OK, I thought I would a top 5 list for a wee change than my usual review posts as I have been watching quite a few episodes of the classic comedy TV series, Fawlty Towers lately, so I figured why not do a list of my favourite episodes of the show.
The series premise as we all know is that it is set in a Toruqay hotel run by the obnoxious and neurotic, Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) and his bossy yet more genial wife, Sybil (Prunella Scales). And the other regular characters feature, Polly (Connie Booth) a more sensible and capable young chambermaid and receptionist and the hapless Spanish waiter, Manuel (Andrew Sachs).
And because these posts tend to be big, I thought I would split this list into two parts, so the posts aren't too gargantuan!
So with that all said, let's check in and see what episodes are on the list....
5. The Builders (Series 1) "You are a hideous orangutan!"
Right, so to kick off the list at No.5 is this hilarious episode, "The Builders" which after the pilot episode "A Touch of Class", this episode was the one that really set the tone for the rest of the show and in doing it features many priceless moments, not to mention it sees John Cleese perhaps at his most manic in the show. Also in this episode, Cleese is appallingly violent to Andrew Sachs, who of course plays the hotel's hapless, Spanish waiter, Manel but I'll get to that in a bit.
STORY
So, basically the episode's story revolves around the hotel needing some renovation work done to the lobby area. However, Basil wants to use the cheap but very unreliable Irish builder, O'Reilly (David Kelly) than the more reputable builder, Mr Stubbs (James Appleby) which Sybil wants to do the job. Basil however underhandedly manages to get O'Reilly and his men to do the job, however they bungle it, much to Basil's fury, which also incurs Sybil's wrath when she get's back and sees the mess O'Reilly's men have done to the lobby and she furiously attacks him with an umbrella.
And after Sybil calls Mr Stubbs to arrange to look at the lobby instead and she leaves, Basil insists that O'Reilly continue the work again to put his mess again to rights. But will O'Reilly be able to complete the job well enough without Sybil knowing????
NOTABLE SCENES
So, yes this episode has plenty of great moments such as the one where O'Reilly's men show up to do the work and Manuel and Polly have been left to run the hotel, however Polly at this point is having a sleep, so Manual has little choice but to manage things. And Manuel's poor grasp of English at this point get's him into trouble as he get's on the wrong side of one of O'Reilly's men, Lurphy (Michael Cronin). And Manuel asks them "You are men???" and Lurphy annoyed asks him "You trying to be funny?!" and Manual asks "You are Orely men?!" and one of the other works eventually catches and says "He means O'Reilly!". So, Lurphy laughs and says "Yes, that's right! We are Orely men!" and he turns to the others and quietly says "Thick as a plank".
But then Basil calls up at the hotel to speak to Polly only to get Manuel, who doesn't realises who it is, who get's increasingly annoyed every time Basil calls. So on the last call, Manuel grabs the phone and aggressively shouts "YES?? YES??? YES???! Oh, you again! He not here! Where are your ears you great big halfwit?! He no here!". However, Manuel soon realises he is talking to Basil and he drops the phone fearfully and picks it up and as he talks to Basil, he then asks the men "Which one of you is man with beard?!" and Lurphy steps forward. So, as Basil tells Manuel something over the phone, Manuel puts the phone down and says to Lurphy "You are a hideous orangutan!" prompting Lurphy punch Manual in the face!
Then there is the scene where the following morning, Basil returns to see that O'Reilly's men have botched the job and his fury mounts as he yells for Polly and Manuel. And Polly comes down and Basil grabs and says "What have you done to my dining room door?! Look!". Polly then blames Basil for hiring O'Reilly and warns him that he would have made a mess. However, Basil then sarcastically says to Polly "I was thinking it was your fault because you'd been left in charge, or Manuel's for not waking you, and all the time, it was my fault. It so obvious, I've seen the light. I must be punished, mustn't I?". So, Basil mockingly spanks his bottom and says "You're a naughty boy, Fawlty! Don't do it again!" and he manically clenches his fists and shouts re: Sybil "What am I gonna do?! She's going to be back at lunchtime!!". Basil then frantically shouts "I'm a dead man, don't you realise?! You're dead too, we're all DEAD!!!" and Polly tries to calm him down and shouts "Don't panic!" but Basil now delirious shouts "WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO DO???!!" and he sobs loudly. Polly then shouts at him "Pull yourself together!! Come on!" and slaps him in the face, which snaps Basil out of his wailing and he asks her to slap him again twice, which brings him to his senses.
