@@Zerobob26 You overvalue him. That heckler never posed a threat to a pro like Atkinson in the first place. If anything unbeknownst to him, he made it funnier. That line was perfection.
"You're a moron, Undermanager, what are you? A carbuncle on the backside of humanity." Almost 18 years as a public high school teacher, and since discovering this I've watched it at least once a year. Brilliant!
I think this was Rowan's first performance before he was famous but grabbed the attention of Richard Curtis who was in the audience. Stephen Fry was also in the audience and was laughing so hard he let out some wee.
I wrote this sketch one morning in the summer of 1978 for Rowan's first London revue, "Rowan Atkinson and Friends", at the Hampstead Theatre (Director: Michael Rudman. Cast: Rowan, Peter Wilson, Elspeth Walker). I gave it to Rowan at rehearsal an hour or two later. Richard Curtis was another writer on the show. John Cleese saw it, and invited Rowan to do this sketch in "The Secret Policeman's Ball" later that year. I sadly misjudged the director of that film, Roger Graef, because no writers got named credit on the film. I later learned that all the Powers That Be wanted to cut Rowan from the film because he was a complete unknown, and the show was over-long and packed with big name stars. But Graef fought tooth and nail to keep him in it, for which I am eternally grateful. Rowan did, indeed, steal the show. This sketch launched Rowan's career, and became his party piece -- the encore number at the end of his stage shows. It was always a joy to see him perform it. Later, Richard Curtis and Rowan wrote the "rude" version, and very generously shared the royalties with me (copyright resides with the original writer, not the performer). They indeed met at Oxford -- Rowan was a graduate student, Richard an undergraduate. I had graduated from Oxford a year or two before they went there . We all met in Edinburgh in the summer of 1976, when they were in the Oxford Revue with (from memory, but I wouldn't swear to it) Angus Deayton and Helen Atkinson-Wood among others. Rowan was, obviously, a prodigious talent even as a student. He could, as can be seen here, make even the telephone directory funny.
@Richard Sparks - Well then, my hat off to you sir. You've made the world a happier place. I come back to this every once in a while and it never fails to lift up the spirits. Cheers!
The English school system (or at least that in "privileged" schools) produces a strange kind of sadistic/sarcastic schoolmaster who delights in public humiliation and ridicule of the pupils. Apart from being funny, Rowan's portrayal is very accurate. I personally experienced teachers like this. Very hard to convey to anyone who hasn't been through the system. The names are just for comic effect.
The sadism of public humiliation as a means of school "discipline" is still very much alive in the old British colonies. I went to Catholic missionary school in my hometown, Calcutta. Pretty much the same. 😶
This is the direct reflection of the British "castes" system : if you're in upper society, you must be part of the gang. And to be part of the gang you must understand domination. It must be taught to you at a very young age. You must reproduce the system when you grow up. Empathy is considered weakness. All that matters is your class, your family, your "dynasty". Do not question. Keep the top of the social pyramid at the top, even if it costs you your personal happiness.
His writer says that RA doesn't find anything funny. So that's why. He sees himself as a comedy actor so just executes the lines in a very precise way.
" Discuss the contention that Cleopatra had the body of a roll-top desk and the mind of a duck. Oxford and Cambridge board 'O Level' paper" .... priceless
Excellent! What makes this even funnier for me is that he looks and sounds like my 1st form master at grammar school; especially the way he looks down his nose at the class and talks in that sneering tone. Ah such fond memories...
Atkinson at his absolute funniest. The delivery, timing, everything - perfection. I loved him in Blackadder 2 as he had a similar dark edge and dry wit. Not keen on the later "rude" version - it tries too hard and is too obvious (presumably a different writer?) and Rowan himself doesn't seem overly enthusiastic about it.
i like how he added in the 'i have a detension book' when that audience member said 'HERE' or whatever he said. LEAVE ORIFICE ALONEEE and i like the 'nancy boy potter' one too
Rowan's portrayal of the old-fashioned English schoolteacher is uncanny. Unfortunately, I have many memories of teachers exactly like this, whose sole purpose in life seemed to be to destroy the pupils they were responsible for educating. And they succeeded with remarkable regularity. Conversely, in modern schools it seems that the sole purpose of pupils is to destroy the teachers responsible for educating them. Also achieved with remarkable regularity. I have no comment on which state of affairs is worse.
