Communication Problems
''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, originally broadcast on BBC Two in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a dysfunctional fictional hotel in the English seaside town of Torquay in Devon. The plots centre on the tense, rude and put-upon owner Basil Fawlty (Cleese), his bossy wife Sybil (Prunella Scales), the sensible chambermaid Polly (Booth), and the hapless and English-challenged Spanish waiter Manuel (Andrew Sachs). They show their attempts to run the hotel amidst farcical situations and an array of demanding and eccentric guests and tradespeople. The idea of ''Fawlty Towers'' came from Cleese after he stayed at the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay, Devon, in 1970 (along with the rest of the Monty Python troupe), where he encountered the eccentric hotel owner Donald Sinclair. Stuffy and snobbish, Sinclair treated guests as though they were a hindrance to his runni ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Anagram
An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into the phrase "nag a ram"; which is an Easter egg suggestion in Google after searching for the word "anagram". The original word or phrase is known as the ''subject'' of the anagram. Any word or phrase that exactly reproduces the letters in another order is an anagram. Someone who creates anagrams may be called an "anagrammatist", and the goal of a serious or skilled anagrammatist is to produce anagrams that reflect or comment on their subject. Examples Anagrams may be created as a commentary on the subject. They may be a parody, a criticism or satire. For example: * "The New York Times, New York Times" = "monkeys write" * "Church of Scientology" = "rich-chosen goofy cult" * "McDonald's restaurants" = "Uncle Sam's standard rot" An anagram may also be a synonym of the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a refrigerator, and other kitchen facilities, upholstered chairs, a television, and en-suite bathrooms. Small, lower-priced hotels may offer only the most basic guest services and facilities. Larger, higher-priced hotels may provide additional guest facilities such as a swimming pool, a business center with computers, printers, and other office equipment, childcare, conference and event facilities, tennis or basketball courts, gymnasium, restaurants, day spa, and social function services. Hotel rooms are usually numbered (or named in some smaller hotels and B&Bs) to allow guests to identify their room. Some boutique, high-end hotels have custom decorated rooms. Some hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement. In Japan, cap ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
British Academy Television Award For Best Entertainment Performance
The British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance is an award given out by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts at their annual BAFTA Television Awards ceremony. This category has had minor name changes: *From 1958 to 1962 it was presented as an individual award named ''Best Light Entertainment Artist''. *From 1963 to 1965 it was awarded as ''Best Light Entertainment Personality'' *From 1967 to 1999 it was awarded as ''Best Light Entertainment Performance''. *Since 2000 the award has been known as ''Best Entertainment Performance''. Prior to the 1994 ceremony, acting performances in comedy roles were included in this category. Since 1994 they have been recognised in the British Academy Television Award for Best Comedy Performance, Best Comedy Performance category. Winners and nominees 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Performers with multiple wins and nominations Multiple wins The following pe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
British Academy Television Award For Best Scripted Comedy
The British Academy Television Award for Best Scripted Comedy is awarded annually as part of the British Academy Television Awards. Until 2015, the category was named the British Academy Television Award for Best Situation Comedy. According to British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the category "covers both situational comedies and scripted comedy sketch shows". It was first awarded from 1973 to 1980. From 1981 to 1999, sitcoms were included in the Best Comedy Programme or Series category instead. The category returned in 2000. Winners and nominees 1973-1980 2000s 2010s 2020s *Note: The series that don't have recipients on the tables had Production team credited as recipients for the award or nomination. Programmes with multiple wins and nominations Multiple Awards 3 awards *''The Office'' (consecutive) 2 awards *'' Black Books'' *''Fawlty Towers'' *''The Thick of It'' Multiple Nominations 7 nominations *''Peep Show'' 4 nominations *''The IT Crowd'' *''The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in San Bruno, California, it is the second-most-visited website in the world, after Google Search. In January 2024, YouTube had more than 2.7billion monthly active users, who collectively watched more than one billion hours of videos every day. , videos were being uploaded to the platform at a rate of more than 500 hours of content per minute, and , there were approximately 14.8billion videos in total. On November 13, 2006, YouTube was purchased by Google for $1.65 billion (equivalent to $ billion in ). Google expanded YouTube's business model of generating revenue from advertisements alone, to offering paid content such as movies and exclusive content produced by and for YouTube. It also offers YouTube Premium, a paid subs ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Donald Sinclair (hotel Owner)
Donald William Sinclair (10 July 1909 – 5 September 1981) was the co-proprietor of the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay, Devon, England. He helped manage the hotel after an extensive career as an officer in the Merchant Navy and the Royal Navy. During the Second World War, Sinclair twice survived the sinking of the ships on which he was serving. Sinclair was the inspiration for the character Basil Fawlty, played by John Cleese, in the television sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' that Cleese co-wrote. This was owing to Sinclair's allegedly stuffy, snobbish and eccentric treatment of his guests, including Cleese and other members of the Monty Python cast. Cleese later played a character named Donald Sinclair in the 2001 film ''Rat Race''. Wartime career Before the Second World War, Donald Sinclair was in the Merchant Navy. As an officer in the Royal Naval Reserve, he was called up in September 1939 for military service. Soon after his call up, Sinclair joined the crew of the armed merch ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Monty Python
Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy series '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which aired on the BBC from 1969 to 1974. Their work then developed into a larger collection that included live shows, films, albums, books, and musicals; their influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles' influence on music. (The live version of the Web page does not contain the quoted line, but the archived version does.) Their sketch show has been called "an important moment in the evolution of television comedy". ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' was loosely structured as a sketch show, but its innovative stream-of-consciousness approach and Gilliam's animation skills pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in style and content. A self-contained comedy unit, the Pythons had creative ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Gleneagles Hotel, Torquay
The Gleneagles Hotel was a hotel in Torquay, Devon, England. The 41-bed establishment, which opened in the 1960s, was the inspiration for ''Fawlty Towers'', a British situation comedy first broadcast in the mid-1970s. John Cleese, and his then wife Connie Booth, were inspired to write the series after they had stayed at the hotel, where they witnessed the eccentric behaviour of its co-owner, Donald Sinclair, who ran the hotel with his wife, Beatrice, until they sold it in 1973. Later the hotel was managed by Best Western. The hotel closed in February 2015 and was replaced by retirement apartments. History The Gleneagles was not originally built as a hotel but was modified to become one. The hotel was first opened in 1963 and was managed by Beatrice Sinclair and her husband, Donald. It was initially described as "upmarket" because it advertised private bathrooms in every room. It gained a four-star hotel rating and was complemented in guidebooks for the standard of accommodati ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Eccentricity (behavior)
Eccentricity (also called quirkiness) is an unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive. Eccentricity is contrasted with normal behavior, the nearly universal means by which individuals in society solve given problems and pursue certain priorities in everyday life. People who consistently display benignly eccentric behavior are labeled as "eccentrics". Etymology From Medieval Latin ''eccentricus'', derived from Greek ', "out of the center", from '-, '- "out of" + ', "center". ''Eccentric'' first appeared in English essays as a neologism in 1551, as an astronomical term meaning "a circle in which the earth, sun, etc. deviates from its center." (See Orbital eccentricity.) Five years later, in 1556, an adjective form of the word was used. In 1685, the definition evolved from the literal to the figurative, and ''eccentric'' is noted to have begun being used to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Manuel (Fawlty Towers)
Manuel is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom '' Fawlty Towers'', played by Andrew Sachs. He reappeared for a small sketch with John Cleese in ''We Are Most Amused'' in November 2008. Manuel himself appeared on the audio adaptations of '' Fawlty Towers'' as a linking narrator, explaining things from his point of view, when the series was released in audio format. The first two episodes released did not feature him at all, as the dialogue was edited and a short burst of piano music would indicate a change of scene. However, when the whole series was re-released, they were re-edited with Manuel's linking commentary. Personality Manuel is a well-meaning but dim, disorganised, and constantly confused Spanish waiter from Barcelona with a limited grasp of the English language and customs. He is constantly verbally and physically assaulted by his boss, and often used as a scapegoat for the various disasters that befall the hotel – even when they are not his fault. He is a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Polly Sherman (Fawlty Towers)
Polly Sherman is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''. Played by Connie Booth, she is Fawlty Towers' long-suffering waitress and hotel maid. Personality Polly is the hotel waitress during the series, and one of only four staff members seen there, the others being Manuel, Terry and short lived chef Kurt. Although she at one point claims to be employed part-time, she is shown working there as a maid, and is occasionally saddled with more duties than this, which she will often go along with for the extra money. Polly is, by far, the most sensible character in the series, and often stands as the voice of sanity during Basil's frequent escapades. However, she frequently finds herself embroiled in ridiculous masquerades (such as pretending to be the voice of Mr. Stubbs' secretary in " The Builders" or pretending that money Basil won on a horse was hers in " Communication Problems") owing to her immense loyalty towards Basil. She will usually take his side over ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Sybil Fawlty
Sybil Fawlty is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''. She is played by Prunella Scales. She is listed as 34 years old as seen on her medical chart in the 1975 episode "The Germans", presumably indicating she was born in 1940/1. Scales was 43 years old when ''Fawlty Towers'' began production. Personality She is Basil Fawlty's wife, and the only regular character in the series who usually refers to him by his first name ( Major Gowen addresses Basil by his first name in " Communication Problems"). Sybil is a far more effective worker and manager than Basil; she handles crises calmly, picks up the pieces after a nasty confrontation and stays polite to guests. Unlike Basil, who yearns to turn Fawlty Towers into "an establishment of class", catering exclusively to the highborn members of society, Sybil is more realistic and down-to-earth when it comes to clientele, and all that concerns her is the hotel making money rather than the class of guest who stays t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |