The Psychiatrist
Encyclopedia
"The Psychiatrist" is the second episode of the second series of BBC
sitcom
Fawlty Towers
.
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 a beautiful young female guest. His maniacal behaviour infuriates his wife and alarms the psychiatrist.
With:
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 he is a man, when in fact his wife is also a doctor, which Basil ascertains after much 'hole-digging' and misunderstanding. Thrilled to have doctors staying over at the hotel (Basil having aspired to be one himself), Basil fawns over the Abbots and personally escorts them to their rooms. In the meantime, Mr. Johnson inquires of Sybil 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 young Australian girl named Raylene Miles arrives at the hotel, which creates a similar situation for Basil to that which Johnson created for Sybil. Basil handles his attractive character quite differently however. While Sybil openly flirts with Johnson, Basil tries too hard to ensure he appears uninterested, such as looking at her and then glancing away when she looks up. This makes him nervous and he begins to act as though he does fancy her, via Freudian slips or luckless accidents. One such accident occurs while repairing Raylene’s bathroom light: he reaches around a corner for the switch and, as Raylene is stretching beside the door, instead accidentally tweaks her nipple. Of course, Sybil steps in and sees this, leading her to believe Basil is softly groping her. Sybil does not react by insulting Raylene as Basil had with Johnson, but rather to berate Basil.
While the Abbots are dining, Basil inquires as to the branches of medicine in which they have achieved their doctoral degrees - Mrs. Abbot, is a Paediatrician
(which Basil initially believes means a foot doctor
). Upon discovering Mr Abbot is a psychiatrist, Basil becomes paranoid about being observed, and dismisses psychiatry as being obsessed with sexual behaviour. Thus when Basil, not privy to the entire context of a conversation between the Abbots and Sybil, is asked the question of how often Basil and Sybil "manage it", he indignantly claims "... average... two or three times a week" and is outraged, both by the question and the Abbots' subsequent wondering "how you could manage it at all", until Sybil tells him they were in fact referring to holidays, and the difficulty in taking them while running a hotel. Basil returns to the dining room and abominably attempts to explain the situation, resulting only in digging for himself another sizable 'hole' via Freudian slips such as “I thought you were talking about sex... I mean walks”.
Meanwhile Johnson has, as we see, smuggled an attractive young girl into his room against hotel rules. Basil realises her presence when he walks past Johnson's room after the incident with Raylene and hears a woman's voice laughing at Johnson's "Pretentious...moi?" joke. Basil becomes determined to catch her, as he cannot prove it to anyone else. 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 Raylene. 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 positions the ladder inaccurately and finds himself facing the Abbotts, who stare back bemused. After a lame attempt to act as though he is merely "checking" the windows, he tumbles from the hastily-placed and precarious ladder in horror at his latest gaffe. Manuel unwisely fetches Sybil and his poor grasp of English lands Basil in further trouble - he says that "Mr. Fawlty - he crazy about the girl" (he means that Mr. Johnson's having an illicit companion has made Basil cross), but Sybil, for once, takes Manuel seriously and believes he is referring to Basil's supposed crush on Raylene. Her jealousy incited, she marches outside, slaps Basil, and locks him out of their room for the night. Furious, Basil assaults Manuel.
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. He hears laughter coming from Johnson's room, and when he hears a door open, emerges with a broom in hand exclaiming "the game's up!" Basil discovers it's the Abbots in the hall and tries to explain the broom as the means to clean up something stuck on the ceiling. The Abbots descend downstairs with the husband making a professional remark on Basil's behavior "there's enough material there for an entire conference." Basil returns the broom to the closet and in the process he soils his hand on some cleaning product. Again, he hears a door open and jumps on someone he thinks is the woman, only to discover he has accosted Raylene and left large handprints on her top over her breasts. Of course, Sybil emerges that very moment. Basil panics and puts his hand all over Raylene's chest in an attempt to hide the handprints. He then hopelessly tries to explain his mistake to Sybil, who remains unconvinced.
