'The Germans', which rounded off the first season of 'Fawlty Towers', is impossible to find anything bad to say about. It is simply one of the greatest half-hours of television comedy ever made.
While Sybil is in hospital to have an ingrowing toenail removed, Basil tries to run the hotel without her usual interference. But she is determined to see he hangs up a moose's head in the foyer, and pesters him with phone calls. A fire drill goes wrong - a burglar alarm goes off by mistake and guests, not knowing the difference between alarms, file out one at a time. A real fire then breaks out in the kitchen, and Basil is concussed. A party of Germans is due to arrive the next day and Basil, keen to see they enjoy proper English hospitality, escapes from hospital...
When I saw this first I laughed so hard my sides ached for hours afterwards. However, repeated viewings down the years have taken their toll, and it only now elicits smiles instead of the belly-laughs originally. There is still much amusement to be had in the quieter moments, however, most notably Basil being rude to a ward sister, and the Major's recollections of taking a woman friend to see Indian cricketers at the Oval ( "She kept calling them n*****s! No., no, I said. Those men are w*gs!" ). Then of course there's the Major thinking that the moose's head has acquired the power of speech. Still great!
The encounter with the Germans has gone down in comedy legend. It is Basil who looks foolish, not the Germans themselves, many of whom look too young to have been around in the war. It does not stop some badly researched programmes ( did anyone see 'The Story Of Slapstick' on B.B.C.-2 the other night? Utter rubbish! Clips of Tony Blair coming to power were followed by an item on 'The Smell of Reeves & Mortimer'! ) using this as an example of typically 'racist' '70's comedy. Oh well. Who cares what these humourless bores think anyway?
Funniest moment - no, its not Basil's goose stepping. I choose the argument with the guests over the fire drill. It is so pointless, and yet he is determined to win it at all costs. It ends with him saying: "I don't know why we bother! We should let you all burn!"
While Sybil is in hospital to have an ingrowing toenail removed, Basil tries to run the hotel without her usual interference. But she is determined to see he hangs up a moose's head in the foyer, and pesters him with phone calls. A fire drill goes wrong - a burglar alarm goes off by mistake and guests, not knowing the difference between alarms, file out one at a time. A real fire then breaks out in the kitchen, and Basil is concussed. A party of Germans is due to arrive the next day and Basil, keen to see they enjoy proper English hospitality, escapes from hospital...
When I saw this first I laughed so hard my sides ached for hours afterwards. However, repeated viewings down the years have taken their toll, and it only now elicits smiles instead of the belly-laughs originally. There is still much amusement to be had in the quieter moments, however, most notably Basil being rude to a ward sister, and the Major's recollections of taking a woman friend to see Indian cricketers at the Oval ( "She kept calling them n*****s! No., no, I said. Those men are w*gs!" ). Then of course there's the Major thinking that the moose's head has acquired the power of speech. Still great!
The encounter with the Germans has gone down in comedy legend. It is Basil who looks foolish, not the Germans themselves, many of whom look too young to have been around in the war. It does not stop some badly researched programmes ( did anyone see 'The Story Of Slapstick' on B.B.C.-2 the other night? Utter rubbish! Clips of Tony Blair coming to power were followed by an item on 'The Smell of Reeves & Mortimer'! ) using this as an example of typically 'racist' '70's comedy. Oh well. Who cares what these humourless bores think anyway?
Funniest moment - no, its not Basil's goose stepping. I choose the argument with the guests over the fire drill. It is so pointless, and yet he is determined to win it at all costs. It ends with him saying: "I don't know why we bother! We should let you all burn!"