Absolutely hilarious ! Seems to have captured the spirit of independent schools of a bygone era ! Roman Atkinson , a comedy genius ! Deadpan delivery is unsurpassed!
I had similar teachers at my very ordinary secondary modern, but this was the late 60's and early 70's. Fortunately this was mixed with an influx with young liberal types from 'Breeze Block' universities or polytechnics.
I love how the humour in this skit borders on being malicious, yet always so subtle about it, making it even more hilarious. Those lions about Cleopatra and Enobarbus (in fact a character in Anthony & Cleopatra) are gems!
It's all in the delivery. In the hands of a lesser mortal it would be meaningless. However, I was wondering what had happened to Masters Inkstain and Jailbait. Perhaps they had already been tweaked
They aren't in my sketch. They appeared in a later sequel which I did not write. I think Rowan had grown tired of doing this as his party piece / encore to end his stage shows, and wanted to refresh the franchise. So the later, rude, version came into being.
Richard Sparks This is so much funnier than the rude version. It’s left up to the audience’s imagination to fill in the blanks, as it were. I’ve only just seen the newer version and I had to find your original to remind me how much better it is. I can never forget Orifice.
@@margueritejohnson6407 Well thank you Marguerite! We did a third version, in a charity show called Fundamental Frolics (for Mencap, in the year of the Disabled, 1981). Which I wrote. The Schoolmaster in that one was appalled to discover that the school was now co-ed, and some of his class were... (shock, horror) girls! Including Undermanager, who'd had the op during the summer vacation. And was now Francesca. It's on the record, probably only ever made in vinyl. And was broadcast on the BBC. And yes, in the words of Humphrey Bogart to Ingrid Bergman, "We'll always have Orifice."
No kidding, when I was a Grammar School teacher of Advanced Mathematics, the Advanced level of the Northern Ireland Senior Certificate of Education contained a question that quoted Longfellow on the fleetness of Hiawatha's foot, and the strength of his arm, and required the candidate, with certain simplifying assumptions, to show how far and how fast Hiawatha could run to satisfy the claims made. It wasn't all that difficult, but quite hilarious.
I had a history teacher like that in high school. He was not hesitant to use profanities when describing historical figures. Though he only hated the students who didn't come to every lesson. In fact, towards the end of the term, he told some late-arrivers "you might as well not bother showing up anymore, I'm flunking you." He was hysterical. History class was really fun there.
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It's all about the constrast between the scholarly seriousness of Atkinson's demeanour and the absurdity of the dialogue he's speaking, coupled with the exxagerated way he recites parts of it. Hopefully I've not ruined the joke by explaining it
"Undermanager's answer...upside-down. D'you do it deliberately, Undermanager? You're a moron, Undermanager, WHAT ARE YOU? ...A carbuncle on the backside of humanity." Replace the names with Harry Potter surnames, and I reckon you'd get Severus Snape! xD
It's so spot on. Someone in my high school senior English class said Shakespeare wrote plays to be enjoyed on stage, not analysed and picked apart in classrooms :)
He's a teacher calling attendence, and the students have weird ass names, I lost it at "Ellsworth-Beast Major". It takes a master to pull something like this off in comedy XD
He is a genius.... how can he memorize those long scripts?...... not just he delivered it well and give it the right expressions.,,, he also really had a natural gift in making people laugh............
"Yes, isn't life tragic, Plectrum... Do you have a solicitor, Plectrum...? You're lying, Plectrum...see me afterwards to be tweaked anyway.." Oh my god, I LIVED this....
Sage Mcelister A lawyer. One that works from an office but does not appear in court. The solicitor briefs a barrister who then presents the case in court. I believe the system has changed somewhat, but I’m a bit vague about the changes.
I too have been been unjustly 'tweaked,' but I never got paddled in front of the class like one of my classmades did on a regular basis. True, he had a behavioral problem, but he was also mentally disabled. Today, he would have been placed and taught in a way based on the desire to help rather than punish.
I don't think rowan was trying not to laugh at all. If you watched many of his interviews, you can tell that he is really serious when he is having a performance.
