Fawlty Towers (TV Series) Basil the Rat (1979) User Reviews

Why did it have to end!?!

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 28 January 2019]

I always used to watch this with a degree of joy and sadness, joy because it remains one of the funniest things of all time, sad because it marks the end of an era, the doors of Fawlty Towers sadly close for a final time.

Personally I find it a joyful episode, it has major laughs packed in, lots of slick dialogue, and of course that crowning scene 'would you care for a rat or..... Just the biscuits please Polly.'

The guests are hilarious, including the snob who's gander is up, and the unshakable Mr Carnegie who's utterly speechless by what he's witnessed.

Would it have been as good if it had carried on, not sure, it certainly signed off at the top.

The end of a comedy institution 10/10

Otherwise OK?

[Rrrobert · 10/10 · 3 September 2020]

My favourite episode of the series.

Instead of using Sybil as the antagonist, this has all the regulars in league to pass the health inspection. The story uses each regular well - each doing what makes that character funny.

John Quarmby is great as the inspector and the scene where he rattles off the list of infractions to reaction shots from Basil and Polly and Sybil is fantastic.

Would You...Care for a Rat?

[oceanave · 8/10 · 16 May 2006]

Fawlty Towers faces a shut-down when the public health department pays them a visit, finding such things as storage of cooked and raw meats being stored in the same tray, and dead pigeons in the water tanks! During the cleanup process, Basil finds a 'filigree' Siberian hamster in Manuel's room - which has been his pet for awhile. Worried that this will only contribute to the hotel's list of infractions, Polly finds a new home for him...much to Manuel's dissatisfaction (as he wears a black mourning arm band!) The "new home" is the shed out back, but the rodent loves the hotel so much that he finds his way back in!

This episode is one of the funniest - and is filled with the usual comedic failed attempts to discreetly rectify the problems. We all knew it was coming - the day Fawlty Towers gets threatened with shut-down. John Quarmby is superb as the anal Mr. Carnegie, the public health inspector. The look on his face when Basil opens up the tin of biscuits at the very end is absolutely priceless. A nod of approval should go to Brian Hall, who plays Terry the chef - he does quite well in the part.

The bit where Basil tries to capture the hamster by rummaging through the lady's purse - and gets clawed badly before it jumps out and scurries across the floor, is classic. The scene in the bar where the Major spots the hamster on a table in the bar is also a hoot (quick cut to Polly running in with a moth net!) Supposedly the cast got extra rehearsal time for this particular episode, and it definitely paid off. "Basil the Rat" is a beaut, and it ends the series pretty much as it began, as a fainted Basil gets dragged off by Manuel. Sybil, unfazed by this, gets the last words: "Oh, I'm afraid it's started to rain again...."

An excellent swan song.

[BA_Harrison · 9 December 2017]

After a couple of somewhat disappointing episodes, Fawlty Towers finishes in style with the brilliant Basil The Rat, which offers up lots of crazy comedy and a cute furry critter to boot. After a health inspector declares that the hotel doesn't come up to standard, he give Basil twenty-four hours to address all of the problems. This means not just cleaning the kitchens, but also getting rid of Manuel's pet hamster, in reality, a brown rat.

Instead of taking the rat away, Manuel keeps it in the shed, but accidentally allows the animal to escape. A desperate Basil and his staff try to locate the rodent before the hotel inspector, back to check on the improvements, sees the animal and closes down the hotel.

Madcap humour abounds, much of it revolving around the preparation of veal which might just have rat poison on it, but the best moment is saved for the very end, when the rat pops up in a tin of biscuits, right before the inspector's very eyes. Classic stuff and a great way to end the series.

