{"id":148058,"date":"2025-09-19T20:38:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T20:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/148058\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T20:38:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T20:38:15","slug":"all-12-episodes-ranked-from-worst-to-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/148058\/","title":{"rendered":"All 12 episodes, ranked from worst to best"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, 19 September, marks the 50th anniversary of the first airing of Fawlty Towers.<\/p>\n

From 1975 to 1979, it followed snobby Torquay hotelier Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) as he dealt with the difficulties of hotel ownership. With a grand total of just 12 episodes it can\u2019t be accused of overstaying its welcome \u2013 unlike some of its nightmare guests.<\/p>\n

Topical references, fashion, and social attitudes date it slightly, but the show remains a British institution and it has been a huge inspiration for comedy that followed. There is a bit of Basil in everyone, from One Foot in the Grave\u2019s Victor Meldrew to Green Wing\u2019s Dr Alan Statham.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m about two decades too young to have watched it the first time around, but having loved the show since childhood, I\u2019ve ranked every episode by rewatching them at least twice \u2013 considering quotability, laughs and acting performances.<\/p>\n

12) The Wedding Party<\/p>\n

\"FawltyS1 \u2013 Ep 3 \u2018The Wedding\u2019 aka \u2018The Wedding Party\u2019 (Image: UKTV\/BBC)<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no bad Fawlty Towers episode \u2013 no Blackadder-style lesser first series or diminishing returns. Even this one is very funny, showing a hungover Manuel, nervously laughing Basil, and a glimpse into Polly\u2019s social life. But it scores lower because it doesn\u2019t build up to a massive comic crescendo in the same way as the best episodes \u2013 it\u2019s a lot of funny moments, but while fantastic for a \u201cworst episode\u201d, it\u2019s not Fawlty Towers at its most memorable.<\/p>\n

11) The Psychiatrist<\/p>\n

\"FawltyS2 \u2013 Ep 2 \u2018The Psychiatrist\u2019 (Image: UKTV\/BBC)<\/p>\n

This is the show at its most cringe-inducing, as Basil spies on an unmarried couple and accidentally disturbs a younger female guest in the process. You almost feel sorry for him \u2013 for all his flaws, he\u2019s not the creep he comes across as here. The biggest laughs include Basil\u2019s misunderstanding of \u201cHow often do you and your wife manage it?\u201d and the suggestion of the world\u2019s shortest book, \u201cThe Wit of Margaret Thatcher\u201d.<\/p>\n

10) The Anniversary<\/p>\n

\"FawltyS2 \u2013 Ep 5 \u2018The Anniversary\u2019 (Image: UKTV\/BBC)<\/p>\n

Sybil storms off, thinking Basil has forgotten their anniversary, but he\u2019s actually arranged a surprise party with her friends. As they arrive to celebrate, Basil tries to cover up why she isn\u2019t there. One friend\u2019s terrible jokes (\u201cSyb ill!\u201d) shows Fawlty Towers is so good at writing gags, it can even master bad ones when it tries.<\/p>\n

9) The Kipper And The Corpse<\/p>\n

\"TelevisionS2 \u2013 Ep 4 \u2018The Kipper And The Corpse\u2019 (Image: BBC Picture Archives)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the biggest crisis that the hotel faces, as a guest actually dies in his room. Basil\u2019s attempt to cover up the body is typically chaotic \u2013 \u201cIf the guest isn\u2019t singing \u2018Oh, what a beautiful morning\u2019 I don\u2019t immediately think, \u2018Oh, there\u2019s another one snuffed it in the night!\u2019\u201d A classic case of Basil helping create an even bigger problem than the one in front of him.<\/p>\n

8) Basil The Rat<\/p>\n

\"PictureS2 \u2013 Ep 6 \u2018Basil the Rat\u2019 (Image: UKTV\/BBC Studios 1979)<\/p>\n

In the final episode of Fawlty Towers, there\u2019s no heart-warming nor tragic send-off, just the show as it\u2019s always been. Manuel\u2019s pet rat Basil runs loose in the hotel as a health inspector visits. You\u2019d struggle to find a more perfectly delivered line than Basil\u2019s, \u201cWould you care for a rat, or\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n

