Fawlty Towers: Reserving a table for dinner
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- čas přidán 23. 11. 2017
- From the episode "Waldorf Salad" - Mr Hamilton gives Basil £20 to keep the chef there, but he'd rather pocket it himself.
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"Is the war still on??"
Classic line 🤣🤣 Right up there with "Don't mention the war."
I mentioned it once, but i think I got away with it!
@@chrisbutlerart *You invaded Poland!*
‘Toasted sandwich’ was a good offer. 😂😂😂
'Shall we go to bed now? Would that make it easier for you?'
Pretty funny how the American demands a hot meal then goes on to order a Waldorf salad.
He's a typical rich asshole American who goes abroad and makes the rest of us look bad. Its a shame Basil didnt knock his teeth out when he got up in his face
he ordered steaks as well
@Sci-Fi Admirer he's Canadian
@Sci-Fi Admirer "played an American in Star Wars."
Caught the abridged showing, did you?
@Sci-Fi Admirer bruce boa is canadian. He and John cleese were good friends.
Even after all these years and watching every episode of FT multiple times, whenever one of these clips ends I'm disappointed it doesn't carry on to the end. :-)
Love the way Basil is offended by Terry's dishonesty when he probably only wanted to give him a fraction of his little back-hander
Best humor made, still after 45-50 years.😊
Loved reading Bruce Boa's story, a canadian actor that married a British woman and moved to UK, had a good career playing the token American in many British shows and movies filmed there, which inspired alot of other American actors to branch out to other markets when they couldnt find work in US shows instead of becomming waiters or bar staff, which was the usual avenue for jobless actors at the time.
He was in movie Oman with Greory Peck.
@@garyturner5739And not forgetting as General Rieekan in the empire strikes back.
Kubrick used him too. Loved using fellow expatriates.
"It's a sort o' karate, init!" :-)))))
Love the chef XDXD
This was my all time favourite episode 👍
Brilliant acting by the Americanactor.
1:05 „We want something hot.“ And afterwards he orders a Waldorf salad.
He ordered two rare steaks afterwards. The waldorf salad was a starter.
@@TDKiller415 Rare steaks, hardly piping hot are they!
@@yottwr6108compared to cold unheated food like a ham and cheese sandwich (or a salad) it sure is
He gave him a fiver 😂
i love this episode and this clip.
it starts by showing the yank as a loud, intolerant, ignorant, bossy arse that thinks he can get his own way by throwing money around.
and switches to Basil being the fool because he gets excited by the prospect of grabbing some extra cash for nothing, being a lair, trying to cover his tracks and failing and having no patience for anything or the ability to see what hes done wrong or admit it
I actually feel sorry for Fawlty in this one, even if he is his usual rude, snobbish and inept self. Hamilton is a loud American who loves belittling England, sees faults in everything and comes across as totally unpleasant.
@@Glenn1967ful In other words a typical Yank
@@Glenn1967ful hes not snobbish he is trying to keep some dignity. The guests all puff themselves up so he does the same. I have to be rude when im a waiter to hold my own against ruder customers
@@SamuelBlack84 🥱 Another bigoted moron who thinks he’s superior to others just for being born in a country.
@@humankinglobetard3000 Actually, I have a very low opinion of everyone regardless of country of origin
I was at a sports bar once in western Australia watching a rugby league game . The game was close and had 5 minutes to go and it was only about 8pm. But the manager came over and turned the tv off and booted me out as they wanted to close for the night ! My team lost anyway...
I remember being in Greece with my parents and sister and it was only 7.30pm , the owner said only chips were available as he wanted to go home early.
the good old days
Terry was a some stylish man
This clip is fantastic
Basil should've just told Mr and Mrs Hamilton that the kitchen was closing and not agreed to keep it running after 9pm.
Iggywiggywoo 3000 yeah but he wanted that £20
He's too proud to admit that he's not running a fancy big city hotel but just a small regional hotel so can't just say "we don't serve after 9pm as we almost never have any guests wanting to eat after 9pm"
@@bnevillewood You mean that mickey mouse money
@@Treblaine spot on. such a difficult character (Echoes of myself sometimes)
@@tyqwdybijo Basil is such a great character because the writers found someone who is inside all of us. He is that demon who we all have on our shoulder manifest as an entire character depicted in this classic show.
A great show.
