Fawlty by name, Fawlty by nature (Fawlty Towers)

Member Name: Mioliere

Product:	Fawlty Towers
Date:	11/10/08 (75 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Brilliant script, fantastic storylines, great acting

Disadvantages: Only twelve episodes were made

Such a British classic, Fawlty Towers must rank in the top ten television comedies for almost everyone in the land.

Supreme writing and magnificent acting transformed an idea into something really special that is still being screened on various channels some thirty odd years after it was made.

The basic premise of Fawlty Towers is the hotel of that name and, more importantly, the lives that are lived within it. John Cleese, one of Britain's finest comic actors plays the hotel's owner, Basil Fawlty, to perfection. A bad-tempered man in completely the worst job he could have, he does what most of wish we had the nerve to do at times - he treats other people with complete contempt and lets them know it. He does not care if he offends anyone - and he does offend almost every time he opens his mouth. He digs himself into huge holes of trouble then just carries on digging until he has to resort to high-drama or hysterics to try and shift the blame. Most of his troubles he brings on himself but, even when he is not to blame, he will go out of his way to make a situation even worse. He is also a cheapskate and will do anything to save money even if it comes to having substandard work carried out. He tells whopping great lies to his wife when she catches him out and they are always bickering with each other.

He is terrified of his tiny wife, Sybil, played by the great Prunella Scales. She rules the hotel with a rod of iron and the contempt they feel for each other is visceral. One wonders how they ever got married in the first place let alone stayed together under the stresses of running a hotel.

The waitress/chambermaid/receptionist is Polly, played by Cleese's former wife, Connie Booth, and Fawlty is always looking to her to get him out of trouble. She helps him all the time yet he shows no gratitude, on one occasion telling her he'd ruin in and that 'she would never waitress in Torquay again'! This is just one of the many now famous lines from the show.

A classic act in the series is the waiter, Manual, played by Andrew Sachs. For some reason the hotel took on a Spaniard with a terrible grasp of the English language and expected him to be an asset. There are several moments in the series with just Fawlty and Manual on screen and these are priceless.

Besides the owners and staff there are the guests. Basil plumbed new depths of rudeness when some German people were staying at the hotel, yet showed his oiliest side when he thought one of the guests was a hotel inspector.

I have watched this series time and time again and, although I know all the words and most of the action, it still makes me laugh. This is British television at its very best.

Summary: Great for a good laugh