This is a perfect piece of comedy: perfectly constructed, perfectly delivered. It runs like a well-oiled piece of expensive machinery. How it runs up and winds down! "...he is a piece of ordure, a piece of excrement, unable to carry out a simple murder plot..." I doubt this could ever stop making me laugh. It confers on Jeremy Thorpe a quite unearned immortality.
Superb. Fast forward to 2011 and read the FA Commission's findings into the Evra/Suarez case. 115 pages designed to find Suarez guilty without a shred of evidence. 2011 and a man's career is blighted by a biased panel with an agenda to get the FA's charge to stick. Not paranoia, just read the full report and decide for yourself it is justice.
This has to be one of the most brilliant send-ups of the judiciary ever - & look, only a mere sixty-six thousand have seen it.
Cook never got a gong from HM because of the way he sent up the establishment (see, for example, Chris Morris' interview with Cook where the latter claims HM took opium, while stretched, naked on the marble floors of the the palace before giving her XMAS speech ).
A greater satirist if ever there has been - no doubt!
I honestly think the Thorpe trial would have been forgotten about years ago, but for this. The whole sorry affair will live on forever, thanks to this, the greatest satire ever written, by the greatest satirist who ever lived.
This has to be one of the most stellar pieces of satire ever penned ... it still results in hilarious laughter 31 years on, and to think that it was cooked up (pardon the pun) as a quick addition to the evening's proceedings!
The man at his finest - he was asked for a "filler" as they were short on stuff to fill the allocated time, so shot off to his hotel and came up with this the next day - genius!! Thanks for posting,
I think the sketch was written for the second night of the show when John Cleese told Peter Cook that there wasn't any satire on opening night .Peter Cook allegedly wrote this in 10 minutes. The title was "Entirely a matter for you"
What a wonderful example of Cook's comedic character acting! For those new to Cook & Moore and perhaps a little confused by the style, the Frog & Peach sketch is always a good starting point.
It was a parody of the judge's summing up in the Jeremy Thorpe trial where he (the judge) was acused of a highly pro establishment, and therefore pro Thorpe bias. The jury, initially split 6-6, eventually aquitted Thorpe though his political career was finished by the scandal. Thorpe was defended by the late George Carman.
Petr Cook founded Private Eye it's a great legacy that still keeps the satire going (of those who deserve it) but PE also is concerned with with life's casualties and is an honest read with accessible info running thru and with good cartoons.
I think he's referring to some of his other work, not this sketch. The Derek And Clive stuff can get pretty racist, sexist and nasty at times, but they pretty much go all out on everybody in those, so it's fine.
At the time of the Thorpe trial, Auberon Waugh who sat through the court case, wrote a book describing it. Whilst very funny, Waugh was inhibited by the libel laws of. Peter Cook, having no such inhibitions, wrote this sketch, which says more in a few minutes than Waugh said with a whole book. I attended Peter's funeral on a sunny day like today and as I left, I felt a profound sense of loss. The world had become a sadder place. Peter understood the power of taking the piss.
"It is conceded that the money arrived, what happened to it after that we shall never know... it will be a sad day for this country when a leading politician cannot spend his election expenses in anyway he sees fit."
It's based on 1979 trial of Jeremy Thorpe a well known British politician for murder. The trial was a farce with judge (Mr Justice Cantley) grossly favouring Thorpe and the "Establishment" throughout the trail. The trial culminated in a baised summing up which nakedly favoured Thorpe even calling a prosecution witness "a crook, an accomplished liar... a fraud". In spite of the Judge's direction the jury were at first split until they they finally reached a verdict of Not Guilty.
this was based on a major legal trial at the time about a homesexual MP (jeremy thorpe) and an attempted murder of a former lover and various cover ups etc.,- cant remember all the story but it was quite the scandal at the time - this trial had just finished and Peter Cook comes out with this, and cuts very very close the to mark.... outstanding
Thanks for explaining, was funny anyway, but knowing that just makes it even better. Wish he was here today to poke fun at the mind control, sorry, "govern-ment" in power.
Could not have put it better. I lived through this time and remember it well. Is it an irony that during a time when 'we' are almost forced, by law, to keep our mouths shut on all but the most banal matters, our so called leaders (many unelected!) are without doubt the most corrupt and inept that they have ever been... dangerous times!
