The Mouse Problem
Encyclopedia
"The Mouse Problem" is a Monty Python
sketch
, first aired in 1969 as part of Sex and Violence, the second episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus
.
In the sketch, an interviewer (Terry Jones
) and linkman (Michael Palin
) for a fictional programme called The World Around Us, investigate the phenomenon of "men [who] want to be mice
". The programme bears a striking similarity to an episode of Panorama
; even its theme tune, the fourth movement of Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 1
, was the theme tune of Panorama at the time.
A "confessor" (John Cleese
) is interviewed about his experience as a mouse: when he was a teenager, he got drunk at a party and experimented with cheese, and gradually came to accept his mouse identity. "It's not a question of wanting to be a mouse — it just sort of happens to you," he tells the interviewer. "All of a sudden you realize… that's what you want to be." The "programme" features undercover footage of a "mouse party", and a discussion with psychiatrist and conjuror, The Amazing Kargol (Graham Chapman
), about what attracts men to the mouse lifestyle. It also includes a series of vox pops about societal attitudes towards mice men; names several historical figures, such as Julius Caesar
and Napoleon, who were mice; and shows photos and video of men in mouse costumes being led into police stations, newspaper headlines about mouse scandals and mouse rights demonstrations, and "mouse clubs".
In the original version of the sketch transmitted in 1969, Cleese urged viewers who felt they suffered from the same problem to "call 584 5313". The number was David Frost
's home telephone, and Frost had a large number of annoying telephone calls as a result. The sketch was re-edited for the repeat showing in August 1970 to remove this section.
The deviant way of life explored in "The Mouse Problem" is an obvious parody of the secretive lives and social condemnation of gay men
in the 1960s, and the sketch itself mimics the film and interview techniques used in serious television documentary exposés on the subject. Eric Zorn
of the Chicago Tribune
notes its similarity to a real 1967 documentary, CBS Reports: The Homosexuals
. Chapman himself, who wrote the sketch, was gay.
More recently, the sketch has come to be seen as a presage of furry fandom
.
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
sketch
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
, first aired in 1969 as part of Sex and Violence, the second episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
.
In the sketch, an interviewer (Terry Jones
Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
) and linkman (Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
) for a fictional programme called The World Around Us, investigate the phenomenon of "men [who] want to be mice
MICE
-Fiction:*Mice , alien species in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*The Mice -Acronyms:* "Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions", facilities terminology for events...
". The programme bears a striking similarity to an episode of Panorama
Panorama (TV series)
Panorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...
; even its theme tune, the fourth movement of Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 1
Symphony No. 1 (Rachmaninoff)
Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op. 13, is a music piece by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, written at Ivanovka, an estate near Tambov, Russia, between January and October 1895...
, was the theme tune of Panorama at the time.
A "confessor" (John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
) is interviewed about his experience as a mouse: when he was a teenager, he got drunk at a party and experimented with cheese, and gradually came to accept his mouse identity. "It's not a question of wanting to be a mouse — it just sort of happens to you," he tells the interviewer. "All of a sudden you realize… that's what you want to be." The "programme" features undercover footage of a "mouse party", and a discussion with psychiatrist and conjuror, The Amazing Kargol (Graham Chapman
Graham Chapman
Graham Arthur Chapman was a British comedian, physician, writer, actor, and one of the six members of the Monty Python comedy troupe.-Early life and education:...
), about what attracts men to the mouse lifestyle. It also includes a series of vox pops about societal attitudes towards mice men; names several historical figures, such as Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
and Napoleon, who were mice; and shows photos and video of men in mouse costumes being led into police stations, newspaper headlines about mouse scandals and mouse rights demonstrations, and "mouse clubs".
In the original version of the sketch transmitted in 1969, Cleese urged viewers who felt they suffered from the same problem to "call 584 5313". The number was David Frost
David Frost
Sir David Frost is a British broadcaster.David Frost may also refer to:*David Frost , South African golfer*David Frost , classical record producer*David Frost *Dave Frost, baseball pitcher...
's home telephone, and Frost had a large number of annoying telephone calls as a result. The sketch was re-edited for the repeat showing in August 1970 to remove this section.
The deviant way of life explored in "The Mouse Problem" is an obvious parody of the secretive lives and social condemnation of gay men
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
in the 1960s, and the sketch itself mimics the film and interview techniques used in serious television documentary exposés on the subject. Eric Zorn
Eric Zorn
Eric Zorn, born January 6, 1958, is a columnist and a blogger for the Chicago Tribune.Zorn is a 1980 graduate of the University of Michigan, where he was an arts section editor at the Michigan Daily and a creative writing/English literature major. After he had served a four-month internship at the...
of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
notes its similarity to a real 1967 documentary, CBS Reports: The Homosexuals
CBS Reports: The Homosexuals
"The Homosexuals" is a 1967 episode of the documentary television series CBS Reports. The hour-long broadcast featured a discussion of a number of topics related to homosexuality and homosexuals. Mike Wallace anchored the episode, which aired on March 7, 1967...
. Chapman himself, who wrote the sketch, was gay.
More recently, the sketch has come to be seen as a presage of furry fandom
Furry fandom
Furry fandom is a fandom for fictional anthropomorphic animal characters with human personalities and characteristics. Examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, the ability to speak, walk on two legs, and wear clothes...
.