The very underrated Bruce Boa. RIP.
Go and have fun with a fin 😂😂😂 cracks me up
Najbolja komedija koju sam gledala poseban mi je Manuel i Vasil ma svi su super
Even in America, not very many hotels have 24-hour food service. If you check into a hotel after the kitchen closes for the night, you're better off ordering take-out.
But this was small family run hotel and chef was still there finishing his working day. 20 pounds was lot of money, chef would do it for 5 pounds, but Basil wanted all 20 for himself.
@stagna1959 True, but that didn't mean the Hamilton's could have just ordered dinner from a take-out menu instead of bribing the chef to keep working longer than he needed to.
£20 in 1979 is worth nearly £100 in 2019, (£96.20)
@inside outside upside downside www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator
@inside outside upside downside Go to GOOGLE type in "value of £20 in 1979 worth now"
And yet he claimed that he couldn't afford to pay Terry two hours' overtime!
There is a point (or several) in every Fawlty Towers episode where I cringe and wish Basil would make a different decision so that the disaster would be averted. In this episode, that point is when Basil puts the £20 into his wallet with no intention of giving it to the chef.
Classic farce
Yes, I see that and think "Don't do it, Basil", and then later in this episode I'm thinking "Just give Terry the £20, admitting you've been trying to squeeze him, and save us the disaster".
Though he pays for his hubris every time in the comedy.
Exactly - he claims that he 'can't afford' to pay Terry two hours' overtime when he's just been given £20, which might have been a week's wages back then!
@@Inkyminkyzizwoz£126 in todays money using an inflation calculator
That’s the type of man who’s never been in a physical altercation in his life.
In fairness the american was being a total tool from the word go. 9 is a reasonable time for any chef to finish, especially in a small hotel thats not much bigger then a b and b. Its like tough luck pal, people have homes to go to.
@@pumpkinhill4570 It's on the other side of the Atlantic. The tides going out now so if you jump in the water you should be able to swim there, it's sure to sharpen your appetite.
@@simonh6371 'Say hello to the 'Titanic' on the way over'
You do realise it’s a comedy, written by Cleese. 😂
Correct but
@@johnmc3862 of course. Not the point tho 😅
Who has a karate class at 9 pm?
Terry, clearly.
He was seeing a woman
I never thought about the fact before that Basil lied to Terry saying he can't afford 2 hours overtime. He was literally just given £20 which was 4 times that. All the had to do was ignore the karate lie and pay Terry the 1.5 hours overtime and still keep £15.
It's not about the money
Why did Basil say he can't afford 2 hours overtime when he was given £20? That was before Terry Lied. £20 was a lot of money back then.
So Basil lied and then got angry with Terry for lying. Sounds about right.
@@RealityCheck6T9 Ikr He's such a snake 😂
@@alexojideagu yes, Basil was greedy 😆
Bruce Boa was well cast here.
Excellent. Basil tries to cook dinner ♨️😆
I've always wondered why it made any difference to Basil whether it was a girl or a karate class, what did he care? He needed Terry that night so he should have just let him stay and do the damn cooking, oh my god 🙄 🤣 😂
Because a major part of the character is that he is obsessed with sex and the fact that he isn’t getting any. Cleese talks about it often when discussing the character. See The Wedding Party and The Psychiatrist episodes.
@@thefonzkiss Yes true, but wouldn't he be jealous of Terry and try to deprive him of his night out with the lady, rather than encourage it and let him go? He was jealous of Polly and the wedding party because he thought they were all getting it on together (LOL).
Well Basil was no doubt jealous that Terry, Polly and Manuel were all going out to have fun without him
@@sashaking1115 It's hard to figure out what was motivating Basil, Terry was only meant to stay back half an hour and would have got good pay, so he could have stayed and done the cooking (it was only for one couple), got paid and still had time to go on his date. There was really no need for Basil to become irate and tell him to leave. If Basil was jealous of Polly, Manuel and Terry partying together then that would have been even more reason to keep Terry at the hotel for a bit longer?
@@biancamonzo8117 yeah that’s true
So this where general rieekan went after the battle of hoth lol
Only time Finland is mentioned in Fawlty Towers, or any other British comedies most likely ;D
I learned a few words and phrases of Finnish and adopted a sort of Northern Lights accent for the wide-eyed little Welsh kids when I was Father Christmas for several years
Not forgetting the Monty Python song.
