Firing Squad is the sixth segment of the episode "The Cycling Tour."

Synopsis[]

Back at the hotel, Mr. Pither (Michael Palin) checks in on Gulliver (Terry Jones) but is told by the desk clerk (Terry Gilliam) that he has gone to Moscow. Pither sees three secret-looking policemen (Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, John Cleese) behind him, who not-so-nonchalantly reveal that they are planning to take him to Moscow where Trotsky is, but tell him they're taking him to a clambake.

In Moscow at the 42nd international clambake, a Soviet general (Cleese) introduces Mr Pither in Russian, then announces he'll be carrying on in English to save time. He also introduces Trotsky, and Gulliver, dressed up identical to Trotsky, walks to the front, greeting his audience and gives a strange seductive performance. Pither deduces he's had another change of personality, this time as Eartha Kitt. The Soviet general accuses him of tricking them into believing this is Trotsky, so they throw him into a cell, severely damaging his Mars bar.

He is then brought out to an exercise yard, where several Russians are lined up in front of him, holding rifles. Their commanding officer (Cleese) offers Mr. Pither a cigarette and blindfold but he politely declines. As the commanding officer prepares to give the order, a messenger (Chapman) arrives with a telegram. The commanding officer reads it, ordering him to carry on with the execution. Unfortunately, when the soldiers fire, they somehow miss, one soldier (Eric Idle) claiming Pither moved. The commanding officer then orders them to practice before sending Mr. Pither back to his cell (where he discovers his Crunchie is surprisingly intact).

He is almost about to eat his Crunchie when he is brought back out into the exercise yard, only for the soldiers to end up shooting themselves, and is sent back into his cell with the commanding officer determined to get him next time. While the soldiers practice, Mr. Pither falls asleep before finding himself at a house, where his mother (Idle) wakes him up. Upon seeing her, Mr. Pither is relieved the whole thing was a dream, but his mother tells him that he is dreaming and is still in the cell. Mr. Pither soon wakes up in his cell where the commanding officer is determined to have him executed, after learning his men were aiming in the wrong position. Mr. Pither then shows him where the rifle's sight is where he should look down before he is dragged out.