Fawlty Towers survey
This survey is now closed and here are the results. A selection of the best comments about Fawlty Towers from those who completed the survey are in the column to the right, on the A to Z of Fawlty Towers page and at the bottom of this page. Thanks to everyone who voted in the survey. To everyone who tried multiple voting: you are hideous orang-utans.
The Favourite Episode question
| Episode Title | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| *** The Germans *** | 348 | 31% |
| Communication Problems | 158 | 14% |
| Basil The Rat | 123 | 11% |
| The Psychiatrist | 86 | 8% |
| The Hotel Inspectors | 75 | 7% |
| The Kipper and the Corpse | 75 | 7% |
| The Builders | 71 | 6% |
| Waldorf Salad | 64 | 6% |
| Gourmet Night | 43 | 4% |
| A Touch of Class | 31 | 3% |
| The Wedding Party | 29 | 3% |
| The Anniversary | 17 | 2% |
| No Answer Given | 7 | 1% |
So, the clear runaway winner for favourite Fawlty Towers episode of the twelve goes to The Germans. The total number of votes counted was 1127.
Who is your favourite main character…
- Basil — 65%
- Manuel — 25%
- Polly — 6%
- Sybil — 4%
Predictably, Basil turned out to be the clear winner. I was personally surprised at the relatively few votes for Polly and Sybil. This result was from more than 500 votes.
Who is your favourite other character…
- Major Gowen — 51%
- Mrs Richards — the deaf old bat in Communication Problems — 21%
- Manuel's pet aka Basil the Rat! — 16%
- Terry the Chef — 6%
- Miss Gatsby and Miss Tibbs — 3%
- No Answer — 3%
Major Gowen gained just over half of the 540 votes cast in this category.
Were they right to stop after just twelve episodes…
- No — 63%
- Yes — 25%
- Not Sure — 10%
- No Answer — 2%
The clear message from the near 500 votes in this question is that nearly two-thirds of Fawlty Towers fans think they should have made more episodes. I personally think they were right to quit whilst they were ahead. There is zero chance of any more Fawlty Towers episodes, a film or anything now though.
The demographics of the people who completed the survey were as follows:
70 percent were male, 28 percent were female, two percent didn't answer this question.
16% were under 16 years of age, 42% between 16 and 30, 27% in the 31 to 45 age group, and 12% were over 45. Two percent didn't answer.
38% were from the UK, 18% were from elsewhere in Europe, 28% were in North America, 10% in Australasia and 6% elsewhere in the world.
More comments
Here are some more comments on Fawlty Towers collected in the survey.
Even though not always "PC" its one of the best British comedies of all time and will stay a classic. I wish they could have made more episodes.
Pure genius on the parts of Booth and Cleese. Polly=the sexiest hotel waitress on TV ;-)
Knee-slapping, belly-aching humour!!! I loved every minute of it!
Need a drink whilst watching in case I get hiccups.
Comm Problems is definitely the best. Whenever I feel down, watching the fabulous Mrs Richards always puts a smile on my face!
Unsurpassed and probably unsurpassable.
Everything runs at such a mad, manic pace. I'm exhausted after every episode! Wonderful characters!
What a pity they decided not to do another series or two, and that the hotel burnt down :(
Basil puts a ladder to the window and discovers it is the wrong one! Funniest thing I've ever seen!
Great classic especially for me! — I'm German, so don't — just don't!