Theodoric of York was a sketch created by Tom Davis. The character was played by Steve Martin. The skit was done twice, with the same premise, about a man working in a more primitive time, relying on superstitions, but the joke being that it was the most up-to-date technology. The skit also was more than the typical "one-joke sketch", whereby Theodoric would be on the cusp of changing the tack of humanity for the better, only to consider that too far-fetched.