Fawlty Towers

Buzz

Fawlty Towers ranks 1,846 out of the 18,228 shows on TV.com.

The 1,166 users who count themselves as Fawlty Towers fans have written a total of 55 reviews.

Status

Premiered

Ended

Genre

The genesis of Fawlty Towers came when John Cleese and the rest of the Pythons went filming in the Southwest of England in May 1971. They were scheduled to spend two weeks at the Gleneagles in Torquay, but cut their stay to one night. It all had to do with the "wonderfully rude" hotel manager, the late Donald... more »

The genesis of Fawlty Towers came when John Cleese and the rest of the Pythons went filming in the Southwest of England in May 1971. They were scheduled to spend two weeks at the Gleneagles in Torquay, but cut their stay to one night. It all had to do with the "wonderfully rude" hotel manager, the late Donald Sinclair.

Sinclair hated all the guests who had the shortsightedness to stay in the Gleneagles. Worse, Sinclair was only 5'4" and was married to a large, domineering wife.

Cleese turned Sinclair into a character for a Doctor in the House script for the BBC in 1973. This was just after Cleese had finished his TV chores on Monty Python's Flying Circus. Cleese wanted to strike out with his now-separated wife, Connie Booth, so the BBC gave both the offer to do a series.

It didn't take long at all for Cleese and Booth to make the series out of that Torquay hotel, which they named Fawlty Towers. Cleese cast himself as manager Basil Fawlty, who felt that the main nuisances in a hotel were the guests. Wife Sybil Fawlty was Basil's equal and opposite, the competent co-owner who could lash out at Basil and win on the first stroke. ("We reversed the sizes [of manager and wife]," said the 6'4" Cleese.)

Rounding out the regular staff at Fawlty Towers were Andrew Sachs as Manuel, the dumb waiter from Barcelona who could not make sense of Basil's commands (¿Qué?), and Connie Booth as Polly, whose calmness was sorely tested in each of Basil's schemes and cover-ups.

While most sitcom writers spend two weeks turning out an episode, John Cleese and Connie Booth spent six weeks writing each episode of Fawlty Towers. Cleese said each program started with two or three plot threads, which start parallel, but begin to intertwine. The best shows, of course, are those in which the plot threads touch at the end. The production team spent nearly an hour editing each minute of every program, spending up to 25 hours on each show.

With such intense work put into each episode, Fawlty Towers drew raves around the world, exceeding the success of Monty Python's Flying Circus in some countries. But Cleese limited the run of Fawlty Towers to approximately twelve shows. He did not want to diminish the impact Fawlty Towers has had. And there has been plenty of impact. America tried three times to regenerate the show, none of which worked. The best U.S. homage to the show may be a hotel called "Fawlty Towers" in Cocoa Beach, Florida (near Ron Jon's Surf Shop). Its owners have adopted the pseudonyms Basil and Sybil.

The show won 3 BAFTA Awards and one Broadcasting Press Guild Award. Despite being very short - lived and not airing too often, Fawlty Towers is recognised as one of the greatest British TV shows of all time. It was ranked #5 in the British Comedy Guide's list of Top 50 British Sitcoms. Fawlty Towers was voted #1 In the British Film Instuite TV 100. Other awards the show has won are; 'The Royal Television Society Programme Awards'for outstanding creative achievements which went to John Cleese in May 1976, In April 1982, the two episodes of Fawlty Towers that were used as training films won a Queens Award for Export Acheivement, In 2001 the new Fawlty Towers DVD set won the 'Quality Street DVD award' for being the best comedy on DVD, Basil Fawlty was recognised as the most Monstrous Boss on British TV in May 2003 by UK Satellite Channel UK Gold, just beating David Brent from The Office. Fawlty Towers has aired in over 60 countries in places like Tonga, China, Pakistan, Latvia, Malta and Denmark. less «

• fav person

  i like Manwell from barcalona

  i like Manwell from barcalonaless «

  Idontsayyaowzaa Last online Jun 18, 2009
  10 comments, last one May 25, 2009 + Add Comment

• Fawlty Towers Reopened Competition - Chance to meet the cast!!

  Hi there, I work for UKTV, and just wanted to let you know about a fantastic competition that is taking place! This May, F...more »

  Hi there, I work for UKTV, and just wanted to let you know about a fantastic competition that is taking place! This May, Fawlty Towers reopens its doors, exclusively for G.O.L.D. , and we have some fantastic money can't buy prizes up for grabs. Two Lucky Fans will each win a pair of tickets to a very exclusive lauch event for Fawlty Towers Reopened in London on Wednesday 6th May at 9:30am where they will meet the cast and attend the private screening of G.O.L.D.'S exclusive new show, Fawlty Towers Reopened. Plus, we've got a rather special Fawlty Towers photo signed by the cast for the runner up, plus ten of the 1st and 2nd series on DVD. Head over to golaughdaily.co.uk, but hurry because the competition ends tonight! Good Luck, Lizzie xx less «

  lizziemac Last online Apr 28, 2009
  1 comments, last one Apr 28, 2009 + Add Comment

• Fawlty Towers or Monty Python?

  just wondering if you prefer John Cleese as Basil Fawlty or in his various roles with the Pythons? personally, it has to be FT

  just wondering if you prefer John Cleese as Basil Fawlty or in his various roles with the Pythons? personally, it has to be FTless «

  parizada Last online 2 days ago
  34 comments, last one Mar 3, 2009 + Add Comment

•  

  9 Superb

  Fawlty towers is a really great show! You can watch it over and over and the jokes are still funny! hide « show »

  This is a fantastic show! The lines are really clever and funny and it is a great example of British humour. The characters are all really good and my favourites are Basil and Manuel. I would have liked it to go on longer but then it might have spoiled it if it went on too long.
  I think the episode with the Germans is my favourite. I love all the comments he makes about the war and that he thought he got away with it. That episode was what Fawlty Towers would be most famous like who doesn't know about that episode and the walk John Cleese did as an impersonation of a German soldier.

