British Comedy Guide

A sketch (either remembered or I thought of it)

Forgive me but the following is either a remembered sketch, or I thought it up. I genuinely cannot remember which it is. I ask for critique with the assumption it is the latter:

Scene: Late at night, a remote and frosty country lane lit only by a full moon. Owls hooting, foxes doing that noise off Midsomer Murders etc.

An attractive woman in her 30's is walking along the lane. She looks totally out of place in her office atire and walks awkwardly in her heels.

We assume she has had to abandon her broken down car.

As she nervously walks towards the camera a pair of headlights suddenly come in to view in the distance far behind her.

In the background sinister music strikes up and she quickens her pace, all the time looking back over her shoulder.

As the head lights move nearer she frantically discards her shoes and breaks in to a run, her face now stricken with fear.

The 'psycho' like music becomes increasingly louder and dramatic as the headlights gain on her.

As the headlights reach her the music builds to an intense crescendo.

We then see that the headlights belong to a coach.

And on that coach is an orchestra, playing like the clappers. The coach simply cruises past the terrified woman, and as it does so the music subsides and fades off in to the distance.

Dishevelled with torn blouse and messy hair she just stares at it in disbelief.

Well?

You remembered it. It happened in the The X-Files episode of The Simpsons. Homer thinks he is followed by an alien, and then THAT feem toon starts up. And a coach appears with an orchestra playing that tune. And they drop off a violinist...

So not even a very obscure source...

Quote: Tim Azure @ January 15 2013, 4:34 PM GMT

You remembered it. It happened in the The X-Files episode of The Simpsons. Homer thinks he is followed by an alien, and then THAT feem toon starts up. And a coach appears with an orchestra playing that tune. And they drop off a violinist...

So not even a very obscure source...

Same joke, different format then :(

I've never seen that episode. I suppose obscurity is a personal thing.

The Simpsons sprang to mind, but the basic idea crops up in a few sketches - I'm pretty sure I saw a Two Ronnies or Frost Report one over Christmas. It's a funny idea, but not wholly original I'm afraid.

There's a scene in High Anxiety that's even more exact, I seem to recall - a tourbus for a symphony orchestra goes past on the road at a tense moment.

:$ How embarassing; looks like a well worn joke then.

The confusion between music from the off and live music was also used in the Python's cheese shop sketch and in a Woody Allen film (Bananas?)

I just watched a South Park, and thought of this thread.

They are in a Space Ship, and some cheesy "Flying Away" song is playing as they do so. Eventually one of them presses a button to turn off the spaceship's stereo.

Slight variation, but basically the same kinda joke.

There's also the wonderful scene in the Arrested Development pilot with Buster playing the tribal drum.

There's also a German Star Trek/Wars spoof movie called "Traumshiff Surprise", where the equivalent to Scotty makes a characteristic Star Trek noise (with the sample sound taken from the original show) with a little flute. This is also a nice variation on the joke/idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOI_mksUUgQ

Quote: Vince Ives @ January 16 2013, 2:09 PM GMT

There's also the wonderful scene in the Arrested Development pilot with Buster playing the tribal drum.

I'm not sure but I think they used this tribal drumming joke also in Mighty Boosh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cLDmgU2Alw

You set up the scene very nicely but yeah I'm afraid it has been done before. The bane of comedy writers lives, finding out that your lovely 'original' idea has already been done.

What if it was the animals making the music?

Quote: Marc P @ January 16 2013, 2:51 PM GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cLDmgU2Alw

Ah yes, had forgotten that bit

(added to my favourites :) )

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