Talk:The Ministry of Silly Walks

Poll

 * In 2005, the sketch was chosen by a poll taken in that country as the 15th greatest comedy sketch of all time (and one of 5 Monty Python sketches in the top 50).
 * So removed the 'multiple issues' tag:
 * Clearly not trivial (look at this page)
 * In-line citations have been fixed Roy Bateman (talk) 04:16, 1 March 2016 (UTC)

Which country was that? --skx 16:51, 14 December 2005 (UTC)
 * UK, obviously, considering the damn yanks and so on can't get good old fashioned comedy, dammit :p --Kiand 16:55, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

Inspiration
I have added a paragraph on the inspiration for the sketch. It has been suggested by John Cleese's former Director of Studies at Downing College, Cambridge (John Hopkins) that the inspiration for the scene was the way that undergraduates stride around the gravel paths of the college grounds, avoiding puddles that always seem to form. As far as I'm aware, this was supported by a telephone call between the two, when Cleese was recently asked to send a video message as part of John Hopkin's retirement celebrations.

Just watched The Sandwich Man film (a 1966 Comedy set in London) Part way through the film there is a "City Gent" in a Bowler Hat walking in a silly/amusing way around London's streets. Could this have inspired John Cleese's Silly Walk sketch? It looked very similar although not a funny as Mr Cleese's sketch. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A00:23C4:4B20:600:4D71:FAF9:196B:A5EB (talk) 19:39, 2 December 2018 (UTC)

Pop culture references
Have either John Cleese or the producers of Fawlty Towers/The World Is Not Enough actually mentioned that they drew inspiration from the sketch, or is it just original research on the editors part? GeeJo (t)⁄(c) • 19:40, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

In the comedy, "Waiting for God," the main character, Diana Trent (Stephanie Cole), has made a direct reference to the Silly Walks sketch in conversation. Online, "Waiting for God" articles and clips appear to be limited, but when I isolate the exact episode in which she makes the reference, I will add it to the References in Pop Culture section. If someone happens to find it, please add it.

Christopher, Salem, OR (talk) 07:28, 24 May 2011 (UTC)

The Meaning of Liff
Does this entry from Douglas Adams' The Meaning of Liff qualify as a reference in popular culture? Gloadby Marwood (n.) - Someone who stops John Cleese on the street and demands that he does a funny walk. --195.185.228.35 17:08, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Public toilet
Anyone know if I'm right in thinking the Ministry building is a public loo, or at least something meant to seem like one? Moyabrit 19:42, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

John Hopkins
This is amazing. I have just finished greatly expanding an article on John Hopkins (academic) (having been taught law by him at Cambridge). He always mentioned having been Cleese's Director of Studies and supervisor for Equity; and articulated his theory that Cleese had learned the Silly Walk in negotiating the puddles across the quad. I had just finished putting in this bit of trivia, and linking to 'Ministry of Silly Walks' in that article, when I came across the very same thing mentioned here! I have therefore put a link to my article on John Hopkins (academic) here...

Urbanmyth139 (talk) 09:19, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

Who wrote it?
At Graham_Chapman, it says that he and Cleese wrote the sketch, but here it says otherwise. --67.171.22.86 (talk) 19:32, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

Right-wing inspired observers
Instead of "Some right-wing inspired observers claimed to see in this sketch a satire of government projects", wouldn't just "Some observers claimed to see..." be better? Alternatively, specific examples of right-wing inspired observers could be referenced. Jeremiah 17:9 (talk) 23:31, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

Supposed inspiration for Michael Jackson's "moonwalk"
One user claims that John Cleese's silly walk was the inspiration for Michael Jackson's "moonwalk", according to a biopic called "This Is It". First of all: this seems highly dubious. Jackson always claimed to have learned the "moonwalk" from watching some kids do this particular dance. Other sources say he was inspired by Marcel Marceau's skit "Man walking against the wind". Jackson and Marceau were friends, so this seems a bit more plausible. By the time "Monty Python's Flying Circus" was first broadcast in the USA, around 1975, Jackson was no longer "a child" as this user claims, but already about 16 years old. There's no evidence that Jackson ever watched, nor enjoyed "Monty Python". The only British comedy TV show he liked was "Benny Hill", which is a totally different kind of comedy. The only documentary named "This Is It" featuring Jackson is the concert movie from 2009 where, at no point, this claim is made.

The civil servant's "secretary"
Should the link to Secretary (title) in the description of Mrs. Twolumps be changed to Secretary instead? The subject of Secretary (title) doesn't seem to match the description "the minister's secretary". Radioactivated (talk) 22:24, 28 September 2017 (UTC)

British Medical Journal study
Should this article point out that a report in the British Medical Journal has found that copying Cleese's silly walks can be quite salubrious? According to the news tonight (December 22 2022), the article claimed that doing walks as in the Monty Python sketch may be a more effective way of burning calories and losing weight than doing ordinary walks. YTKJ (talk) 20:28, 22 December 2022 (UTC)