Mortuary Hour is a sketch that appears in "The Nude Organist," the thirty-fifth episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus.
Synopsis[]
In a mortuary, two workers listen to Radio 1 as they work. Mr Battersby (Terry Jones) takes out 4 different radios, looking for radio 4, and they tune into listen to 'Mortuary Hour' at 9 o'clock. Shirley Bassey (Carol Cleveland) is about to host a Mortuary Quiz when their boss, Mr Wang (John Cleese) comes in, followed by the Peer of the Realm (Michael Palin) and the Mayor (Graham Chapman).
The peer, after many stalls, can't think of anything to say about the mortuary, and the mayor encourages him, saying that it's one of the most up-to-date in the country. But the Peer still can't think of anything to say, and can't seem to understand that he's in a mortuary, not a power station. His attendees stand around, waiting for him to finish his sentence, and one of them (Cleveland) explains the slightest movement may dislodge his brain. She begins trying to knock it into place. She finally gets it, but he is still as scatter-brained as he was before. Everyone gives up and leaves, leaving the two workers. They turn the radio back on to hear the answers to the Mortuary Quiz.
Mr Wang wheels in a body for the workers to work on. However, Mr. Badger (Eric Idle) enters and says he would like to interrupt the sketch for a pound. As he starts bartering with Mr Wang on how much to pay him to leave, the actors playing the corpses sit up to see what's happening.
It cuts to an overhead shot of Terry Gilliam's hands, as he explains how he makes the animations. He realises he's on, and his head pops into shot saying "sorry". The animation continues.