British Comedy: Fawlty Towers

Years: 1975-1979
Broadcaster: BBC
Genre: Sitcom
Written by: John Cleese, Connie Booth
Stars: John Cleese, Prunella Scales
Episodes: 12
Episode Average: 9.333

BEST EPISODES:
Communication Problems (1979), The Hotel Inspectors (1975)

SERIES ONE

(1975)
6 episodes
Series Score: 58
Episode Average: 9.67
Perfect 10's: 5

S1E1

A TOUCH OF CLASS

Originally broadcast: 19 September 1975
Directed by: John Howard Davies
Written by: John Cleese, Connie Booth

Sybil insists that hanging a picture must come before writing the menus, Basil hopes that an expensive advert will attract high class clientele, and a member of the aristocracy asks if it might be possible to cash a cheque.

"Racket? That's Brahms! Brahms' Third Racket!"

HOLY GODIVA 4 - ONION JACK 4
TOTAL: 8

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S1E2

THE BUILDERS

Originally broadcast: 26 September 1975
Directed by: John Howard Davies
Written by: John Cleese, Connie Booth

The Fawltys arrange for work to be done while they're away in Paignton, Polly leaves Manuel holding the fort when she decides to get some sleep, and Sybil's not too pleased when she finds a cowboy builder at the hotel.

"If you're not over here in twenty minutes with my door,
I shall come over there and insert a large garden gnome in you."

HOLY GODIVA 5 - ONION JACK 5
TOTAL: 10

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S1E3

THE WEDDING PARTY

Originally broadcast: 3 October 1975
Directed by: John Howard Davies
Written by: John Cleese, Connie Booth

Sybil checks in an unmarried couple who want a room with a double bed,
Manuel has a little too much to drink while celebrating his birthday, and Basil jumps to the conclusion that several of the guests are sex maniacs.

"I'm frightfully sorry, but you know what women are like. They've got one brain between the lot of them. Well, not all of them, but some of them have."

HOLY GODIVA 5 - ONION JACK 5
TOTAL: 10

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S1E4

THE HOTEL INSPECTORS

Originally broadcast: 10 October 1975
Directed by: John Howard Davies
Written by: John Cleese, Connie Booth

A very demanding guest requests a taxi reservation and access to BBC2, Sybil passes on news about there being hotel inspectors in the area, and Basil learns that he's been giving special treatment to a spoon salesman.

"Can we get you something else, Mr. Hutchinson? A tea cosy for your pepper pot, perhaps?"

HOLY GODIVA 5 - ONION JACK 5
TOTAL: 10

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S1E5

GOURMET NIGHT

Originally broadcast: 17 October 1975
Directed by: John Howard Davies
Written by: John Cleese, Connie Booth

Basil tells the car to get its act together when he struggles to get it going, the Fawltys make the most of a Greek chef by arranging a gourmet night, and the man in the kitchen turns to drink when he's rejected by Manuel.

"You've tried it on just once too often! Right! Well, don't say I hadn't warned you! I've laid it on the line for you time and time again! Right! Well, this is it!
I'm gonna give you a damn good thrashing!"

HOLY GODIVA 5 - ONION JACK 5
TOTAL: 10

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S1E6

THE GERMANS

Originally broadcast: 24 October 1975
Directed by: John Howard Davies
Written by: John Cleese, Connie Booth

Sybil phones home repeatedly while in hospital with an ingrown toenail,
the Major's taken aback when a moose head suddenly starts talking, and Manuel shouts for help when he's locked in the kitchen during a fire drill.

"Yes, you did. You invaded Poland."

HOLY GODIVA 5 - ONION JACK 5
TOTAL: 10

SERIES TWO

(1979)
6 episodes
Series Score: 50
Episode Average: 9.00
Perfect 10's: 3

S2E1

COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS

Originally broadcast: 19 February 1979
Directed by: Bob Spiers
Written by: John Cleese, Connie Booth

A very unreasonable guest with a hearing aid complains about her room, Manuel's told that he knows nothing when Basil wins £75 on a horse, and Sybil questions Polly about her sudden windfall after a theft in the hotel.

