A Touch Of Class - Fawlty Towers Season1 Episode1/6

PopVideoTeam
Published on May 4, 2024
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Basil is delighted when a member of the aristocracy chooses to stay at the Fawlty Towers, snubbing the normal guests who frequent the hotel. What Basil does not know, however, is that the man is not a Lord but a confidence trickster who attempts to steal his collection of rare coins. As Basil's desperation to keep such an 'upstanding' guest increases, he becomes increasingly tolerant towards the man's behavior, only to have the guest arrested in a police raid on the hotel.
The "S" of the Fawlty Towers sign is displaced.
In this first episode of the classic '70s BBC series, obsequious hotel owner Basil (John Cleese) is taken in by a confidence trickster (Michael Gwynn) posing as Lord Melbury, a member of the aristocracy. As Basil kowtows to his eminent guest, snubbing the other customers, his wife Sybil (Prunella Scales) wishes that her fawning husband would get on with the many jobs that need doing around the hotel.

A Touch of Class is far from the funniest episode of Fawlty Towers, but what it does brilliantly is to get the viewer acquainted with the characters and establish their particular quirks and foibles in readiness for the rest of the series. We immediately understand the dynamic between Basil and Sybil (neurotic henpecked husband and efficient harridan), realize that Polly (Connie Booth) is the sane one, and see that waiter Manuel (Andrew Sachs) is the boy on whom Basil vents his frustration. It's a wonderful set up that, in future episodes, would pay off in spades.