The actress that played the man's wife is stunning.
Clair Nelson.
She turned up in a few 60's shows like 'The Saint'. Yes, one handsome woman indeed.
@@jcarlovitch Claire Nielson
It's 2020 and you would be hard pressed getting a meal after 9 at my local.
If you plonked £89 on the bar I'm sure they'd oblige.
@@nkt1 *20
@@chessman88 £20 in 1979 is the equivalent of £89 today.
@@nkt1 aah you accounted for inflation, nice!:)
Mr and Mrs Hamilton 😂
This Finnish floozy your karate teacher is she?
Mickey Mouse money - 🤣
It's General Rieekan , from the Empire strikes back....
yes it is!
This actor was also in " Full Metal Jacket "
I actually assisted someone like mr Hamilton at the terminal I work in once he actually did tip me 20 quid like Hamilton did with basil
Yes, Bruce Boa was a very natural in authoritarian roles. While I believe this episode is why Stanley Kubrick cast him as a colonel in Full Metal Jacket, Bruce Boa played a senior officer in at least 9 movies.
I remember the first time I went to England with my dad and when we converted our dollars to pounds I whispered to my dad "how many Mickey Mouse bucks did you get?"
It’s a sort of karate 😂😂
That he sees any similarities makes me feel sorry for the "Finnish floozy". Makes me wonder what he's into 😳
If that was said in a modern sitcom it would be so cringey, the character would be an instant douche. Also, calling a random young woman a floozy for no reason wouldn't be done anymore. The 80's was a very different time with casual sexism and subtle racism everywhere. Glad we're not there anymore. Just thinking out loud here with this footnote.
Still, this was a funny show in its time, and I still enjoy it but makes me reflect a little bit sometimes.
He calls it Mickey Mouse money yet British Pounds is worth more than the US dollar
Maybe now but not back in the 70s when this was set.
He comes to the UK then whines about it. Nobody forced him to come here
@@SamuelBlack84 'Mericans very seldom leave the US & when they do, it's usually to 'Anglo-sphere' countries.
They think Africa is a country & Europeans speak 'European'
@@SamuelBlack84 you realize it's an actor playing a character, right?
@@jreadfbnfgncn5010 I'm fully aware of that
The hot soup of the day, Oxtail soup but unfortunately I had a cold, second thoughts I had a degree, third thoughts I had a stroke and remember futuristic ideas😉
But with one and famous John Cleese🤣👍
I need a Waldorf sallaaaaaaaaaaaad where can I find it
Waldorf salad 😅
Have some fun with the Fin.
Isnt that the dude from Full Metal Jacket?? 😂😂😂😂😂
Yes, General Sphincter
Austin Raftery Not Poge Colonel?
It's also General Riekan from Star Wars.
Tom from the omen, he was in octopussy too
Man not...”dude!”
Does anyone know where or what happened to Brian hall the actor who played terry the cheeky waiter?
The chef? The actor died of cancer many years ago.
@@JacobDTulio The yank was spot on with the chef having something terminal.
It's almost like Mr. Hamilton is Basil's equal in a sense, only he's on the other side of the fence. He's just as rude and just as unreasonably demanding. So much so, that he's the only hotel guest who's had the nerve to stand up to Basil. So Basil's almost met his match with Mr. Hamilton, though on his part, he could've managed him in a much more patient and calm manner.
They portrayed Americans exactly. I've seen yanks in action while overseas and man oh man can they be superior, arrogant and obnoxious. Saw one guy yelling at a receptionist in a hotel in Paris once complaining that there was too much noise in Paris after they went to bed at 9pm. The receptionist pretended not to understand english but we knew that they spoke it quite well and they were very friendly to us when they heard us trying to speak french. They were very happy to have Australians in their hotel but did not like rude Americans.
Always pays to remember the Golden Rule "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"
I know that he was a television actor and he appeared in softy softly task force and break in the sun made by the bbc in 1981.
And an episode of 'Tales of the Unexpected' called 'The Verger' with Richard Briers. Highly recommended. His character in that was quite pleasant.
Watched the episode again. In the end Basil was the winner. He checked in his own hotel, ordered breakfast in bed , chef had to cook it and Polly had to bring it to him . And of course he kept the money he got from American
Go and have some fun with a Fin! 😂
The guy looks like Paul Lynde.