Some people don't understand that this man is famous here in the UK because of his expressions and the way he says particular words. The Blackadder series is an example
This was funny, but I think the one where he's talking to the parent of the dead student is funnier. *Headmaster:* "Quite frankly, Mr. Perkins, If he wasn't dead, I'd have him expelled." *Mr. Perkins:* "... I beg your pardon!" *Headmaster:* "Yes, expelled." Search for "Rowan Atkinson Live - Headmaster kills student" =)
I remember watching this with my sister in our grandparents house and we were pissing ourselves. My grandparents were looking at each other in disbelief. I guess it's a generation thing. Comedy genius from Rowan! Great memories 😂
The best part of this whole number really is the masterful delivery. Anyone can stand on a stage and list off names, and anyone can be funny with a great script. To be able to be this hilarious with just a list of names (such as they are), takes some genuine talent, but also and more importantly, it takes skill and lots of practice.
Ainsley. Babcock. Bland. Carthorse. Dint. Ellsworth-Beast Major. Ellsworth-Beast Minor. "Here!" ... I have a detention book... Hemoglobin. Kosygin. Loud-hailer. Mattock. Nancyboy-Potter. Nibble, Orifice. Plectrum. Poinse. Sediment. Soda. Teh. Teh? Under-manager. Zob. Absent. All right, your essays. Discuss the contention that Cleopatra had the body of a roll-top desk and the mind of a duck. Oxford and Cambridge board 'O' level paper, 1976. Don't fidget, Bland. The answer: yes. Jones, M; Orifice; Sediment and Undermanager, see me afterwards. Most of you of course didn't write nearly enough. Dint, your answer was unreadable. Put it away, Plectrum! If I see it once more this period, Plectrum, I shall have to tweak you. Do you have a solicitor, Plectrum? You're lying, so I shall tweak you anyway. See me afterwards to be tweaked. Yes, isn't life tragic! Don't sulk, boy, for God's sake. Has matron seen those boils? Horrid little twerp. Bland, German, Nancyboy-Potter, Undermanager, cribbing. Undermanager: answer upside down. Do you do it deliberately, Undermanager? You're a moron Undermanager, what are you? A carbuncle on the backside of humanity. Don't snigger, Babcock! It's not that funny. Antony and Cleopatra is not a funny play. If Shakespeare had meant it to be funny, he would have put a joke in it. There is no joke in Antony and Cleopatra. Does anyone know a Shakespearian joke? Nibble? NIBBLE! Leave Orifice alone! What a lot of..... Right, for the rest of this period you will write about Enobarbus. Undermanager, just try and write Enobarbus...either way up boy, I'm not bothered. Usual conditions, no conferring, no eating, no cheating, no looking out of windows, no slang, no slide rules. Use ink only, via a nib, if possible. You may use dividers, but not on each other Nancyboy-Potter. Kosygin... you're in charge.
I was there on the first night. Tickets in the stalls only £5- each! I bought 4. Took my brother, he was 14 back then (myself 19) and my girlfriend. I sold the spare at face value to a long haired biker who had found out Pete Townshend was appearing. Rowan Atkinson stole the whole show. He did the miming on the piano bit (before this classic routine) in the first half of the event. Amazing memories. Hard to imagine that was 44 years ago.
This sketch must have been ticking away in my subconscious until last week’s English Supply Cover lesson. I thought the boy’s name was Sproat - great amusement in class! Now if Rowan had had a ‘Scroat’ on his register...
Get ready to laugh....those names, almost like Futterweit, Butterwhite ,Futerwit, Wally (ugh), Watch this British schoolmaster call out the names and get the attention of the pupils.....poor students. I like Plectrum best.
Remember a version of this where had added a few more names- Wicket Williams Wicket Williams Whichely Whichely Wicket Whichely Williams and Whichely Williams … Wocket
@@richardsparks9894 Well, you wrote a good sketch, one he could work with. And of course the boys' names that roll around so richly in the mouth do help!
You know the phrase "he's so good he could read from the phonebook and make it entertaining".
Atkinson's such a legend he really can do that.
Yes. This sketch IS the phone book. Mind you, it's the best bits of the phone book...
THE DIRTY VERSION IS FAR FUNNIER. This clean version is barely humorous
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@@electrictroy2010Rubbish!!!!
Heckler: "HERE!"
*Rowan stares him down*
R.A.: "I have a detention book..."
*Heckler handled like a boss!* :D
He handled it well, but that idiot heckler undermined and nearly ruined the whole sketch. I bet Rowan Atkinson was secretly extremely angry.
@@Zerobob26 You overvalue him. That heckler never posed a threat to a pro like Atkinson in the first place. If anything unbeknownst to him, he made it funnier. That line was perfection.
