Fawlty Towers (TV Series) The Hotel Inspectors (1975) User Reviews

What can I do for you three gentlemen?!

[oceanave · 10/10 · 31 August 2006]

This was the very first "Fawlty Towers" episode I saw - and I think it is a good 'first episode' to see. Unlike some others that move at an insanely fast pace (or a few others much slower), this one is timed just right and seems to let the 'comic rays' shine brightly. A lot of attention is given over to the main character, Mr. Hutchinson (portrayed wizardly by Bernard Cribbins) and it does pay off nicely, although there are many other small bits that deserve mentioning. The scenes with James Cossins (whom Basil mistakes as a hotel inspector) are terrific...Cossins plays Mr. Walt one-hundred percent deadpan and it is downright hilarious. Andrew Sachs probably does some of his best work in this one, too...in the later episodes, Manuel's English gets a bit better, but in this one, he's hopelessly dense (check out the scene where Basil starts crying, and Manuel comes in, clueless, wondering what the hell is going on, staring back and forth at Basil and Walt.) And, in usual Fawlty Towers spirit, the main character DOES get what they deserve after putting the hotel through agony, and Basil escapes unscathed...almost.

I Can Relate To This

[Theo Robertson · 9/10 · 11 July 2013]

I'm no stranger to the hospitality industry . Some of the most senseless and mindless cruelty I have seen in my life has involved customers making waiting staff suffer , so much so I've seen teenage waitresses run off in tears and later give their jobs up . Of course the restaurants tolerate this . Instead of asking the kitchen staff to come out and beat the customer unconscious they have the attitude that the waiting staff should grow a pair and get on with . It's interesting that FAWLTY TOWERS was inspired by a hotel Cleese stayed at when he was getting his big break with the Python team and for a rare instance Basil Fawlty is only the second most obnoxious character in the show and by the end of the episode you'll be wanting to give Basil a medal

The episode revolves around a very difficult customer called Mr Hutchinson arrives at the hotel and Basil gets it in to his head that Hutchinson is one of the Hotel inspectors who are visiting Torquay . This means Basil has to kow tow to the irritating and arrogant Hutchinson who seems to make it his ambition in life to alienate everyone he comes across . Everything about Hutchinson from his pedantic use of flowery prose while speaking to his general attitude made my skin crawl and Bernard Cribbins gives a very memorable performance , so memorable in fact you do wonder if perhaps he should have got his own spin off show . As it stands Cribbins makes this episode his own . BTW did anyone else think Basil was played by a stunt double in THAT scene ?

Sppppppooooonssss!!

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 28 January 2019]

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.

AHHHHHHHHH!

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 25 October 2020]

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.

Classic Cleese.

[BA_Harrison · 8 December 2017]

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.

"Pens? Looks more like Ben's to me!"

[ShadeGrenade · 10/10 · 11 January 2010]

This was the first 'Fawlty Towers' I ever saw. The I.T.V. series 'Beryl's Lot' having ended the week before, I was free to watch at last. Fortunately, my having missed the first three episodes did not impair my enjoyment one little bit.

Basil hears from Sybil that there are hotel inspectors in Torquay. Terrified they might close him down, he dramatically changes his attitude to the guests, in particular the obnoxious, loud-mouthed Mr.Hutchinson ( Bernard Cribbins ), a man who won't use a public telephone without first cleaning the earpiece. Basil becomes obsequious in the extreme. When he discovers that Hutchinson is not a inspector after all, he hits meltdown. Basil next suspects mild-mannered wine buff Mr.Walt ( James Cossins )...

One of the all-time classic 'Fawlty' episodes, this is the show firing on all cylinders. You've got Cleese as 'Basil' whose paranoia intensifies with every second, Bernard Cribbins giving a wonderful performance as the awful 'Mr.Hutchinson' ( Basil and Manuel pelting him with custard pies at the end is a great moment. The original script had Basil saying to him: "If you come here again, I shall kill you!" ), and James Cossins' 'Mr.Walt' putting Basil in his place about wine. It beggars belief that someone can run a hotel and yet not know what a 'corked' bottle is. And, of course, you've got poor old 'Manuel', brilliantly played as ever by Andrew Sachs, being clipped about the ear and smacked across the face at every opportunity. Great stuff.