"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 swinging majestically..."

HOLY GODIVA 5 - ONION JACK 5
TOTAL: 10

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S2E2

THE PSYCHIATRIST

Originally broadcast: 26 February 1979
Directed by: Bob Spiers
Written by: John Cleese, Connie Booth

Basil worries when one of a pair of doctors turns out to be a psychiatrist, Sybil's not happy when she finds her husband groping an Australian, and an attempt to prove that a guest has smuggled in a girl leads to trouble.

"I'm fed up with you, you rancorous, coiffured old sow. Why don't you syringe the doughnuts out of your ear and get some sense into the dormant organ you keep hidden in that rat's maze of yours?"

HOLY GODIVA 4 - ONION JACK 4
TOTAL: 8

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S2E3

WALDORF SALAD

Originally broadcast: 5 March 1979
Directed by: Bob Spiers
Written by: John Cleese, Connie Booth

Basil find himself faced with a number of complaints in the dining room, an American couple pay a little extra to keep the kitchen open late, and the lack of a chef makes it very difficult to deal with an unfamiliar order.

"Walnuts! That's a laugh! Easier to find a packet of sliced hippopotamus in suitcase sauce than a walnut in this bloody kitchen!"

HOLY GODIVA 5 - ONION JACK 5
TOTAL: 10

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S2E4

THE KIPPER AND THE CORPSE

Originally broadcast: 12 March 1979
Directed by: Bob Spiers
Written by: John Cleese, Connie Booth

A doctor orders sausages for breakfast after arriving back late for dinner, Basil worries about out-of-date kippers when a guest is found dead, and Miss Tibbs reacts badly to being trapped in a wardrobe with the corpse.

"Oh, spiffing. Absolutely spiffing. Well done. Two dead, twenty-five to go."

HOLY GODIVA 5 - ONION JACK 4
TOTAL: 9

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S2E5

THE ANNIVERSARY

Originally broadcast: 26 March 1979
Directed by: Bob Spiers
Written by: John Cleese, Connie Booth

Sybil storms out when Basil pretends to forget yet another anniversary,
Terry's not happy when Manuel is given permission to cook a paella, and Polly demands money before agreeing to dress up as a very sick woman.

"Look, it's perfectly Sybil. Simple's not well. She's lost her throat and her voice hurts."

HOLY GODIVA 4 - ONION JACK 3
TOTAL: 7

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S2E6

BASIL THE RAT

Originally broadcast: 25 October 1979
Directed by: Bob Spiers
Written by: John Cleese, Connie Booth

A public health inspector reads out a list of things that must be put right,
Basil's horrified when he meets Manuel's filigree Siberian hamster, and news that it has escaped sees a slice of poisoned veal put down as bait.

"Can't we get you on Mastermind, Sybil? Next contestant...
Mrs. Sybil Fawlty from Torquay, specialist subject... the bleeding obvious."

HOLY GODIVA 5 - ONION JACK 5
TOTAL: 10

BASIL FAWLTY

Played by John Cleese
12 episodes
in... The Psychiatrist (S2E2)

SYBIL FAWLTY

Played by Prunella Scales
12 episodes
in... The Builders (S1E2)

POLLY SHERMAN

Played by Connie Booth
12 episodes
in... The Builders (S1E2)

MANUEL

Played by Andrew Sachs
12 episodes
in... Basil the Rat (S2E6)

MAJOR GOWEN

Played by Ballard Berkeley
12 episodes
in... Basil the Rat (S2E6)

MISS AGATHA TIBBS

Played by Gilly Flower
12 episodes
in... The Kipper and the Corpse (S2E4)

MISS URSULA GATSBY

Played by Renee Roberts
12 episodes
in... The Kipper and the Corpse (S2E4)

TERRY

Played by Brian Hall
6 episodes
in... Waldorf Salad (S2E3)