I thought that was part of it
"You're a moron, Undermanager, what are you? A carbuncle on the backside of humanity." Almost 18 years as a public high school teacher, and since discovering this I've watched it at least once a year. Brilliant!
THE DIRTY VERSION IS FAR FUNNIER. This clean version is barely humorous
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The timing during this sketch by Rowan Atkinson is sublime. And he does it live.
I think this was Rowan's first performance before he was famous but grabbed the attention of Richard Curtis who was in the audience. Stephen Fry was also in the audience and was laughing so hard he let out some wee.
+Tom Mulligan I'm pretty sure Curtis met Atkinson at a comedy sketch club at Cambridge University.
+LukaszVT Oxford, not Cambridge, late 1970s. Rowan was doing some kind of Masters in in engineering. Curtis was doing Eng Lit, I think.
I wrote this sketch one morning in the summer of 1978 for Rowan's first London revue, "Rowan Atkinson and Friends", at the Hampstead Theatre (Director: Michael Rudman. Cast: Rowan, Peter Wilson, Elspeth Walker). I gave it to Rowan at rehearsal an hour or two later. Richard Curtis was another writer on the show. John Cleese saw it, and invited Rowan to do this sketch in "The Secret Policeman's Ball" later that year. I sadly misjudged the director of that film, Roger Graef, because no writers got named credit on the film. I later learned that all the Powers That Be wanted to cut Rowan from the film because he was a complete unknown, and the show was over-long and packed with big name stars. But Graef fought tooth and nail to keep him in it, for which I am eternally grateful. Rowan did, indeed, steal the show. This sketch launched Rowan's career, and became his party piece -- the encore number at the end of his stage shows. It was always a joy to see him perform it. Later, Richard Curtis and Rowan wrote the "rude" version, and very generously shared the royalties with me (copyright resides with the original writer, not the performer). They indeed met at Oxford -- Rowan was a graduate student, Richard an undergraduate. I had graduated from Oxford a year or two before they went there . We all met in Edinburgh in the summer of 1976, when they were in the Oxford Revue with (from memory, but I wouldn't swear to it) Angus Deayton and Helen Atkinson-Wood among others. Rowan was, obviously, a prodigious talent even as a student. He could, as can be seen here, make even the telephone directory funny.
I used to have the LP 'Secret Policeman's Ball'... this was all before 'Not the Nine O'Clock News' I presume.
@Richard Sparks - Well then, my hat off to you sir. You've made the world a happier place. I come back to this every once in a while and it never fails to lift up the spirits. Cheers!
The English school system (or at least that in "privileged" schools) produces a strange kind of sadistic/sarcastic schoolmaster who delights in public humiliation and ridicule of the pupils. Apart from being funny, Rowan's portrayal is very accurate. I personally experienced teachers like this. Very hard to convey to anyone who hasn't been through the system. The names are just for comic effect.
"The names are just for comic effect." Ya think??
Public ridicule?
@@youtubewasoncebetter publicly belittling the pupil in front of the class.
The sadism of public humiliation as a means of school "discipline" is still very much alive in the old British colonies. I went to Catholic missionary school in my hometown, Calcutta. Pretty much the same. 😶
This is the direct reflection of the British "castes" system : if you're in upper society, you must be part of the gang. And to be part of the gang you must understand domination. It must be taught to you at a very young age. You must reproduce the system when you grow up. Empathy is considered weakness. All that matters is your class, your family, your "dynasty". Do not question. Keep the top of the social pyramid at the top, even if it costs you your personal happiness.
god the way he pronounces every single word . Such a talent
It's the way he never actually says anything dirty, but always sounds as if he is :)
He has a speech impediment, he corrects with precise pronunciation.
He has a stammer, difficulty with the letter B. That is why he over-articulates certain words.
Ya, 'Babcock' is genius. You'll only get this if you're from the north, like.
"Nibble! NIBBLE!!! LEAVE ORIFICE ALONE!"
Pure deadpan brilliance :D
The way he rolls the 'r' in orifice just makes it.
@@leow3696 LEAVE ORRRRIFICE ALONE
How does that man keep a straight face?
Salman Memehood It's what I was wondering too
maybe he played his role too much that he could handle it
he the one who made it.
His writer says that RA doesn't find anything funny. So that's why. He sees himself as a comedy actor so just executes the lines in a very precise way.
