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''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
written by
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
and Connie Booth, originally broadcast on
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a dysfunctional fictional
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 re ...
in the English seaside town of
Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...
in
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
. The plots centre on the tense, rude and put-upon owner Basil Fawlty (Cleese), his bossy wife Sybil (
Prunella Scales Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales (''née'' Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English retired actress. She portrayed Sybil Fawlty, the bossy wife of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), in the BBC comedy ''Fawlty Towers'' and Queen Elizabeth ...
), the sensible chambermaid Polly (Booth), and the hapless and English-challenged Spanish waiter Manuel (
Andrew Sachs Andreas Siegfried Sachs (7 April 1930 – 23 November 2016), known professionally as Andrew Sachs, was a German-born British actor. He made his name on British television and found his greatest fame for his portrayal of the comical Spanish waite ...
). 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 Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...
,
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
, in 1970 (along with the rest of the
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 ser ...
troupe), where he encountered the eccentric hotel owner Donald Sinclair. Stuffy and snobbish, Sinclair treated guests as though they were a hindrance to his running of the hotel (a waitress who worked for him stated "it was as if he didn't want the guests to be there"). Sinclair was the inspiration for Cleese's character Basil Fawlty. While some critics derided ''Fawlty Towers'' upon release, the series soon received acclaim. In 1976 and 1980, it won the British Academy Television Award for Best Scripted Comedy. In 1980, Cleese received the
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 19 ...
. The popularity of ''Fawlty Towers'' has endured, and it is often re-broadcast. The show was ranked first on a list of the
100 Greatest British Television Programmes The BFI TV 100 is a list of 100 television programmes or series that was compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute (BFI), as chosen by a poll of industry professionals, with the aim to determine the best British television programmes of any ...
drawn up by the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
in 2000, and in a 2001 poll conducted by
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
, Basil Fawlty was ranked second on their list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters. In 2019, it was named the greatest-ever British TV sitcom by a panel of comedy experts compiled by the ''
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
''. The BBC profile for the series states that "the British sitcom by which all other British sitcoms must be judged, ''Fawlty Towers'' withstands multiple viewings, is eminently quotable ('don't mention the war') and stands up to this day as a jewel in the BBC's comedy crown." In 2023, Cleese suggested that a sequel series was being developed.


Origins

In May 1970, the
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 ser ...
comedy group stayed at the now-demolished Gleneagles Hotel in
Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...
,
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
while filming on location in
Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority, borough of Torbay which was created in 1968. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the Engli ...
.
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
was fascinated with the behaviour of the owner, Donald Sinclair, later describing him as "the rudest man I've ever come across in my life". Among such behaviour by Sinclair was his criticism of
Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam ( ; born 22 November 1940) is an American-British filmmaker, comedian, collage film, collage animator, and actor. He gained stardom as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Pa ...
's "too American" table
etiquette Etiquette ( /ˈɛtikɛt, -kɪt/) can be defined as a set of norms of personal behavior in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviors that accord with the conventions and ...
and tossing
Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, songwriter, musician, screenwriter and playwright. He was a member of the British comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band the Rutles. Idle studied English at Pembroke Co ...
's briefcase out of a window "in case it contained a bomb". Asked why anyone would want to bomb the hotel, Sinclair replied, "We've had a lot of staff problems".
Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. He received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, BAFTA Fellowship in 2013 and was knig ...
states Sinclair "seemed to view us as a colossal inconvenience". Rosemary Harrison, a waitress at the Gleneagles under Sinclair, described him as "bonkers" and lacking in hospitality, deeming him wholly unsuitable for a hotel proprietor. "It was as if he didn't want the guests to be there." Cleese and his then-wife Connie Booth stayed on at the hotel after filming, furthering their research of its owner. Demolished in 2015, the building was replaced by a new retirement home named Sachs Lodge in memory of
Andrew Sachs Andreas Siegfried Sachs (7 April 1930 – 23 November 2016), known professionally as Andrew Sachs, was a German-born British actor. He made his name on British television and found his greatest fame for his portrayal of the comical Spanish waite ...
who played Manuel in the sitcom and who died in 2016. Cleese was an occasional writer on the 1970s medical sitcom ''
Doctor in the House Doctor in the House may refer to: * Doctor in the House (novel), ''Doctor in the House'' (novel), a 1952 novel by Richard Gordon ** Doctor in the House (film), ''Doctor in the House'' (film), a 1954 British film adaptation of the novel *** Doctor i ...
'' and its follow-ons for
London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT; now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00&nbs ...
. An early prototype of the character that became known as Basil Fawlty was developed in an episode ("No Ill Feelings") of the third ''Doctor'' series (titled '' Doctor at Large''). In this episode, the main character (played by Barry Evans) checks into a small-town hotel, his very presence seemingly winding up the aggressive and incompetent manager (played by Timothy Bateson) with a domineering wife. The show was broadcast on 30 May 1971. Cleese said in 2008 that the first ''Fawlty Towers'' script he and Booth wrote was rejected by the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
. At a 30th-anniversary event honouring the show, Cleese said, Cleese was paid £6,000 for 43 weeks of work and supplemented his income by appearing in television advertisements. He states, "I have to thank the advertising industry for making this possible. Connie and I used to spend six weeks writing each episode and we didn't make a lot of money out of it. If it hadn't been for the commercials I wouldn't have been able to afford to spend so much time on the script."


