"Fawlty Towers"
Communication Problems (1979)

Director:

Bob Spiers

Writers:

John Cleese (written by) and
Connie Booth (written by)

TV Series:

"Fawlty Towers" (1975)

Original Air Date:

19 February 1979 (Season 2, Episode 1)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

When Mrs.Richards, a demanding woman who is hard of hearing, checks into the hotel, Basil, Sybil and...

Plot Keywords:

Deafness | English | Waiter | Hotel | Torquay

Cast

John Cleese	...	Basil Fawlty
Prunella Scales	...	Sybil Fawlty
Andrew Sachs	...	Manuel
Connie Booth	...	Polly Sherman
Joan Sanderson	...	Mrs. Alice Richards
Ballard Berkeley	...	Major Gowen
Brian Hall	...	Terry
Gilly Flower	...	Miss Abitha Tibbs
Renee Roberts	...	Miss Ursula Gatsby
Robert Lankesheer	...	Mr. Thurston
Johnny Shannon	...	Mr. Firkins
Bill Bradley	...	Mr. Mackintosh
George Lee	...	Mr. Kerr
Mervyn Pascoe	...	Mr. Yardley

Certification:

Australia:PG

Trivia:

The episode "Communication Problems" has three of John Cleese's "wives". Connie Booth was his wife in real life, Prunella Scales played his wife in this show, and Joan Sanderson (Mrs. Richards) played his wife in The Great Muppet Caper (1981).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Basil is explaining to Polly that Mrs. Richards's money is ten pounds up on the deal, a crew member is seen briefly scuttling about on the office floor behind him, they bump the office door causing it to move a little behind Basil.

Quotes:

Major Gowen: Have you the flutter, Fawlty?
Basil Fawlty: No, no, no.
Sybil Fawlty: No, Basil doesn't bet on the horses anymore, do you, dear?
Basil Fawlty: No, I don't, no. That particular avenue of pleasure has been closed off.
Sybil Fawlty: And we don't want it opened up again, do we Basil?
Basil Fawlty: No YOU don't, dear.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The John Cleese Interview (1998) (V)

Si que what, and C.K. Watt

"Communication Problems" is one of the only episodes to focus almost entirely on one of the hotel guests - Mrs. Richards, who is visiting the hotel from Brighton. Portrayed flawlessly by the late Joan Sanderson, I think anyone would be hard-pressed to find anyone more acerbic and tactless than this old battleaxe. But it's a familiar problem in hotels - guests like this come along often and all the staff can do is deal with them until they finally check out. Then, of course, there is the subplot of Basil secretly betting on the horses after a long absence (Sybil: "We don't want that avenue of pleasure opened up again, do we, Basil?!" Basil: "No YOU don't, dear.") which serves as the lead-in to the story's punch line. Thanks to Andrew Sachs, the Mrs. Richards head-banging scene stayed in (Basil: "Is this a piece of your brain?!") In a recent interview, he mentioned that John Cleese and Connie Booth didn't think it was any good and wanted to replace it. The entire scene is screamingly funny. Ballard Berkely (the Major Gowen) is at his most virtuosic as the dense and forgetful old codger. Many great lines, but the best have to come from the confrontation between Polly and Mrs. Richards regarding the toilet paper, and the one between her and Manuel ("Si que what?!")