A psychiatrist (Cleese) is sitting on a comfortable chair in his office. He holds a pen and notepad.
Psychiatrist: Yes, there are many reported cases of Monty Python flashback syndrome among the cast and crew of that landmark television series. I don't know the details of Mr. Palin's case but I think we all recall that incident in 2002 during a UNESCO award ceremony for educational television.
A film clip. On a stage a presenter behind a lectern is finishing the announcement of the recipient.
Presenter:…Mr. Michael Palin. (There is loud applause in the auditorium.)
Palin walks up to the lectern as a Gumby.
Gumby: Where's my award? I want my award.
Gumby looks for the award under the papers on the lectern, scattering them and knocking over the microphones. The presenter, grinning nervously, hands over the award. Gumby brings it up to his face to stare at. He puts it to his ear with a puzzled expression. He bangs it against the side of his head.
Gumby: This is a very good award. A very good award. I'd like to accept this award… this award...(pausing as if he is trying to think of what he wants to say.) Thank you.
Film clip ends. Back to the psychiatrist's office.
Psychiatrist: My current patient suffered a traumatic experience in the second season.
On the couch is a cardboard cutout of a sheep. There's a bleating sound.
Psychiatrist: Yes, I realize you were only a Terry Gilliam cartoon sheep at the time but didn't you drop out of the sky and land on someone's head? (Sheep bleats.) Yes, I quite understand. You say you had a feeling of being manipulated, that you weren't really in control of your own behavior? Hmm, yes. You'd be surprised how common a problem that is, especially with the animated characters. (Taking notes.) Now, about your mother?
Back in the Himalaya Mr. Pither is riding his bicycle, loaded with gear and supplies, along a narrow paved road. He is a fussy, bespectacled little man wearing a sweater vest. It is early morning. On either side of him are steep rocky slopes. The road is empty. He is looking around, admiring the view.
Pither (voice-over): As the dawn's rosy glow lit up the mighty peaks of the Karakorum Mountains I realized that I was in the Northwest Frontier region of Pakistan, and not in Cornwall after all.
Cut to Pither continuing to cycle along. Waltz theme plays in the background. He is on a flat grassy field. The camera pulls back and we see that he is on the field of a polo match. The alarmed riders have to turn their horses to dodge Pither as he continues straight ahead.
Pither runs into the ball. He picks it up, doesn't know what to make of it, and tosses it into the air. Incredibly, the ball rolls into the goal. The crowd of villagers watching the match and cheering for one side leap to their feet in jubilation. The men supporting the other team grab their heads in anguish.
The captain of the side that has been scored upon confers with his teammates. He points his polo mallet ominously at Pither. The players charge towards Pither. Thousands of the rough-looking mountain villagers get up and stampede angrily in the same direction. Pither pedals frantically to escape.
Pither (voice-over): Participated in the famous polo match played annually at the Shandur Pass at an altitude of over 12,000 feet above sea level. What a marvelous spectacle! Narrowly stayed out of the way of the boisterous post-game celebration.
Cut to Pither cycling along. The familiar background music is heard again. Then the music comes to a sudden stop. Pither disappears from view behind trees. A loud crash is heard.
Pither (voice-over): Fell off my bicycle ten kilometers from Tavistock. Sorry, ten kilometers from Gilgit. The pump caught in my trouser leg. Surprisingly, my egg salad sandwiches were completely unharmed.
Pither is riding along a narrow, rocky mountain path. He makes very slow progress as he bounces over the gravel and rocks but he doesn't seem discouraged. He disappears behind a pile of boulders at the bottom of the steep slope. There is the sound of his pots jangling and then a crash.
Pither (voice-over): April 16. Fell outside Chitral. Perhaps a shorter pump is the answer.
A tiny mountain village. There are rickety wooden huts. Pither cycles in and parks his bicycle against a tree. An old wrinkled man with sunburnt skin is sitting on the roadside.
Pither: Excuse me, sir, can you tell me of a good bicycle shop in this village, where I might have my present pump shortened or, failing that, purchasing a replacement?
Old man: There's only one shop here. (He points.)
The camera pans in the direction he points and shows a shop with a huge sign that reads: "Bicycle pump centre. Specialists in shorter bicycle pumps." The camera shows another sign: "Pumps shortened while U wait!" and another: "Last bicycle shop before the Khyber Pass!"
Pither: What a stroke of luck! And it's the last bicycle shop before the Khyber Pass!
Interior of the bicycle shop. Guns are hung on the walls. On the counter are rows of automatic rifles. Two men at a workbench are assembling guns. On a wall is a poster showing a man holding a rifle. The words on the poster read: "He dies today for your tomorrow! The war for freedom must still be won!" Pither approaches the proprietor, a man in traditional Pakistani attire, behind the main counter. On the cash register is a small sign that reads: "Martyrs must pay cash."
Pither: I would be interested in seeing your selection of short bicycle pumps.
Proprietor (Cleese): Sorry, we don't have any.
Pither: Oh, that's unfortunate. When do you think you'll have another shipment?
Proprietor: No, we don't sell bicycle pumps.
Pither: This isn't really much of a bicycle shop, is it?
Proprietor: There's been…umm…a change in management.
Pither: Oh.
Proprietor: How about an AK-47? Very little vibration. Never jams.
Pither (chuckling): I don't think I'll be needing one of those.
Proprietor: Let me demonstrate.
The proprietor steps outside the shop with the gun and fires a round into the air.
Cut to a shot of the polo player leading the pursuit of Pither from the earlier scene. As he rides along the road he is suddenly hit by a stray bullet and falls. The other polo players gather around him, looking up in the sky in puzzlement.
Pither is back on his bicycle descending a mountain road.
Pither (voice-over): Haven't been able to solve the bicycle pump problem but did purchase an excellent replica Mauser pistol.