The Hotel Inspectors
Encyclopedia
"The Hotel Inspectors" is the fourth episode of the BBC
sitcom
, Fawlty Towers
.
incognito, he realises with horror that the guest he has been verbally abusing could easily be one of them.
With:
(These two characters are credited as Brian and John but the credits make no clear connection between their names and being hotel inspectors as their names in the programme are never revealed.)
Uncredited:
] most invigorating") that immediately irritates Basil. Basil becomes increasingly irate as Hutchinson makes unreasonable requests and asks for specific directions to a meeting. Whilst drawing Hutchinson a map containing an abbreviation of Post Office, Basil accidentally makes Mr. Walt think he tells him to 'P-off', and also produces picture cards for Manuel to understand what he is saying. After Sybil finally finishes on the phone, she informs Basil that a friend of Audrey's discovered the presence of three hotel inspectors in town. This information raises Basil's blood pressure several notches, and he becomes determined to work out who the inspectors are, realising with horror that any of the guests he has been monstering could be one of them.
While Mr. Hutchinson is requesting to reserve the television to watch a documentary he is interested in, he says something which makes Basil's hair stand on end: "In my professional activities I am in constant contact with [hotels]." This, combined with Hutchinson's neediness and over-inflated style of speaking, convinces Basil that Hutchinson is actually an inspector, and changes his attitude towards Hutchinson, instead treating him like a VIP. He escorts him to the dining room, where lunch is about to be served, and ends up overlooking Mr. Walt, who is forced to wait after his bottle of wine proves to be corked, even though Hutchinson is taking a phone call. Sybil quietly reveals to Basil that Mr. Hutchinson is in fact a spoons salesman (she had overheard his conversation). Feeling conned, Basil promises revenge on Hutchinson. However, Basil's relief is short-lived when, while making conversation with him, Mr. Walt casually mentions that he is in Torquay "on business with two colleagues," which convinces Basil that he is actually the inspector. In order to prevent Walt getting a bad impression, Basil tries to stop Hutchinson, who is annoyed because a confusion in the kitchen has led to his being served several dishes he did not order, from complaining by choking him, eventually rendering him unconscious.
Hutchinson regains consciousness and starts punching Basil at reception, who uncharacteristically accepts it without retaliation in Mr. Walt's presence, before storming off, declaring he is leaving and does not expect to receive a bill. Mr. Walt is flabbergasted, especially when Basil tries to bribe him not to mention the chain of events which has just taken place when he reviews the hotel, and immediately goes into hysterics, realizing how much he has just risked the hotel's reputation. Mr. Walt reveals he is actually an outboard motors salesman, and consoles Basil. Thinking he is in the clear, Basil runs to the kitchen with Manuel, who stops Mr. Hutchinson as he is leaving, saying Basil wants to "say adios". Basil then slaps pies on Mr. Hutchinson's face and crotch while Manuel pours milk into his briefcase. Hutchinson is marched to the door and forcibly ejected out of the hotel by a vengeful Basil, who kisses Manuel on the head for his help, crosses over to the reception and welcomes three smartly-dressed businessmen to the hotel - who have just witnessed the previous goings-on. He screams in terror when he realizes who they clearly are.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
, Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Twelve television program episodes were produced . The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom played major characters...
.
Synopsis
When Basil hears of hotel inspectors roaming TorquayTorquay
Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...
incognito, he realises with horror that the guest he has been verbally abusing could easily be one of them.
Cast
Episode credited cast:- John CleeseJohn CleeseJohn Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
as Basil FawltyBasil FawltyBasil Fawlty is the main character of the British sitcom Fawlty Towers, played by John Cleese. The character is often thought of as an iconic British comedy character, and has been deemed unforgettable despite only a dozen half-hour episodes ever being made.... - Prunella ScalesPrunella ScalesPrunella Scales CBE is an English actress, known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife in the British comedy Fawlty Towers and her award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution.-Career:Throughout her long career, Scales has usually been cast...
as Sybil FawltySybil FawltySybil Fawlty is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers. She is played by Prunella Scales. Her age is listed as 34 years old as seen on her medical chart in the 1975 episode "The Germans", thus presumably indicating that she was born in 1941... - Andrew SachsAndrew SachsAndrew Sachs is a German-born British actor. He made his name on British television and is best known for his portrayals of Manuel in Fawlty Towers, a role for which he was BAFTA-nominated, and Ramsay Clegg in Coronation Street.-Early life:Sachs was born in Berlin, Germany, the son of Katharina , a...
as ManuelManuel (Fawlty Towers)Manuel is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers. Played by Andrew Sachs, he is an iconic character in British comedy history... - Connie BoothConnie BoothConstance "Connie" Booth is an American-born writer and actress, known for appearances on British television and particularly for her portrayal of Polly Sherman in the popular 1970s television show Fawlty Towers, which she co-wrote with her then-husband John Cleese.-Biography:Booth's father was a...
as Polly Sherman - Ballard Berkeley as Major GowenMajor GowenMajor Gowen is a fictional character played by Ballard Berkeley in the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers.Major Gowen is an old, befuddled, somewhat senile ex-soldier permanently residing in the hotel. He enjoys talking about the world and is always on the lookout for the newspaper. He has trouble forgiving...
- Gilly FlowerGilly FlowerGilly Flower was an English actress, best remembered as the elderly Miss Abitha Tibbs in the cult BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers.Gilly Flower played Miss Tibbs in all twelve episodes of the show, which was produced in two six-episode series separated by a three-and-a-half-year interval Gilly Flower...
as Miss Abitha TibbsMiss Tibbs & Miss GatsbyMiss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby are fictional characters, played by Gilly Flower and Renee Roberts respectively, in the BBC television sitcom Fawlty Towers.... - Renee Roberts as Miss Ursula GatsbyMiss Tibbs & Miss GatsbyMiss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby are fictional characters, played by Gilly Flower and Renee Roberts respectively, in the BBC television sitcom Fawlty Towers....