Basil then calls O'Reilly and sarcastically says to him "How would you like to hear about things my end? Up to your usual standard, I think I could say A few holes in the floor The odd door missing, but nothing you can't be sued for!". And then Manuel unfortunately shows up at this point, cheerful as ever, only for Basil to try and conceal his anger and he tells O'Reilly "One moment please" and puts the phone down and goes over to Manuel. So, Basil asks him "What you do now?!" and Manuel says "I server breakfast!" however as Manuel tries to go into the dining room he sees it has been sealed off by O'Reilly's men. Manuel then says "Where is door?! Door was here!!" and Basil grins manically and asks "Where?" and he grabs Manuel's head and violently slams it against the wall three times in different places and yells "HERE???!! HERE???!! OR HERE??!!!". Basil then get's back on the phone and demands O'Reilly come back and fix the mess "No, I don't want to debate about it. If you're not over here in 20 minutes with my door, I shall come over there and insert a large garden gnome in you, good day!".
Then there is the priceless scene where Sybil returns only to find O'Reilly already there and it is soon apparent to her that Basil hired O'Reilly to do the job. So, Sybil tells Basil firmly "I'm going to make you regret this for the rest of your life, Basil." and Basil, now terrified tries to bluff her "Fair enough but Stubbs is partly to blame...". Sybil then explodes in fury "BASIL!!! Don't you dare give me anymore of these pathetic lies!" and Basil says resignedly "Oh, right". Sybil then rants at Basil "I'm sick to death of you. You never learn, do you? You never, EVER LEARN!!!! We have used O'Reilly three times in the last year and each time it has been a fiasco! That wall out there is still not done! You got him in to change a washer in november and we didn't have any running water for two weeks!". And as Basil makes a poor attempt to defend O'Reilly, she angrily says just as O'Reilly appears behind her "He's shoddy, he doesn't care, he's a liar, he's incompetent, he's lazy, he's nothing but a half-witted, thick, Irish joke!".
So, as O'Reilly makes the mistake of trying to charm Sybil and says "I like a woman with spirit!" and Sybil asks him "Oh, do you? Is that what you like?!" and O'Reilly smiles and says "I do! I do!" and Sybil says "Oh, good!". Sybil then goes and get's an umbrella and advances on O'Reilly and Basil get's in the way and says "Right, Sybil that's enough!" and Sybil hits Basil in the shin and then goes on delivers a flurry of blows to O'Reilly, who screams out helplessly. And Sybil furiously says to O'Reilly "I have seen more intelligent creatures lying on their backs at the bottom of ponds. I've seen better organized creatures than you running around farmyards with their heads cut off! Now collect your things, and get out!". Sybil then smacks O'Reilly's bottom with the umbrella and shouts "I never want to see you or any of your men in my hotel again!".
So, after Sybil goes, Basil demands that O'Reilly get back to work to put the job right and he tells them firmly "Where are you going?! Please take your tools back and continue with the work!". And as O'Reilly is reluctant to carry on, Basil firmly says "We're not going to just put that door back and take that one out. We'll close that one off and put that one through as well. We're going to do the best day's work you've ever done, O'Reilly!!".
However in the end it all goes belly up as the next day when Sybil returns even though O'Reilly appears to have done the job well, Mr Stubbs shows up and tells Sybil that they used a supporting wall to do the job and it "could give way at any minute!". So, Basil storms out carrying Sybil's garden gnome and Sybil calls after him "Basil, where are you going?!" and Basil says to her without looking back "I'm going to see Mr. O'Reilly, dear. Then I think I might go to Canada!".