Work, work, work
" Discuss the contention that Cleopatra had the body of a roll-top desk and the mind of a duck. Oxford and Cambridge board 'O Level' paper" .... priceless
is it a specific parody of academia or just meant to sound completely ridiculous?
There are not many comedians who could make this funny. One of my favorite solo comedy performances.
I have been aspiring to this level of contempt for 30 years!
Excellent! What makes this even funnier for me is that he looks and sounds like my 1st form master at grammar school; especially the way he looks down his nose at the class and talks in that sneering tone. Ah such fond memories...
Best Bit: "NNNIIIIBBBBBLLLLLLEEEEEEE!!! Leave "O-R-I-F-I-C-E" Alone!!!"
I find this version an order of magnitude superior to the later version with obviously rude names. "Has Matron seen those boils?..."
Atkinson at his absolute funniest. The delivery, timing, everything - perfection. I loved him in Blackadder 2 as he had a similar dark edge and dry wit. Not keen on the later "rude" version - it tries too hard and is too obvious (presumably a different writer?) and Rowan himself doesn't seem overly enthusiastic about it.
Different writer(s) indeed. I was not involved in the sequel.
Blackadder II was the worst. Fourth the best followed by third and then First.
@@AsadAli-jc5tg Disagree. For me, it's Blackadder II, then IV, then III. The first seems the most 'caricatural' of all...
@Reinhart....you guys are too unjust with Blackadder I. There is much good in it, very intellectual too. I must say give it another go.
At some point Ben Elton was on the writing team.
How he can control his face in spite of everyone else is laughing... He is marvellous.
THE DIRTY VERSION IS FAR FUNNIER. This clean version is barely humorous
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I would have a hard time
I love this one and the dirty version
He almost cracked at 4:10
Pfuyifuturigiyigigituuiouououoyoo
Rowan Atkinson is a class act-- hardly anyone else could have made this as good
I know, it's so genius that without actually saying anything dirty he makes it sound totally obscene!
As the writer of this sketch I completely agree with you.
The late Peter Cook the only one.
THE DIRTY VERSION IS FAR FUNNIER. This clean version is barely humorous
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Why wasn't he cast as Professor Snape?
Interesting idea , but i think he probably lacked the depth and slight edge of darkness that character needed .
hippoheppo I remember hearing a rumour that he was approached to play Voldemort at some stage...!
Because Alan rickman was born to do Snape's role.
.
.
.
Always
"Nancy boy Potter."
Because harry potter's for twats
i like how he added in the 'i have a detension book' when that audience member said 'HERE' or whatever he said.
LEAVE ORIFICE ALONEEE
and i like the 'nancy boy potter' one too
Rowan's the only comedian who can make you laugh by doing nothing at all
Rowan's portrayal of the old-fashioned English schoolteacher is uncanny. Unfortunately, I have many memories of teachers exactly like this, whose sole purpose in life seemed to be to destroy the pupils they were responsible for educating. And they succeeded with remarkable regularity. Conversely, in modern schools it seems that the sole purpose of pupils is to destroy the teachers responsible for educating them. Also achieved with remarkable regularity. I have no comment on which state of affairs is worse.
Absolutely hilarious ! Seems to have captured the spirit of independent schools of a bygone era ! Roman Atkinson , a comedy genius ! Deadpan delivery is unsurpassed!
I had similar teachers at my very ordinary secondary modern, but this was the late 60's and early 70's. Fortunately this was mixed with an influx with young liberal types from 'Breeze Block' universities or polytechnics.
This is where Alan Rickman molded his character "Severus Snape" from.. pretty freaking awesome..
I love how the humour in this skit borders on being malicious, yet always so subtle about it, making it even more hilarious. Those lions about Cleopatra and Enobarbus (in fact a character in Anthony & Cleopatra) are gems!
THE DIRTY VERSION IS FAR FUNNIER. This clean version is barely humorous
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"YES isn't. life. _tragic."_
Don't sulk boy, for heaven's sake. Has matron seen those boils?
what does that even mean though?
@@Micho55 Do you... not know how sarcasm works?
@@StarUnreachable I do, just not familiar with the phrase.
"The answer - yes."
"Most of you didn't write nearly enough..."
"Has the matron seen those boils?" Holy shit, that delivery.
Rowan smiles there
SethBlizzard could you tell me what did he say right before that?
@@deanpeng7854"Don't sulk, boy, for God's sake."
NIBBLE! LEAVE ORIFICE ALONE!!!
