The Hotel Inspectors
| "The Hotel Inspectors" | |
|---|---|
| Fawlty Towers episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 4 |
| Directed by | John Howard Davies |
| Written by | John Cleese & Connie Booth |
| Original air date | 10 October 1975 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
"The Hotel Inspectors" is the fourth episode of the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers.
In the episode, Basil hears of hotel inspectors roaming Torquay incognito and realises with horror that a guest he has been verbally abusing could easily be one of them.
Two guests, Mr. Walt and Mr. Hutchinson, arrive separately at reception. Mr. Walt says very little; Mr. Hutchinson speaks in a very drawn-out and pompous, overly-affected manner (claiming that he finds "the air here [in Torquay] most invigorating") that immediately irritates Basil. Basil becomes increasingly irate as Hutchinson makes unreasonable requests and asks for specific directions to a meeting. While Basil draws Hutchinson a map containing an abbreviation of Post Office ("P. Off"), Mr. Walt misinterprets a comment from Basil; Walt thinks he himself is being told to "P-off". Basil also produces picture cards for Manuel to understand what he is saying, after which Manuel produces a card of his own: "OK". After Sybil finally finishes on the phone, she informs Basil that a friend of Audrey's discovered the presence of three hotel inspectors in town. This information raises Basil's blood pressure several notches; determined to work out who the inspectors are, he realizes with horror that any of the guests he's been monstering could be one of them.
While Mr. Hutchinson is requesting to reserve the television to watch a documentary he is interested in, he says something which makes Basil's hair stand on end: "In my professional activities I am in constant contact with hotels." This – combined with Hutchinson's neediness, his suggestions on how the hotel could be improved, and his over-inflated style of speaking – convinces Basil that Hutchinson is actually an inspector; he changes his attitude towards Hutchinson, instead treating him like a VIP. He escorts him to the dining room, where lunch is about to be served. Basil ends up overlooking Mr. Walt, who is forced to wait after his bottle of wine proves to be corked (just after Basil is forced to dig out the bad cork so he can serve the wine), even though Hutchinson is taking a phone call. Sybil quietly reveals to Basil that Mr. Hutchinson is in fact a cutlery salesman (she had overheard his conversation). Feeling conned, Basil promises revenge on Hutchinson. However, Basil's relief is short-lived when – during a conversation with Basil – Mr. Walt casually mentions that he is in Torquay "on business with two colleagues." This convinces Basil that Walt is actually the inspector. In order to avoid making a bad impression on Walt, Basil tries to pacify Hutchinson...who is annoyed because some spur-of-the-moment table-switching (by Basil, who else?) has caused confusion in the kitchen, and led to Hutchinson being served several dishes he did not order (actually, Walt did). To stifle Hutchinson's complaining, Basil chokes him – accidentally rendering him unconscious.
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