The Psychiatrist

Basil quickly overcomes his disgust with a particular guest, the tacky Mr. Johnson (Nicky Henson, "Syriana"), to be delighted when a married pair of doctors come to stay at the hotel. Then his delight turns to paranoia when he learns that the husband (Basil Henson, "The Final Programme") is a psychiatrist, due to his preconceived notions about psychiatrists. He is further driven to distraction when he becomes convinced that Mr. Johnson has smuggled in a young female.

Watching Mr. Cleese go through one farcical sequence and slapstick situation after another is pure hilarity. To add to his existing woes, he is *also* distracted by a sexy blonde Australian guest (Luan Peters, "The Flesh and Blood Show"). The writing by Mr. Cleese and Ms. Booth perfectly sets up all these instances where Basil is often getting the wrong idea, or being caught whenever he is acting in a particularly silly manner. It's a true tour-de-force comic performance from Mr. Cleese, and the rest of the cast is equally strong.

My favorite moment is when Basil encounters Ms. Miles after coming out of the storeroom, although all of their scenes are comedy gold, really.

10 out of 10.

The best episode in the best series of the best sitcom ever put on TV. The Germans may be the most famous but as brilliant as it is, The Psychiatrist surpasses it. It's better written and produced with 4 years to perfect episodes and get them even tighter and funnier than series 1. There is so much going on in this great episode it makes me dizzy still.

Pure farce as busy as it comes with cripplingly funny scene after scene, it is relentlessly funny from start to finish with hardly a wasted line. Inspired with possibly even a hint that Cleese himself was in need of psychiatric assessment. Everything ties together make the funniest half hour of comedy I've ever witnessed. A classical lesson of what can be achieved in a half hour sitcom if you really try. But you probably need a genius at the helm to do it.

Basil tries to catch an unmarried guest with a girl in his room whilst avoiding appearing mad in front of a psychiatrist.

Another great episode with Basil doing everything he can to enforce his puritanical values on someone else whilst simultaneously making himself appear to be a sexual deviant.

John Cleese is as madcap as ever but this is a particularly strong episode for Prunella Scales as Cybil dealing with Basil's behaviour whilst doing some outrageous flirting herself.

My favourite parts of the episode involve Basil's interaction with the two doctors which are all extremely funny and at the same time make me feel mortified ever time he opens his mouth.

"The Psychiatrist" is a brilliant, brilliant farce. Basil Fawlty is probably the world's greatest ass-kisser, and this story features his fawning over the two (or three??) Dr. Abbott's, who are down in Torquay for a holiday out of London. Meanwhile, a hippie man named Johnson is staying at the hotel, and sneaks his girlfriend into his room (sign of the times, eh?), making for a highly entertaining subplot as Basil tries to catch sight of her and throw them both out. But there's yet another subplot - the appearance of a beautiful lady named Raylene Miles from Australia who shows up, and Basil can't help but become infatuated with her (or so Sybil thinks.) Sybil's hair is at its beehive-best in this one, complete with Basil's reference to it: "the dormant organ you keep hidden in that rat's maze of yours!" The two 'hand on boob' scenes and Basil's breaking into guest rooms "just to check the walls"' are side-splittingly funny, as is the entire episode. Definitely one of the best-written ones in the series.

I like the bit where he said he had sex three or four times a week