Production

Although the series is set in Torquay, no part of it was shot in
South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...
. For the exterior filming, the Wooburn Grange Country Club in Wooburn Green, Buckinghamshire was used instead of a hotel. In several episodes of the series (notably " The Kipper and the Corpse", " The Anniversary" and " Basil the Rat"), the entrance gate at the bottom of the drive states the real name of the location. This
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
later served for a short time as a
nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...
named "Basil's" after the series ended, before being destroyed by a fire in March 1991. The remnants of the building were demolished and a
housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex, housing development, subdivision (land), subdivision or community) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to count ...
was built on the site. Few traces of the original site exist today. Other location filming was done mostly around Harrow: firstly the 'damn good thrashing' scene in " Gourmet Night" in which Basil loses his temper and attacks his broken-down car with a tree branch. It was filmed at the T-junction of Lapstone Gardens and Mentmore Close (). Secondly the episode "
The Germans "The Germans" is the sixth episode of the first series of the British television sitcom '' Fawlty Towers''. Written by John Cleese and Connie Booth and directed by John Howard Davies, it was first broadcast on BBC2 on 24 October 1975. The ...
", the opening shot is of Northwick Park Hospital. Thirdly "Gourmet Night"'s exterior of André's restaurant was at Preston Road (). It is now a Chinese and Indian restaurant called Wings, next to a launderette. Both Cleese and Booth were keen on every script being perfect, and some episodes took four months and required as many as ten drafts until they were satisfied. Cleese said one of the reasons the series worked so well was the quality of the scripts and the care taken over the editing. He told a TV interviewer that while the average BBC half-hour comedy script had 65 pages, the ones for Fawlty Towers had between 135 and 140 pages. "We literally did twice as many camera cuts—average shows got 200, we used to have 400. So there was an enormous amount in there. The other thing is that they were very well constructed," he said. Once an episode was in the can, the editing process started. "We did anything between 20 and 25 hours editing each show. Almost every minute you see up on the screen, we spent one hour editing and it was only by doing that you could just tighten it up, just tighten it there and take out a line of dialogue, sometimes take out a repetition, they'll then lose two lines of dialogue there. That's what really got the pace on it." The theme music was composed by Dennis Wilson. It was recorded by the highly respected Aeolian Quartet, who were asked by director John Howard Davies to perform the piece badly, although in the end they did not.


Plot directions and examples

The series focuses on the exploits and misadventures of short-fused hotelier Basil Fawlty and his acerbic wife Sybil, as well as their employees: waiter Manuel, Polly Sherman, and, in the second series, chef Terry. The episodes typically revolve around Basil's efforts to "raise the tone" of his hotel and his increasing frustration at numerous complications and mistakes, both his own and those of others, which prevent him from doing so. Much of the humour comes from Basil's overly aggressive manner, engaging in angry but witty arguments with guests, staff and, in particular, Sybil, whom he addresses (in a faux-romantic way) with insults such as "that golfing puff adder", "my little piranha fish" and "my little nest of vipers". Despite this, Basil frequently feels intimidated, Sybil being able to cow him at any time, usually with a short, sharp cry of "Basil!" At the end of some episodes, Basil succeeds in annoying (or at least bemusing) the guests and frequently gets his comeuppance. The plots occasionally are intricate and always farcical, involving
coincidence A coincidence is a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances that have no apparent causal connection with one another. The perception of remarkable coincidences may lead to supernatural, occult, or paranormal claims, or it may lead to b ...
s, misunderstandings, cross-purposes and meetings both missed and accidental. The
innuendo An innuendo is a wikt:hint, hint, wikt:insinuation, insinuation or wikt:intimation, intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called in ...
of the bedroom farce is sometimes present (often to the disgust of the socially conservative Basil) but it is his eccentricity, not his lust, that drives the plots. The events test to the breaking point what little patience Basil has, sometimes causing him to have a near breakdown by the end of the episode. The guests at the hotel typically are comic foils to Basil's anger and outbursts. Guest characters in each episode provide different characteristics (working class, promiscuous, foreign) that he cannot stand. Requests both reasonable and impossible test his temper. Even the afflicted annoy him, for example in the episode "Communication Problems", revolving around the havoc caused by the frequent misunderstandings between the staff and the hard-of-hearing Mrs Richards. Near the end, Basil pretends to faint just at the mention of her name. This episode is typical of the show's careful weaving of humorous situations through comedy cross-talk. The show also uses mild black humour at times, notably when Basil is forced to hide a dead body ("2 dead, 25 to go.") and in his comments about Sybil ("Did you ever see that film, '' How to Murder Your Wife''? ... Awfully good. I saw it six times.") and to Mrs Richards ("May I suggest that you consider moving to a hotel closer to the sea? Or preferably in it."). Basil's physical outbursts are primarily directed at Manuel, an emotional but largely innocent
Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking Ethnicity, ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern Nation state, nation-state of Spain. Genetics, Genetically and Ethnolinguisti ...
whose confused English vocabulary causes him to make elementary mistakes. At times, Basil beats Manuel with a frying pan and smacks his forehead with a spoon. The violence towards Manuel caused rare negative criticism of the show. Sybil and Polly, on the other hand, are more patient and understanding towards Manuel; everyone's usual excuse to guests for his behaviour is, "He's from
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
"; Manuel even once used the excuse for himself. Basil longs for a touch of
class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...
, sometimes playing recordings of classical music. In the first episode he is playing music by Brahms when Sybil remarks, after pestering him asking to do different tasks: "You could have them both done by now if you hadn't spent the whole morning skulking in there listening to that racket." Basil replies, with exasperation, "Racket?? That's Brahms! Brahms' Third Racket!" Basil often displays blatant snobbishness as he attempts to climb the social ladder, frequently expressing disdain for the " riff-raff", " cretins" and " yobbos" that he believes regularly populate his hotel. His desperation is readily apparent as he makes increasingly hopeless manoeuvres and painful faux pas in trying to curry favour with those he perceives as having superior social status. Yet he finds himself forced to serve those individuals that are "beneath" him. As such, Basil's efforts tend to be counter-productive, with guests leaving the hotel in disgust and his marriage (and sanity) stretching to breaking point.


