The Germans (24 Oct. 1975)

A moose head to be hung, a fire drill to be conducted, and German guests are all a bit much for Basil to handle while Sybil's in hospital.

Writers:

John Cleese (by), Connie Booth (by)

Stars:

John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
John Cleese	...	Basil Fawlty
Prunella Scales	...	Sybil Fawlty
Andrew Sachs	...	Manuel
Connie Booth	...	Polly Sherman
Ballard Berkeley	...	Major Gowen
Claire Davenport	...	Mrs. Wilson
Gilly Flower	...	Miss Agatha Tibbs
Renee Roberts	...	Miss Ursula Gatsby
Brenda Cowling	...	Sister
Louis Mahoney	...	Doctor
John Lawrence	...	Mr. Sharp
Iris Fry	...	Mrs. Sharp
Willy Bowman	...	German Guest
Nick Kane	...	German Guest
Lisa Bergmayr	...	German Guest

Storyline

With Sybil in hospital for a few days to have an operation for an ingrown toenail, Basil is left on his own at the hotel to cope with a group of German tourists and the need for the regular semi-annual fire drill. He's not having much success with either. The guests confuse the burglar alarm with the fire alarm and when Manuel does start a fire in the kitchen, no one pays attention. Basil suffers a rather severe blow to the head leading him to insult his German guests by making constant references to the war.

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Plot Keywords:

fire | german | hospital | fire drill | concussion | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 October 1975 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

31 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the German dubbed version of the episode "The Germans", the dialog spoken by the German tourists was spoken in English.

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Goofs

During the fire drill mix up, Manuel starts a fire in the kitchen. When he emerges, shouting 'Fire', Basil locks him in the kitchen where the fire is, and Manuel bangs on the door as if he is trapped. However, in all shots of the kitchen, there is a double door that leads to the dining room, so he could have easily got out.

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Quotes

[Basil's constant mention of World War II has reduced a German girl to tears, so he decides to cheer her up with a Hitler imitation]
Basil Fawlty: Look, she'll love it! She's German!
[Basil almost holds a finger underneath his nose]
Polly Shearman: [recognizing what's to come, with horror] NO, Mr. Fawlty!
Basil Fawlty: What?
Polly Shearman: Do Jimmy Cagney instead!
Basil Fawlty: What?
Polly Shearman: Jimmy Cagney!
Basil Fawlty: Jimmy Cagney?
Polly Shearman: You know! "You dirty rat!"
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996)

User Reviews

hilarious episode!!!

This is what I call the funniest episode of Fawlty Towers by far. I mean it truly is classic and an unexpectable masterpiece!!! I've never heard nobody say that this episode is such a flop! To me they say it a lot of times but to me this is the very best of Fawlty Towers ever. When I watched this episode i began to totally love Fawlty Towers as my completely favorite show on earth!! Doctor Who gets Dethroned as once my favorite show on earth but now Fawlty Towers leads it!! I totally love Ocarina Of Time game the Zelda Game for Gamecube and 64 they are so cool!!! But this is a series that i'll never forget!!! GO FAWTY TOWERS (TITTIES)HAHA:>