So, "The Builders" is a priceless episode and more and deserves to be at No.5 on the list.
4. Waldorf Salad (Series 2) "What is a waldorf?! A walnut that's gone off??!"
At No.4 is "Waldorf Salad" which must have some of the most quotable lines of dialogue ever from any of the episodes of the show. Its also a great laugh because Basil finally meets a guest, which he is genuinely scared of in the brash, aggressive American, Mr Hamilton, who is the one who asks him that memorable question "How about Waldorf salad?".
STORY
So, to quickly recap the story, on a very busy night at the hotel, Mr and Mrs Hamilton show up (Bruce Boa and Claire Nelson respectively) expecting to get dinner however they have arrived too late, as the chef, Terry (Brian Hall) has finished for the evening. Mr Hamilton then bribes Basil money to keep the kitchen open, so they can get their dinner. However as Mr and Mrs Hamilton sit down for dinner, Mr Hamilton confuses Basil as he asks for a "screwdriver" which is American slang for a vodka and orange juice. And to make matters worse, Mr Hamilton asks if Basil can make him a waldorf salad, as a starter, to which Basil has no idea what he means. At this point, Hamilton becomes very aggressive and demands Basil find out if the chef, Terry knows how to make one (however Terry has already gone for the night!).
And its from here that Basil's mishaps and basic inability to get a waldorf salad right and his insistance to put things to right with an imaginary Terry that ultimately cause Mr Hamilton's short fuse to blow and its safe to say that things soon get out of hand....
THOUGHTS
Well, there is no doubt that this was next to "The Germans" the most popular episode of the series and rightly so as it is hilariously funny. And its an episode where we get to see another peak at Basil's madness as he goes as far as to argue with an imaginary Terry to keep up the charade that Terry was in the kitchen, messing up the food! And again its another one where Basil really goes off the rails at the end in a hilarious fashion! Special credit also deserves to go out to the Canadian actor, Bruce Boa, who is great here as Mr Hamilton, the brash American, who bosses Basil around.
NOTABLE SCENES
And the the episode itself has plenty of great moments, such as the scene where Mrs Hamilton arrives at reception and Basil notices she is very attractive, so he is automatically charming to her, however its not long before her American and aggressive husband, Mr Hamilton arrives. And in the scene Mr Hamilton enters with his coat, soaked from the rain outside and he brushes himself off and says "What a drive, huh? Everything on the wrong side of the road, the weather What do you get for living in a climate like this, Green Stamps? It's terrible!". Basil then replies "Oh, I'm sorry if it wasn't wide enough for you. A lot of the English cars have steering wheels!".
So, as Mr Hamilton asks if they need to reserve a table for dinner, Basil tells them that their chef stops at 9pm. So, Mr Hamilton, unimpressed, asks "9?! Hmm! So, why does your chef stop at 9?! Has he got something terminal!?". Basil then replies "No, that is in fact when he stops" so Mr Hamilton says "Now, look, we drove from London to stay here, right? Are you telling me that you can't stay open a few minutes longer so that we can eat properly?". Basil then says "We can do you sandwiches?" but Mr Hamilton insists "We want something hot!" and Basil offers "Toasted sandwiches?" and Mr Hamilton says "You're joking!". Mr Hamilton in a state of disbelief then loudly asks "Can you believe this? What the hell's wrong with this country?! You can't get a drink after 3:00, you can't eat after 9:00! Is the war still on?!".
So, as Basil says its because of the staff, Mr Hamilton then firmly says "OK, how much of this Mickey Mouse money do you want to keep the chef on for half an hour? One, two, three...20 pounds! That enough?!". Basil looks at the money, then takes a moment and says "I'll see what I can do" and Mr Hamilton says "Thank you".
