Gourmet Night (a.k.a. Gourmet's Paradise) - S1-E5
Revealing mistake: When the Colonel first meets Basil, the same shot is used twice of the Colonel twitching.
Fawlty Towers (1975)
Starring: John Cleese, Connie Booth, Andrew Sachs, Prunella Scales
Genres: Comedy
Visible crew/equipment: At the end of the episode where everyone is cleaning up, there is a shadow of the boom mic on the wall. (00:29:05)
The Builders - S1-E2
Deliberate mistake: When Basil is arguing with Polly and eventually decides to call O'Reilly, he trips over the gnome. However when we see Basil come out from behind the desk, he takes the gnome out of a side gap in the desk, perfectly out of reach of Basil tripping over it. (00:14:30)
Basil the Rat (a.k.a. Rats) - S2-E6
Trivia: Melody Lang, who plays Mrs. Taylor in this episode, is Andrew Sachs' wife.
Trivia: Sybil's friend, Audrey, who Sybil is frequently seen talking to on the telephone, has only one on-screen appearence in 'The Anniversary'. She is seen at the very end, when Sybil has just walked out on Basil.
More trivia for Fawlty Towers
Communication Problems (a.k.a. Theft) - S2-E1
Mrs Richards: And another thing. I expect to be able to see the sea.
Basil: [whispering to Manuel.] Deaf, Mad and Blind. [To Mrs Richards.] Yes, this is the view as far as I can remember... Yes, yes it is.
Mrs Richards: When I pay for a view, I expect something more interesting than that.
Basil: But that is Torquay, madam.
Mrs Richards: Well it's not good enough.
Basil: Well may I ask what you expected to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically across the plain...
Mrs Richards: [interrupting.] Don't be silly. I expect to be able to see the sea.
Basil: You CAN see the sea! It's over there between the land and the sky!
Mrs Richards: I'd need a telescope to see that.
Basil: Well might I suggest you move to a hotel closer to the sea. Or preferably in it.
Mrs Richards: Now listen to me. I'm not satisified but I've decided to stay. HOWEVER, I shall expect a deduction.
Basil: Why, because Krakatoa isn't erupting at the moment?
Mrs Richards: Because the room is cold, the bath is too small, the view is invisible and the radio doesn't work.
Basil: No, the radio works. You don't.
The Wedding Party (a.k.a. Sex) - S1-E3
Basil: Did you ever see that film, "How To Murder Your Wife"?
Major Gowen: How To Murder Your Wife"?
Basil: Yes, awfully good. I saw it six times.
More quotes from Fawlty Towers
Communication Problems (a.k.a. Theft) - S2-E1
Question: What's the name of the piece of music played when Basil turns up the radio after Mrs Richards says it (the radio) doesn't work?
Question: When Polly is laying in bed disguised as Mrs Fawlty, was that really Prunella scales playing that part? I was wondering as Polly as a more thinner face than Sybil and could never have really got away with it.
Chosen answer: Indeed it is Polly. She has stuffings in her mouth to pretend she is swollen.
Question: Basil asks the American male guest (Mr Hamilton) if they have palm trees in California. The American replies that, "They say Burt Lancaster has one, but I don't believe them." The DVD then appears to cut prematurely to the next scene. Is there a hidden or subliminal joke here that I'm missing?
Answer: A possible explanation can be found here: http://tviv.org/Fawlty_Towers/Waldorf_Salad Quote: "This is, of course, sarcasm, as southern California in general and Los Angeles in particular is famous for its palm trees".
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: It's "Leisure Complex" by Dave Gold and Gordon Rees. Can be found on YouTube. The relevant clip is around 25 seconds in.