Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber

Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber

Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber was a recurring comedy sketch on the American television show "Saturday Night Live" during the late 1970s. The title character was a barber played by comedian Steve Martin, a frequent host of the show. The central gag revolved around Theodoric's insistence on using bloodletting as a solution to any complaint or illness by his customers.

In one memorable episode, Theodoric said::"You know, medicine is not an exact science, but we are learning all the time. Why, just fifty years ago, they thought a disease like your daughter's was caused by demonic possession or witchcraft. But nowadays we know that Isabelle is suffering from an imbalance of bodily humors, perhaps caused by a toad or a small dwarf living in her stomach."

This quote captures the essence of the sketch.

Also, during the sketch he would propose profound, innovative ideas that had the potential to change the course of history, but he would ultimately dismiss them, as in:

:"Wait a minute. Perhaps she's right. Perhaps I've been wrong to blindly follow the medical traditions and superstitions of past centuries. Maybe we barbers should test these assumptions analytically, through experimentation and a "scientific method". Maybe this scientific method could be extended to other fields of learning: the natural sciences, art, architecture, navigation. Perhaps I could lead the way to a new age, an age of rebirth, a Renaissance!...Naaaaaahhh!"

Martin also appeared as Theodoric of York, Medieval Judge, in skits that lampooned both the medieval and modern judicial systems. In these skits, Martin's character Theodoric would summarily pass judgement based on the outcomes of trials by ordeal, such as throwing the accused, weighted, into a river to see if she would drown, in cases of suspected witchcraft. If the accused floated, she was determined to be guilty (because only by using her occult powers could she have risen to the surface), and if she sank and drowned, she was innocent. Upon deciding the accused was guilty, Theodoric would refer to the "Book of Common Wisdom" (a huge, dusty tome) to decide appropriate punishment. In the case of a man found guilty of adultery, Theodoric couldn't seem to find an appropriate punishment specified in the Book, so he pondered aloud, putting his hand on his chin and gazing up at the ceiling: "Hmmm....if the punishment for theft is cutting off his hand, and the punishment for bearing false witness is cutting out his tongue....what shall the punishment for adultery be?" As with Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber, Martin would end his Medieval Judge skits by proposing modern legal concepts such as trial by a jury of one's peers, provision of defense counsel, innocence until proven guilty, prohibition of cruel and unusual punishments, etc., but end by saying......."Naaaaaaaahhh!"

ee also

* Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches — See also: Listed chronologically, Listed by cast member, Saturday Night Live TV show sketches of the 2000s A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q to R S T U to V W X to Z Listed alphabetically …   Wikipedia

  • Saturday Night Live — For the competing sketch comedy on ABC, see Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell. SNL redirects here. For other uses, see SNL (disambiguation). Saturday Night Live The Saturday Night Live inter title season 37 Also known as …   Wikipedia

  • Dick Ebersol — Duncan Dick Ebersol [1] (   …   Wikipedia

  • Don Pardo — Born Dominick George Pardo February 22, 1918 (1918 02 22) (age 93) Westfield, Massachusetts, U.S …   Wikipedia

  • Saturday Night Live characters appearing on Weekend Update — Weekend Update has been a platform for Saturday Night Live characters to grow and gain popularity ever since Gilda Radner used it to create Emily Litella and Roseanne Roseannadanna. Many cast members have used Update as the primary vehicle for a… …   Wikipedia

  • Lazy Sunday — For other uses, see Lazy Sunday (disambiguation). Lazy Sunday Song by The Lonely Island and Chris Parnell from the album Incredibad Released December 17, 2005 Format Digital download Recorded …   Wikipedia

  • Coffee Talk — Mike Myers, Madonna and Roseanne Barr as their characters Coffee Talk with Linda Richman was a sketch performed by Mike Myers on the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. It ran from October 12, 1991, until October 15, 1994, although Myers (who …   Wikipedia

  • SNL Digital Short — The opening title that appears before most shorts. An SNL Digital Short is one in a series of comedic and often musical video shorts created for airing on NBC s Saturday Night Live, generally produced and written by The Lonely Island (Jorma… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Saturday Night Live commercial parodies — This television related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. The following is a partial list of Saturday Night Live commercial parodies. On Saturday Night Live (SNL), a parody advertisement is commonly shown after the host s opening… …   Wikipedia

  • Wayne's World (film) — Wayne s World Theatrical poster Directed by Penelope Spheeris Produced by …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”