Soon afterward, Basil visits Raylene's room to tell her to leave, only to find her changing her top and, terrified at being caught again, he hides in a wardrobe. Sybil, of course, then arrives to apologize on Basil's behalf and, of course, finds him in the wardrobe, whereupon she lectures him on how Raylene could not possibly be interested in the attentions of an "... aging, brilliantine
d Stick Insect like [Basil]". He is desperate to prove to her that his interest has been in exposing Johnson's extra guest, but she refuses to listen, still believing that he is in love with Raylene.
Finally, Basil loses his temper and snaps at Sybil, angrily calling her a "... rancorous, coiffured old sow" and telling her to "syringe the donuts out of [her] ears and get some sense into the "dormant organ" (her brain) she keeps hidden in that "Rat's maze" (her hairdo) of [hers]," and he physically drags a shocked Sybil outside Johnson's room. He challenges Johnson about an extra guest of the "... contradictory gender...". Johnson agrees that there is indeed 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, pulls his jacket up over his head in total frustration and embarrassment, and moans while making small, frog-like hops. The Abbotts, typically on the scene at the wrong time, encounter him, but Mr Abbott sighs, "I'm on holiday" and they ignore him.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Twelve television program episodes were produced . The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom played major characters...
.
Synopsis
SybilSybil Fawlty
Sybil Fawlty is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers. She is played by Prunella Scales. Her age is listed as 34 years old as seen on her medical chart in the 1975 episode "The Germans", thus presumably indicating that she was born in 1941...
flirts with a young male guest named Mr. Johnson (who Basil
Basil Fawlty
Basil Fawlty is the main character of the British sitcom Fawlty Towers, played by John Cleese. The character is often thought of as an iconic British comedy character, and has been deemed unforgettable despite only a dozen half-hour episodes ever being made....
believes resembles an orangutan
Orangutan
Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
). 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 a beautiful young female guest. His maniacal behaviour infuriates his wife and alarms the psychiatrist.
Cast
Episode Credited cast:- John CleeseJohn CleeseJohn Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
as Basil FawltyBasil FawltyBasil Fawlty is the main character of the British sitcom Fawlty Towers, played by John Cleese. The character is often thought of as an iconic British comedy character, and has been deemed unforgettable despite only a dozen half-hour episodes ever being made.... - Prunella ScalesPrunella ScalesPrunella Scales CBE is an English actress, known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife in the British comedy Fawlty Towers and her award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution.-Career:Throughout her long career, Scales has usually been cast...
as Sybil FawltySybil FawltySybil Fawlty is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers. She is played by Prunella Scales. Her age is listed as 34 years old as seen on her medical chart in the 1975 episode "The Germans", thus presumably indicating that she was born in 1941... - Andrew SachsAndrew SachsAndrew Sachs is a German-born British actor. He made his name on British television and is best known for his portrayals of Manuel in Fawlty Towers, a role for which he was BAFTA-nominated, and Ramsay Clegg in Coronation Street.-Early life:Sachs was born in Berlin, Germany, the son of Katharina , a...
as ManuelManuel (Fawlty Towers)Manuel is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers. Played by Andrew Sachs, he is an iconic character in British comedy history... - Connie BoothConnie BoothConstance "Connie" Booth is an American-born writer and actress, known for appearances on British television and particularly for her portrayal of Polly Sherman in the popular 1970s television show Fawlty Towers, which she co-wrote with her then-husband John Cleese.-Biography:Booth's father was a...
as Polly ShermanPolly Sherman (Fawlty Towers)Polly Sherman is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers. Played by Connie Booth, she is Fawlty Towers' long-suffering waitress and maid.-Personality:... - Ballard Berkeley as Major GowenMajor GowenMajor Gowen is a fictional character played by Ballard Berkeley in the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers.Major Gowen is an old, befuddled, somewhat senile ex-soldier permanently residing in the hotel. He enjoys talking about the world and is always on the lookout for the newspaper. He has trouble forgiving...