Getting the most out of Basil AND the rat

[biancomano · 10/10 · 13 July 2009]

Without question the funniest chapter of the series, and in this case my favorite, too. So many subplots, so much going on in this time slot (making the episode appear somewhat longer and yet adding to the viewer's enjoyment) that one wants to just stand up and cheer at what's been achieved by Cleese and his most capable crew. The acting is outstanding, every cast member is fully engaged in this show. John Quarmby is particularly memorable as he rattles off one bed-and-breakfast violation after another (it comes to 17, I believe, depending on how you count), apparently without the benefit of cue cards. That's just the start; there are surprises from beginning to end. If you've been lukewarm to or even turned off by British humor in the past, see this one episode of Fawlty Towers. Chances are it'll make a convert out of you.

Basil's last booking

[ShadeGrenade · 10/10 · 3 March 2010]

Following 'The Anniversary', there was a gap of months before the next 'Farty Towels'...sorry, 'Fawlty Towers' episode, due to industrial action, and it proved to be well worth the wait.

Mr.Carnegie ( John Quarmby ), a Public Health Inspector, gives Basil and co. twenty-four hours to clean their filthy kitchen else he will close the place down. Basil goes to Manuel's room to request he remove the dead pigeons in the water tank, and is horrified to find the Barcelona waiter keeping a live rat as a pet, believing it to be a Siberian hamster. He tells Manuel to get rid of it, and he appears to comply, but is secretly keeping the rodent - which he calls 'Basil' - in an outbuilding. It escapes, and a frantic 'rat' hunt gets underway as the deadline draws closer...

The show ends as it began, with the cast firing on all cylinders and working from a well-constructed script. David Neville is particularly good as the snooty 'Ronald' who chastises Basil for 'looking at his fiancée's legs' when all he is doing is hunting for the rat ( it is in her hand bag ). It would have been impossible to maintain this high standard of comedy for a third season, so in retrospect it was probably right for it to end here, and go out on a high note. Though the idea of Basil going to Spain ( once mooted as a film ) and encountering a snobbish hotelier like himself sounds tempting enough to make you wish they had proceeded with it.

Yes, I know the rat in the biscuit tin is about as convincing as the one that attacked Robert Powell in 'Doomwatch' but this is still a comedy classic.

Funniest moment - Fawlty finding the Major stalking around the lounge with a shotgun. "Vermin!", cries the old man. Mishearing, Basil thinks he has flipped and is out to shoot a German.

Second funniest moment - Mr.Carnegie finds 'Basil' in the tin, and Fawlty asks: "Would you care for a rat?".

After the rat has been found and removed, Sybil says: "I think its going to rain!" while Manuel drags Basil by his legs out of the dining room. The picture slowly fades to black. The show was over. Barring repeats and retrospectives. In 2010 its reputation as British television's finest ever sitcom remains intact.

Before the filming concluded, John Cleese shot a short scene for inclusion in a new sketch show that would sign post the direction British comedy took in the '80's. It was 'Not The Nine O' Clock News'. The baton had been passed...

The Funniest Episode Yet

[jonjonat · 8/10 · 13 July 2009]

I'm Not Saying that this is my favorite episode of Fawlty Towers but I'd like to say that this is by far the funniest episode of the entire Fawlty Towers Series I do loving see this one. Unless you're a fan of the Simpson's or futurama you'll love watching this fable episode and enjoy every second of it. hey if you like fawlty towers watch this one it's funny as hell. Basil the Rat is most likely the key to the funny side of the show and or episode plus basil fawlty and manual are very talented comedians though i like to call them the mario bros. talented episode 8/10 and to all you fellow Americans out there there is no excuse for criticising this show

Ended At The Right Point

[Theo Robertson · 8/10 · 14 July 2013]

Receiving a visit Mr Carnegie from the environmental health Fawlty Towers fails the inspection and is given a short period to come up to scratch otherwise it will face closure . Setting about rectifying the situation Basil informs his staff what is happening only to find Manuel's pet Siberian hamster is a rat

More classic farce that scarcely needs commentating upon because everyone must have seen this but watching it now it's as funny as it was on its initial broadcast and one thing that it did hint at all those years ago in 1979 is that this is indeed the end . There's a contextual narrative if Bssil slips up this time then its the end of the hotel and his career as a hotel manager