Characters


Basil Fawlty

Basil Fawlty, played by
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
, is a
cynical Cynicism is an attitude characterized by a general distrust of the motives of others. A cynic may have a general lack of faith or hope in people motivated by ambition, desire, greed, gratification, materialism, goals, and opinions that a cynic p ...
and snobbish
misanthrope Misanthropy is the general hatred, dislike, or distrust of the Human, human species, human behavior, or human nature. A misanthrope or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings. Misanthropy involves a negative evaluative attitu ...
who is desperate to belong to a higher social class. He sees a successful hotel as a means of achieving this, yet his job forces him to be polite to people he despises. He is intimidated by his wife Sybil Fawlty. He yearns to stand up to her, but his plans frequently conflict with her demands. She is often verbally abusive (describing him as "an ageing, brilliantined stick insect") but although he towers over her, he often finds himself on the receiving end of her temper, verbally and physically (as in " The Builders"), and it is only on one occasion when Sybil mistakenly believes he is stalking an attractive Australian guest that he finally snaps and stands up to her. Basil usually turns to Manuel or Polly to help him with his schemes, while trying his best to keep Sybil from discovering them. However, Basil occasionally laments the time when there was passion in their relationship, now seemingly lost. Also, it appears he still does care for her and remains loyal to her, and actively resists the flirtations of a French guest in one episode. The penultimate episode, " The Anniversary", is about his efforts to put together a surprise anniversary party involving their closest friends. Things go wrong as Basil pretends the anniversary date does not remind him of anything though he pretends to have a stab at it by reeling off a list of random anniversaries, starting with the
Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected victory of the vastly outnumbered English troops agains ...
, for which he receives a slap from Sybil, who becomes increasingly frustrated and angry. He continues guessing even after Sybil is out of earshot, and mentions other anniversaries (none of which happened on 17 April), including the
Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...
and Yom Kippur, just to enhance the surprise. Sybil believes he really has forgotten, and leaves in a huff. In an interview in the DVD box set, Cleese claims this episode deliberately takes a slightly different tone from the others, fleshing out their otherwise inexplicable status as a couple. In keeping with the lack of explanation about the marriage, not much is revealed of the characters' back-stories. It is known that Basil served in the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
and saw action in the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
, possibly as part of his
National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...
.
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
himself was only 13 when the Korean War ended, making the character of Basil at least five or six years older than he.
Basil exaggerates this period of his life, proclaiming to strangers, "I killed four men." To this Sybil jokes that "He was in the Catering Corps. He used to poison them." Basil is often seen wearing regimental and old-boy style ties, perhaps spuriously, one of which is in the colours of the
Army Catering Corps The Army Catering Corps (ACC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for the feeding of all Army units. It was formed in 1941 and amalgamated into the Royal Logistic Corps in 1993. History In 1938 Leslie Hore-Belisha, the Secretary of St ...
. He also claims to have sustained a shrapnel injury to his leg; it tends to flare up at suspiciously convenient times. The only person towards whom Basil consistently exhibits tolerance and good manners is the old and senile Major Gowen, a veteran of one of the
world war A world war is an international War, conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I ...
s (which one is never specified, though he once mentions to Mrs Peignoir that he was in France in 1918) who permanently resides at the hotel. When interacting with Manuel, Basil displays a rudimentary knowledge of Spanish (Basil states that he "learned classical Spanish, not the strange dialect he [Manuel] seems to have picked up"); this knowledge is also ridiculed, as in the first episode in which a guest, whom Basil has immediately dismissed as working-class, communicates fluently with Manuel in Spanish after Basil is unable to do so. Cleese described Basil as thinking that "he could run a first-rate hotel if he didn't have all the guests getting in the way" and as being "an absolutely awful human being" but says that in comedy if an awful person makes people laugh they unaccountably feel affectionate towards him. Indeed, he is not entirely unsympathetic. The " Hotel Inspectors" and " Gourmet Night" episodes feature guests who are shown to be deeply annoying, with constant and unreasonable demands. In "Gourmet Night" the chef gets drunk and is unable to cook dinner, leaving Basil to scramble in an attempt to salvage the evening. Much of the time, Basil is an unfortunate victim of circumstance.


Sybil Fawlty

Sybil Fawlty, played by
Prunella Scales Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales (''née'' Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English retired actress. She portrayed Sybil Fawlty, the bossy wife of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), in the BBC comedy ''Fawlty Towers'' and Queen Elizabeth ...
, is Basil's wife. Energetic and petite, she prefers a working wardrobe of tight skirt-suits in shiny fabrics and sports a tower of permed hair augmented with hairpieces and wigs necessitating the use of overnight curlers. She often is a more effective manager of the hotel, making sure Basil gets certain jobs done or stays out of the way when she is handling difficult guests. Typically when Basil is on the verge of a meltdown due to a crisis (usually of his own making), it is Sybil who steps in to clear up the mess and bring some sense to the situation. Despite this, she rarely participates directly in the running of the hotel. During busy check-in sessions or meal times, while everyone else is busy working, Sybil is frequently talking on the phone to one of her friends with her phrase "Oohhh, I knoooooooow" or chatting to customers. She has a distinctive conversational tone and braying laugh, which Basil compares to "someone machine-gunning a seal". Being his wife, she is the only regular character who refers to Basil by his first name. When she barks his name at him, he flinchingly freezes in his tracks. Basil refers to her by a number of epithets, occasionally to her face, including "that golfing puff-adder", "the dragon", "toxic midget", "the sabre-toothed tart", "my little kommandant", "my little piranha fish", "my little nest of vipers" and "you rancorous, coiffured old sow". Despite these nasty nicknames, Basil is terrified of her. The 1979 episode " The Psychiatrist" contains the only time he loses patience and snaps at her (Basil: "Shut up, I'm fed up." Sybil: "Oh, you've done it now."). Prunella Scales speculated in an interview for ''The Complete Fawlty Towers'' DVD box set that Sybil married Basil because his origins were of a higher social class than hers.


