Fawlty Towers - S2E1 'Communication Problems'

John cleese and the death woman were a couple in one of the muppets movies having their evening meal when miss piggy acted like it was her house to impress kermit

James Barlow

One of my favourite moments is when Basil says 'Is this a piece of your brain?!' Apparently after the script reading they were were going to take it out, but Andrew Sachs said 'No, it's brilliant. You have to keep it in.'

Robert Miles

The Samaritans are like a mental health charity, you can call at anytime, if in distress, etc. as in 'the good Samaritans' from the Bible.

Gooner_Duke

This is, by far, my favourite Fawlty Towers episode. The sheer sarcasm in this episode was epic and i laughed from start to finish

The Snow Dog

Polly thought she meant writing paper when she asked for paper because there were no computers or phones back then. Samaritans is a charity helpline dealing with mental health issues, especially suicide. They are still going.

David Broome

Absolutely! I and many others still say, 'H'eventually,' as Manuel did when Basil told him that he will forget about the horse and 'I know nothing' is still widely heard!

Tonia Laws

Joan Richardson and Prunella Scales (Sybil) act together in a comedy drama series called 'After Henry' which is a tame and gentle series, but I love it. Joan plays Prunella's mother.

Tonia Laws

More slang for you to learn, Trouble and Strife, meaning wife. "I better have a tidy round before the trouble gets home'. But if you don't want to say wife but instead want to say Trouble then that'll be 'Barney Rubble', "So who wants a Barney then?" got it???

Jason Bonner

A total masterclass of situation comedy; the perfect blend of razor sharp dialogue, well timed physical humour, and farce of the highest order. Amazing reaction! I've seen the episode dozens of times but was laughing out loud with you! 😃

Ash Jeffries

British comedy at its finest!

James

Samaritans is a suicide hotline, still around

Brendan

So many of these lines still used as everyday expressions in UK - "..herds of wildebeast..." and "..I think we got something there.." get frequent use by me!

Nick Beer

Every episode of season 2 is a master class . They went out with a bang

Lauren Weir

Which ones do you think aren't funny?

RDV

I love Sybil she’s the best

Erica

That was wonderful. Great to see you both belly laughing together. I think you are fully oriented to the show now and will enjoy the rest of the episodes.

David Broome

I think in 1979 every man in the UK did have a mustache! ;)

Chris Kay

There’s a good documentary where the cast talk about the making of the show 30 years after it ended. It’s called Fawlty Towers: Re-opened. Worth a watch and maybe a reaction.

Rachie

This brings back some great memories at school where my class recreated this episode for an assembly and yours truly played Basil. I had to memorise the Sydney opera house and hanging gardens of Babylon bit and never forgotten it, that was like 20 something years ago!

Ash C

The Samaritans (the joke u didnt get) is a phone number/charity you can call where you can talk to people when you are feeling down depressed etc

Brill Smith

I agree with you about “The Kipper and the corpse”. One of my favourite episodes. That, and “Basil the rat”

Steve B

Dear Mike & Jess, the joke that ‘went over your head’ about the phone line to the Samaritans being engaged at 18m 07secs. The Samaritans are a charity of counsellors who deal with those in deep distress, who are contemplating self harm & similar.

Frank Mac

Awesome reaction! been waiting so long for this. Would love for you both to try out ''one foot in the grave'' as well

Demceez

my mother-in-law

emu cat

I heard a US guy say 'I know nothing' like it was a thing but for them it's from a different US series called 'Hogan's Heroes'. Used same way but it's a German officer saying it, so if you hear it said in a German accent sometimes followed by 'I see nothing, I hear nothing', they haven't got it wrong, like I thought.

emu cat

They remind us all the time,but no1 takes it in, 🤣

Jay Lo

Josh Read

"I know nothing" from Manuel is one of the most famous comedy lines from British shows

Danny

The part where he's miming the fire breathing, he's pretending to hold up a piece of toast, in reference to earlier in the episode when he said 'Do you know how my wife makes toast'.