It was bloody ridiculous that the pubs didn’t open between 2pm and 5.30pm, it was a consequence of the War, the First World War🤦🤣
It wasn't worth their while.
Australia/NZ had 6pm closing until the end of the 60s, thanks to the Great War.
Mickey mouse money? The pound has always been stronger than the dollar.
Not to Americans.
@@pumpkinhill4570 Their opinion doesn't matter
We drove 5 hours to get here and said its from London? Check it out lol
Surely there must've been loads of hotels in London they could've checked into at 4 in the afternoon? Lol
I’m always torn whether I like Mr Hamilton or not whenever I watch this episode 🤔
Keep it. Stick it. Jeffery
Shit.
£20 in 1970s must have been loads.
About £100
Mickey Mouse money what a cheek.
This episode should have called The Ugly American vs Basil Fawlty
Well that's not fair, it was the 70s, lots of people were ugly then. It was in style lol
Remember the patron with the hearing aid from another episode? And the "why don't you speak properly" guy?
Sporaki this way please of course you meant Basil but he was never supposed to be there anyway so here we are
go and have a bit of fun with a fin
He sounds more Canadian imo
"I'd pay you two hours' overtime if I could afford it."
You've just been given 20 quid, which would probably have been a week's wages for some people then - I think you can afford it!
Portrayed as an American's wife is a Mrs Robinson stunner. Response to video only.
Vintage Americans - “I want it. I should get it no matter what.” Throw money at the problem. I can just buy whatever I want no matter when or where and no matter who it affects.
That's still true, at least in America. Everything is for sale to the highest bidder.
I've been to America and trust me they are all arrogant, irritating, loud-mouthed pricks
@@pumpkinhill4570so it's a good strategy then
Nothing has changed. Americans think might is right and the yankee $ buys you the world. In many ways they are right...but I love seeing them proved wrong.
As an American, what I love most about this episode is that it shows you how stuffy and cripplingly polite the British really are, that _Fawlty Towers_ didn't exaggerate that too much just because it was a TV show.
Mr Hamilton isn't a villain at all, he just does not accept, believe, or put up with Basil's nonsense for even a second.
He always knows Basil is lying about everything and mostly puts up with it as long as he gets what he wants.
But as he starts to not get what he wants he just challenges Fawlty right to his face. When Basil tries to give him that long line of bullshit excuses, Hamilton just looks him right in the face and says, _"What a bunch of crap!"_
Basil is completely taken aback and dumbfounded both by his vulgarity and his perceptiveness.
And I'm guessing that British bank notes in the 70s were colorful, hence an American calling it "Mickey Mouse money".
Oh, don't worry, under the in fluence of your yank 'culture' the British have now learnt to shed their crippling politeness and embrace crass vulgarity and Mickey Mouse.
British bank notes are colourful to this day. £5 is blue, £10 kind of orange, £20 is kind of purple and a £50 is reddish. Also, they are all different sizes, the bigger the value, the bigger the note. In my experience, American dollars are all green and all the same size, which makes them harder to differentiate quickly. It’s pretty much academic though as the UK is virtually a cashless society now.
Basil might be full of bullshit excuses, but Hamilton is still a pretty entitled prick...
You cant get a drink after 3?
old british rules about pubs opening hours, not in force anymore
@@Tomtown007 so what's the new rules?
@@davemustaki134Essentially, pubs can choose their own hours
@@Inkyminkyzizwoz as operating hours?
@@davemustaki134 Their licences say what times they're allowed to be open between, so they can open at any time within those hours
fell
The lady in white, Claire Nielson; the lady in red, Connie Booth; very appealing ladies.
Pushy but head isn’t he
What kind of dumb question is 'Why does your chef stop working at 9?'
Because that's when Basil stops paying him? Why else? The hell kind of answer are you looking for here?
Also: 'Are you telling me you can't stay open a few minutes longer so we can eat properly?' I wish Basil would have said something like, 'That does seem to be the conclusion this entire conversation has been leading to, yes. You must be one of the sharper Americans.'
Yeah, you Brits are surely an intelligent bunch. LOL :))))) Add to that the terrible food and weather. I see why you chaps are always drinking and looking to fight.
Mickey mouse money. The dollar is the most boring currency in the world. It looks like green monopoly money.
