The Hotel Inspectors

After learning that a trio of hotel inspectors are doing the rounds in Torquay, neurotic hotel owner Basil (John Cleese) comes to believe that one of them is a guest at Fawlty Towers. At first he suspects pernickety and obnoxious guest Mr. Hutchinson (Bernard Cribbens) of being an inspector, and does his utmost to keep him happy, but when Sybil informs Basil that the man is just a spoon salesman, his attention turns to grouchy Mr. Walt (James Cossins).

Watching Basil fawn and squirm is absolutely hilarious, as is his inevitable meltdown, when the desperate hotel owner offers Mr. Walt cold hard cash to keep quiet. Nothing, however, beats the very ending, which sees Basil welcoming three new guests (the real hotel inspectors) having just given Hutchinson a well-deserved send-off with a couple of cream pies and a jug of milk. Cleese's reaction is priceless.

Basil hears that some hotel inspectors are in town and suspects everyone.

This is a funny episode but you can't help for once feeing more sorry for the ones providing the service than the ones being served. One character played superbly by Bernard Cribbins is loathsome with his outrageous sense of entitlement as a paying customer.

There is a certain level of Britishness satirised in Fawlty Towers that works perfectly in the setting of the hotel industry. Usually its the outrageously bad level of service and Basil's blatant resentment towards his customers that is centre stage, but on this occasion its the ridiculous demands of the customer. What makes the madness seem plausible is that you know there are people out there with that level of expectation. Adding the possibility of an inspector showing up any minute, just makes everything funnier.

'The Hotel Inspectors' contains the usual highly organised chaos and brilliance from John Cleese. The two standout moments for me are Basil's response when asked about a table tennis table and his reaction to three guests that arrive on reception in the last few seconds.

In this episode, we really get to see how awful Basil Fawlty is. He is extremely rude to a guest called Mr. Hutchison, then he learns that some hotel inspectors are in town. Thinking that Hutchison might be an inspector, Basil begins treating him like royalty. Sybil eavesdrops on one of Hutchison's phone calls and learns his true profession: He is a cutlery salesman! When Sybil informs Basil of this, he goes back to treating Hutchison poorly. Another guest, Mr. Walt, also gets the usual Basil Fawlty treatment when he first arrives. When Basil believes he is the inspector, his behavior takes another 180 degree turn. A memorable scene in this episode has Basil attempting to uncork a bottle of wine with hilarious results. Want to know what Basil Fawlty is all about? Watch this episode!

Anyone that's worked in hospitality, or retail can definitely relate to this, the fear of an inspection or Mystery shop is great, so you can kind of understand Basil's frustrations, sadly it's poor Mr Hutchinson that suffers Basil's wrath. Fawlty truly is at his very worst behaviour, the scenes where he loses his cool with his demanding guest are achingly funny. Cribbins gives a memorable performance as Hutchinson, and who can ever forget the reply to that question 'I understand you're in the spoon trade.'

Arguably one of the most memorable episodes, it's chaos and misunderstanding all the way. It closes with that wonderful line 'What can I do for you three gentlemen?' so wonderfully frustrating, you cannot help but howl at Fawlty's frustrations.

I like the bit where he hit the man in the face with a pie