Polly Sherman

Polly Sherman, played by Connie Booth, is a
waitress Waiting staff ( BrE), waiters () / waitresses (), or servers (AmE) are those who work at a restaurant, a diner, or a bar and sometimes in private homes, attending to customers by supplying them with food and drink as requested. Waiting staff ...
and general assistant at the hotel with artistic aspirations. She is the most competent of the staff and the voice of sanity during chaotic moments, but is frequently embroiled in ridiculous masquerades as she loyally attempts to aid Basil in trying to cover up a mistake or keep something from Sybil. In " The Anniversary" she snaps and refuses to help Basil out when he wants her to impersonate Sybil in the semi-darkness of her bedroom in front of the Fawltys' friends, Basil having dug himself into a hole by claiming Sybil was ill instead of admitting she had stormed out earlier in annoyance with him. Polly finally agrees, but only on condition that Basil lends her money to purchase a car, which he has previously refused to do. Polly generally is good-natured but sometimes shows her frustration, and has odd moments of malice. In " The Kipper and the Corpse", the pampered Shih Tzu dog of an elderly guest bites Polly and Manuel. As revenge, Polly laces the dog's sausages with black pepper and Tabasco sauce ("bangers bang"), making it ill and eventually killing it. Despite her part-time employment (during meal times), Polly frequently is saddled with many other duties, including as manager in "
The Germans "The Germans" is the sixth episode of the first series of the British television sitcom '' Fawlty Towers''. Written by John Cleese and Connie Booth and directed by John Howard Davies, it was first broadcast on BBC2 on 24 October 1975. The ...
" when Sybil and Basil are incapacitated. In the first series, Polly is said to be an art student who, according to Basil, has spent three years at college. In " Gourmet Night", she is seen drawing a sketch (presumably of Manuel), which everyone but Basil immediately recognises and she sells it to the chef for 50p. Polly is not referred to as a student in the second series, although in both series she is shown to have a flair for languages, displaying ability in both Spanish and German. In "The Germans", Basil alludes to Polly's polyglot inclination by saying that she does her work "while learning two Oriental languages". Like Manuel, she has a room of her own at the hotel.


Manuel

Manuel, a waiter played by
Andrew Sachs Andreas Siegfried Sachs (7 April 1930 – 23 November 2016), known professionally as Andrew Sachs, was a German-born British actor. He made his name on British television and found his greatest fame for his portrayal of the comical Spanish waite ...
, is a well-meaning but disorganised and confused
Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking Ethnicity, ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern Nation state, nation-state of Spain. Genetics, Genetically and Ethnolinguisti ...
from
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
with a poor grasp of the English language and customs. He is verbally and physically abused by his boss. When told what to do, he often responds, "¿Qué?" ("What?"). Manuel's character is used to demonstrate Basil's instinctive lack of sensitivity and tolerance. Every episode involves Basil becoming enraged at Manuel's confusion at his boss's bizarre demands and even basic requests. Manuel is afraid of Fawlty's quick temper and violent assaults, yet often expresses his appreciation for being given employment. He is relentlessly enthusiastic and is proud of what little English he knows. During the series, Sachs was seriously injured twice. Cleese describes using a real metal pan to knock Manuel unconscious in " The Wedding Party", although he would have preferred to use a rubber one. The original producer and director, John Howard Davies, said that he made Basil use a metal one and that he was responsible for most of the violence on the show, which he felt was essential to the type of comical farce they were creating. Later, when Sachs's clothes were treated to give off smoke after he escaped the burning kitchen in "
The Germans "The Germans" is the sixth episode of the first series of the British television sitcom '' Fawlty Towers''. Written by John Cleese and Connie Booth and directed by John Howard Davies, it was first broadcast on BBC2 on 24 October 1975. The ...
", the corrosive chemicals ate through them and gave Sachs severe burns. Manuel's exaggerated Spanish accent is part of the humour of the show. In fact, Sachs's original language was German; he emigrated to Britain as a child. The character's nationality was switched to Italian (and the name to Paolo) for the Spanish dub of the show, while in
Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
and
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, Manuel is a Mexican.