Funniest moment - Basil attempting to restrain Hutchinson's complaining by laughing loudly, covering his mouth with his hand, and then giving him a rabbit punch, causing him to fall face-first into his meal.

Second funniest moment - Basil attempting to open Walt's bottle of wine.

Second favorite episode of the series.

[GayBoi1 · 10/10 · 31 October 2015]

Basil is suddenly forced to bump his usually poor customer service skills up a notch when he learns an undercover hotel inspector is in town. When a demanding guest named Mr. Hutchinson arrives at the hotel, Basil initially gives him the same poor service he gives most of his guests, but quickly turns nice when he begins to suspect that Mr. Hutchinson may be the hotel inspector. Bernard Cribbins is excellent as the usual pain up the a** hotel guest, demanding fresh peas for his omelette, changing his mind constantly, and demanding special privileges, all while Basil is forced to just stand there and take the abuse when he would normally tell the guy to *beep* off. Basil then learns from Sybil(who had listened in on one of Mr. Hutchinson's phone calls)that Hutchinson is actually not the inspector after all, which in turn, Basil begins to plot revenge on Mr. Hutchinson. In the meantime, another guest in the dining room, Mr. Walt, whom Basil had been mostly ignoring the whole time while trying to give Mr. Hutchinson the royal treatment, arouses Basil's suspicion when he mentions that he is in town with four other people who are staying at other area hotels. Basil in turn starts treating Mr. Walt like royalty while trying to silence the increasingly angry Mr. Hutchinson. It all comes to a head when Basil knocks Mr. Hutchinson out while trying to silence him, all with Mr. Walt watching all of the shenanigans. After taking Mr. Hutchinson to another room, Mr. Walt comes up to use the phone. At the same time, Mr. Hutchinson appears and starts punching Basil in front of Mr. Walt with Basil just smiling at Mr. Walt through the whole ordeal. Afterwards, Mr. Hutchinson goes to retrieve his things from his room to leave and tells Basil that he does not expect to receive a bill. Basil, still thinking Mr. Walt was the hotel inspector, tries to bribe him not to mention anything. Basil learns that Mr. Walt was not the hotel inspector either and was in town for an outboard motor exhibition. Basil is relieved at the news and then decides to take an act of final revenge on Mr. Hutchinson, as he is leaving, by throwing pies in his face and pants and pouring milk down his suitcase, before giving him a swift kick out the front door. Little does Basil know that the real hotel inspectors had just walked in and witnessed the whole thing.

Spoons

[bevo-13678 · 10/10 · 9 April 2020]

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

The Hotel Inspectors

[bobcobb301 · 7/10 · 18 February 2023]

The previous episodes of this show have been good, but definitely not up to the same standard as a lot of classic sitcoms that this gets thrown in with, but this was well-done. The wild back and forth in the dining room is pure comedy at its finest and showed that you can be over the top and believable at the same time. That is too often a rarity but it worked here.

The ending felt rushed at the very last second, but what can you do? Minor complaint about a particularly strong episode of Fawlty Towers and one that I feel has a tremendous amount of replay value that you can watch again and again.

rating the episodes 1-12, this one ranks number 5!

[rsmikev · 1 February 2006]

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!

Wine is corked

[MarkLynnIreland1294 · 6/10 · 8 April 2023]

I seen this episode solely on one DVD before in a collection of whole sitcom.

Apart from the four main characters (not counting Major and two elderly ladies)z mainly two men are shown: Bernard Cribbins as fussy Mr Hutchinson (doesn't use public phone with earpiece clean and doesn't like peas in omelette) and James Cossins as Mr. Walt. Basil seems to suspect between the two men which of them are hotel inspectors in the area. Quite like Lord Melbury in the first episode, he initially treats Hutchinson with royalty and then onto Walt. After Sybil tells him about no excuse for rudeness over Hutchinson, Basil mimes in strangling Sybil.

I do like some memorable and hilarious scenes in this episode like, instead of speaking English, Basil instructs Manuel to take Walt's baggage up to room 7 using flash cards - even Manuel responds OK on his own. There was also the scene of Basil trying to uncork the bottle of wine for Mr. Walt. And the last scene Basil pelting Hutchinson with custard pies.