The Kipper and the Corpse the guests, including a horrified Miss Tibbs, as Sybil desperately calls out Basil's name. With: In 1994, "The Kipper and the Corpse" was one of two "Fawlty Towers" episodes which were adapted for the stage and performed at the Theatre Geo in Hollywood. The other was "Basil the Rat". The Kipper and the Corpse "The Kipper and the Corpse" is the fourth episode of the second series of the British sitcom "Fawlty Towers". It first aired at 9.00pm on 12 March 1979 on BBC2. Distinguishing it from other episodes is its heavy use of black comedy. During the early 1970s,
Kipper ethnographer Walter William Skeat derives the word from the Old English "kippian", to spawn. The word has various possible parallels, such as Icelandic "kippa" which means "to pull, snatch" and the Germanic word "kippen" which means "to tilt, to incline". Similarly, the Middle English "kipe" denotes a basket used to catch fish. Another theory traces the word kipper to the "kip", or small beak, that male salmon develop during the breeding season. As a verb, "kippering" ("to kipper") means to preserve by rubbing with salt or other spices before drying in the open air or in smoke. Originally applied to