Original Air Date: October 25, 1979
Starring: John Cleese, Connie Booth, Prunella Scales, Brian Hall
Directed by: Bob Spiers
Synopsis: Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) is at his usual wit’s end when a health inspector (John Quarmby) shows up and finds various infractions in the hotel which must be fixed. Basil then learns that Manuel (Andrew Sachs) has been keeping a pet rat which inevitably gets loose, causing everyone to scramble to keep the rodent from being seen by the inspector.
Featured Feline: Puss is a black cat which likes to hang around the kitchen and is taken outside when he’s caught eating a piece of veal from a tray. This ends up playing an important part in the comedic proceedings because Mr. Fawlty has poisoned one piece of veal to bait Basil the rat, only it gets mixed up with the untainted veal.
They closely watch the health of Puss to determine which piece of veal may be safe to serve.
Final Mewsings: Cats really don’t belong in hotel kitchens, especially not as food testers.
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