Then there is of course the classic scene where Basil parrots on about the novelist, Harold Robbins, producing awful books but then Mr Hamilton tells Basil that he and his wife both like his work, so, Basil starts to backpedal and says "Oh Robb-ins! Harold Robb-ins! I thought you meant Harold Robinson!". So, Mr Hamilton having looked at the menu, then asks "How about waldorf salad?" and Basil carries on waffling about Harold Robinson being awful, so Mr Hamilton again asks Basil "Can you make me a waldorf salad?" and Basil looks lost and asks "A what?" and Mr Hamilton firmly says "Waldorf salad!". So, Basil, perplexed says "I think we've just run out of waldorfs!" much to Mr Hamilton's disbelief once again, who says "I don't believe this!".
So, Mr Hamilton tries to stay calm and asks Basil "Now, I'm sure your chef knows how to make me a waldorf salad?" and Basil awkwardly says "I wouldn't be too sure" and Mr Hamilton says "But he's a chef, isn't he?". Basil then tries to suggest something else but then Mr Hamtilon suddenly yells "WELL, FIND OUT WILL YOU?! JUST GO IN THERE AND SEE IF HE CAN MAKE ME A WALDORF SALAD!!". So, Basil nervously goes into the kitchen but emerges a few seconds later and says of the imaginary Terry "He's almost got it. Its lettuce and tomato..." and Mr Hamilton snaps "No! Its apples, celery, walnuts, grapes!!!".
Basil then goes back in and asks Mr Hamilton if he would want any alternative to the waldorf salad and he suggests the grapefruit, which Mr Hamilton gives in and asks "The grapefruit! How's it done?" And Basil replies "Well, it's halved with a cherry in the centre" which prompts Mr Hamilton to angrily pick up a fork and point it toward Basil and shout "Look! I haven't paid you £20 to have some guy cut a grapefruit in half and stick a cherry in the center! I want a waldorf salad!!". So, as Basil is about to head back to the kitchen he asks Mr Hamilton "And if we can't manage the waldorf salad..." which causes Mr Hamilton to become even more enraged. So, Mr Hamilton yells louder "I WANT A WALDORF SALAD!! AND TO FOLLOW A COUPLE OF FILET MIGNONS!" and Basil says "Steaks!" and Mr Hamilton says "Steaks!" and Mr Hamilton then sarcastically says "None out of the bottle!" and Basil says "None out of the bottle! Right!".
Then there is the hilarious moment where Basil frantically rummages through boxes in the kitchens looking for the ingredients to make the waldorf salad and Sybil joins him as he looks, as she overheard Mr Hamilton say he paid Basil 20 pounds. So, in the scene, Sybil asks Basil "What this about 20 pounds, Basil?" and Basil tells her "He gave me 20 pounds to keep the kitchen open! Where does he put things?!". Basil while rummaging rants "Walnuts! That's a laugh! Easier to find a packet of sliced hippopotamus in suitcase sauce than a walnut in this bloody kitchen!". Sybil calmly looks for ingredients also and she says to Basil "Right, we've got apples" and Basil manically says "Terrific! We'll have an apple party!! Everybody brings an apple and STUFFS IT DOWN SOMEBODY'S THROAT!!!". Basil then asks Sybil "What is a waldorf?! A walnut that's gone off?!" and Sybil tells Basil it refers to the Waldorf hotel in New York.
