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Fawlty TowersBy Sean Axmaker
Basil Fawlty, as created and performed by John Cleese, is the rudest,
most boorish, most hilariously obnoxious man on the face of the planet.
What a natural for a TV sitcom! His screen wife, Sybil (Prunella Scales),
put it best in the episode "The Psychiatrist": "You're
either crawling all over them, licking their boots, or spitting poison at
them like some Benzedrine puff adder." He mockingly replies,
"Just trying to enjoy myself, dear." With his gangly frame and
contortionist abilities, Cleese brilliantly punctuates Basil's outrageous
faux pas with absurd gymnastics and turns Three Stooges-style pokes and
kicks into a slapstick ballet. Scales's Sybil is the genial but
obliviously chatty voice of reason and Andrew Sachs mangles the English
language as the Spanish bellhop Manuel, whose struggles with simple
directions results in comic lunacy reminiscent of Robert Benigni. After a
six-episode run in 1975, Cleese and cowriter and costar Connie Booth (who
plays Polly, the maid all too often pulled into Basil's ridiculous plans)
reunited the cast in 1979 for another six episodes without missing a punch
line. The 4-volume
collection contains all 12 shows, interspersed with interview segments
featuring Cleese discussing the genesis of the series and anecdotes about
the individual episodes. Remember to watch the opening credits of each
show to spot the creative misspellings on the hotel sign (my favorite:
"Fatty Owls"). |
Share Your Memories In Our Forums!Check out our Fawlty Towers forum! Do you have a favorite episode of the show? What do you remember about the series? Do you have any questions about it or its stars? Now you can post comments and questions directly to our TV forums! Click here to see what other Fawlty Towers viewers have said or to post your own comments about the show!
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Your Memories Shared! |
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Fawlty Towers is by far the best comedy series I have ever watched. John Cleese is amazing. I especially loved the episode with the Germans......I watch it over and over again and it still makes my eyes water from laughing. The rest of the cast is excellent too especially 'Manuel' the waiter. --Anonymous | Note: This is just a random sample of the Fawlty Towers messages in our TV forums! Click here to see what others have said or to post your own comments! |
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TV TIDBITS |
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Aired: 1975; 1979 |
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Cast: John Cleese (Basil Fawlty), Prunella Scales (Sybil Fawlty), Connie Booth (Polly), Andrew Sachs (Manuel) |
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Network: BBC, PBS |
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Genre: Sitcom |
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Theme song: |
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Image courtesy of the BBC | |
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