Other regular characters and themes

* Terry Hughes, played by Brian Hall, is the hotel chef throughout the second series. A sly, somewhat shifty
Cockney Cockney is a dialect of the English language, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by Londoners with working-class and lower middle class roots. The term ''Cockney'' is also used as a demonym for a person from the East End, ...
, he is nonetheless a competent chef ("I 'ave been to catering school!"). His cooking methods are occasionally somewhat casual, which frustrates and worries the neurotic Basil; and he also has limited concern for food and kitchen hygiene, claiming that "What the eye don't see, the chef gets away with" and that "the better the kitchen, the filthier it is." He used to work in Dorchester (not at The Dorchester, as a guest wrongly infers). In " The Anniversary" Terry and Manuel come to blows since Terry doesn't like anyone overshadowing him as a cook, so he proceeds to sabotage the
paella Paella (, , , , ; ) is a rice dish originally from the Valencian Community. ''Paella'' is regarded as one of the community's identifying symbols. It is one of the best-known dishes in Spanish cuisine. The dish takes its name from the wide, sha ...
Manuel is making for Basil and Sybil, leading to fisticuffs at the end of the episode. Cleese himself told Hall to portray Terry as if he were on the run from the police. * Major Gowen, played by Ballard Berkeley, is a slightly senile, amiable old soldier who is a permanent resident of the hotel. He is one of the few guests whom Basil seems to like. This is because he has the establishment status that Basil craves. He usually wears the
Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
jagged-striped tie, and once mentions to Mrs Peignoir being in France in 1918. He often is introduced as their "oldest resident" and in the episode "Waldorf Salad" Basil reveals that the Major has lived there for seven years. He enjoys talking about the world outside, especially the cricket scores and workers' strikes (the frequent strikes at
British Leyland British Leyland was a British automotive engineering and manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate formed in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It wa ...
during the time of the series' original transmission were often mentioned), and is always on the lookout for the newspaper. In the episode "
The Germans "The Germans" is the sixth episode of the first series of the British television sitcom '' Fawlty Towers''. Written by John Cleese and Connie Booth and directed by John Howard Davies, it was first broadcast on BBC2 on 24 October 1975. The ...
" he shows he has trouble forgiving the Germans because of the wars. The best he can say is that German women make good card players. In the same episode, he also demonstrates his outdated racial attitudes when he comments about the ethnic difference between " wogs" and " niggers". Despite his good intentions, the Major can cause Basil's plans to go awry, notably in the episode " Communication Problems" in which Basil tries his best to keep secret from Sybil the money he won in a bet. * Miss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby, played by Gilly Flower and Renee Roberts, are the other two permanent residents. Seemingly inseparable, these sweet-natured, dotty spinsters appear to have taken a fancy to Basil, feeling that they need to take care of him. In response, Basil vacillates between superficial charm and blunt rudeness during his conversations with them. * Audrey is Sybil's lifelong best friend, and is mostly acknowledged during gossipy telephone calls. Talking with her is a refuge for Sybil. When times get tough for Audrey, who has a dysfunctional relationship with her husband George, Sybil will offer solutions and guidance, often resulting in the catchphrase "Ohhh, I knowwww..." when she tries to commiserate with Audrey's problems. In Audrey's one on-screen appearance, in "The Anniversary", she is played by actress Christine Shaw. Basil tells Major Gowen that he thinks she is a "dreadful woman". * A
running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...
throughout the two series is the rearranged letters of the "Fawlty Towers" hotel sign which is shown at the beginning of every episode except "The Germans", when a hospital exterior is used as an
establishing shot An establishing shot in filmmaking and television production sets up, or establishes, the context for a scene by showing the relationship between its important figures and objects. It is generally a long or extreme-long shot at the beginning of ...
. In series one, the letters slowly fall from the sign due to lack of maintenance. In series two, the letters are re-arranged into a series of deliberate anagrams. The paperboy, though rarely seen, is revealed at the beginning of "The Psychiatrist" to be the prankster who rearranges the letters on the sign to sometimes crude phrases. * Terence Conoley appears in two episodes as entirely different characters. In "A Touch of Class" he plays Mr Wareing, and in "Waldorf Salad" he portrays Mr Johnston.


Episodes

The first episode of ''Fawlty Towers'' was recorded as a pilot on 24 December 1974, the rest of the series being recorded later in 1975. It was then originally broadcast on 19 September. The 12th and final episode was first shown on 25 October 1979. The first series was directed by John Howard Davies, the second by Bob Spiers. Both had their premieres on
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
. When originally transmitted, the individual episodes had no on-screen titles. The ones in common currency were first used for the VHS release of the series in the 1980s. There were working titles, such as "USA" for "Waldorf Salad", "Death" for "The Kipper and the Corpse" and "Rat" for "Basil the Rat", which have been printed in some programme guides. In addition, some of the early BBC audio releases of episodes on vinyl and cassette included other variations, such as "Mrs Richards" and "The Rat" for "Communication Problems" and "Basil the Rat" respectively. In 2022, a "lost" scene cut from the episode "The Anniversary" (that went unfilmed) was uncovered as part of a script copy, featuring Basil climbing out his bedroom window to avoid sex with a drunken Sybil, who had wanted to make up. It has long been rumoured that a 13th episode of the series was written and filmed, but never progressed further than a rough cut. Lars Holger Holm, author of the book ''Fawlty Towers: A Worshipper's Companion,'' has made detailed claims about the episode's content, but he provides no concrete evidence of its existence. On the subject of whether more episodes would be produced, Cleese said (in an interview for the complete DVD box set, which was republished in the book ''Fawlty Towers Fully Booked'') that he once had the genesis of a feature-length special—possibly sometime during the mid-1990s. The plot, never fleshed out beyond his initial idea, would have revolved around the chaos that a now-retired Basil typically caused as he and Sybil flew to
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
to visit their former employee Manuel and his family. Of the idea, Cleese said:
We had an idea for a plot which I loved. Basil was finally invited to Spain to meet Manuel's family. He gets to Heathrow and then spends about 14 frustrating hours waiting for the flight. Finally, on the plane, a terrorist pulls a gun and tries to hijack the thing. Basil is so angry he overcomes the terrorist, and when the pilot says, "We have to fly back to Heathrow" Basil says, "No, fly us to Spain or I'll shoot you." He arrives in Spain, is immediately arrested, and spends the entire holiday in a Spanish jail. He is released just in time to go back on the plane with Sybil. It was very funny, but I couldn't do it at the time. Making "Fawlty Towers" work at 90 minutes was a very difficult proposition. You can build up the comedy for 30 minutes, but at that length there has to be a trough and another peak. It doesn't interest me. I don't want to do it.
Cleese also may have been reluctant because of Connie Booth's unwillingness to be involved. She had practically retreated from public life after the show finished (and had been initially unwilling to collaborate on a second series, which explains the four-year gap between productions). The decision by Cleese and Booth to quit before a third series has often been lauded as it ensured the show's successful status would not be weakened with later, lower-quality work. Subsequently, it has inspired the makers of other shows to do likewise.
Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, television producer and filmmaker. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003) ...
and
Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, writer, director, and actor. He was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003), and co-writer ...
refused to make a third series of either ''
The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...
'' or '' Extras'', citing ''Fawlty Towers'' short lifespan. Rik Mayall,
Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton is a British comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. One of the major figures in the alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, his early stand-up style was Left-wing politics, left-wing political satire ...
and Lise Mayer, the writers behind '' The Young Ones'', which also ran for only two series (each with six episodes), used this explanation as well. Victoria Wood also indicated this influenced her decision to limit '' dinnerladies'' to 16 episodes over two series. The origins, background and eventual cancellation of the series were later humorously referenced in 1987's '' The Secret Policeman's Third Ball'' in a sketch in which Hugh Laurie and
Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...
present Cleese—whom they comically misname "Jim Cleese"—with a Dick Emery Lifetime Achievement Award ("Silver Dick") for his contributions to comedy, then launch into a comical series of questions regarding the show, including Cleese's marriage and divorce from Booth, innocently ridiculing Cleese and reducing him to tears, to a point at which he gets on his knees and crawls off the stage while crying.


