Editing I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (section)

==Catchphrases==
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* "I'm sorry, I'll read that again" &ndash; a frequent interruption to mock news broadcasts on the show – the line often reads "Here is the news. I'm sorry, I'll read that again: Here ''are'' the news."
* "[[Rhubarb tart]]?" A delicacy much loved by all the cast members and often used as a bribe during sketches. [[David Hatch]] leaves the University of the Air during a Julius Caesar spoof lecture after [[Bill Oddie]]'s flip remarks, only to be coaxed back with offers of rhubarb tart. It is also Angus Prune's favourite dish. In the "Ali Baba" sketch in the 3rd series, Cleese appears as [[Omar Khayyam]]; he remarks to Ali Baba, played by Brooke-Taylor, "Surely you've heard of the ''[[Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam|Rhubarb Tart of Omar Khayyam]]''?" There were also two "Rhubarb Tart" songs, one sung by Cleese, which he also sang in ''At Last the 1948 Show'', and one sung by Oddie, which became "The Custard Pie Song" in the TV series ''The Goodies''.
* The Tillingbourne Folk and Madrigal Society. A recurring parody of English ''[[a cappella]]'' folk music ([[madrigal (music)|madrigal]]). The Society performed a range of songs from a medley of [[football chant]]s through to the never-ending folk song "There was a Ship that put to Sea all in the Month of May." They also presented a version of "[[House of the Rising Sun]]", with Graeme Garden singing a fairly straight version of the song and the rest of the group providing highly mannered interjections, such as "tiddly-pom" and "whack-fol-riddle-me-o". Yet, despite the whimsy, it was clear that the cast members were very capable singers.
* "I'm the king rat!" Generally said very over-dramatically by John Cleese, on which the rest of the cast would reply, "Oh, no you're not!" This was later referenced in a Monty Python sketch at a "hospital for over-actors".
* "The Angus Prune Tune". Written by Bill Oddie and performed by Bill Oddie (often with considerable audience involvement), this was the sign-off song for the series. In a retrospective show called ''I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again, Again'' broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4 Extra]] in March 2013 to celebrate 50 years of ''ISIRTA'', Bill Oddie said that the lyrics which were added later had been written by Humphrey Barclay. The full text runs as follows:
*:My name is Angus Prune
*:and I always listen to I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again
*::(You Don't!)
*:My name is Angus Prune
*:and I never miss I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again
*::(Get Away!)
*:I sit in my bath
*:And I have a good laugh
*:Cause the sig tune is named after me
*::(Tell us yer name!)
*:My name is Angus Prune
*:And this is my tune
*:It goes I-S-I-R-T-A
*:I'm Sorry I'll Read That AGAIN!'
* [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|Beethoven's Fifth]]. The opening bars of the symphony are constantly used in the series, usually in inappropriate settings; their first appearance was in the first sketch of the pilot programme in 1963, and during an ''[[Opportunity Knocks (UK TV series)|Opportunity Knocks]]'' spoof in the 3rd series Bill Oddie tries to tap-dance to them in what sound like hob-nailed boots. David Hatch once introduced the cast: "with another of their sallies forth – (GRAMS: 'Da-da-da-dummmmm') – or Beethoven's Fifth –" On another occasion, the pre-show teaser was Beethoven, played by Brooke-Taylor, trying to get Bill Oddie, playing a stereotypically Jewish-sounding music publisher, to market the tune. After hearing the tune, Oddie says: "That's a load of old rubbish!" and then twists the melody to form the opening sig. The closing bars of the final movement of the symphony were used to introduce a 'promenade concert' that featured "There was a Ship that put to Sea all in the Month of May" – Hatch says solemnly in his best BBC voice: "That was the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Wilhelm Furtwängler. Now, while they're getting up ..."
* "The Ferret Song". [[John Cleese]] has an obsession with ferrets throughout the show, including his performance of "The Ferret Song". This song begins with the line "I've got a ferret sticking up my nose." The line is repeated, then: "How it got there I can't tell, but now it's there, it hurts like hell and, what is more, it radically affects my sense of smell," – and promptly gets even worse. The song, written by John Cleese and [[Graham Chapman]], was included in ''The Fairly Incomplete and Rather Badly Illustrated Monty Python Song Book'', accompanied by a picture of Cleese with a [[Terry Jones]]-shaped ferret up his nose.
* The Silly [[Roll Call]]. During many of the longer adventures, the cast engage in the Silly Roll Call, where a series of words (sometimes appropriate to their adventure) are turned into people's names in the vein of an inverted [[knock-knock joke]]. The "[[Jack the Ripper]]" story involves criminals such as "Mr. and Mrs. Ree ... and their son ... [[Robbery|Robby Ree]] ... and his cousin from the Far East, Ahmed Robby Ree; Mr. and Mrs. Nee, their Swedish son [[Larceny|Lars Nee]] .. and his sister Betty Lars Nee; and Mr. and Mrs. Sittingforimmoralpurposes...and their son...Solly Sittingforimmoralpurposes". In "Jorrocks", the Hunt Ball features appearances by "Lord and Lady V'syouyeahyeahyeah and their daughter [[She Loves You|Sheila V'syouyeahyeahyeah]]" as well as "Lord and Lady Umeeroffen and their son Duke Umeeroffen". Even the Ancient Greek world of [[Oedipus]] is not sacred – [[Socrates]] appears with Knobblyknees, [[Euripides]] with Iripadose, [[Antigone]] and Uncle-igone, and the treble of [[Aristophanes]], Hoiteetoitees and Afternoonteas (as well as a barrage of rotten fruit). The idea of the Silly Roll Call was revived in ''[[I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue]]'', the final game of the show often being some variant of the "[[List of games on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue#Late Arrivals (at a society ball)|Late Arrivals (at a society ball)]]" where the same sort of "silly names" would be announced by each of the players in turn.
* The [[Gibbon]]. Often when a generic animal is required for a sketch, the team used a gibbon. Every mention of the gibbon usually raises cheers from the audience. This is often expanded to ludicrous lengths, such as a "Gibbon-Fanciers' Club". [[Edward Gibbon]]'s work ''[[The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire|Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]'' is rendered as "''Decline and Fall of the Roman Gibbon'', by Edward Empire". [[Stanley Gibbons]]' Stamp Catalogue became known as ''Stanley Stamps' Gibbon Catalogue''. Later, The Goodies, Brooke-Taylor, Garden, and Oddie had a 1975 Top Ten hit with "[[Funky Gibbon]]", which reached #4, and they sang live on ''[[Top of the Pops]]'', and the [[Amnesty International]] show ''[[A Poke in the Eye (With a Sharp Stick)]]'', and during ''The Goodies'' episode "[[The Goodies – Almost Live]]". In ''The Goodies'' episode "[[That Old Black Magic (The Goodies)|That Old Black Magic]]", Graeme Garden acts like an ape to the accompaniment of the Bill Oddie song "Stuff The Gibbon" — and in another ''Goodies'' episode, "[[Radio Goodies]]", the small boat above their pirate radio submarine is called "The Saucy Gibbon". A track on [[Soft Machine]]'s ''[[Six (Soft Machine album)|Six]]'' album entitled "Stanley Stamp's Gibbon Album" is dedicated to Bill Oddie.
* The [[Aardvark]] is another animal mentioned frequently, sometimes in connection with puns such as "How to make your aardvark soft again" or gibberish "[[Welsh language|Welsh]]" words such as "spotted aardvark pudding".
* The [[Terrapin]], which appears occasionally. In one show, after a particularly macabre John Cleese monologue, Hatch sends him packing, whereupon the rest of the cast defect with Cleese and form Radio Terrapin in competition to Radio Prune. In another show, Bill performs "The Terrapin Song", and on another show, Hatch announces a terrapin joke, as follows: (Garden) "Who was that Terrapin I saw you with last night?" (Brooke-Taylor) "That was no terrapin, that was our old school mistress – she tortoise (taught us)."
* Bill Oddie's accent. Having a [[Brummie dialect|Birmingham accent]] (although born in Rochdale in Lancashire, he grew up in Birmingham) made Oddie the butt of many jokes, as well as leading him naturally towards many roles in sketches where someone was required to speak incomprehensibly. He got his own back in the "Lawrence Of Arabia On Ice" sketch, when he appeared as Nanook of the North, complete with a plethora of cod-Lancastrian patois ("ee bah goom", "black puddings", "ecky thump", etc.) This became the basis for an episode of ''[[The Goodies (TV series)|The Goodies]]'' where "Ecky Thump" was a secret Lancastrian [[martial art]], the episode parodying the then-popular TV show ''[[Kung Fu (1972 TV series)|Kung Fu]]''.
* The Old Jokes Home. The old jokes, of which there were many (see script below) were sometimes sent to the Old Jokes Home.
* 'Spot'. References to "a spot of brandy", "my favourite spot", etc., were usually followed by a canine yelp from Bill Oddie, attributed to "Spot the Dog". Spot became an audience favourite, and made at least one appearance in each episode.
* [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]]. Characters often have OBE added to the end of their name. It is also added to places, objects and names, as well as an interruption, e.g. in "The Angus Prune (OBE) Song". The cast occasionally ask for one ("Thank you ma'am, I'll take the OBE if it's offered") or decline one that's been offered ("No thanks, I'm trying to give them up"). On one occasion, Hatch introduced the team as "Tim Brooke-Taylor, O.B.E., John Cleese, O.B.E., Graeme Garden, O.B.E., David Hatch, O.B.E., Jo Kendall, O.B.E., and Bill Oddie, O.D.D.I.E." On another occasion, in a send-up of the Honours List, Hatch announces that a particular person has been made an earl, and also has been awarded the OBE; he therefore becomes an earlobe (this joke was also used in ''[[The Goodies (TV series)|The Goodies]]'' series seven episode "[[Royal Command]]").
*: David Hatch was appointed a [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire|CBE]] in 1994 and was knighted in 2003, Bill Oddie was awarded the OBE also in 2003, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden were appointed OBE in 2011, but John Cleese declined a CBE in 1996. Jo Kendall did not receive any honour.