"A carbuncle on the backside of humanity." Holy shit, what a burn.
Hahhahahaha....
Carbon coal
4:07 He's trying SO hard to hold back the laughter.
I rather believe thats a satisfying smirk that the class master would have after a put down like that, hence, I believe, its part of character.
Rowan Atkinson doesn't laugh.
WhipRunner me too
It's all in the delivery. In the hands of a lesser mortal it would be meaningless. However, I was wondering what had happened to Masters Inkstain and Jailbait. Perhaps they had already been tweaked
They aren't in my sketch. They appeared in a later sequel which I did not write. I think Rowan had grown tired of doing this as his party piece / encore to end his stage shows, and wanted to refresh the franchise. So the later, rude, version came into being.
Richard Sparks This is so much funnier than the rude version. It’s left up to the audience’s imagination to fill in the blanks, as it were. I’ve only just seen the newer version and I had to find your original to remind me how much better it is. I can never forget Orifice.
@@margueritejohnson6407 Well thank you Marguerite! We did a third version, in a charity show called Fundamental Frolics (for Mencap, in the year of the Disabled, 1981). Which I wrote. The Schoolmaster in that one was appalled to discover that the school was now co-ed, and some of his class were... (shock, horror) girls! Including Undermanager, who'd had the op during the summer vacation. And was now Francesca. It's on the record, probably only ever made in vinyl. And was broadcast on the BBC.
And yes, in the words of Humphrey Bogart to Ingrid Bergman, "We'll always have Orifice."
@@richardsparks9894 That version is at 1:04:03 of ruclips.net/video/MHlJS9FJxyc/видео.html
And Havvernut, Williams-Wycherley and Wycherley-Williams-Wockett!
No kidding, when I was a Grammar School teacher of Advanced Mathematics, the Advanced level of the Northern Ireland Senior Certificate of Education contained a question that quoted Longfellow on the fleetness of Hiawatha's foot, and the strength of his arm, and required the candidate, with certain simplifying assumptions, to show how far and how fast Hiawatha could run to satisfy the claims made.
It wasn't all that difficult, but quite hilarious.
"Isn't life tragic" - RA is right on target with that line. I seem to remember hearing it a lot from a fascist teacher long ago.
I love the smirk when he asks about Plectrum's boils
Or he is actually suppressing a laugh...
"Use ink only - via a nib if possible"
I had a history teacher like that in high school. He was not hesitant to use profanities when describing historical figures. Though he only hated the students who didn't come to every lesson. In fact, towards the end of the term, he told some late-arrivers "you might as well not bother showing up anymore, I'm flunking you." He was hysterical. History class was really fun there.
13 year-old comment, damn. 👀
THE DIRTY VERSION IS FAR FUNNIER. This clean version is barely humorous
.
@@electrictroy2010incorrect
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Whether mesmerising us with the visual mastery of Mr. Bean, beguiling us with the Edmund Blackadder, or entertaining us as hapless British Secret Agent Johnny English, you surely won't have escaped the genius that is Rowan Atkinson.
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Thanks Rowan. Love you.
Nice
"Nibble?
NIBBLE!
Leave Orifice alone!"
Gad, he's good.
But he is so much like a real Grammar School teacher of the 1970's. I was there!!
Me too!
True. I was sent to a Catholic boarding school, it was so strict and often humiliating that I hated every minute of it 😂
I so love the dude who shouts "HERE!" after Elsworth Beast Major. xD
It's all about the constrast between the scholarly seriousness of Atkinson's demeanour and the absurdity of the dialogue he's speaking, coupled with the exxagerated way he recites parts of it.
Hopefully I've not ruined the joke by explaining it
"haemoglobin?"
LOL! i cracked up when he said that!
rowan atkinson's my favorite comedian.
"Undermanager's answer...upside-down. D'you do it deliberately, Undermanager? You're a moron, Undermanager, WHAT ARE YOU? ...A carbuncle on the backside of humanity."
Replace the names with Harry Potter surnames, and I reckon you'd get Severus Snape! xD
If Shakespeare was ment to be funny he would've put a JOKE IN IT.....hahahah
It's so spot on. Someone in my high school senior English class said Shakespeare wrote plays to be enjoyed on stage, not analysed and picked apart in classrooms :)
@@Jojoseahorse To pee or not to pee.
He was just 23, just out of Engineering University, when he did this.
Talk about out of the gate running.
He doesn’t look that age, I’m 29!