So, after that Basil goes out and makes up a story to Mr Hamilton about how a delivery driver was not able to deliver a stock of celery to them to which Mr Hamilton is not interested in at all. So, as Basil finishes his story he says to him "Quite frankly, if you've got your health, what else matters?!". Mr Hamilton then looks furiously at Basil and says "What a bunch of crap!" and Basil rather taken aback says "Do you think so?". Mr Hamilton then stands up and yells at Basil "What the hell's going on here?! It says "Hotel" outside! Now, is this a hotel or isn't it?!!". Mr Hamilton then says angrily to Basil "You know I've stayed in hotels all over the world and this is the first time I've had to bribe a chef to cook me a meal, then find out he doesn't even have the basic goddamn ingredients!!! Holy cow, can't you see what a crummy dump this is?!!!". Mr Hamilton then yells at Basil to shut up and listen to him as Basil pretends to shout out to Terry and Mr Hamilton then insists that Basil straighten out the chef
So, Mr Hamilton says to Basil "You're the manager, so you're responsible?! So, what are you going to do about it?!" and Basil nervously says "I'll have a word with him". Mr Hamilton then firmly says "Man, you gotta tell him, lay it on the line! Tell him if he doesn't get on the ball, you're gonna bust his ass!". Basil then asks "Bust his...?" and at this point Mr Hamilton advances to the kitchen shouting "I'll tell him!!!" but Basil stops him from going in and shouts "I'll tell him!!" and he takes a moment and then asks "But his???" and Mr Hamilton shouts "ASS!!" and Basil says "Oh that!".
And lastly there is the last scene where Mr Hamilton finds out that Basil has been pretending all along that the chef was there and he decides to leave and he has it out with Basil in the lobby, which attracts the attention of all the nearby guests. So, as Mr Hamilton demands Basil ask his customers if they are satisfied they all at first politely say yes, which causes Basil to go into a proud patriotic speech, which is cut short by another guest standing behind him, who says "I'm not satisfied!" and this leads to all the guests expressing their disastisfaction with the service too. So, Mr Hamilton smugly says to Basil "Satisfied customers, huh?!" and he grabs his tie and twists it out of shape and says "Hot dog!" and leaves.
Basil is then left in a state of frustration and mounting anger and he says to himself "This is typical...absolutely typical...of the kind of...." and he suddenly yells at the guests "ARSE!!! I have to put up from you people!!!". Basil then starts to rant at them "You ponce in here expecting to be hand-waited on hand and foot! I'm trying to run a hotel here! Have you any idea of how much there is to do? Do you ever think of that? Of course not! You're too busy sticking your noses into every corner, poking about for things to complain about, aren't you? Well, let me tell you something! This is exactly how Nazi Germany started!!!".
Basil then tells them to get out and he shouts "RAUS!! RAUS!! RAUS!!!" and when Sybil enters and asks what he is doing, Basil tells her "Well, me and the guests have been having a bit of a chinwag and the upshot is, they're off!". And Sybil bemused asks "Off?!" and Basil tells her "Well, its like this. Either they go or I go..." however he then changes his mind and tells the guests to come back and that he is going instead and he leaves and waves goodbye to everyone and walks out into the rain and as he stands there he has a thought and heads back in. So, as Basil re-enters the hotel, he asks Sybil for a room "Now, I'd like breakfast in bed at half past 10:00 in the morning. That's eggs, bacon, sausage, and tomato with a Waldorf salad.....!".
So, "Waldorf Salad" is definitely one of the funniest episodes of the series and one of the best for good reason and its popularity is well deserved especially as it shows the difference between English and American cultures very nicely in such an exaggerated comical manner. So, it deserves its place here at No.4 on the list.
3. Communication Problems "I know nothing!!"
So, at 3rd place is this episode that started off the second series "Communication Problems" which sees Basil, Sybil and the other staff have to deal with the very difficult, not to mention, hard of hearing and short sighted, Mrs Richards (Joan Sanderson). Its a great start to the second series and it actually shows that John Cleese has started to exercise a little more restraint in his potrayal of Basil as he is slightly less manic (but only a little!).
STORY
Anyway but a bit about the story of the episode it begins with Mrs Richards showing up at the hotel where she argues with Polly straight off about being served first when there was a customer in line before her. So, Polly decides to palm off Mrs Richards to Manuel, who's limited grasp of the English language makes Mrs Richards believe that the manager is called "CK Watt" and is aged forty.
Meanwhile, Basil recieves a betting tip on a racehorse from a rare satisfied customer, who tells the horse's name is dragonfly, however Sybil has forbidden Basil from betting anymore, so he decides to place the bet secretly with Manuel's help. Basil is also soon forced to deal with Mrs Richards, who complains that her room is inadequate because she believes it doesn't have a bath, the radiator doesn't work and view outside is invisible (although this is due to her poor vision). Mrs Richards then demands she recieve a discount to which Basil tells her, Sybil deals with such arrangements.