- Brian HallBrian Hall (actor)Brian Charles Hall was an English actor perhaps best known for his role in the British sitcom Fawlty Towers where he played the hotel chef Terry.-Career:...
as Terry the Chef - Gilly FlowerGilly FlowerGilly Flower was an English actress, best remembered as the elderly Miss Abitha Tibbs in the cult BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers.Gilly Flower played Miss Tibbs in all twelve episodes of the show, which was produced in two six-episode series separated by a three-and-a-half-year interval Gilly Flower...
as Miss Abitha TibbsMiss Tibbs & Miss GatsbyMiss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby are fictional characters, played by Gilly Flower and Renee Roberts respectively, in the BBC television sitcom Fawlty Towers.... - Renee Roberts as Miss Ursula GatsbyMiss Tibbs & Miss GatsbyMiss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby are fictional characters, played by Gilly Flower and Renee Roberts respectively, in the BBC television sitcom Fawlty Towers....
With:
- Imogen Bickford-Smith as Girlfriend
- Aimée Delamain as Mrs. Johnson
- Elspet GrayElspet GrayElspeth Jean Gray, Baroness Rix is a Scottish actress, known for her work on British television in the 1970s and '80s...
as Dr. Abbott - Basil HensonBasil HensonBasil Henson was a British actor. Henson had a lengthy career on stage and television. His stage performances included a number of parts in Shakespeare productions, including once opposite Dustin Hoffman...
as Dr. Abbott - Nicky HensonNicky HensonNicholas Victor Leslie "Nicky" Henson is an English actor who has portrayed many roles since 1963. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1977. He was born in London.-Early life:...
as Mr. Johnson - Luan PetersLuan PetersLuan Peters , also known as Karol Keyes, is an English actress.Born as Carol Hirsch, she made her stage debut in a pantomime aged four, then went on to win a drama scholarship at aged 16 after a performance of Twelfth Night...
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 he is a man, when in fact his wife is also a doctor, which Basil ascertains after much 'hole-digging' and misunderstanding. Thrilled to have doctors staying over at the hotel (Basil having aspired to be one himself), Basil fawns over the Abbots and personally escorts them to their rooms. In the meantime, Mr. Johnson inquires of Sybil 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 young Australian girl named Raylene Miles arrives at the hotel, which creates a similar situation for Basil to that which Johnson created for Sybil. Basil handles his attractive character quite differently however. While Sybil openly flirts with Johnson, Basil tries too hard to ensure he appears uninterested, such as looking at her and then glancing away when she looks up. This makes him nervous and he begins to act as though he does fancy her, via Freudian slips or luckless accidents. One such accident occurs while repairing Raylene’s bathroom light: he reaches around a corner for the switch and, as Raylene is stretching beside the door, instead accidentally tweaks her nipple. Of course, Sybil steps in and sees this, leading her to believe Basil is softly groping her. Sybil does not react by insulting Raylene as Basil had with Johnson, but rather to berate Basil.
While the Abbots are dining, Basil inquires as to the branches of medicine in which they have achieved their doctoral degrees - Mrs. Abbot, is a Paediatrician
Pediatrics
Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
(which Basil initially believes means a foot doctor
Podiatry
Podiatry is a branch of medicine devoted to the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and lower leg. The term podiatry came into use first in the early 20th century United States, where it now denotes a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine , a specialist who is qualified by their...
). Upon discovering Mr Abbot is a psychiatrist, Basil becomes paranoid about being observed, and dismisses psychiatry as being obsessed with sexual behaviour. Thus when Basil, not privy to the entire context of a conversation between the Abbots and Sybil, is asked the question of how often Basil and Sybil "manage it", he indignantly claims "... average... two or three times a week" and is outraged, both by the question and the Abbots' subsequent wondering "how you could manage it at all", until Sybil tells him they were in fact referring to holidays, and the difficulty in taking them while running a hotel. Basil returns to the dining room and abominably attempts to explain the situation, resulting only in digging for himself another sizable 'hole' via Freudian slips such as “I thought you were talking about sex... I mean walks”.
