The Best Episodes Written By John Cleese

Every TV Episode Written by John Cleese Ranked from Best to Worst by Thousands of Voters

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    undefined Season 2 Episode 1 - Communication Problems
    8.9/10(23 votes)

    #1 - Communication Problems

    S2:E1

    A selectively deaf woman named Mrs Richards insists that she has had a large amount of money stolen at the hotel, and against Sybil's wishes Basil puts a fiver on Dragonfly.

    Director:N/A

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  2. undefined Season 2 Episode 2 - The Psychiatrist
    8.8/10(25 votes)

    #2 - The Psychiatrist

    S2:E2

    A psychiatrist and his wife come to stay and Basil thinks Sybil is telling them all about his life.

    Director:N/A

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  3. undefined Season 1 Episode 6 - The Germans
    8.7/10(25 votes)

    #3 - The Germans

    S1:E6

    Sybil goes into the hospital for toe surgery, leaving Basil to cope with a fire drill single-handed. After a couple of blows on the head, Basil tells some German guests where Germany went wrong in WWII.

    Director:N/A

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  4. undefined Season 2 Episode 6 - Basil the Rat
    8.7/10(26 votes)

    #4 - Basil the Rat

    S2:E6

    The health inspector is coming and Basil tells Manuel to get rid of his pet rat, which he later finds out is named Basil.

    Director:N/A

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  5. undefined Season 1 Episode 4 - The Hotel Inspectors
    8.6/10(28 votes)

    #5 - The Hotel Inspectors

    S1:E4

    Some inspectors are in town and Basil gets paranoid, so he alternately fawns over and offends his guests.

    Director:N/A

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  6. undefined Season 2 Episode 4 - The Kipper and the Corpse
    8.6/10(23 votes)

    #6 - The Kipper and the Corpse

    S2:E4

    Unknown to Basil, a guest dies in the night and he tries to serve him breakfast anyway and an obnoxious woman insists on service for her dog.

    Director:N/A

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  7. undefined Season 1 Episode 5 - Gourmet Night
    8.3/10(25 votes)

    #7 - Gourmet Night

    S1:E5

    To bring the right type of crowd into the hotel Basil establishes a Gourmet Night.

    Director:N/A

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  8. undefined Season 1 Episode 1 - A Touch of Class
    8.1/10(33 votes)

    #8 - A Touch of Class

    S1:E1

    A confidence trickster comes to stay at the hotel, just after Basil has taken an ad in a posh magazine to upgrade the clientele.

    Director:N/A

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  9. undefined Season 1 Episode 2 - The Builders
    8.1/10(29 votes)

    #9 - The Builders

    S1:E2

    The Fawltys take a holiday and leave Polly and Manuel to run the place just as O'Reilly's builders come to redo the lobby.

    Director:N/A

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  10. undefined Season 1 Episode 3 - The Wedding Party
    8.1/10(25 votes)

    #10 - The Wedding Party

    S1:E3

    Basil wants 'none of that' going on in his rooms and suspects some guests and Polly of carrying on.

    Director:N/A

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  11. undefined Season 2 Episode 3 - Waldorf Salad
    8.0/10(24 votes)

    #11 - Waldorf Salad

    S2:E3

    An American and his wife get unsatisfactory service at Fawlty Towers when he orders a Waldorf salad, after the kitchen has closed.

    Director:N/A

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  12. undefined Season 1 Episode 3 - How to Recognise Different Types of Trees from Quite a Long Way Away
    7.9/10(19 votes)

    #12 - How to Recognise Different Types of Trees from Quite a Long Way Away

    S1:E3

    Featuring a court scene, the larch, Bicycle Repair Man, children's stories, a restaurant sketch, some seduced milkmen, an interview with some children and a stolen newsreader.

    Director:N/A

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  13. undefined Season 3 Episode 10 - E. Henry Thripshaw's Disease
    7.9/10(9 votes)

    #13 - E. Henry Thripshaw's Disease

    S3:E10

    Sketches include The Tudor Jobs Agency, Elizabethan Pornography Smugglers, Thripshaw's Disease and The Man Who Says Words in the Wrong Order.