I have heard that as he was literally just about to walk out on the stage to give this speech, he turned back and said, 'does anyone have a good euphemism for masturbation?', at which time Billy Connolly came up with, 'player of the pink oboe'...
No - he asked for another euphemism for 'gay male practices' - and Billy came up the (accoding to him) trad. Glaswegian "player of the pink oboe" line.
" We have been forced to listen to the testimony of a Mr. Norma Syngen Scott. "(Sorry couldn't hear well)" A scoundrel, parasite, pervert, worm and a slf confessed player or the pink oboe."
understandable the syngen mishearing..it is pronounced syngen but it is actually spelt st.john...upperclass British lol...like mannering is spelt mainwareing
for me, this is pete at his best; when he took time to carefully construct something funny. see also any of his e l wisty monologues; far, far better than the frankly painful derek and clive.
This is a perfect piece of comedy: perfectly constructed, perfectly delivered. It runs like a well-oiled piece of expensive machinery. How it runs up and winds down! "...he is a piece of ordure, a piece of excrement, unable to carry out a simple murder plot..." I doubt this could ever stop making me laugh. It confers on Jeremy Thorpe a quite unearned immortality.
Gibbsian36 2 weeks ago
Superb. Fast forward to 2011 and read the FA Commission's findings into the Evra/Suarez case. 115 pages designed to find Suarez guilty without a shred of evidence. 2011 and a man's career is blighted by a biased panel with an agenda to get the FA's charge to stick. Not paranoia, just read the full report and decide for yourself it is justice.
TheBrushwaino 2 months ago
@TheBrushwaino Oh yes: political corruption, manipulation of due legal process & political bias is the same as your petty football squabble :)
DerekTheHoly 2 days ago
Watching this right after midnight was a great way to start off 2012!
theteasknees 2 months ago
the work of an absolute genius !
DaveAmo 2 months ago
GENIUS< GENIUS< GENIUS, Rip PETER COOK, RIP.
rapunserl 11 months ago
As spot on and applicable today as it was when this was made!
genesisrock43 1 year ago
I'll be buggered if i'd vote Liberal!
densaner77 1 year ago
As dark as I would ever care to be, there is always a tired child in the mind, drifting in erudition.
I didn't cry, but everything in me did. And it ached like few things ever do.
Peter Cook is a loss - but his legacy lives in all comedy today. He would have found that hilarious,
cgreen5000 1 year ago
peerless
pierrebugblatter 1 year ago
The Courts in Canada are still like this
janetmerner 1 year ago
@janetmerner haha I'm Canadian and I agree
theocean1973 1 year ago
Brilliant, brilliant,brilliant
ryevic 1 year ago
This has to be one of the most brilliant send-ups of the judiciary ever - & look, only a mere sixty-six thousand have seen it.
Cook never got a gong from HM because of the way he sent up the establishment (see, for example, Chris Morris' interview with Cook where the latter claims HM took opium, while stretched, naked on the marble floors of the the palace before giving her XMAS speech ).
A greater satirist if ever there has been - no doubt!
Stephen Fry's critique is indicative.
jjmmcc1949 1 year ago
I honestly think the Thorpe trial would have been forgotten about years ago, but for this. The whole sorry affair will live on forever, thanks to this, the greatest satire ever written, by the greatest satirist who ever lived.
potstillbill 1 year ago
utterly surreal
sasfcps 1 year ago
"The funniest man ever to draw breath".
Stephen Fry (I think)
ilaconix 1 year ago
@ilaconix Spot on!
ashburnhouse 1 year ago
Brilliant!
olebarca99 1 year ago
Magnificent .....perfect .......I Love British Justice
stephenbiboy 1 year ago
This has to be one of the most stellar pieces of satire ever penned ... it still results in hilarious laughter 31 years on, and to think that it was cooked up (pardon the pun) as a quick addition to the evening's proceedings!
Calilasseia 1 year ago 2
Utter brilliance, The best he ever did done by the best there ever was . . .
God I miss him . . . .
dozysplot 1 year ago
The man at his finest - he was asked for a "filler" as they were short on stuff to fill the allocated time, so shot off to his hotel and came up with this the next day - genius!! Thanks for posting,
armandin2048 1 year ago 3
vote Liberal or we'll shoot your dog.
combusticus 1 year ago 2
@combusticus Just to let you know that at least one person gets the joke.
lomax343 1 year ago
A masterclass by the top man.
kilbraur 2 years ago 30
a man or woman who by his or her own admission chews pillows for kicks
BartBassist 2 years ago 10
So glad this is still available. Probably the best piece of satire ever written.
grimtweaker 2 years ago 41
what a legend, why is it that even the best comedians today seem lightweight compared to him?! paul merton, and stephen fry are probably closest
sherriffflood 2 years ago 5
I think the sketch was written for the second night of the show when John Cleese told Peter Cook that there wasn't any satire on opening night .Peter Cook allegedly wrote this in 10 minutes. The title was "Entirely a matter for you"
vulpecula999 2 years ago 6
What a wonderful example of Cook's comedic character acting! For those new to Cook & Moore and perhaps a little confused by the style, the Frog & Peach sketch is always a good starting point.
Thank you for posting this.
beanshapedhorror 2 years ago 5
watch the link under the video mate
sherriffflood 2 years ago 2
i dont get a lot of the stuff in this sketch. what is the historical background of this satrical sketch?
dcspc 2 years ago
watch "Peter Cook's biased judge sketch and its background" the details
dartfluke 2 years ago
It was a parody of the judge's summing up in the Jeremy Thorpe trial where he (the judge) was acused of a highly pro establishment, and therefore pro Thorpe bias. The jury, initially split 6-6, eventually aquitted Thorpe though his political career was finished by the scandal. Thorpe was defended by the late George Carman.
jlight1965 2 years ago 6
Petr Cook founded Private Eye it's a great legacy that still keeps the satire going (of those who deserve it) but PE also is concerned with with life's casualties and is an honest read with accessible info running thru and with good cartoons.
Theangelahorne 2 years ago
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oh danpower, sit and spin, ok?
goofygoat2009 2 years ago
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you heard me.
goofygoat2009 2 years ago
where racist? where sexist? What context? Do you realise this is parody? Are you confusing Peter with someone else?
I'll give you the Rude and Crass at a push.
Danpower101 2 years ago 3
I think he's referring to some of his other work, not this sketch. The Derek And Clive stuff can get pretty racist, sexist and nasty at times, but they pretty much go all out on everybody in those, so it's fine.
mw2000 2 years ago
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he was just plain rude, crass, sexist, biased, racist...you name it. yes he was funny but there were times he went overboard.
goofygoat2009 2 years ago
????
RodCow 2 years ago 6
this is fucking genius, absolutely delightful. thanks to whoever posted it, 'a man, or woman, who by his or her own admission...' classic!
justskiptotheend1 2 years ago 6
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Cook was funny but he was also an asshole too.
goofygoat2009 2 years ago
what was wrong with him?
was he a socialist or something? did he have bad manners?
richardcadbury 2 years ago
At the time of the Thorpe trial, Auberon Waugh who sat through the court case, wrote a book describing it. Whilst very funny, Waugh was inhibited by the libel laws of. Peter Cook, having no such inhibitions, wrote this sketch, which says more in a few minutes than Waugh said with a whole book. I attended Peter's funeral on a sunny day like today and as I left, I felt a profound sense of loss. The world had become a sadder place. Peter understood the power of taking the piss.
undart1 2 years ago 7
I do love the fact though that Auberon Waugh stood against Thorpe in the election as representative for the "Dog lovers party"
mgbgt1967 2 years ago 8
phahahahhahahahhah lol dog lovers party xd lol omg hahahhahahah so funny xd
why1so1serious1 2 years ago 4
"It is conceded that the money arrived, what happened to it after that we shall never know... it will be a sad day for this country when a leading politician cannot spend his election expenses in anyway he sees fit."
Still relevant today, I think.
david552 2 years ago 4
The work of a genius! And very, very close to what really happened in the Thorpe trial.
jackHNv 2 years ago
It's based on 1979 trial of Jeremy Thorpe a well known British politician for murder. The trial was a farce with judge (Mr Justice Cantley) grossly favouring Thorpe and the "Establishment" throughout the trail. The trial culminated in a baised summing up which nakedly favoured Thorpe even calling a prosecution witness "a crook, an accomplished liar... a fraud". In spite of the Judge's direction the jury were at first split until they they finally reached a verdict of Not Guilty.
newnhb 2 years ago 2
This has been flagged as spam show
See me touch my precious jewels!!!
