The Psychiatrist

Infobox Television episode
Title = The Psychiatrist
Series = Fawlty Towers


Caption =
Season = 2
Episode = 2
Airdate = 26 February 1979
Production = 8
Writer = John Cleese & Connie Booth
Director = Bob Spiers
Guests =
Episode list =List of Fawlty Towers episodes
Prev = Communication Problems
Next = Waldorf Salad

"The Psychiatrist" is the second episode of the second series of BBC sitcom "Fawlty Towers".

ynopsis

Sybil flirts with a young male guest named Mr. Johnson (who Basil believes resembles an orangutan). Meanwhile two doctors arrive at the hotel, and Basil becomes concerned when he realises one is a psychiatrist. He becomes obsessed with finding a woman that Johnson has sneaked into his room, but instead stumbles into several compromising situations with an innocent young Australian woman who is a guest. His maniacal behaviour infuriates his wife and alarms the psychiatrist.

Cast

Episode Credited cast:
*John Cleese as Basil Fawlty
*Prunella Scales as Sybil Fawlty
*Andrew Sachs as Manuel
*Connie Booth as Polly Sherman
*Ballard Berkeley as Major Gowen
*Brian Hall as Terry the Chef
*Gilly Flower as Miss Abitha Tibbs
*Renee Roberts as Miss Ursula Gatsby:With:
*Imogen Bickford-Smith as Girlfriend
*Aimée Delamain as Mrs. Johnson
*Elspet Gray as Dr. Abbott
*Basil Henson as Dr. Abbott
*Nicky Henson as Mr. Johnson
*Luan Peters as Raylene Miles

Plot

‘The Psychiatrist’ begins in the foyer of the hotel with Basil and Sybil at the front desk engaged in separate conversations on the phone. When Mr. Johnson, a swaggering young playboy-type with an open shirt and gold chains comes down, however, Sybil immediately launches into flirtatious banter with him, much to Basil's annoyance. He makes several snide remarks to the effect that Johnson resembles some kind of ape. Basil also mocks Johnson’s medallions.

The Abbots arrive, unfortunately for Basil, while he is beating his chest and scratching his armpits in further mockery of Johnson. Upon hearing the word doctor, Basil instantaneously assumes that the husband is Dr. Abbot because his is a man, when in fact his wife is also a doctor, which Basil ascertains after much hole digging and misunderstanding. Thrilled to have what he thinks are higher class professionals as guests, Basil fawns over the Abbots and personally escorts them to their rooms. In the meantime, Mr. Johnson inquires about a room for his mother who is arriving the following day, but the hotel is full, so he agrees to have her stay in his room.

Soon after, an attractive Australian guest named Raelene arrives at the hotel, which creates a similar situation for Basil to that Johnson created for Sybil. Basil handles his attractive character quite differently however. While Sybil openly flirted with Johnson, Basil tries to appear disinterested. This makes him nervous and he begins to act as though he did fancy her, via Freudian slips or luckless accidents. One such accident is when while repairing Raelene’s light: he reaches for the switch and instead accidentally tweaks her nipple. Sybil steps in and sees this, leading her to surmise Basil is softly groping her.

While the Abbots are dining, Basil inquires as to the branches of medicine in which they have achieved their doctoral degrees. Upon discovering Mr Abbot is a psychiatrist, Basil becomes paranoid about being observed and dismisses psychiatry as being obsessed with sexual behaviour. Thus, when asked, “How often do you and your wife manage it?”, Basil claims "two or three times a week" until Sybil tells him they were in fact referring to holidays. Basil returns to the dining room and abominably attempts to explain the situation resulting only in a sizeable hole and Freudian slips such as “I thought you were talking about sex ... I mean walks”.

Johnson has smuggled a girl into his room against hotel rules, and Basil is determined to catch him out because everybody else refuses to believe him. After failing to see the girl while delivering a bottle of champagne to Johnson, he goes into the room next to Johnson's to listen, but is disturbed by the Abbotts who he thought were out on a walk. He weakly pretends to be checking the walls. He then sneaks into the room on the other side, frightening a sleeping Raelene. He uses the same excuse for his presence.

Basil then enlists Manuel to assist with a ladder outside the hotel so he can probe Johnson's window, but instead finds himself facing the Abbotts, who stare back bemused. He tumbles from the ladder and Manuel unwisely fetches Sybil, explaining that "the girl" has made Basil "crazy". Sybil assumes he is referring to Raelene and slaps Basil, locking him out of their room for the night.

In the morning Basil explains to Sybil that he was looking in the window because he wanted to catch the extra guest in Johnson's room. She doesn't believe him, but determined to prove himself right Basil hides in a broom closet to catch the guest. In the process he soils his hand on some cleaning product. He jumps on someone he thinks is the woman, only to discover he has accosted Raelene and left large handprints on her top over her breasts. When confronted by Sybil, Basil panics and puts his hand all over Raelene's chest in an attempt to hide the handprints. He then hopelessly tries to explain his mistake to Sybil, who remains unconvinced.

Soon afterwards Basil visits Raelene's room to apologise and finds her changing her top and, terrified at being caught again, he hides in a wardrobe. Sybil then arrives to apologise on Basil's behalf and finds him in the wardrobe, whereupon she lectures him on how Raelene could not possibly be interested in his attentions. He wants to prove to her that his interest has been in the extra guest, and in a rare glimmer of manhood he shouts back at Sybil and orders her outside Johnson's room. He challenges Johnson. Johnson agrees that there is another person in his room: "Mrs Johnson", his mother. Basil mocks this disbelievingly, until Johnson's elderly mother appears and he greets her in a sudden burst of politeness. When everyone has left he crouches, clutching his head and moaning while making small hops. The Abbotts encounter him but Mr Abbott sighs, "I'm on holiday" and they ignore him.

Connections and errors

*This episode resurrects similar themes and attitudes from the episode "The Wedding Party". It similarly deals with Basil's distaste for sexual activity, and it is hinted that he and Sybil are no longer in an intimate relationship.
*"The Psychiatrist" is the only episode of "Fawlty Towers" where two of the major co-stars share the same surname (Nicky Henson and Basil Henson).
*Nicky Henson was once married to Una Stubbs who later played a role in the episode: "The Anniversary".
*The boom mike is visible at about 9:20 into the episode, when Sybil says "sledge hammer wit", as the camera clearly lowers to move away from the mic. A shadow of the mic appears moving at 28:29 in the lower left corner of the shot and at 33:54 in the top right of the shot.
*When Sybil slams her bedroom door at 29:45, the walls are clearly seen wobbling. In fact, in outtakes of "Fawlty Towers", John Cleese, keeping in character in a tongue-in-cheek manner, worriedly taps the walls to check them, after taking one of his trademark humorous pauses.
*This is the only episode where the viewers see the paperboy rearranging the letters on the "Fawlty Towers" sign in the opening shot.

References

* "Fawlty Towers: A Worshipper's Companion", Leo Publishing, ISBN 91-973661-8-8
* "The Complete Fawlty Towers" by John Cleese & Connie Booth (1988, Methuen, London) ISBN 0-413-18390-4 (the complete text)