It's interesting that the other staff have been given something to do which indicates its a last goodbye to them all though it's noticeable that Polly acts out of character slightly as she calls one of the guests a b*stard behind his back . The Major took gets a pivotal scene where he hunts the rat and he and Basil makes a reference to Germans almost as though they're acknowledging the episode from the first season . This doesn't leave much room for guest characters but there is a star turn from a guest who comes up with the classic line "

you're getting my gangler up you grotty little man , I've a good mind to give you a bunch of fives "

The episode ends with the unconscious Basil being dragged out in the background and so ends the greatest situation comedy in the history of television . Only twelve episodes were made and yet each and every episode is fondly remembered by everyone who have seen them . Constant repeats have not dulled the humour and congratulations for Cleese and Booth for resisting the temptation of bringing back the show just for the sake of it

Pig enon

[bevo-13678 · 10/10 · 9 April 2020]

I like the bit where the rat pops out of the biscuit tin

Going out in a blaze of glory

[marktayloruk · 9/10 · 11 October 2020]

Hilarious last episode . Felt a bit sorry for Basil - had it occurred to the jobsworth inspector that businesses prefer not to poison their customers and that if people aren't satisfied they won't come back?

Episode 206

[bobcobb301 · 6/10 · 10 May 2023]

"Basil the Rat" definitely reached peak Fawlty Towers with how the characters were going back and forth trying to figure out which plate of meat was potentially poisoned and which was not, but it also really struggled to break free of the chaos like the show usually does. Usually every scene is not 100 mph, only the ones that call for it, and that was the magic of the show.

I get that this was the last episode, but this was a bit too much. The rat popping up in the box of biscuits and Basil almost casually throwing in the towel and asking if the inspector wanted a rat was the show at its best though.

Season 2: Not quite as good as the first season but still very funny and well delivered comedy that deserves its "classic" status

[bob the moo · 31 January 2010]

I recently watched season 1 of Fawlty Towers because I realised that I had not actually done so for quite some time. Yes the episodes were fresh in my head and I could easily quote sections of it but this was mostly down to seeing it used on clip shows etc. Coming to season 2 it was quite telling that only one or two of the episodes provide these clips because, put simply, the second season of the show is not quite as good as the first. The structure is the same and it is still very good but several of the episodes are of a slightly lower standard and are obviously so due to the very high standard of the series as a whole and the majority of the episodes here.

Just so I can get my slightly reserved negativity out of the way, the specific problem I had was that a couple of the episodes seemed to rely on rather crude and obvious sexual material that would be more befitting the Carry On series than this. Specifically the psychiatrist episode suffers from this. This is one episode but it happens a few times in others but generally they are strong enough to carry it. The situations are exaggerated and silly but this suits the character of Basil, here with the tragic nature of him played down slightly and the clown aspect played up. Each episode is one long panic and they are mostly very funny as events spin out of control. The writing here focuses on these events and reactions and, while still very funny, it must be said that there is less in the way of depth in terms of the deference to class, the snobby attitude and "tragic" nature of Basil – again all this is sort of played down to a certain extent.

This criticism (minor as it is) is also an afterthought because mostly I was laughing at the comedy and the speed of it. The Anniversary episode didn't quite pull it off but the first episodes (with the hard of hearing woman and the missing money) starts things off really well and is followed by strong episodes such as the Waldorf Salad one and of course the one with the health inspector and Basil the pet rat. The cast play up to it very well but the star is of course Cleese. Although he has a little less substance than before, he has done a lot of the work already so it doesn't show as a gap and he nails the physical comedy each and every time. Each reaction and each line is bang on and he is very funny to watch. Booth has a bit more to do and is funny for it but Sachs' is the most improved and is very funny again. Scales is good and a bit less separated from the mayhem than before as a character, while Hall's chef is a solid addition that helps some of the narrative.

Season 2 may not be as good as I thought the first season was but it is still hard to fault and it is only in a few minor aspects that it doesn't work. Otherwise it is as frantic, as funny and as well written as it is famous for being and it is well worth revisiting if all you've done is see it as clips over the last few years.