Fawlty Towers

Fawlty Towers (1975)

48 mistakes in season 1

(6 votes)

A Touch of Class - S1-E1

Audio problem: Throughout the episode the picture Basil is distracted from putting up has no glass covering on it. However, when he smashes it at the end you can hear the distinct sound of glass breaking. (00:29:35)

David Mercier

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: The sound isn't glass as you can see just as he goes to smash the picture there is no glass on the picture.

The Builders - S1-E2

Revealing mistake: In the scene where Polly brings Mr O'Reilly a cup of tea, it is obvious on several occasions that there is nothing at all in the cup. Not only does he hold it in such a way that you can see inside, but when Basil snatches it away nothing spills out.

David Mercier

The Builders - S1-E2

Continuity mistake: Towards the end of the episode, a couple of scenes before Mr Stubbs arrives, we see Basil start up the tape player prior to hiding in the kitchen. The garden gnome on the desk is right next to the tape player at this point. When Sybil turns the tape off the player has rotated 45 degrees or so (despite nobody else having come into reception in the intervening time) and the gnome is now further along the desk towards the camera as we look on the wide shot. The gnome in the next shot is seen beside the checking-in book when Basil wanders out of and back into the office a couple of scenes later, yet when Mr Stubbs is asking about the lintel for the new door shortly after that and we see Sybil writing in the book, the gnome has moved out of shot altogether.

Neil Jones

A Touch of Class - S1-E1

Visible crew/equipment: Near the start of the episode, after the guest has told Basil that he will only be staying until Sunday, Basil walks from the dining room to the office, and the shadow of the camera following Basil can be seen in the reflection of the studio lights in the picture above the Drawing Room door. (00:04:45)

The Builders - S1-E2

Continuity mistake: After hitting O'Reilly, Sybil goes to the desk and grabs the phone. In the first shot, Sybil grabs the phone with her right hand, she puts it next to her ear and then put her left hand on the microphone. She turns her back to Basil and O'Reilly. In the next shot, the phone has not been put next to the ear yet, while Sybil's left hand is not on the microphone but on the cable. (00:23:40)

Great_Captain

The Builders - S1-E2

Revealing mistake: In the part where John Cleese is smacking Manuel's head against the place where the dining room doors are supposed to be, you can see very that Manuel is kicking the wall right when his head is supposed to hit it, creating the sound of his head hitting the wall. Check it out because it's very obvious and hard to miss. (00:16:05)

The Builders - S1-E2

Revealing mistake: When Basil smashes Manuel against the wall where the dining room is meant to be, we can see it is made out of cardboard. Notice how it begins to fall off, even though it is meant to be sealed and covered in wallpaper. (00:16:05)

Casual Person

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Perhaps this was due to O'Reilly's shoddy workmanship?

You could say that but Fawlty towers had wobbly sets all the time. I would say this would be covered under "mistakes".

The_Iceman

Codswallop. O'Reilly manages to do a half decent job. This is just a wobbly set.

Ssiscool

Where is the 'codswallop' as you so euphemistically put it? To me it looks like O'Reilly cut corners by shoddily placing a sheet of plasterboard in the doorway without attaching it well then shoddily wallpapering over it. Hence the reason for it falling out.

The Germans - S1-E6

Continuity mistake: When Basil is being pursued by the doctor, the left antler on the moose's head on the wall is broken. When the head lands on Manuel, the antler is not broken or limp any longer, and when the Major wraps the head on the snout, the antler breaks and goes limp again.

The Builders - S1-E2

Continuity mistake: When Basil rushes out of the hotel to see Sybil, his shirt is fully buttoned, but when Basil is seen running down the steps, he has one more shirt button undone than when he was inside.

More quotes from Fawlty Towers

The Anniversary - S2-E5

Trivia: Sybil's friend, Audrey, who Sybil is frequently seen talking to on the telephone, has only one on-screen appearence in 'The Anniversary'. She is seen at the very end, when Sybil has just walked out on Basil.

More trivia for Fawlty Towers

Answer: It's "Leisure Complex" by Dave Gold and Gordon Rees. Can be found on YouTube. The relevant clip is around 25 seconds in.

More questions & answers from Fawlty Towers

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.