1970
Attempted Synopsis: A restaurant customer and his nasty wife encounter a very neurotic waiting staff; a man in a dress sells albatross instead of ice-cream and seems annoyed at both his uniform and his condiment; a pickpocket victim receives unexpected recompense from a police officer; a doctor, a nurse, and a patient do Abbott & Costello; historical impersonations, done by the historial figures for a change; lots of fairy work done by the police department; a mad psychiatrist recommends his patient to a mad surgeon with a striking resemblance.
Review: Lots of self-consciously silly stuff, but with some gold among the dross: John Cleese as a butch intermission salesperson; the doctor-nurse wordplay; the pickpocket victim finding true love. Of course, the best line is the final one (see "Priceless gag" below), considering the future legendary status of this TV series.
Priceless Gag: The final line of Series 1, uttered as a "teaser" by John Cleese: "When this series returns, it will be put out on Monday mornings as a test card and will be described by the Radio Times as a history of Irish agriculture." That's what he thought.
Our rating: 
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