Fawlty Towers-Gourmet Night

"The Kipper and the Corpse" has as much fun with a dead body than both Weekends at Bernies. Basil's attempt to conceal the corpse, of course, makes it more visible to the guests. It's hilarious.

In an attempt to upscale the restaurant--and therefore the clientele--Basil decides to hold a "Gourmet Night". The chef he hires consumes as much cooking sherry as he applies to his dishes. You can imagine the results.

It's not just the Germans that Basil outrages. In "Waldorf Salad", Basil is confronted with a pushy American who is obviously being ripped off. By the end of this episode, you too will know how to create your own Waldorf Salad.

Volume Three of the "Fawlty Towers" series is a guaranteed gut-clencher of laughter. Pick it up, along with the other sets.


hillarious British comedy from the 70's   February 8, 2004
Gary Selikow (Great Kush)
These three episodes of Fawlty Towers, with the pompous and hysterical Basil Fawlty (mis)running the hotel in the English seaside resort Torquay, together with Mrs. Fawlty , Basil from Barcelona, Polly , and the gang , involves all the usual foul-ups and calamity , much to the chagrine of all concerned and the delight of the viewers.

Have you ever asked yourself how a hotel deals with finding a dead body in one of the beds? Well the 'Kipper and the Corpse' gives the answer as to how Basil Fawlty does so, much to the hysteria of one old women, who keeps running in to the corpse, every time she recovers from the last episode!

"Gourmet Night" involves the disaster caused by the drunken stupor of the Greek chef , Kurt, who has developed an infatuation to a freaked out Manuel , and how Basil tries to keep all the guests happy IN VAIN!

""Waldorf Salad" involves yet another Comedy Of Errors as Basil tries to hoodwink a stinking rich American couple, who have paid him to keep the kitchen open late.

Absolutely hilarious comedy, from Britain in the roaring seventies, with a delightful cast of characters.


"Another bloody one down!"   August 24, 2000
John Joyce (Liversedge, West Yorkshire United Kingdom)
After serving a guest with an out-of-date kipper, Basil begins to get suspicious when he doesn't get a "thank you". Never mind life goes on for Basil. He gets slightly more suspicious when the guest won't move. Won't breathe. Infact won't be staying for morning lunch. He's dead!

In an attempt to cover-up his food poisoning Basil hides the body away from the other guests, unfortunately an old lady sees the dead body and collapses. "That's great! Another bloody one down, only 23 more guests to go!"

The scene where Basil finds out that the man has been dead for hours so can't have eaten the kipper, thus Basil wasn't to blame, is brilliant. Basil, selfish and ignorant begins jumping around in joy so happy fro himself, all the while a dead body sits in the room.

A brilliant episode.


Average Fawlty Towers Humour   August 23, 2000
Bjorn Clasen (Rollengergronn, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Europe)
This Fawlty Towers video contains the episode Gourmet Night (originally broadcast on 17/10 1975).

Gourmet Night is average. In the classical Fawlty style, and therefore pretty funny.


What's the worst thing that can happen in a hotel?   July 21, 2000
E. A Solinas (MD USA)
John Cleese asked a hotel owner what the worst thing that could happen would be. The reply was "A guest could die." Wisely, he used this in an episode of Fawlty Towers, "Kipper and the Corpse."

In this hilarious episode, a businessman dies when he stays overnight at Fawlty Towers, sending Basil into a frenzy because of the three-day-old kippers he served the already-dead man. In an effort to keep the other guests from freaking, Basil, Manuel, and Polly desperately try to hide the body, with catastrophic results. Basil alienates some guests by distracting them, while the sight of the corpse causes an old lady to flip.

"Gourmet Night" follows the insane antics of the cast when Basil schedules a gourmet night, in his ongoing attempt to bring some class to the hotel, and the cook (who develops a crush on the very spooked Manuel) passes out. Hilarity ensues as Basil tries to salvage the evening.

"Waldorf Salad" is, simply put, one disaster after another, as a pair of American tourists (one pleasant, one outrageously rude) come to the hotel just after closing time. For an extra twenty pounds, Basil tries to whip up a Waldorf Salad. If only he knew what it was...