YMMV / Fawlty Towers S2E3 "Waldorf Salad"

• Base-Breaking Character: Mr. Hamilton, the American guest. Some viewers - including John Cleese himself - feel that he gave Basil a well-deserved verbal beatdown throughout the whole episode. He's also perfectly amiable with Sybil, and once he gets his salad, he repeatedly insists Basil not bend over backward for him (and Basil's antics onward are motivated purely to save face, which caused the evening to spiral out of control); had he just gotten the service he requested and paid for, he wouldn't have caused a fuss. Others find that since he demanded the chef keep the kitchen open after his shift had just ended and expected to be served an elaborate meal and drink that weren't on the menu, he comes across as an over-entitled "Ugly American" Stereotype.
  • It's possibly a bit of both, Basil, often something of an Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist, is deceptive in trying to provide Mr. Hamilton with the titular salad and deserves to be chewed out, especially since Hamilton paid him £20 (a not-insignificant amount by 1979 standards) to cover Terry's overtime fees, meaning that Basil's actions actually cross the line into outright fraud rather than just rudeness or inadequate service. However, the extent of said chewing out goes into extreme territory when he rallies all the guests against Basil. This is the trend with most comedic customers in the show, who are petty and difficult, but get what they give against Basil in terms of Jerkass behaviour, however, Mr. Hamilton is one of very few that Basil is cowed by from start to finish, and never directly fires abuse back at to balance the sympathy (or lack of) in the dynamic (he explodes at everyone but Hamilton in the end).
  • Why is Mrs. Hamilton so passive throughout the episode? Is it a case of Neutral Female, or a sign that Mr. Hamilton's wrath isn't just reserved for people like Basil? Or was Mrs. Hamilton immediately put off by Basil's antics with the other residents (and him calling her husband "rubbish") and took silent delight in watching him be humiliated?

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