Mrs Richards next up has another argument with Polly when she asks for toilet paper, however as she just refers to it as "paper", Polly assumes she meant writing paper and says they keep it in the lounge, so Mrs Richard bangs the reception bell and shouts for the manager. Basil then appears and tries to explain to Mrs Richards that Polly thought she wanted writing paper and not toilet paper however Mrs Richards doesn't use her hearing aid as it runs the batteries down. So, as Basil demands she turn it on and writes it on paper "TURN IT ON!" she says she needs her glasses, which she can't find but they are actually resting on her forehead and she walks off, leaving Basil exasperated. Polly however then gives Basil his winnings from the race as the horses he bet on won, which amounts to £75.
Not long after this however, Mrs Richards then complains that £85 has been stolen from her room and insists that Basil have the rooms searched. Sybil however soon finds Polly counting Basil's money in the office and assumes that she had found it and asks Polly about this, however she bluffs Sybil by saying she won it on the horse that Basil got a bet. However as Sybil asks Polly what was the name of the horse, Basil frantically tries to illustrate what the name of the horse was, which Polly eventually get's, leaving Sybil suspicious that Basil may have placed a bet. So, to cover himself, Basil then has the aged resident, Major Gowen (Ballard Berkeley) keep the money for him.
And the next day this leads into the climax of the episode where Basil has to deal with Mrs Richards and also the possibility that Sybil will find out about the bet on the horse.....
THOUGHTS
Communication Problems has always been a favourite episode of mine and it is aided along by a terrific and comical performance by Joan Sanderson as the belligerent, Mrs Richards, who makes life difficult for pretty much everybody she comes across. Its also great to see the return of the main cast, who effortlessly ease back into their respective roles and John Cleese and Prunella Scales are both great as are Connie Booth and Andrew Sachs, who get's one of the most memorable lines from the series in this episode, which I will get to in a minute.
NOTABLE SCENES
As for some of the episode's notable scenes, well there are plenty of course and to start off there is the one where Polly has her first encounter with Mrs Richards but she quickly get's tired of dealing with her and passes her over to Manuel. So, Polly says to Manuel "Manuel, could you lend Mrs.Richards your assistance in connection with her reservation?!". So, Mrs Richards sharply says to Manuel "Now I've reserved a very quiet room with a bath and a sea view. I specifically asked for a sea view in my written confirmation, so please make sure I have it". However Manuel looks blankly at her and asks "Que?" and Mrs Richards starts getting confused by Manuel's Spanish accent and what he says. So, she turns back to Polly and says "What is going on here? I ask him for my room, and he tells me the manager's a Mr. Watt, aged 40!" but Manuel tries again and says "No! FAW-LTY!" and Mrs Richards says "Faulty?! What's wrong with him?!".
Then there is the scene where Mrs Richards complains to Basil for the first time about her room, so he meets her upstairs. So, Mrs Richards says to Basil "I was expecting a room with a view!" and Basil mutters to Manuel "Deaf, blind and mad(!)" and Basil says out loud to her "This is the view as far as I can remember, madam. Yes, yes, this is it!". Mrs Richards, unimpressed then says to Basil "When I pay for a view, I expect something more interesting than that!" and Basil says to her "Well, that is Torquay, madam" and Mrs Richards says "Its not good enough!".
So, Basil sarcastically says to her "Well, may I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically......!". Mrs Richards interrupts Basil and says "Don't be silly! I expect to see the sea" and Basil says "You can see the sea, its over there between the land and the sky!". Mrs Richards protests "I need a telescope to see that!" and Basil says to her "Well, may I suggest that you consider moving to a hotel closer to the sea?!" and he says under his breath "Or preferably in it?!".