Series overview


Series 1 (1975)


Series 2 (1979)

The second series was transmitted three-and-a-half years later, with the first episode being broadcast on 19 February 1979. Due to an industrial dispute at the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, which resulted in a strike, the final episode was not completed until well after the others, being finally shown as a one-off instalment on 25 October 1979. The cancelled episode on 19 March was replaced with a repeat of "Gourmet Night" from series 1. In the second series the anagrams were created by Ian McClane, the assistant floor manager. However, the only one which is actually a true anagram for the hotel's name is "Flowery Twats", created for "The Anniversary"


Reception


Critical reaction


Contemporary

At first, the series was not universally held in high esteem. ''
The Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead ...
''s review of the show in 1975 had the headline "Long John Short On Jokes". One critic of the show was Richard Ingrams, then television reviewer for ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...
'', who wrote a caustic piece condemning the programme. Cleese got his revenge by naming one of the guests in the second series "Mr Ingrams", who is caught in his room with a blow-up doll. However, many contemporary critics were effusive in their praise for the series. ''The Sunday Times'' called it "the funniest sitcom in years".
Clive James Clive James (born Vivian Leopold James; 7 October 1939 – 24 November 2019) was an Australian critic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and lyricist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1962 until his death in 2019.The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' said the second episode had him "retching with laughter." Peter Fiddick also championed ''Fawlty Towers'' in ''The Guardian'', calling it "the undoubted hit even of a season with a lot of comedy on show" and "one of the most amazingly funny programmes to come out of any television". When the first series ended, the ''Daily Mail'' made the final episode its pick of the day, with Tim Ewbank writing, "Sadly, the hilarious series FAWLTY TOWERS...ends tonight and the hope must be that it gets a repeat showing to the wider BBC 1 audience."


Retrospective

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, Fawlty Towers has an aggregate score of 100% based on 14 critic reviews. The website's consensus reads: "''Fawlty Towers'' looms large over British comedy with John Cleese's impeccably hapless performance and an endless array of exuberant slapstick—making for a supremely stimulating chuckler." In an interview for the "TV Characters" edition of
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
's "talking heads" strand 100 Greatest (in which Basil placed second, between Homer Simpson and
Edmund Blackadder Edmund Blackadder is the single name given to a collection of fictional characters who appear in the BBC mock-historical comedy series ''Blackadder'', each played by Rowan Atkinson. Although each series is set within a different period of Britis ...
), TV critic A. A. Gill theorised that the initially muted response may have been caused by Cleese seemingly ditching his label as a comic revolutionary—earned through his years with
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 ser ...
—to do something more traditional. In a list of the
100 Greatest British Television Programmes The BFI TV 100 is a list of 100 television programmes or series that was compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute (BFI), as chosen by a poll of industry professionals, with the aim to determine the best British television programmes of any ...
drawn up by the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, ''Fawlty Towers'' was placed first. It was also voted fifth in the " Britain's Best Sitcom" poll in 2004, and second only to ''
Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...
'' in The Ultimate Sitcom poll of comedy writers in January 2006. Basil Fawlty came top of the ''Britain's Funniest Comedy Character'' poll, held by Five on 14 May 2006. In 1997, "
The Germans "The Germans" is the sixth episode of the first series of the British television sitcom '' Fawlty Towers''. Written by John Cleese and Connie Booth and directed by John Howard Davies, it was first broadcast on BBC2 on 24 October 1975. The ...
" was ranked No. 12 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. ''
Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
'' magazine's 2024 list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time ranks it at No. 22. The entry states:


Awards and accolades

Three British Academy Television Awards (BAFTAs) were awarded to people for their involvement with the series. Both of the series were awarded the BAFTA in the category Best Scripted Comedy, the first being won by John Howard Davies in 1976, and the second by Douglas Argent and Bob Spiers in 1980. In 1980, Cleese received the BAFTA for Best Entertainment Performance. In a list drawn up by the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
in 2000, voted by industry professionals, ''Fawlty Towers'' was named the best British television series of all time.


Legacy

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
was a fan of the show. He said in 1980: "I love ''Fawlty Towers''. I'd like to be in that. t'sthe greatest show I've seen in years... what a masterpiece, a beautiful thing."
Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...
stated, "I still think ''Fawlty Towers'' is the best sitcom ever." Filmmaker
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...
has remarked he is a great fan of ''Fawlty Towers'' and named "The Germans" as his favourite episode. He described the scene with Basil impersonating
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
as "so tasteless, it's hilarious". Naming ''Fawlty Towers'' among the shows he loved growing up, comedy writer Graham Linehan cited the "farce elements" of the show as an influence for his much acclaimed sitcom ''
Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for British television channel Channel 4. It aired over three seri ...
''. In 2025, it was announced that John Cleese would be publishing a new book about the series titled ''Fawlty Towers: Fawlts & All — My Favourite Moments'' marking the show's 50th anniversary''.''