"Zob"
Amelia Tizley in my language "zobb" means penis :p
At 1:08 you can hear the camera guy laughing :D
'I have a detention book..'
best way to handle a heckle EVER!
He's a teacher calling attendence, and the students have weird ass names, I lost it at "Ellsworth-Beast Major". It takes a master to pull something like this off in comedy XD
He is a genius.... how can he memorize those long scripts?...... not just he delivered it well and give it the right expressions.,,, he also really had a natural gift in making people laugh............
"Yes, isn't life tragic, Plectrum... Do you have a solicitor, Plectrum...? You're lying, Plectrum...see me afterwards to be tweaked anyway.." Oh my god, I LIVED this....
Whats a solicitor?
Sage Mcelister A lawyer. One that works from an office but does not appear in court. The solicitor briefs a barrister who then presents the case in court. I believe the system has changed somewhat, but I’m a bit vague about the changes.
I too have been been unjustly 'tweaked,' but I never got paddled in front of the class like one of my classmades did on a regular basis. True, he had a behavioral problem, but he was also mentally disabled. Today, he would have been placed and taught in a way based on the desire to help rather than punish.
Isn't this just totally wonderful? Love every second of it. A literal master of comedy.
The best performance ever when it comes to comedy in my opinion. Delivers like a genius and has since continued to do so. Hats off, Mr Atkinson!
For some reason "Sediment" gets me each and every time. Good stuff
I don't think rowan was trying not to laugh at all. If you watched many of his interviews, you can tell that he is really serious when he is having a performance.
"Soda? What's wrong with Soda? It's a great name, it's bubbly!" - George Costanza
Some people don't understand that this man is famous here in the UK because of his expressions and the way he says particular words. The Blackadder series is an example
This was funny, but I think the one where he's talking to the parent of the dead student is funnier.
*Headmaster:* "Quite frankly, Mr. Perkins, If he wasn't dead, I'd have him expelled."
*Mr. Perkins:* "... I beg your pardon!"
*Headmaster:* "Yes, expelled."
Search for "Rowan Atkinson Live - Headmaster kills student" =)
So much better than the version with more obvious names.
I'm a teacher and some of this is so familiar!! As I like to say to whining students "My heart just bleeds..."
Nibllle ...leave orifice alone
Didn't catch most of the jokes here, to busy looking at rowans face.. not once did he crack a smile... impressed..
4:08, he almost lost composure! Good old Rowan kept it together though!
I remember watching this with my sister in our grandparents house and we were pissing ourselves. My grandparents were looking at each other in disbelief.
I guess it's a generation thing.
Comedy genius from Rowan!
Great memories 😂
The best part of this whole number really is the masterful delivery. Anyone can stand on a stage and list off names, and anyone can be funny with a great script. To be able to be this hilarious with just a list of names (such as they are), takes some genuine talent, but also and more importantly, it takes skill and lots of practice.
he nearly loses it at 4:10, but the way he can do the routine so totally deadpan is amazing
"Yes!.. Isn't life tragic...?!"
You're 11 years older now since when you commented this. Isn't that awesome ?
@@singhgaurav1526 Holy macaroni. Thanks so much for the morning identity crisis! hahahah
@@mariaswonderland 😁
Ainsley. Babcock. Bland. Carthorse. Dint. Ellsworth-Beast Major. Ellsworth-Beast Minor. "Here!" ... I have a detention book... Hemoglobin. Kosygin. Loud-hailer. Mattock. Nancyboy-Potter. Nibble, Orifice. Plectrum. Poinse. Sediment. Soda. Teh. Teh? Under-manager. Zob. Absent.
All right, your essays. Discuss the contention that Cleopatra had the body of a roll-top desk and the mind of a duck. Oxford and Cambridge board 'O' level paper, 1976. Don't fidget, Bland. The answer: yes. Jones, M; Orifice; Sediment and Undermanager, see me afterwards. Most of you of course didn't write nearly enough. Dint, your answer was unreadable.
Put it away, Plectrum! If I see it once more this period, Plectrum, I shall have to tweak you. Do you have a solicitor, Plectrum? You're lying, so I shall tweak you anyway. See me afterwards to be tweaked. Yes, isn't life tragic! Don't sulk, boy, for God's sake. Has matron seen those boils? Horrid little twerp.
