Something Completely Different

"Announcer (John Cleese): And now, for something completely different.

It's Man (Michael Palin): It's..."

- Monty Python's Flying Circus

An episode which departs dramatically from the show's general formula. Events are played out from the point of view of the family pet, or are presented completely out of order, or it's an A&E biography of one of the characters, etc. May feature a Special Edition Title. Favored by Mash in its later seasons.

Named for Monty Python's Flying Circus and its famous Catch Phrase, "And now for something completely different." (An ironic trope namer, considering that something completely different happened in EVERY episode and it had no general formula.)

By definition, a Backdoor Pilot is a subtrope of Something Completely Different.

Some flavors of this:


 * BLAM Episode
 * Cryptid Episode
 * A Day At the Bizarro
 * Documentary Episode
 * Elseworld
 * Groundhog Day Loop
 * Lower Deck Episode
 * A Day in the Limelight
 * Limelight Series
 * Musical Episode
 * Noir Episode
 * Out-of-Genre Experience
 * Parody Episode
 * Poorly-Disguised Pilot
 * Rashomon Style
 * Storybook Episode
 * Superhero Episode
 * Vignette Episode
 * Villain Episode
 * Visions of Another Self

...And genre pages for the broader examples:


 * Anime
 * Comic Books
 * Film
 * Live Action Television
 * Music
 * New Media
 * Theater
 * Video Games
 * Webcomics
 * Web Original
 * Western Animation

Two Irish puppets singing Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" in the style of Elvis.