Fawlty Towers (TV Series) Communication Problems (1979) User Reviews

...Oh, you're Watt?....I'm the manager!!

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 9 October 2018]

How do you even begin to comment on something, which for many, myself included is comedy perfection. I don't think I've encountered anyone that hasn't seen or at least heard about this episode, the terror poor Basil faces at the hands of the obstinate, frustrating battle-axe Mrs Richards.

Every single thing about this episode is perfection, the writing, performances, delivery, even the plot itself knits together beautifully, Basil's bit of luck, his terror at being found out by Sybil, and of course the Major's fabulous outburst.

Joan Sanderson did a famous line in battle-axes, her and Peggy Mount are the two best I can think of, Joan appeared in Mixed Blessings, After Henry, Please Sir, but this has to be the best of her performances, she is fantastic as the unreasonable, hard of hearing guest who torments Basil, like no other guest manages to.

Too many scenes to highlight, but The Hanging Gardens of Babylon segment has to be my favourite, agonisingly funny.

First rate britcom. 10/10.

Si que what, and C.K. Watt

[oceanave · 10/10 · 18 May 2006]

"Communication Problems" is one of the only episodes to focus almost entirely on one of the hotel guests - Mrs. Richards, who is visiting the hotel from Brighton. Portrayed flawlessly by the late Joan Sanderson, I think anyone would be hard-pressed to find anyone more acerbic and tactless than this old battleaxe. But it's a familiar problem in hotels - guests like this come along often and all the staff can do is deal with them until they finally check out. Then, of course, there is the subplot of Basil secretly betting on the horses after a long absence (Sybil: "We don't want that avenue of pleasure opened up again, do we, Basil?!" Basil: "No YOU don't, dear.") which serves as the lead-in to the story's punch line. Thanks to Andrew Sachs, the Mrs. Richards head-banging scene stayed in (Basil: "Is this a piece of your brain?!") In a recent interview, he mentioned that John Cleese and Connie Booth didn't think it was any good and wanted to replace it. The entire scene is screamingly funny. Ballard Berkely (the Major Gowen) is at his most virtuosic as the dense and forgetful old codger. Many great lines, but the best have to come from the confrontation between Polly and Mrs. Richards regarding the toilet paper, and the one between her and Manuel ("Si que what?!")

"Fawlty? What's wrong with him?"

[ShadeGrenade · 10/10 · 19 January 2010]

The first season of 'Fawlty Towers' went out to modest ratings on B.B.C.-2 in 1975, but its popularity rose with every repeat, and as it did the clamour grew for more. A second season looked a forlorn hope for a time, especially as John Cleese re-teamed with the Pythons for 'Life Of Brian'.

But in 1979, 'Fawlty Towers' returned in a 9 P.M. slot on Monday evenings, directly opposite the W.W.2 drama 'Danger U.X.B.' ( starring Anthony Andrews ) on I.T.V. Though I liked the latter, I was not about to let a gripping series about an army bomb disposal unit get in my way of Basil's return.

Also returning that night was the David Jason sitcom 'A Sharp Intake Of Breath' ( noticeably improved after a patchy first season ). However, only one comedy was being discussed in the playgrounds and offices of the country the next morning - and it wasn't 'Breath'.

'Communication Problems' sees us back in Torquay. The hotel has clearly undergone redecoration and there is a new chef, Terry ( Brian Hall ). An annoying elderly guest, Mrs.Richards ( Joan Sanderson ) is selectively hard-of-hearing ( she only hears what she wants to hear ), and complains forcefully about everything under the sun - the service, the view from her room, the size of the bath, the lack of lavatory paper, and, of more importance to Basil and Sybil, the 'theft' of £85 pounds from her room. She wants to call the police, but Basil and co. try to keep a lid on her complaint by searching for the money themselves. On top of this, Basil is trying to conceal from Sybil the fact that he won £75 by betting on a horse named 'Dragonfly'. Heaven help him if she finds out...