7) Gourmet Night<\/p>\n

\"FawltyS1 \u2013 Ep 5 \u2018Gourmet Night\u2019 (Image: UKTV\/BBC)<\/p>\n

Another uncomfortable but enjoyable episode, as the hotel puts on a gourmet night but is faced with a drunk waiter and a broken-down car (the basis of the classic tree branch moment). Lots of things make Fawlty Towers classic comedy, but the awkward small talk in this episode helps make it classic British comedy.<\/p>\n

6) The Builders<\/p>\n

\"FawltyS1 \u2013 Ep 2 \u2018The Builders\u2019 (Image: UKTV\/BBC)<\/p>\n

Going with a cheap builder isn\u2019t always a good idea, but it\u2019s the basis for a brilliant episode. It shows the actual structure of the hotel at risk, as Basil balances cheap building work with not suffering fools. (Mr O\u2019Reilly: \u201cIf the good lord\u2026\u201d Basil: \u201c\u2026is mentioned once more, I shall move you closer to him!\u201d)<\/p>\n

5) Waldorf Salad<\/p>\n

\"FawltyS2 \u2013 Ep 3 \u2018Waldorf Salad\u2019 (Image: UKTV\/BBC)<\/p>\n

American guests the Hamiltons pay serious \u201cMickey Mouse money\u201d to keep the kitchen open, with trouble arising when Basil pretends to be the chef. It\u2019s at its funniest when Mr Hamilton walks in on a \u201cconversation\u201d between Basil and the absent chef, and towards the end, it shows Basil at his angriest (which is also his best).<\/p>\n

4) The Hotel Inspectors<\/p>\n

\"TelevisionS1 \u2013 Ep 4 \u2018The Hotel Inspectors\u2019 (Image: BBC Picture Archives)<\/p>\n

Hotel inspectors are in the area \u2013 not the best time to treat guests the way they do Mr Hutchinson here. Basil complaining that most guests \u201cdon\u2019t know a Bordeaux from a claret\u201d shows that for all his condescension, he isn\u2019t quite the connoisseur he pretends to be.<\/p>\n

3) Communication Problems<\/p>\n

\"FawltyS2 \u2013 Ep 1 \u2018Communication Problems\u2019 (Image: UKTV\/BBC)<\/p>\n

Sometimes Basil is rude to undeserving guests, but he certainly meets his match with Mrs Richards, an older woman who complains, interrupts and refuses to wear her hearing aid because it wears the batteries down. Throw in Basil trying to keep his gambling a secret from Sybil and this episode has classic written all over it.<\/p>\n

2) The Germans<\/p>\n

\"GiselaS1 E6: \u2018The Germans\u2019 (Image: BBC)<\/p>\n

This was always going to be towards the top, as Basil tries and fails to \u201cnot mention the war\u201d in front of some German guests. There are classic set-ups throughout \u2013 Major Gowen believes a moose head statue is talking to him and the hotel actually has a fire during an alarm test. The Germans scene remains the highlight though, especially near-the-knuckle given how recent World War II was \u2013 having ended just 30 years before the episode aired.<\/p>\n

1) A Touch Of Class<\/p>\n

\"FawltyS1 \u2013 Ep 1 \u2018A Touch of Class\u2019 (Image: UKTV\/BBC)<\/p>\n

Basil tries to attract a \u201cbetter class\u201d of guest, and he is so charmed by Lord Melbury, he fails to notice he\u2019s a confidence trickster. It\u2019s the first episode, but there\u2019s no time spent introducing each character in detail, as Basil\u2019s reaction to \u201ca peer of the realm\u201d staying shows the nature of the man at his absolute funniest. There\u2019s a moral to this episode about not judging people from their background, but it\u2019s not one you suspect Basil has learned by the end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Today, 19 September, marks the 50th anniversary of the first airing of Fawlty Towers. From 1975 to 1979,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148059,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[243,2973,96,391,68160,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-148058","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-bbc","9":"tag-comedy","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-tv","12":"tag-tv-features","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}