Another funny scene is where Mrs Richards is appalled when she asks Polly for toilet paper and she misunderstands her request believing she wants paper to write on, so Polly says they keep it in the lounge. And this prompts a look of shock and horror from Mrs Richards who exclaims "IN THE LOUNGE??!!" and Polly asks "Do you want plain ones or ones with our address on it? How many sheets?" and this points, Mrs Richards, outraged, bangs the reception bell repeatedly and shouts "MANAGER!! MANAGER!!". And this brings out Basil, who walks into the room holding his ears and he says "Yes! Testing--testing!".
Then as Basil tries to explain that Polly thought that Mrs Richards wants writing paper, he insists that she turn on her hearing aid and he desparately says to her "Turn it on!" and he writes it on paper "TURN IT ON!!" and he shows it to Mrs Richards, who isn't wearing her glasses and she says "I can't read that, I need my glasses!". So, Basil and Polly then try and explain as Mrs Richards rummages around her bag for her glasses that she has them ontop of her forehead and Basil tries to write it and says "Mrs Richards! They are on your head!" and as he tries to write another note, he gives in and walks into the office. Mrs Richards then comes back and says to Polly "Are you blind?! They were on my head all the time! Didn't you see?" and Polly says "Yes" and Mrs Richards asks "Didn't God give you eyes?!" and Polly sarcastically replies "Yes, but I don't use them because it wears the batteries out!".
Then there is there the scenes where Basil tries to explain to Manuel that he wants him to forget everything about the bet he placed on the horse but Manuel's limited grasp of English as usual, makes this difficult. So, Basil says to Manuel "You know nothing!" and Manuel seems to take offence and says "You always say, Mr Fawlty but I learn!" and Basil says "No, no, no! You don't understand! You know nothing about the horse". Manuel then asks "Which horse?! Which horse I know nothing??" and Basil says "MY horse, nitwit!" and Manuel says "Your horse "nitwit". Basil then sharply says "There isn't a horse called nitwit, YOU'RE THE NITWIT!" and Manuel confused asks "What is witnit???". So, Basil sighs and says "I could spend the rest of my life having this conversation! Look, please try to understand before one of us dies! You're going to forget everything you know about Nitwit" and Manuel corrects him "Dragonfly!" and Basil says "Dragonfly! Yes!".
And as Basil is about to finally walk away, Manuel then says "Eventually!" and Basil turns back and asks "What??" and Manuel says "Eventually....at the end!". Basil then insists "No, forget it now!" and Manuel confused asks "Now????" and Basil then says "Well, pretend you forget!" and Manuel, confused, asks "Pretend?!". And Basil finally says "Well, don't say anything to anyone about the horse!" and Manuel responds as if Basil has said something stupid and says "I know that, you tell me this morning!".
Then there is the funny moment where Polly tries to suss out the name of the horse that Basil bet on as she pretended that she was the one that placed the bet and Basil frantically stands behind Sybil miming to Polly what the name of the horse is. So, as Basil starts to wildly mime clues, Polly says "The name? Uh I've gone blank. Birdbrain! Birdbrain? No, no, that came in third. Uh Fishwife! - What? - No No, not that. Small Fly! Fly! Flying Tart! No, no, no, it got off to a flying start, and it's name was Dragonfly!". So, Sybil says "Thank you, Polly" and seconds just before that, Basil runs off into the lobby and back behind the reception, pretending to do some work. Sybil then walks up to him and warns him "If I find out the money on that horse was yours, you know what I'll do, Basil..." and she walks off and Basil looks and shouts out "You'll have to sew em back on first!".
Another funny scene is when Mrs Richards complains to Basil and Sybil that money has been stolen from her room and as Mrs Richards challenges Basil on what he will do about it, he starts to mouth his words to her in pretend, forcing Mrs Richards to turn up her hearing aid. And as Mrs Richards asks "What have you got to say for yourself????!" Basil after silently mouthing words, yells "I SAID I SUGGEST!!!" which causes Mrs Richards to reel back and hit her head on the wall. And Mrs Richards grabs her head and says "Oh, my head!" and Basil asks her "Has it come away?!" and "You better lie down before something else happens!" followed by him picking something up from the floor and asking her "Is this a piece of your brain??!!".