With:
- Bernard CribbinsBernard CribbinsBernard Cribbins, OBE is an English character actor, voice-over artist and musical comedian with a career spanning over half a century who came to prominence in films in the 1960s, has been in work consistently since his professional debut in the mid 1950s, and as of 2010 is still an active...
as Mr. Hutchinson - James CossinsJames CossinsJames Cossins was an English character actor. Born in Beckenham, Kent, he became widely recognised as the abrupt, bewildered Mr. Walt in the Fawlty Towers episode "The Hotel Inspectors"...
as Mr. Walt
- Peter Brett as Brian (hotel inspector, 1st?)
- Geoffrey Morris as John (hotel inspector, 2nd?)
(These two characters are credited as Brian and John but the credits make no clear connection between their names and being hotel inspectors as their names in the programme are never revealed.)
Uncredited:
- Andy Williams plays the 3rd hotel inspector, Chris
Plot
Two guests, Mr. Walt and Mr. Hutchinson, arrive separately at reception. Mr. Walt says very little, while Mr. Hutchinson speaks in a very drawn-out and pompous, overly-affected manner (claiming that he finds "the air here [in TorquayTorquay
Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...
] most invigorating") that immediately irritates Basil. Basil becomes increasingly irate as Hutchinson makes unreasonable requests and asks for specific directions to a meeting. Whilst drawing Hutchinson a map containing an abbreviation of Post Office, Basil accidentally makes Mr. Walt think he tells him to 'P-off', and also produces picture cards for Manuel to understand what he is saying. After Sybil finally finishes on the phone, she informs Basil that a friend of Audrey's discovered the presence of three hotel inspectors in town. This information raises Basil's blood pressure several notches, and he becomes determined to work out who the inspectors are, realising with horror that any of the guests he has been monstering could be one of them.
While Mr. Hutchinson is requesting to reserve the television to watch a documentary he is interested in, he says something which makes Basil's hair stand on end: "In my professional activities I am in constant contact with [hotels]." This, combined with Hutchinson's neediness and over-inflated style of speaking, convinces Basil that Hutchinson is actually an inspector, and changes his attitude towards Hutchinson, instead treating him like a VIP. He escorts him to the dining room, where lunch is about to be served, and ends up overlooking Mr. Walt, who is forced to wait after his bottle of wine proves to be corked, even though Hutchinson is taking a phone call. Sybil quietly reveals to Basil that Mr. Hutchinson is in fact a spoons salesman (she had overheard his conversation). Feeling conned, Basil promises revenge on Hutchinson. However, Basil's relief is short-lived when, while making conversation with him, Mr. Walt casually mentions that he is in Torquay "on business with two colleagues," which convinces Basil that he is actually the inspector. In order to prevent Walt getting a bad impression, Basil tries to stop Hutchinson, who is annoyed because a confusion in the kitchen has led to his being served several dishes he did not order, from complaining by choking him, eventually rendering him unconscious.
Hutchinson regains consciousness and starts punching Basil at reception, who uncharacteristically accepts it without retaliation in Mr. Walt's presence, before storming off, declaring he is leaving and does not expect to receive a bill. Mr. Walt is flabbergasted, especially when Basil tries to bribe him not to mention the chain of events which has just taken place when he reviews the hotel, and immediately goes into hysterics, realizing how much he has just risked the hotel's reputation. Mr. Walt reveals he is actually an outboard motors salesman, and consoles Basil. Thinking he is in the clear, Basil runs to the kitchen with Manuel, who stops Mr. Hutchinson as he is leaving, saying Basil wants to "say adios". Basil then slaps pies on Mr. Hutchinson's face and crotch while Manuel pours milk into his briefcase. Hutchinson is marched to the door and forcibly ejected out of the hotel by a vengeful Basil, who kisses Manuel on the head for his help, crosses over to the reception and welcomes three smartly-dressed businessmen to the hotel - who have just witnessed the previous goings-on. He screams in terror when he realizes who they clearly are.
Connections and errors
- At the end of the episode, there are clearly three hotel inspectors. However, only two of them (John and Brian) are named in the closing credits. The 1st inspector says "Twenty-six bedrooms, twelve with private bathrooms." The 2nd inspector says "Yes, well, why don't you have dinner here, and Chris and I can try the Claremont." The 1st inspector replies "OK. The owner's one Basil Fawlty." The 3rd inspector, Chris, is not credited as he does not speak at all.
- The man named Bill Morton, whose friend overheard the hotel inspectors in a bar, was named after the vision mixer for the series; he is the only member of the crew distinguished enough to be mentioned in the series.
- Mr. Hutchinson asks if the hotel has a table tennisTable tennisTable tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
table, to which Basil replies, “Indeed we do. It is not ... in absolutely mint condition. But it certainly could be used in an emergency”. John Cleese has stated this is among his favorite lines in the entire series. The main issue is how could he play on his own. (Table tennis tables often have the facility to have one side fold up vertically, enabling a player to 'rally against the wall,' so to speak). - The scene in which the wine is 'corked' involved improvisation on the actors' parts, John Cleese and James Cossins were unaware of which way the wine would go, if at all. Loosely scripted dialogue was therefore at hand.
- The only time in the series we ever see evidence of Basil smoking; when Sybil takes back all the matches (she is "just lighting up") and gives him back just one, in the opening scene.
External links
- "The Hotel Inspectors" at Fawltysite.net