The Germans

Cybil is nagging Basil from her hospital bed as he presides over a series of disasters..

This episode is crammed with humour from start to finish. So much so it takes repeat viewings to catch it all. There are no weak moments or let ups as the punchlines fly at you from every angle.

Cybil in hospital with Basil hoping she suffers. The debacle of the moose head. The shambolic fire drill. Basil in hospital with an oversized head bandage. The classic scene with the Germans. It all works fantastically well.

The episode has been accused of racism, but it's not. The Major is being ridiculed as a bigoted old relic of the upper classes and Basil is not far off certifiably mad in his treatment of the Germans.

A brilliant half an hour of BBC comedy and an incredible performance from John Cleese.

In the days before video was widely available, one relied on occasional repeats, but mainly on many conversations with one's friends discussing and reminiscing about great TV. The Fawlty Towers episode where the Germans visit was an instant classic - I remember as a boy at the first broadcast being in helpless hysterics. Thereafter one relied on memory - "do you remember the one with the Germans?"

Only with the advent of video and DVD technology could we properly appreciate that not just one, but three classic Fawlty Towers sequences are crammed into these 30 minutes. This is the episode that also contains the moose, and the fire drill - each of which would have supported a perfectly good half-hour sitcom in its own right. But these were not three separate shows, as imperfect memory suggested; they were woven together to create a perfect piece of comedy, a fugue of chaos as Basil struggles to cope with Sybil's absence (and attempts to micromanage from her hospital bed). Several deathless scenes - Basil's sympathising with Sybil's ingrown toenail, the Major's conversation with the moose, Basil's frustration with the guests assembled in the foyer for the fire drill, and then of course the beautifully timed and choreographed dinner with the Germans, with its sublime climax - will remain absolute classics.

This is it . The best remembered episode of probably the greatest comedy show Britain has ever made so do I really need to comment on it ? I will say in the 21st Century everyone associated with the show claims this episode is meant to be ironic , that is the episode is making fun of people who have to bring up the second world war every time Germany is mentioned in any context . Hmmm if I remember correctly people claim the same about LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR and are we to seriously believe 20 million people tuned in to that show to hear a black character make equally racist remarks about his rabidly racist white neighbour ? I don't think so . Let's not forget even for people in Britain like myself who were born over twenty odd years after the war had ended it was impossible not to think of Germany as being a land of Stukas , Panzers and goosestepping soldiers

There is much more to this episode than German tourists and includes Basil putting up the stuffed head of a moose on the wall and a fire alarm . Of course the episode becomes ingrained in to television history once the Germans turns up and ... well you know what happens next . There's so much to remember and laugh at in this episode but my favourite line is when Basil is taking the tourists order and replies " I'll just get you hors d'oeuvres - hors doeuvres that must be obeyed at all times without question " . And so ends season one of FAWLTY TOWERS which will always win my vote as the greatest comedy Britain has ever made

Although it isn't my personal favorite, "The Germans" is arguably the most 'classic' of the 12 episodes. It's the one everyone seems to know or remember. Sybil is laid up with an ingrown toenail (Basil: "I wish it was an ingrown tongue"), but meanwhile she has to make sure the hotel doesn't fall apart, demanding even more things from Basil and calling him every few minutes to make sure things are getting done. There are many hysterical moments to be had, including the whole moose-hanging sequence, replete with The Major thinking that the stuffed concoction can talk. The German guests obviously don't know what to make of it all, but we see Basil at the upper bound of his own insanity. The best part comes at the end when the African doctor shows up at the hotel - I won't give it away for anyone who hasn't seen it.

I have watched Fawlty Towers numerous times and this is my favorite. It is pure slapstick fun and John Cleese is outstanding in it. Andrew Sachs (Manuel) & "The Major" are comedy gold. I roll with laughter every time I watch it. Is it politically correct? Absolutely not and thank god!