Just quickly there is also of course the classic line from Manuel when Basil pleads with him to tell Mrs Richards that the money the Major gave her was infact his that he won on the horse. However, Manuel instead stands proudly and announces "I know nothing!" and Basil realises in horror what he means and says "No! No! You can tell her!!" and he trembles with rage and says "Please tell her!! Tell her!". However, Manuel carries on saying "I know nothing! I cannot!" and he walks up to Mrs Richards and says proudly "I am from Barcelona!" and he walks away.
And last of all there is the scene where the day after Basil gives his winnings to the Major to look after, Basil asks for it back from him, only for the Major to temporarily lose track of where he kept it but to suddenly find and announce it when Sybil and Mrs Richards are there, leaving them to believe its her money instead. So as the Major hands the money to Mrs Richards, she counts it and says "Its 10 pound short!" and Basil feigns shock and says "Its not!!! 10 pounds short?! Oh my God! Don't worry! We'll have a whip round!" and he starts to frantically try and extract money from a coin box, which prompts Sybil to throw coffee on him (and some on the Major also!).
So, after, Sybil says to Basil "Give it to her, Basil. I can't find it. Give her 10 from the till" so Basil angrily says "Right!" so he goes over to the till and bangs his head against it to open it and he takes out the money and he then starts taking his shirt off. Sybil looks on in surprise and asks "What are you doing?!" and Basil tells her "I'm gonna give her the shirt off my back, too!" and Manuel suddenly turns repeating what he said early "I know nothing!" and Basil glares at him and says "I'm gonna send you to a vivisectionist!".
And last of all, when a man finally shows up with Mrs Richards money and a vase, Basil takes it from her and he kisses the sky (as if to God) and he gleefully tells Polly "Polly, for the first time in my life, I'm ahead! I winning!". So, as Mrs Richards turns up, he laughs triumphantly and asks her to confirm if the money she has is hers or his and she says its hers. So, Basil gives her another 10 pounds to make up for her shortfall but she notices his money and asks him "What's that?" and he grins and says "This is mine!". However, as Sybil shows up, he bluffs that the money is Polly's but then it all goes to pot when the Major turns up and announces "Fawlty, you DID give me that money! You won it on that horse!". And this prompts, Basil, who was holding Mrs Richards vase, to drop it and it smashes on the floor, prompting Mrs Richards to sharply say "That cost 75 pounds!" so Basil then loses most of his winnings.
SUM UP
So to sum up, "Communication Problems" is another great episode and its filled with priceless moments from John Cleese, not to mention Andrew Sachs memorable "I know nothing!" line and of course a terrific performance by Joan Sanderson as the impossible to please and deal with, Mrs Richards. And for me it is easily one of my favourites from the show as it all builds nicely towards the episode's climax where it inevitably all goes pear shaped for Basil.
Right, so that's finally it for Part 1 and I will be back again soon with Part 2 where I will look at my top 2 choices for my favourite Fawlty Towers episodes.
So, until then its bye for now!
What a drive, huh? Everything on the wrong side of the road, the weather What do you get for living in a climate like this, Green Stamps? It's terrible! Sorry about this. Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=fawlty-towers&episode=s02e03What a drive, huh? Everything on the wrong side of the road, the weather What do you get for living in a climate like this, Green Stamps? It's terrible! Sorry
He's shoddy, he doesn't care, he's a liar, he's incompetent, he's lazy, he's nothing but a half-witted, thick, Irish joke! Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=fawlty-towers&episode=s01e02
He's shoddy, he doesn't care, he's a liar, he's incompetent, he's lazy, he's nothing but a half-witted, thick, Irish joke! Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=fawlty-towers&episode=s01e02
He's shoddy, he doesn't care, he's a liar, he's incompetent, he's lazy, he's nothing but a half-witted, thick, Irish joke! Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_e
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