Bland, German, Nancyboy-Potter, Undermanager, cribbing. Undermanager: answer upside down. Do you do it deliberately, Undermanager? You're a moron Undermanager, what are you? A carbuncle on the backside of humanity.
Don't snigger, Babcock! It's not that funny. Antony and Cleopatra is not a funny play. If Shakespeare had meant it to be funny, he would have put a joke in it. There is no joke in Antony and Cleopatra. Does anyone know a Shakespearian joke? Nibble? NIBBLE! Leave Orifice alone! What a lot of.....
Right, for the rest of this period you will write about Enobarbus. Undermanager, just try and write Enobarbus...either way up boy, I'm not bothered. Usual conditions, no conferring, no eating, no cheating, no looking out of windows, no slang, no slide rules. Use ink only, via a nib, if possible. You may use dividers, but not on each other Nancyboy-Potter.
Kosygin... you're in charge.
Holy crap just the way he makes his face look when he says some of the names and the he says it is just amazing, truly a comedic geniuses. xD
I was there on the first night. Tickets in the stalls only £5- each! I bought 4. Took my brother, he was 14 back then (myself 19) and my girlfriend. I sold the spare at face value to a long haired biker who had found out Pete Townshend was appearing. Rowan Atkinson stole the whole show. He did the miming on the piano bit (before this classic routine) in the first half of the event. Amazing memories. Hard to imagine that was 44 years ago.
"Alright, quiet please..."
Can't help but think he is the most gifted comic ever to come out of England
Him and Monty Python...have you seen the interview sketch he did with John Chapman? Priceless!
He's right up there with Cook and Moore.
I prefer him in spoken humour. I never took to Mr Bean, I felt it was a waste of his enormous talent with words.
Up there with Lee Evans
4 :11 he is about to crack up but keeps it!!
Oh, hilarious! I do so appreciate British humor and wit!
Do you have a solicitor Plectrum?? 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Detention for _anyone_ who dares to dislike this roll call.
I wouldn't be surprised if Alan Rickman used this sketch to help make the character of Snape.
he shows reality in such a hilarious way!
'i shall have to tweak you' :')
This version of Atkinson is too British for me to fully be able to appreciate this bit.
I went to grammar school, this is alarmingly close.
I can still remember everyone on the register to this day, tragic...
0:32 Bland gets me every damn time-
we had fish called plectrum and orifice just thought id share
fatterelvis I would name my fishes Wanda, Eric and Elusive.
Did you leave Orifice alone?
Kosygin was a senior Russian politician at the time - the funny part was that he threw the name into the already haphazard list of names.
Thanks for clearing that up. Wasn't sure what to make of that one, especially w.t. audience roaring.
This sketch must have been ticking away in my subconscious until last week’s English Supply Cover lesson. I thought the boy’s name was Sproat - great amusement in class! Now if Rowan had had a ‘Scroat’ on his register...
The jaded teacher at a posh boys school. You just know this s*** is real.
"yes isnt life traggic"
i must use that one :)))
Whatever it is, Plectrum needs to stop picking on it.
00:56 i have a detention book...
I think this is far funnier than the ‘dirty’ version.
Get ready to laugh....those names, almost like Futterweit, Butterwhite ,Futerwit,
Wally (ugh), Watch this British schoolmaster call out the names and get the attention of the pupils.....poor students. I like Plectrum best.
thanks a lot. You have a better name than plectrum?
AHH, when tweaking was still allowed at school, happy days.
there is no way is is possible for him to keep a straight face through this!!!
Remember a version of this where had added a few more names-
Wicket
Williams Wicket
Williams Whichely
Whichely Wicket
Whichely Williams
and
Whichely Williams
…
Wocket
Pure genius... I laughed so much I spat my coffee all over my keyboard...What an expressive face Rowan has...Fantastic ... :0)x
" Kosygin you`re in charge " Was that topical at the time. still got a laugh either way . Timing and elocution to die for .
Alright ladies and gentlemen, time for some opinions. What's funnier, the sketch itself, or the delivery?
Delivery
Delivery for sure.
The delivery IS the sketch.
@@PaulZink No question -- the delivery. And I wrote this sketch. Rowan made it.
@@richardsparks9894 Well, you wrote a good sketch, one he could work with. And of course the boys' names that roll around so richly in the mouth do help!
4:10 The face of the devil, disguised as a teacher, incinerating the hopes and dreams of young Plectrum
There are few comedians who could make this as funny as Rowan. The way he pronounces words is just glorious.