Wilss

Glad to see Fawlty Towers back 👍

The Puzzler 99

Agree with all you said. Joan Sanderson was epic in her portrayal of Mrs Richards & had a great time playing the role. John Cleese said she was the perfect professional, finding it difficult not to laugh during takes. Wonderful woman & this episode gets a 10/10 for me. Best wishes all

Frank Mac

I still say “I know naaaarrthing” when I’m denying something 😂 A lot of us do. It’s an iconic moment in television.

Emma Edwards

Same here! 😂

Simon Crockford

In our house growing up I remember Manuel's 'I know nothing!' being used to proclaim your innocence of having done something wrong! It's a classic!

Richard Stokes

Yeah, I totally missed that. Makes perfect sense now 😅

RegenerationNationTV

She was just asked for paper with no context, that’s how Polly got off course - I don’t think it was too far fetched

Kieran B

When I occasionally watch some classic BBC sitcoms, I sometimes wonder how they were ever regarded as funny. Not so with Fawlty Towers, it hits the spot every time, even after 50 years.

Thomas

Burt Reynolds getting a mention.....now who has a moustache like him.......?

Stefan Tymoshyshyn

YESSSSSSSSSSS! My Friday has been made! 💜 “is this a piece of your brain?”

Lauren Massey

At last! 🥳🥳🥳🥳

Rob G

4 year gap between series 1 and 2 due to the time the first series aired, Cleese and Booth’s marriage had ended (they separated in 1973 and divorced in 1978). Despite this, they continued to collaborate professionally for the second series, only ever the 2 seasons but as quality was always the main factor

Gareth Hood

Better than the Kipper and the Corpse? 🤔😂

Simon Crockford

Oh I'm so looking forward to this part of your journey! You've got all the classic sign changes to come plus some of *the* most classic episodes. Can't wait until you get to "The Kipper and the Corpse" 😂 That said, the next episode, "The Psychiatrist" sees Basil go full breakdown! Again. You'll love it. Don't forget, when you come over, make sure your Airbnb (or hotel) has access to the "U&" TV channels (U&Gold, U&Dave etc) so you can watch full episodes of most of the British classics we've told you about. Though that does rather spoil the chances of blind reactions, but still, I'm sure we wouldn't really begrudge you the full experience while you're here 😁

Simon Crockford

Same it’s brilliant

Erica

The fact Mike said he wanted to watch it again immediately is the highest praise you can give for any piece of tv - great vid guys

Daz Parker

So glad you guys are continuing with S2 this is one of the best episodes!

Andy G

This is THE best episode in my opinion :)

Mark

I am soooooooooo happy you have returned to Fawlty Towers. Just finished work on a long weekend (state holiday on Monday) and I've seen this just before boarding my train home. Commute complete. 🤘👏☺️

MarkeB

My absolute favourite episode. Joan Sanderson puts on an acting clinic in this one. She is probably the best comedy antagonist ever. It's a mighty, mighty performance. She makes the whole thing so exasperatingly, screamingly, funny.

Dryfesands

My favourite episode.

Ryan Lynch

I know nothing

AWR93

18:10 "The Samaritans were engaged" the Samaritans are a suicide prevention phone line. He was saying the only way to make it though the day was to call them, or have his little dance :)

Athan Immortal

Re the Samaritans joke that you didn't get - the Samaritans are a charity that provide emotional support (usually over the phone) to people that have called that are in distress or at risk of suicide. So Basil saying that him dancing and singing is "just (his) way of getting through the day - the Samaritans were engaged" suggests that he's usually on the phone to them regularly because of his miserable life, but since he can't get through to them, singing and dancing is his next best option

DS292

When is Fawlty Towers coming back for Series 2? 😂

Thomas

Hey , we're back.

fredfinks

Holy @#@$ yes yes yes 😂😜♥️❤️😃😁😍🤩🥳🤪

Athan Immortal

Yasss! This series is even better than the first imho.

John Gault