Remakes, adaptations and reunions

Three attempted remakes of ''Fawlty Towers'' were started for the American market, with two making it into production. The first, ''Chateau Snavely'', starring Harvey Korman and Betty White, was produced by ABC for a pilot in 1978, but the transfer from coastal hotel to highway motel proved too much and the series was never produced. The second, also by ABC, was ''
Amanda's ''Amanda's'' (also known as ''Amanda's by the Sea'') is an American sitcom television series based on the 1970s British sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' that aired on ABC from February 10 to May 26, 1983. The series starred Bea Arthur as Amanda Cartwrig ...
'', starring Bea Arthur, notable for switching the sexes of its Basil and Sybil equivalents. It also failed to attract a major audience and was dropped after ten episodes had been aired, despite 13 completed episodes. A third remake, called '' Payne'' (produced by and starring John Larroquette), aired in 1999, but was cancelled shortly afterwards. Nine episodes were produced, of which eight aired on American television (though the complete run was broadcast overseas). A German pilot was made in 2001, named ''Zum letzten Kliff'' (To the last cliff), but no further episodes were made after its first series. Popular American sitcoms ''
3rd Rock from the Sun ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' is an American television sitcom created by Bonnie and Terry Turner, which originally aired from January 9, 1996, to May 22, 2001, on NBC. The show is about four Extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrials who are on an e ...
'' and ''
Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...
'' (in both of which Cleese made guest appearances) have cited ''Fawlty Towers'' as an inspiration, especially regarding its depiction of a dysfunctional workplace "family". Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan have cited ''Fawlty'' as a major influence on their sitcom ''
Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for British television channel Channel 4. It aired over three seri ...
''. '' Guest House'' on Pakistan's PTV also resembled the series. Several of the characters have made other appearances, as spinoffs or in small cameo roles. In 1981, in character as Manuel, Sachs recorded his own version of the Joe Dolce cod-Italian song " Shaddap You Face" (with the B-side "Waiter, There's a Spanish Flea in My Soup") but the record was not released because Dolce took out an
injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable rem ...
: he was about to issue his version in Britain. Sachs also portrayed a Manuel-like character in a series of British TV advertisements for life insurance. Gilly Flower and Renee Roberts, who played elderly ladies Miss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby in the series, reprised their roles in a 1983 episode of ''
Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses'' (titled onscreen as ''Only Fools and Horses....'') is a British television sitcom that was created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Ki ...
''. In 2006, Cleese played Basil for the first time in 27 years, for an unofficial England 2006 World Cup song, " Don't Mention the World Cup", taking its name from the phrase, "Don't mention the war", which Basil used in the episode "
The Germans "The Germans" is the sixth episode of the first series of the British television sitcom '' Fawlty Towers''. Written by John Cleese and Connie Booth and directed by John Howard Davies, it was first broadcast on BBC2 on 24 October 1975. The ...
". In 2007, Cleese and Sachs reprised their roles for a six-episode corporate business video for the Norwegian oil company
Statoil Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. It is primarily a petroleum company operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renewable energy. In th ...
. In the video, Fawlty is running a restaurant called "Basil's Brasserie" while Manuel owns a Michelin-starred restaurant in London. In November 2007, Scales returned to play Sybil in a series of sketches for the BBC's annual ''
Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...
'' charity telethon. The character was seen taking over the management of the eponymous hotel from the BBC drama series '' Hotel Babylon'', interacting with characters from that programme as well as other 1970s sitcom characters. The character of Sybil was used with Cleese's permission. In 2007, the
Los Angeles Film School The Los Angeles Film School (informally LA Film School) is a for-profit college in Los Angeles, California, offering associate and bachelor's degrees in majors relating to the entertainment industry. The school encompasses the Los Angeles Record ...
produced seven episodes of ''Fawlty Tower Oxnard'', starring Robert Romanus as Basil. At a 2009 reunion event for the
Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
channel as ''Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened'', Cleese said that the cast would never make another episode of the series because they are "too old and tired" and expectations would be too high. In 2016, Cleese reprised his role as Basil in a series of TV adverts for High Street
optician An optician is an individual who fits glasses or contact lenses by filling a refractive prescription from an optometrist or ophthalmologist. They are able to translate and adapt ophthalmic prescriptions, dispense products, and work with acces ...
chain Specsavers. The same year, Cleese and Booth reunited to create and co-write the official theatrical adaptation of ''
Fawlty Towers ''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 ...
'', which premiered in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
at the Comedy Theatre. It was critically well received, subsequently embarking on a successful tour of Australia. Cleese was intimately involved in the creation of the stage version from the beginning, including casting. He visited Australia to promote, as well as oversee its success. Melbourne was chosen to premiere the adaptation due to the series' enduring popularity in Australia, and also as it had become a popular international test market for large-scale theatrical productions in recent years, having recently been the city where the revised '' Love Never Dies'' and the new ''
King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...
'' also premiered. Cleese also noted he did not believe the London press would give the adaptation fair, unbiased reviews, so he deliberately chose to premiere it elsewhere. On 2 February 2024, it was announced that the 2016 stage show based on ''Fawlty Towers'' would launch at London's Apollo Theatre later that year. Prior to the launch of the official ''Fawlty Towers'' theatrical adaptation in 2016, Cleese contested the legal validity of the Australian touring stage production, '' Faulty Towers The Dining Experience'', and threatened to sue its creators; this subsequently led to the cancellation of the tribute show's US tour. Cleese suggested he was producing a sequel series in 2023, along with his daughter Camilla. The show is presumably under development at
Castle Rock Entertainment Castle Rock Entertainment is an American independent film and television production company founded in 1987 by Martin Shafer, director Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, Glenn Padnick (September 8, 1947 – February 27, 2025) and Alan Horn. Histo ...
, with Matthew George,
Rob Reiner Robert Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and liberal activist. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael Stivic, Mike "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitc ...
, Michele Reiner and Derrick Rossi as executive producers. The premise sees Basil (Cleese) trying to operate Fawlty Towers with help from his long-lost daughter (Camilla) and adjusting to the modern world. Cleese admitted the company was too hasty in announcing the reboot, and that he only had "half an idea" being workshopped as of July 2023. He said that the series would "probably" be set in the Caribbean. Cleese confirmed to
GB News GB News is a British free-to-air, editorial, opinion-orientated television and radio news channel. The channel is available on Freeview (UK), Freeview, Freesat, Sky UK, Sky, YouView, Virgin Media and via the internet on Samsung TV Plus, LG web ...
that the sequel series, unlike the original series, would not be broadcast on the BBC, feeling the broadcaster would have limited his creative freedom.