dateherwow (dot) com
daintyVanessa4u72 3 years ago
this was based on a major legal trial at the time about a homesexual MP (jeremy thorpe) and an attempted murder of a former lover and various cover ups etc.,- cant remember all the story but it was quite the scandal at the time - this trial had just finished and Peter Cook comes out with this, and cuts very very close the to mark.... outstanding
timelinetwist 3 years ago 3
Thanks for explaining, was funny anyway, but knowing that just makes it even better. Wish he was here today to poke fun at the mind control, sorry, "govern-ment" in power.
thepowercut 2 years ago 2
Could not have put it better. I lived through this time and remember it well. Is it an irony that during a time when 'we' are almost forced, by law, to keep our mouths shut on all but the most banal matters, our so called leaders (many unelected!) are without doubt the most corrupt and inept that they have ever been... dangerous times!
gracko14 2 years ago 6
"Unable to carry out a single murder plot..."
Brilliant
Resevil 3 years ago 2
I have heard that as he was literally just about to walk out on the stage to give this speech, he turned back and said, 'does anyone have a good euphemism for masturbation?', at which time Billy Connolly came up with, 'player of the pink oboe'...
VX85820 3 years ago 2
I think that is almost right- it was a euphemism for fellatio he was after.
Tumsh 3 years ago
ahhh - thanks, either way - hilarious!
VX85820 3 years ago
No - he asked for another euphemism for 'gay male practices' - and Billy came up the (accoding to him) trad. Glaswegian "player of the pink oboe" line.
krakenwave 3 years ago
And then Cook, the genius that he was, added 'self-confessed'.
RMGLUCK 2 years ago
Absolute genius.
fabguy72 3 years ago 3
Satire at its very very best :)
Treblethink 3 years ago 3
" We have been forced to listen to the testimony of a Mr. Norma Syngen Scott. "(Sorry couldn't hear well)" A scoundrel, parasite, pervert, worm and a slf confessed player or the pink oboe."
Genius
RaveWithRioja 3 years ago
understandable the syngen mishearing..it is pronounced syngen but it is actually spelt st.john...upperclass British lol...like mannering is spelt mainwareing
leehartnup 3 years ago
Thanks, I'm dyslexic so I hear fonetically (geddit?). And one of my best traits is speaking French that way.
RaveWithRioja 3 years ago
"a self-confessed player of the pink oboe"
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA...
MrsGamgee977 3 years ago 5
Geniusgeniusgeniusgenius :)
xxCorinnaxx 3 years ago 2
Quite possible the most brilliantly funny thing I have ever seen. Thanks for posting!
Bnjolly 3 years ago 3
Quite simply one of the funniest things ever done by anyone, anywhere, ever.
jack4381ee 3 years ago 4
genius. =)
00hla 3 years ago
Well-loved by every lawyer in the Commonwealth - although that is entirely a matter for you.
gregwyatt46 3 years ago
"He is a piece of slimy refuse, unable to carry out the simplest murder plot without cocking it up."
"you are now to retire - as indeed should I -"
I think those were the high points.
This is one of those rare moments when the fool is elected king.
If you look for "That is entirely a matter for you", you'll find nice transcripts.
Cheers!
Irratzo 3 years ago 2
You forgot "loathsome spotted reptile."
Sheer genius, the funniest man who ever lived.
potstillbill 3 years ago 2
Possibly the finest sketch in British comic history.
HeartfeltDawn 3 years ago 3
If anyone wants to know what satire is, they should watch this excellent sketch
vulpecula999 3 years ago 2
"a self-confessed player of the pink oboe!"
"you are now to retire carefully to consider your verdict of not guilty."
I only understand some of the sketch from what i've heard about the 1979 jeremy thorpe thing
theocean1973 3 years ago
mr thrope and a piece of excrement hilarious
poonanny171 3 years ago
The undisputed king of satire!
Steviec63 3 years ago 2
THIS IS SO BRILLIANT!!!
keefriffards 3 years ago 3
for me, this is pete at his best; when he took time to carefully construct something funny. see also any of his e l wisty monologues; far, far better than the frankly painful derek and clive.
thanks for posting this vid.
hilliatfields 4 years ago
Still promts tears of mirth.Well done for posting this. Peter,you are so missed m8.
taliesyn12 4 years ago
Thank you for posting the sketch. Due respect.
Rennelgale 4 years ago 2
At last;thanks for posting the whole sketch.
jamiep73 4 years ago 2