User reviews

This is pure comedy. It is genius. It is hilarity that transcends the boundary of comedy. Fawlty Towers is the kind of comedy that has you on the floor gasping for air in a puddle of your own tears. John Cleese has created one of the defining characters of comedy in Basil Fawlty. Manuel Sachs is superb as Manuel, the confused waiter from Barcelona. Prunella Scales is brilliant as the tyrannical wife. Connie Booth is very good as Polly, the hassled waitress. Put it all together inside a small hotel in Torquay and you get one of the greatest, most alluring comedies ever to grace the screen. The only bad thing about Fawlty Towers is that they didn't make more.

Fawlty Towers will always be tearfully, heart stoppingly, deadly, and disasterously funny.

This is probably one of the best situational comedies ever made and in my opinion few other television programs compare to it. It is hard to say what is so good about this little show as the main character is a rude prick, the story lines are rather simplistic, and the characters pretty much cardboard cut outs of class stereotypes (this is a British show after all), but each episode is a nearly perfect choreographed dance of escalating frustration with an impeccable touch of absurdity.

From brick walls appearing in doorways to mishaps during fire drills, from guests dying overnight to getting the right food for a gourmet, from class issues to just plain old mayhem this show has got it all. It is all in a meager 12 episodes, but that is what makes each episode absolutely priceless with hardly a dull moment. A classic in every sense of the word. 10/10

Not rated, suitable for everyone.

One of my all time favorite comedy series. I must have seen those at least ten times and still I would watch it again. I know almost every line out of my head. Every character in this show fits perfectly to make this British comedy an old time classic. Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) is absolutely brilliant as the super nervous hotel manager that always tries to get the upper class in his establishment. Riff-Raff is not for him. Sybil (Prunella Scales) his wife on the other hand just wants to run the hotel normally. Her bossy attitude towards her husband Basil is hilarious. Polly the maid (Connie Booth) looks like the most normal person in this series. Manuel (Andrew Sachs) drives Basil completely bonkers, he's from Barcelona and doesn't get anything that Basil is trying to explain to him. Those four run the show but the other characters are all funny as well. I like every episode but "The Germans" must be my favorite one. If you never watched this show then I can only highly recommend it. You don't know what you are missing.

Come visit the worst-run hotel in the whole of western Europe (well, except for that place in Eastbourne...) In a field with many top contenders, 'Fawlty Towers' remains my favourite of all 'Britcoms' - situation comedies originating on British television. Fawlty Towers has a cult following decades after the originals aired; it is sometimes hard to believe that there are but 12 episodes, six hours total. The regular cast is led by John Cleese, veteran of the famous Monty Python comedy troupe, as the irrepressible Basil Fawlty, titular head of the hotel with dreams of class and glory; Prunella Scales is his long-suffering and hardworking wife, Sybil, who recognises that while Basil may think 'the sky's the limit!', in fact, '22 rooms is the limit'. Connie Booth (Cleese's real-life wife) played the level-headed and sensible, overworked maid Polly, and in a role matched only by Fawlty's own bizarre manner, Andrew Sachs plays the lovable and ever-incompetent Spanish waiter, Manuel (he's from Barcelona...). Ballard Berkeley makes Ballard Berkeley makes a regular appearance as the Major, a retired long-term resident at the hotel. Brian Hall joined the cast for the second season as the not-quite-gourmet chef, Terry.

From the very first episode (first aired in 1975) featured a social-climbing Fawlty as perhaps the most rude and insufferable hotel manager in existence, in the resort town of Torquay, on the Channel coast of Britain. Sybil tries to maintain a reasonable level of service, but Fawlty's snobbishness permits him to be gracious (indeed, excessively fawning) toward those he considers 'worthy', which in this episode turns out to be Lord Melbury, who ends up not being Lord Melbury, but rather a confidence trickster, and Fawlty's revenge scares away the real 'posh' guests, whom Fawlty sends off with the hilarious shout, 'Snobs!' In each of the episodes, there is a crisis - one gets the sense that the life of Fawlty is non-stop crisis, with his wife and Polly forever picking up the pieces, Manuel always complicating things, and the others wandering around in a state of disbelief (or, in the case of the Major, perpetual daze). The twelve episodes highlight all the things that could wrong at hotel in classic comedic fashion - the institution of a Gourmet Night falls flat when the not-quite-recovering alcoholic chef starts drinking the night of the main event; a guest dies in the middle of the night, and Fawlty tries to slip him out unnoticed; remodelers install and remove the wrong doors; the health inspector unexpected shows up and gets served a bit of rat with his cheese.