    Director:N/A

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  14. undefined Season 2 Episode 5 - The Anniversary
    7.8/10(24 votes)

    #14 - The Anniversary

    S2:E5

    Sybil leaves before Basil's surprise anniversary party and Basil spends the evening trying to convince their friends she's ill.

    Director:N/A

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  15. undefined Season 1 Episode 1 - Whither Canada?
    7.8/10(23 votes)

    #15 - Whither Canada?

    S1:E1

    Featuring 'It's Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart', an Italian lesson, Whizzo Butter, 'It's the Arts', Arthur 'Two-Sheds' Jackson, a cycling race, and The Funniest Joke in the World.

    Director:N/A

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  16. undefined Season 1 Episode 5 - Man's Crisis of Identity in the Latter Half of the 20th Century
    7.8/10(19 votes)

    #16 - Man's Crisis of Identity in the Latter Half of the 20th Century

    S1:E5

    Featuring Confuse-a-Cat, discussion programme A Duck, a Cat and a Lizard, the arrest of a newsreader, an erotic film, a silly job interview and a burglar/encyclopaedia salesman.

    Director:N/A

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  17. undefined Season 2 Episode 3 - Déjà Vu
    7.8/10(13 votes)

    #17 - Déjà Vu

    S2:E3

    Featuring the work of the poet Euan McTeagle, a psychiatrist milkman and some exploding animals. A television presenter suffers from a severe case of deja vu.

    Director:N/A

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  18. undefined Season 2 Episode 4 - The Buzz Aldrin Show
    7.8/10(12 votes)

    #18 - The Buzz Aldrin Show

    S2:E4

    More surreal humour from the Monty Python team. Sketches include The Architects, How to Recognise a Mason, Poets and the Chemist sketch.

    Director:N/A

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  19. undefined Season 2 Episode 12 - Spam
    7.8/10(13 votes)

    #19 - Spam

    S2:E12

    The sketches in this episode include Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook, World Forum-Communist Quiz, Hospital for Over-Actors and Spam.

    Director:N/A

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  20. undefined Season 2 Episode 1 - Face the Press
    7.7/10(15 votes)

    #20 - Face the Press

    S2:E1

    Featuring Doug and Dinsdale Piranha, Face the Press and the Ministry of Silly Walks. Mrs G Pinnet buys a new gas cooker.

    Director:N/A

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  21. undefined Season 2 Episode 2 - The Spanish Inquisition
    7.7/10(15 votes)

    #21 - The Spanish Inquisition

    S2:E2

    Featuring the Spanish Inquisition, courtroom charades and a semaphore interpretation of Wuthering Heights.

    Director:N/A

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  22. undefined Season 3 Episode 4 - Blood, Devastation, Death, War and Horror
    7.7/10(9 votes)

    #22 - Blood, Devastation, Death, War and Horror

    S3:E4

    Features gags and sketches such as Blood, Devastation, Death, War and Horror, The Man who Speaks in Anagrams and Pantomime Horses.

    Director:N/A

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  23. undefined Season 3 Episode 12 - A Book at Bedtime
    7.7/10(9 votes)

    #23 - A Book at Bedtime

    S3:E12

    Features gags and sketches such as A Book at Bedtime, Kamikaze Scotsmen, No Time to Lose, Spot the Looney and Frontiers of Medicine-Penguins.

    Director:N/A

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  24. undefined Season 1 Episode 2 - Sex and Violence
    7.6/10(20 votes)

    #24 - Sex and Violence

    S1:E2

    Featuring some flying sheep, a man with three buttocks, a man with two noses, musical mice, a marriage guidance counsellor, a working-class playwright and The Wrestling Epilogue.

    Director:N/A

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  25. undefined Season 2 Episode 13 - Royal Episode 13
    7.6/10(12 votes)

    #25 - Royal Episode 13

    S2:E13

    Sketches in this episode include How to Feed a Goldfish, The Man Who Says Things in a Very Roundabout Way and Lifeboat.

    Director:N/A

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John Cleese Ratings Summary

"Communication Problems" is the best rated episode written by John Cleese. It scored 8.9/10 based on 23 votes. It was directed by N/A. It aired on 2/19/1979 and is rated 0.1 points higher than their second-best episode, "The Psychiatrist".