Fawlty Towers — Variosity Vault

#72 · Fawlty Towers

Comedy · 1975–1979 · 2 seasons · 12 episodes

IMDb: 8.8 111,703 votes TVmaze: 8.5 My rating: –

Show summary

Fawlty Towers is set in a fictional hotel in the seaside town of Torquay. The plots centre on tense, rude and put-upon owner Basil Fawlty, his bossy wife Sybil, comparatively normal chambermaid Polly, who is often the peacemaker and voice of reason, and hapless Spanish waiter Manuel, showing their attempts to run the hotel amidst farcical situations and an array of demanding and eccentric guests.

Season 1 1975 · 6 episodes · IMDb avg 8.67 My rating: –

Season summary

Basil Fawlty, the worst hotelier in England, wages war on his own guests: hotel inspectors, a dead body at breakfast, and 'don't mention the war' with the German visitors. Six episodes, no filler.

#	Episode	Aired	IMDb	TVmaze	My Rating
1	A Touch of Class	1975-09-19	8.4 2,845	8.2	–
As Basil tries to raise the tone of the hotel, the aristocratic Lord Melbury comes to stay at the hotel. Basil fawns over him at every opportunity, causing himself to neglect or annoy other guests, until Polly discovers Melbury is actually a confidence trickster. Meanwhile, Sybil orders Basil to hang a picture.
2	The Builders	1975-09-26	8.4 2,597	8.5	–
Maintenance is made on the lobby while the Fawltys are out, but when a misreading causes the incompetent builders to mess it up spectacularly, Basil must try to remedy the situation before Sybil finds out.
3	The Wedding Party (a.k.a. Sex)	1975-10-03	8.4 2,423	8.6	–
Basil gets annoyed when a young, flirtatious couple start "hanky-pankying" under his nose and tries to avoid the advances of a wealthy French antique dealer. Meanwhile, misfortune conspires to put him in compromising situations whenever the couple are around.
4	The Hotel Inspectors	1975-10-10	8.8 2,443	8.6	–
When Basil hears of hotel inspectors roaming Torquay incognito, he realises with horror that guests he has been abusing could easily be among them. Basil becomes increasingly obsessed with trying to determine which guests are hotel inspectors, but his suspects turn out not to be, to his frustration.
5	Gourmet Night (a.k.a. Gourmet's Paradise)	1975-10-17	8.7 2,372	8.6	–
In an effort to climb another rung in the social ladder, Basil arranges a gourmet night. Unfortunately, thanks to the chef's alcoholism, Basil must try to get hold of a duck from his friend, André. This, combined with the Fawltys' faulty car and his social awkwardness leads Basil ever closer to a nervous breakdown.
6	The Germans	1975-10-24	9.3 3,124	8.6	–
With Sybil in the hospital with an ingrowing toenail, a moose's head to hang up and some German guests arriving the next day, Basil has his work cut out for him. After an attempted fire drill goes wrong and Basil lands up in the hospital with concussion, he succeeds causing much offense to the German guests after finally escaping back to the hotel. This episode is the origin of the quote "Don't mention the war."

Season 2 1979 · 6 episodes · IMDb avg 8.83 My rating: –

Season summary

Four years later, six more: the Waldorf salad, the rat named Basil, the anniversary, and the kipper and the corpse. Cleese and Booth quit while it was perfect.

#	Episode	Aired	IMDb	TVmaze	My Rating
1	Communication Problems (a.k.a. Theft)	1979-02-19	9.2 2,561	8.2	–
The arrival of the "guest from hell" — Mrs. Richards, a rather deaf, dotty and bad-tempered woman — interferes with Basil's attempts to prevent the money he won on a racehorse from being discovered by Sybil, who disapproves of gambling.
2	The Psychiatrist	1979-02-26	9.1 2,428	9	–
A psychiatrist and his wife — also a doctor — come to the hotel for a weekend break, and cannot help but notice the eccentricities of their host, who is perturbed when he discovers their professions. A very attractive Australian girl (Luan Peters) also visits. She goes on to have certain awkward interactions with Fawlty as he seeks to catch Mr Johnson (Nicky Henson) with a non-paying guest that Johnson has in his bedroom.
3	Waldorf Salad	1979-03-05	8.4 2,269	8.6	–
Basil is not altogether keen on a loud and demanding American guest who demands a higher class of service — and food — than Fawlty Towers is accustomed to providing. Basil soon learns that the American guest will not tolerate any shenanigans.
4	The Kipper and the Corpse (a.k.a. Death)	1979-03-12	9.0 2,287	8.8	–
⚠ SPOILER WARNING — click to reveal A guest dies at the hotel and Basil and the staff are left with the unpleasant task of removing the body discreetly, while the doctor staying at the hotel, Dr. Price, waits for his sausages. Also, Polly and Manuel feed an elderly woman's pampered pet dog some extra spicy sausages after it bites them both.
5	The Anniversary	1979-03-26	8.3 3,759	8.5	–
⚠ SPOILER WARNING — click to reveal Basil invites some friends for a surprise wedding anniversary party, but Sybil assumes he has forgotten their anniversary and storms off, leaving her husband and Polly, in disguise, desperately telling the others she is 'ill', while Manuel and Terry constantly quarrel over who will make the seafood paella which Basil had permitted Manuel to cook for the occasion.
6	Basil the Rat (a.k.a. Rats)	1979-10-25	9.0 2,290	8.9	–
⚠ SPOILER WARNING — click to reveal The local health inspector issues a long list of hygienic aberrations which the staff must immediately sort out, or else face closure. After Manuel's pet rat escapes from his cage and runs loose in the hotel, the staff must catch it before the inspector finds it first. At the same time, they must try and discern which veal cutlets are safe to eat after one covered in rat poison gets mixed up with the others and almost every subsequent guest orders veal.

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