The Kipper and the Corpse

I like the bit where he had a kipper sticking out of his jacket

Basil struggles to deal with guest who dies and the demands of the live ones.

This is another great episode blending a very funny situation with Basil's outrageous behaviour.

The humour couldn't be much darker in its theme with death at the heart of the story, but it is treated as farcically as any other situation in which I have seen Basil Fawlty involved.

Basil has some excellent lines and John Cleese delivers them as brilliantly as always, my favourite being his reaction to one guest who is rendered unconscious following her encounter with the dead body. Also funny is his rant regarding the breakfast tray.

I was 15 years old & in the audience for this recording. Didn't realise at the time I was wltnessing one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. I always remember John Cleese popping his head thru the glass doors at the side of the studio waving to the audience before the recording started& pulling his faces.

This is by far the best episode of the series. In fact I'd go as far as to say it's the funniest episode of any TV series ever. The farce, the lines, the acting are all pure comedy gold. John Cleese is at his finest as is Andrew Sachs.

If I had to pinpoint a piece of comedy television that I would place at the top of the pile, then The Kipper and The Corpse would have to rank at number one. It's the episode I know every word of, but cannot watch it without howling with laughter. Each episode is genius and magical in its own right, but there's something about the way this one plays out that I can't resist. The dialogue is perfection itself, the level of Basil's irritations and frustrations is a delight to watch, the way he sarcastically offers poor Mr Leeman a choice of Breakfast tray is a joy, but the way in which the Doctor is taken to the body in the bed is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

Zany, madcap, sarcastic, wildly funny, the list of superlatives you could add to this thirty odd minutes of unadulterated joy is endless. It can be difficult to review something you know so well, but the relentless watches have provided me with constant laughs and for that this episode gets a well deserved 10/10