Fawlty Towers: Series 2 (1979)

Essential Viewing

UK

Television Series

Director: Bob Spiers

Writers: Connie Booth, John Cleese

Cast: John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs, Connie Booth, Ballard Berkeley, Brian Hall

Though Cleese’s performance is slightly less manic and physical than in the first series, and his character a tad more sympathetic, this second series is, if anything, even funnier, smarter, and more memorable than its hilarious predecessor.

1. Communication Problems

When Basil surreptitiously has a bit of luck on the gee-gees, his winnings get passed from person to person in an effort to keep it a secret from his disapproving wife – but, unfortunately for him, a deaf guest, who refuses to switch on her hearing aid for fear of running down the batteries, reports a similar amount of money to have been stolen from her room, leading to much suspicion and confusion.

2. The Psychiatrist

A holidaying psychiatrist does his best to ignore the odd behaviour of his manic host, Basil Fawlty; but said hotelier’s inability to avoid the breasts of a comely young Australian woman and his obsession with the sexual habits of another guest make doing so particularly difficult.

3. Waldorf Salad

When a pair of holidaymakers from California arrives after the kitchen has just closed, Basil has the idea to play at being chef, despite having just been bribed to keep the kitchen staff on with four crisp five pound notes – alas, all does not go smoothly, as the American gentleman and his British wife are soon unfathomably ordering screwdrivers and Waldorf salads (and they’re fresh out of waldorfs).

4. The Kipper and the Corpse

When a guest dies during the night, Basil, as keen (though incapable) as ever to keep up a level of propriety, soon has his staff carrying the body from room to room in order to hide its existence from his other guests – inevitably, he fails spectacularly.

5. The Anniversary

Having forgotten their anniversary the previous year, Basil, to mark their fifteenth, arranges a surprise party with some of their closest friends – unfortunately, Sybil takes his faux forgetting for the real thing and drives off in a huff, leaving him to concoct an unworkable, illness-related excuse for when their guests arrive,

6. Basil the Rat

When a health inspector gives them a long list of things to clean and fix in order to avoid being closed down, the staff of Fawlty Towers quickly and busily gets down to it; unfortunately, just as he’s due to return, Manuel’s pet rat – he thought that it was a Siberian hamster – escapes, leading to much panic, confusion, and poisoned veal. Iain.Stott