  Do you agree?

    0 0

  Report Abuse

  sophdoph13 Added May 16, 2009 All my reviews
•  

  10 Perfect

  A extraordinarily fantastic show. hide « show »

  With Basil constantly rude, abusing and berating behaviour towards all of the guests and especially Manuel. And Basil's fear of Sybil, the Major with his mind wandering all over the place. While throughout all the going ons of Fawlty Towers hotel of Torquay, there's Penny, about the only sane person in the whole place. All of these combined makes Fawlty Towers the hectic, mad and hilariously funny show it is. The scripts were fantastic with you constantly laughing, no matter how many times you have seen each episode. Even though it only ran for twelve episodes, this show has gone down as one of the greatest comedies of all time - with good reason for it too.

  Do you agree?

    0 0

  Report Abuse

  Abhorsen_91 Added Apr 16, 2009 All my reviews
•  

  10 Perfect

  An hysterically funny comedy from some of the guys who brought you Monty Python. hide « show »

  John Cleese is a brilliant comedian. The show 'Fawlty Towers' is rife with sarcastic wit and will leave you teary-eyed. I was very disappointed to see it end after a relatively short amount of episodes (I think this was due to the marital relationship b/t Connie Booth and John Cleese, though I'm not certain). I'd suggest this show to anybody of any age group or comedic taste. You will find the protagonist, Basil Fawlty, placed in flawlessly hopeless scenes of dramatic irony which he himself induced. These episodes usually leave his hotel guests (he runs a hotel after which the show is named) viewing Fawlty as either a lunatic or an owner of the most insanely backwards hotel in the whole of Western Europe.

  Do you agree?

    0 0

  Report Abuse

  Oyako_no_Kizuna Added Feb 12, 2009 All my reviews
•  

  9.5 Superb

  I absolutely love this show. It is hilarious, and even after watching the same episode over and over it does not get old. hide « show »

  John Cleese is amazing! I absolutely love this show. It is hilarious, and even after watching the same episode over and over it does not get old. It is the subtle jokes and sarcasm that makes this show stand out for me. If there was some way to bring it back then I would but it is so unique that no other actors could do it justice. The casting is perfect and the episodes are written well. The timing of the actors is just right for comedic brilliance. I can't think of another show that is like this one. I cant get enough of it.

  Do you agree?

    1 0

  Report Abuse

  ihavenotwin Added Nov 5, 2008 All my reviews
•  

  9.8 Superb

  Wow, this amazed me. hide « show »

  I noticed that a friend on this site had this show under his favs, so I downloaded the series.Great show.If you were to look up some of the most hysterical moments on the BBC, you would no doubtably come across two names. Those names would be John Cleese and Ricky Gervais. While Gervais recently found comedy through his program called 'The Office', Cleese has been providing wit, wisdom, and down-right hysteria for the past several decades. While away from his namesake (Monty Python), you can find Cleese comfortable in several other roles that showcase his bubbling talent. One of those programs just happens to be the funniest bit of crumpet called 'Fawlty Towers'.
  
  Remembering this show when I was a child and was on our local PBS station, I eagerly bought it when it was released on DVD about a year ago. Since then, I have watched random episodes here and there but never fully taking in the enjoyment from watching it all. So, today I decided to sit down and watch this series from beginning to end and I have yet to finish laughing. If this program doesn't define comic genius, I don't know what does. Never have I witnessed a show that has continually been fresh, hysterical (I cannot use that word enough), real, and outlandish all at the same time. Normally, with our current television programming, you need to pick or choose which it will be, but thankfully 'Fawlty Towers' is all of these and many more.
  
  Cleese remains in top form as Basil Fawlty, the owner/manager of the B&B that just happens to have his hands and over-worked imagination in everything. With the aid of his helpers Manuel (he's from Barcelona) and Polly (co-writer Connie Booth and ex-wife of Cleese), Cleese always seems to find himself in a heap of trouble with his wife Sybil (the dragon of the hotel). Armed with physical humor and a snake-like banter, we witness everything from a dead body, hotel inspectors, a failed anniversary party, a moose head, and a Himalayan rodent of sorts happen to this simple, everyday, B&B. This is not only a few of the episodes you will find in the complete set, but also the daily stress that Basil finds himself falling into daily.
  
  This series, again, is hysterical. Cleese is the master of his trade while proving that he can manage any task thrown in front of him. While some will argue that he overshadows the rest of the cast, I would say 'hogwash' to that. My two favorite characters in this series were Major and Manuel. The comedy that they provide cannot be found on television today. All I need to say is thank God for the BBC. Best 70s show. ever.

  Do you agree?

    2 0

  Report Abuse

  jacobp76 Added Apr 30, 2008 All my reviews