Those yanks would of had that chief cooking up food see hours of morning. That's Brexiters won't us to be the 51st State of USA.
*would have
Brash Americans! Show a little respect for Mr Fawlty, I mean come on !!! ;)
Lol the character was written specifically to be annoying and impatient.
Just like the hearing aid lady, at least as brash but not American at all
@@nthgth I know 😀
Parts of Europe are still like this - never open when you need them, no idea of customer service, no manners, useless vfm...
Then don’t go to Europe - simples!
@@mikeykm1993 wish it was so "simples"...
Um...most hotels which serve food have fixed hours.
@@DinarAndFriends exactly: terrible!
@@wordsmith52 It's not that they are 'terrible', it's that they have obvious constraints.
0:29 ... do what? ... she's supposed to be an American, yet sounds so much British
Her character is British
I do❤️ British accent and British people with all my heart♥️
@@Jtmissile
isn't she also supposed to be an American by being his wife ??
@@ottavva
Nope. You would've thought so, but later in the episode, Sybil notices her accent and she confirms she's British
@@Jtmissile
I stand corrected, I only saw the short clip, from which one would logically presume that a spouse of an American would be an American herself
no big deal anyway
BE WELL
He is the only character I ever disliked in this fabulous series-the epitomeof what was once know as the 'ugly American'. He even makes fin of the money..A real ares. :-( But the antics round the Waldorf salad are hilarious.
No, the chef’s girlfriend was a Fin!
Hmmmm....quite a lot of humour seems predicated on the audiences' out-of-date prejudices, and selective impressions.
(1) My experience of American resort hotels was that people queued up for a buffet at around 6 pm, and it was pretty well all done by 9.00 pm. I once went down to a waiter service dining room in Honolulu at 8.00 pm, and was told that the kitchen "should be still open".
(2) "He's from Barcelona" is a very funny catchphrase used to explain Manuel's antics, as if to say that he is from a rather primitive part of the world. My first experience of Barcelona, with its well run Metro and clean streets, made London look like a grubby dump!
Out-of-date? Possibly because it was first shown in the 1970s 😜😜
@@robin231176 Indeed, that is true!
Relax bro, it's a comedy
The show aired in 1975 back then spain was either still in fascist rule or just coming out the otherside. I'm sure alot of the more modern stuff came in the past 20 years with tourism fueling it.
@@dabedwards this is comedy, don't take it so seriously.
he ought to have fired the chef. he needs a chef committed and pleased and that will go the extra mile to serve customers.
How can Basil fire someone for that when he doesn't even do it himself? When he's rude to the customers and bullies them? He pocketed that cash (£20 was alot in those days) with no intention of giving to the chef and instead tries to cheat him out of his money. How can he expect his employees to treat anyone with respect when all they have to look up to is him?
Terry is very committed so he deserves some nights off!!!!
No doubt Terry works split shifts, preparing the breakfasts, going home and coming back for the dinner service. No wonder he doesn't want to stay on.
Lol, do some people realise this is a comedy written By Basil and and the maid Polly .
That would hurt Basil more than it would Terry, though. If I was working Terry's job I'd even consider quitting the job just to have fun with a Fin anyway. Chef work in small establishments like that is relatively easy to find (bear in mind this is set in Torquay, which is end to end hotels). On the contrary, Chefs willing to do the awkward hours for most likely relatively low pay are hard to find.
Lol, I can see how the US slaughtered millions in the south asian bombing campaigns. If this guy is typical yank assertive, we can see how US war hawks would not think twice.
This episode is metaphorical Mai Lai massacre, just in a hotel, lol
Also how they saved Europe's ass from wholesale conquer and devastation that one time.
But yeah, being impatient and annoying when hungry after hours of travel is _directly_ related to all that. No one except an American - no, _every_ American - would possibly exhibit that.
But in the end they (the U.S.) got their asses kicked and were sent home with their tails between their legs.
@@nthgth yes, it was totally the US which saved Europe's ass and not the USSR which had effectively crippled the German army by the time the Yanks turned up to take credit for the victory.
@@shehryar_ I guess we're only considering the eastern front then
My least favorite episode. "Ugly American " episode, I call it.
As Jeremy Clarkson found out. No. You can.t get a decent meal in Britain after 9pm.
Americans for you