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Fawlty Towers was a British sitcom made by the BBC and first broadcast in 1975, about a fictional hotel named Fawlty Towers in Torquay in Devon on "the English Riviera". The hotel is owned and operated by the eccentric Basil Fawlty and his censorious wife Sybil, with maid Polly, porter Manuel and (in series 2) chef Terry rounding out the staff. Long-term guests were the semi-senile Major Gowen and the skittish old ladies Miss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby. Very few other guests ever stayed long.
The plots are as intricate and farcical as those of Feydeau, involving coincidences, misunderstandings, cross purposes, accidental meetings and missed meetings. The sexual element of the bedroom farce is present, but it is Basil Fawlty's eccentricity, not lust, that energizes the plots.
Only 12 episodes were ever broadcast, but the series has had a lasting and powerful legacy. In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, Fawlty Towers was placed 1st. It was also voted 5th in a 2004 BBC poll of the general public to find "Britain's Best Sitcom".
Credits
The cast:
The scripts were written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, who were married at the time of the first series, 1975. By 1979 (second series), Cleese and Booth had divorced after ten years of marriage, 1968–78.
The programmes were produced and directed by John Howard Davies, Douglas Argent and/or Bob Spiers.
Characters
Basil Fawlty
Basil is desperate to belong to a higher social class, and sees the successful running of the hotel as his means to this end ("turn it into an establishment of class..."), yet he is trapped in a job where he has to be pleasant to people he either despises or yearns to be above socially: people he would much rather snub. He is terrified of his wife's sharp tongue, yet fiercely wishes to stand up to her. Always trying to cover his mistakes and always the penny pincher, Basil usually turns to Manuel or Polly to help him execute whatever scheme he has planned. It is, of course, imperative that his wife Sybil does not find out. It's bound to go horribly wrong, with all the blame firmly on Basil.
Sybil Fawlty
As Basil's wife, she's the only one that refers to him by his first name. She can be taken to be the true manager of the hotel, often attempting to keep Basil in check and on task. She is characterized by an annoying conversational tone and laugh.
Polly Sherman
Polly, hired as a waitress, is often stuck doing many of the necessary tasks around the hotel. She is also the voice of sanity, although she loyally attempts to aid Mr. Fawlty when he is trying to cover for a mistake he's made.
Manuel
Manuel is a well-meaning Spanish (from Barcelona) worker with a limited grasp of the English language and customs. He is scared of Mr. Fawlty's quick temper, yet continually expresses his appreciation for being given the position.
Background and inspiration
Even before this programme existed, English seaside boarding houses and their proprietors had something of a reputation for firmness and intransigence, possibly stemming from the days when soldiers were billeted in small hotels during wartime or national service. Cleese had also parodied the contrast between organisational dogma and sensitive customer service in many personnel training videotapes issued with a serious purpose by his company Video Arts. Basil Fawlty's behaviour can often be taken to represent macho management at its worst.
Fawlty Towers was inspired by the Monty Python team's stay in the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay. John and Connie stayed on at the hotel after filming for the Python show had finished. The widow of the hotel's then owner, one Mr. Donald Sinclair, is now campaigning to remove what she sees as a slur on her husband's reputation, but former staff and visitors have remembered actual events there that were as ludicrous as those depicted in the programmes.
Episode list
It was first broadcast on BBC 2 on September 19, 1975. The episodes of the first series were:
- "A Touch of Class"
- "The Builders"
- "The Wedding Party"
- "The Hotel Inspectors"
- "Gourmet Night"
- "The Germans"
All six episodes were directed by John Howard Davies.
The second series was transmitted three and a half years later, with the first episode being broadcast on February 19, 1979. The episodes of the second series were:
- "Communication Problems"
- "The Psychiatrist"
- "Waldorf Salad"
- "The Kipper and the Corpse"
- "The Anniversary"
- "Basil the Rat"
All six episodes were directed by Bob Spiers.
The last episode, "Basil the Rat", wasn't aired until a few months after the other episodes because of a BBC industrial strike.
There have been persistent rumours about a "lost" 13th episode which involved a blackout at the hotel. However, no such episode was ever filmed.
Memorable Quotations
In spite of only 12 episodes being made, Fawlty Towers has produced many memorable lines:
Gourmet Night
- Basil: "Well, if you don't like Duck, I'm afraid you're rather stuck"
The Germans
- Basil: "Don't mention the War! I Mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it"
- German Guest: "Will you stop talking about the War!"
- Basil: "Me? You started it!"
- German Guest: "We did not start it!"
- Basil: "Yes you did! You invaded Poland!"
Communication Problems
- Basil: "Well might I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window?! Sydney Opera House? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeests sweeping majestically..."
- Mrs Richards: "Don't be silly! I expect to see the sea!"
- Basil: "You can see the sea. It's over there between the land and the sky"
- Mrs Richards: "I'd need a telescope to see that"
- Basil: "Well might I suggest you move to a hotel closer to the sea. Or preferably in it."
Basil the Rat
- Basil: "Well of course it's a rat! You have rats in Spain don't you? Or did Franco have them all shot?"
- Basil: "Can't we get you on Mastermind Sybil? 'Next contestant: Sybil Fawlty from Torquay. Special subject: The bleeding obvious'"
- Basil: "I'll put an ad in the papers. 'Wanted: kind home for enormous, savage rodent. Answers to the name of Sybil.'"
Fawlty Towers influence
Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan have cited Fawlty Towers as a major influence on their sitcom Father Ted.
Two US remakes were made called Amanda's and Payne.
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