Meanwhile Johnson has, as we see, smuggled an attractive young girl into his room against hotel rules. Basil realises her presence when he walks past Johnson's room after the incident with Raylene and hears a woman's voice laughing at Johnson's "Pretentious...moi?" joke. Basil becomes determined to catch her, as he cannot prove it to anyone else. 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 Raylene. 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 positions the ladder inaccurately and finds himself facing the Abbotts, who stare back bemused. After a lame attempt to act as though he is merely "checking" the windows, he tumbles from the hastily-placed and precarious ladder in horror at his latest gaffe. Manuel unwisely fetches Sybil and his poor grasp of English lands Basil in further trouble - he says that "Mr. Fawlty - he crazy about the girl" (he means that Mr. Johnson's having an illicit companion has made Basil cross), but Sybil, for once, takes Manuel seriously and believes he is referring to Basil's supposed crush on Raylene. Her jealousy incited, she marches outside, slaps Basil, and locks him out of their room for the night. Furious, Basil assaults Manuel.
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. He hears laughter coming from Johnson's room, and when he hears a door open, emerges with a broom in hand exclaiming "the game's up!" Basil discovers it's the Abbots in the hall and tries to explain the broom as the means to clean up something stuck on the ceiling. The Abbots descend downstairs with the husband making a professional remark on Basil's behavior "there's enough material there for an entire conference." Basil returns the broom to the closet and in the process he soils his hand on some cleaning product. Again, he hears a door open and jumps on someone he thinks is the woman, only to discover he has accosted Raylene and left large handprints on her top over her breasts. Of course, Sybil emerges that very moment. Basil panics and puts his hand all over Raylene's chest in an attempt to hide the handprints. He then hopelessly tries to explain his mistake to Sybil, who remains unconvinced.
Soon afterward, Basil visits Raylene's room to tell her to leave, only to find her changing her top and, terrified at being caught again, he hides in a wardrobe. Sybil, of course, then arrives to apologize on Basil's behalf and, of course, finds him in the wardrobe, whereupon she lectures him on how Raylene could not possibly be interested in the attentions of an "... aging, brilliantine
Brilliantine
Brilliantine is a hair-grooming product intended to soften men's hair, including beards and moustaches, and give it a glossy, well-groomed appearance. It was created at the turn of the 20th century by French perfumer Edouard Pinaud...
d Stick Insect like [Basil]". He is desperate to prove to her that his interest has been in exposing Johnson's extra guest, but she refuses to listen, still believing that he is in love with Raylene.
Finally, Basil loses his temper and snaps at Sybil, angrily calling her a "... rancorous, coiffured old sow" and telling her to "syringe the donuts out of [her] ears and get some sense into the "dormant organ" (her brain) she keeps hidden in that "Rat's maze" (her hairdo) of [hers]," and he physically drags a shocked Sybil outside Johnson's room. He challenges Johnson about an extra guest of the "... contradictory gender...". Johnson agrees that there is indeed 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, pulls his jacket up over his head in total frustration and embarrassment, and moans while making small, frog-like hops. The Abbotts, typically on the scene at the wrong time, 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 PartyThe Wedding Party"The Wedding Party" is the third episode of the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers.-Synopsis:Basil is disgusted when two young lovers, Alan and Jean, begin 'hanky-pankying' under his very nose while checking in. He becomes convinced that they and two other guests are engaged in group sexual misbehaviour,...
". 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 StubbsUna StubbsUna Stubbs is an English actress and former dancer who has appeared extensively on British television and in the theatre, and less frequently in films. She is particularly known for her roles in the sitcom Till Death Us Do Part and Aunt Sally in the children's series Worzel Gummidge.-Film and...
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. The hallway wall where the four main guest character hotel guests have their adjacent rooms wobbles several times including once when Sybil gently closes a door
- This is the only episode where the viewers see the paperboy rearranging the letters on the "Fawlty Towers" sign in the opening shot.