Any fears the new season would not be as good as the first are dispelled here. Though the studio audience is slow to get laughing ( only when Manuel appears do they seem to remember they are watching a comedy ), when they start they do not stop. And who can blame them? In 'Mrs.Richards', Basil has an 'opponent' of the calibre of the fussy Mr.Hutchison ( Bernard Cribbins ) from 'The Hotel Inspectors' in Season 1. Joan Sanderson was, of course, 'Miss Doris 'Rotten' Ewell' in 'Please Sir!' so knows something about playing old rat bags. Here she surpasses herself. A viewer wrote to 'The Radio Times' to complain about a deaf woman being made fun of, and Cleese defended himself by stating that Mrs.Richards was not as deaf as she made out ( presumably the same person also complained about 'Arkwright', Ronnie Barker's stammering shopkeeper in 'Open All Hours' ). Ballard Berkeley is also on top form here, being given Basil's winnings for safe-keeping and then forgetting about it ( only to remember at a wrong moment ).

There are so many funny moments it would be impossible to list them all. Nevertheless, I've selected two - 1) Basil pretending that the batteries in Mrs.Richards' hearing aid have run out of power. She turns up the volume, and he proceeds to scream at her, almost deafening the old bat.

2) A delivery man arrives with a vase just in time to see Basil, sans shirt, sobbing hysterically behind the desk in the foyer.

Everything about this episode works perfectly. It is television comedy of the highest order, and it has not stopped being so just because it is thirty years old.

Very funny, but that woman

[BA_Harrison · 9 December 2017]

I've got to hand it to Joan Sanderson: she plays a very convincing battle-axe. As the selectively deaf Mrs. Richards in Communication Problems, she is quite the horror, finding fault with all those around her, always insisting that she is in the right even when she isn't. Watching her performance, I could feel my blood pressure rising just like poor Basil Fawlty, who has trouble with the old witch after she loses a sum of money in the hotel. While trying to sort out the issue, Basil desperately tries to hide a similar amount of cash—his winnings from a secret bet on the gee-gees—from wife Sybil.

This simple set up leads to loads of hilarity, with Polly and Manuel trying to help Basil keep his winnings, but this being Fawlty Towers, the poor hotel owner is destined to lose his money, closely followed by his composure.

Cleverly written and very funny

[snoozejonc · 9/10 · 29 October 2020]

Basil puts a sneaky bet on a horse behind Cybil's back while dealing with a particularly demanding guest.

This is a great episode that combines an intricate and ironic plot with some excellent performances.

I was firmly on Basil's side in this one as he not only contends with Cybil's domination but also with an unreasonable guest who is hard of hearing.

John Cleese is as great as ever but this episode is hijacked by Joan Sanderson in a brilliantly obnoxious role as Mrs Richards. The regular supporting characters also contribute some memorable moments.

Vase

[bevo-13678 · 10/10 · 9 April 2020]

I like the bit where he won the money but was too scared to tell his wife

Basil Meets His Match

[Theo Robertson · 7/10 · 14 July 2013]

Mrs Richards comes to stay at Fawlty Towers . She is hard of hearing which causes much frustration to Basil . Basil's problems are compounded when Sybil becomes suspicious that he's been putting money on horses

Communication Problems is a strange episode from the show . Like the episode featuring hotel inspectors the audience are asked to empathise with Bssil far more than usual . It'd be different if Mrs Richards was merely deaf but she's an arrogant selfish horror whose behaviour borders on the narcissistic played superbly by Joan Sanderson . we all know someone like that and we all hope their attitude comes back to bite them . Basil also has the duel problem that Sybil is suspicious of his betting habit at the bookies . We're asked more than empathising with Bsil we're asked to sympathise with him which is not something that happens in the show very often

This slightly atypical episode means it sticks out more than it possibly deserves to . I remember reading somewhere that despite having more memorable episodes it was this one that won a public vote as the funniest episode . It's good on its own but it's not even the funniest episode of the season

Episode 201

[bobcobb301 · 7/10 · 8 May 2023]

It is amazing to think that a show like this only lasted for two series, but also wild to think that fans had to wait over 3 1/2 years between the first and the second. I don't think any fans today could handle this one.

This was a solid episode, but a little bit too cartoonish with the hard of hearing guest. I do not think that this was a rational person or someone we could even expect to see on a sitcom in any era.

Fawlty Towers just has a unique magic about it thought, and it is hard to imagine even the harshest critic watching an episode of the show and not being fully enamored with what they see.