Overseas

In 1977 and 1978 alone, the original TV show was sold to 45 stations in 17 countries and was the BBC's best-selling overseas programme for that year. ''Fawlty Towers'' became a huge success in almost all countries in which it aired. Although it initially was a flop in Spain, largely because of the portrayal of the Spanish waiter Manuel, it was successfully resold with the Manuel character's nationality changed to Italian except in Spain's Catalan region where Manuel was Mexican. To show how badly it translated, Clive James picked up a clip containing Manuel's "¿Qué?" phrase to show on '' Clive James on Television'' in 1982. The series also briefly was broadcast in Italy in the 1990s on the satellite channel Canal Jimmy, in the original English with Italian subtitles. In Australia, the show originally was broadcast on ABC Television, the first series in 1976 and the second series in 1980. The show then was sold to the
Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
where it has been repeated numerous times.


Home media and merchandise


Audio releases

Four albums were released by BBC Records on vinyl LP and cassette. These consisted of the original television soundtracks, and from the second album onwards had additional voice-over from Sachs (in character as Manuel) describing scenes which relied on visual humour. The first album, simply titled ''Fawlty Towers'', was released in 1979 and contained audio from "Communication Problems" (as "Mrs Richards") and "Hotel Inspectors". The second album, ''Second Sitting'', was released in 1981 and contained audio from "Basil the Rat" (as "The Rat") and "The Builders". Both of these first two albums reached the Top 30 of the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
. ''At Your Service'' was released in 1982, and contained audio from "The Kipper and the Corpse" (as "Death") and "The Germans" (as "Fire Drill"). Finally, ''A La Carte'' was released in 1983, and contained audio from "Waldorf Salad" (as "The Americans") and "Gourmet Night". The albums were re-released as double-cassette packs under the titles ''Fawlty Towers 1'' and ''Fawlty Towers 2'' in 1988. The remaining four episodes did not get an audio-only release until 1994 on audio cassette as ''Fawlty Towers 3''. The first CD release of the audio versions was in a box set in 2003, titled ''Fawlty Towers – The Collector's Edition'', which included spoken introductions to each episode by Cleese, and an interview with Scales and Sachs. The four vinyl records were reissued in a limited-edition box set, along with the remaining four episodes on vinyl for the first time, for Record Store Day in 2021.


Home media

''Fawlty Towers'' was originally released by BBC Video in 1984, with three episodes on each of four tapes. Each was edited with the credits from all three episodes put at the end of the tape. A
LaserDisc LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...
containing all episodes spliced together as a continuous episode was released in the US on 23 June 1993. It was re-released in 1994, unedited but digitally remastered. It also was re-released in 1997 with a special interview with Cleese. ''Fawlty Towers – The Complete Series'' was released on DVD on 16 October 2001, available in
regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
1, 2 and 4. A "Collector's Edition" is available in region 2. The original DVD contained a slightly edited version of "The Kipper and the Corpse", in which Basil's line "Is it your legs?" (said to Mr Lehman when asking why he wants breakfast in bed) is missing. This line was restored in subsequent remasters. Series one was released on UMD Video for PSP. In July 2009, BBC America announced a DVD reissue, released on 20 October 2009. Titled ''Fawlty Towers Remastered: Special Edition'', contains commentary by Cleese on every episode as well as remastered video and audio. All episodes were previously available as streamed video-on-demand via
Britbox BritBox is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Video on demand#Subscription models, video on demand Streaming television, streaming service founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, ITV which operates in eight countries across Australi ...
,
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and
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...
. Additionally, both series were previously available for download on
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
. In 2021, all episodes were made available on the
BBC iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available Over-the-top media service, over-the-top on a wide range of devices, including Mobile phone, mobile phones and Tablet computer ...
. In 2020, John Cleese criticized the BBC when the episode ''The Germans'' was removed from the streaming platform belonging to
UKTV UKTV Media Limited, trading as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through a join ...
due to "offensive language" used by the character of the Major—the channel, a BBC subsidiary, said it at the time it planned to reinstate the episodes with content advisory messages. The BBC has also aired cut versions of the episode on broadcast television during reruns in some instances in 2013 and 2021, in part citing UK airtime watershed regulations.


Computer game

A ''Fawlty Towers'' game was released on PC in 2000 and featured a number of interactive games, desktop-customising content, and clips from the show.


Books

The original scripts were released in a hardback book by Methuen, ''The Complete Fawlty Towers'', in 1988.


Notes


References


Further reading

* Apter, Michael J. (1982), first published online in 2004. "Fawlty Towers: A Reversal Theory Analysis of A Popular Television Comedy Series". ''The Journal of Popular Culture'' (Blackwell Publishing) 16 (3): 128–138. * Bright, Morris; Robert Ross (2001). ''Fawlty Towers: Fully Booked''. London: BBC Books. . * Cleese, John; Connie Booth (1988). ''The Complete Fawlty Towers''. London: Methuen. . * Dalla Costa, Dario (2004). ''The Complexities of Farce: With a Case Study on Fawlty Towers ''. Unpublished Master's thesis, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. Retrieved from http://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/files/3238761/Costa_Dario_Dalla_2004.pdf * Holm, Lars Holger (2004). ''Fawlty Towers: A Worshipper's Companion''. London: Leo Publishing. . *


External links

* * *
''Fawlty Towers''
at the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
*
''Fawlty Towers''
at the MBC's Encyclopedia of Television * *
''Fawlty Towers''
- All Episodes edited together at
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

''Fawlty Towers'' Guest Characters
{{Authority control 1975 British television series debuts 1979 British television series endings 1970s British sitcoms 1970s British workplace comedy television series BAFTA winners (television series) BBC television sitcoms British English-language television shows Fictional hotels Television series by BBC Studios Television series about marriage Television series set in hotels Television shows set in Devon Works by John Cleese Works featuring villain protagonists