However, nothing quite matches the kinds of situations Basil can get himself into. When trying to plan a surprise anniversary dinner for his wife, she leaves the hotel thinking that Basil has forgotten again, and Basil dresses Polly up as a sick-bed-bound Sybil to fool the guests. When Polly's friends check in for a wedding over the weekend, Basil suspects the group of free sexual expression (highlighting his own repression); this theme is carried over to a glorious extreme in the episode about the visiting Psychiatrist.

'How does he make his living?' Basil protests. 'He makes his money by sticking his nose into others' private parts, er, details...' This is also the episode where Sybil finally confronts Basil about his double-sided hotel manner toward guests: 'You're either crawling all over them, licking their boots, or spitting poison at them like some Benzedrine puff adder,' she declares. He replies in perfect form, 'Just trying to enjoy myself, dear.' As the psychiatrist will comment near the end, there's enough material for an entire psychiatrist conference. Indeed there is, as this is slapstick humour with a difference. Intelligent and witty while utterly chaotic and beyond the pale, one is treated to the moose-head incident and the ingrowing toenail as well as Fawlty's unique form of automobile motivation (how many of us have ever been tempted to whack away at a stalled car with a stick!) and a nice performance of Brahms (his 'third racket', to be precise). One must not overlook the little details, either, including the ever-changing sign in front (the actual hotel used for the exteriors unfortunately burned down many years after the show), and the fact that the interior and exterior layouts of the building cannot correspond (shades of 'The Simpsons' whose furniture layout changes from scene to scene).

It is almost inconceivable that the two series, each of six episodes, were four years apart (1975 and 1979), as they flow rather seamlessly together. Popular on television networks worldwide, it can be seen variously on BBC America and local public television channels, often during the fund drives, when the most popular pieces are shown.

Unlike many comedies which try to be topical, end up being very much of their time, and as a consequence don't age well, which certainly can't be said about this show, which stars John Cleese as Basil Fawlty, manager(along with his wife Sybil, played by Prunella Scales) of an English hotel, and the various staff and guest problems he would face.

The comedy in this series built over the course of the 12 episodes, which would frequently end in Basil being humiliated in a predicament of his own making. Curious thing is how Fawlty isn't really a likable character, but a funny one, which was what John Cleese was going for.

Highlights are Basil suffering a concussion, and his subsequent encounter with a group of German guests...or how a rat gets loose, and Basil's frantic attempts to deal with a crazy tenant hunting it with an Elephant gun... Priceless!

I can only imagine what it must have been like for the millions of viewers back in 1975 and subsequently 1979 to sit down and watch an episode of Fawlty Towers for the first time. Considered by many as the greatest sitcom of all time, certainly by me. Made before I was born I connect with each character and laugh out loud at each episode, whether it's Basil's frustrations, Manuel's lack of understanding, Cybil's coarseness, or indeed the array of amusing guests.

Only twelve episodes made, all concerned made every effort to ensure that what was put out was quality, a four year gap in between Series shows just what perfectionists Cleese, Booth and co. were. When I reach the sixth episode of Series 2, I often wonder 'if only there were more,' but to maintain the standard they did, they made the right decision. Twelve episodes of pure comedy gold.

How do you go about picking a favourite episode, for many it's The Germans, for many it's Basil the Rat, personally I'll always have a fondness for The Kipper and The Corpse, even the title shows a level of genius.

It's one of the few shows that can genuinely make you forget about a bad situation, you can check into Fawlty Towers and laugh your head off. Laughter will forever be the best medicine, and this show will forever remain Britain's best loved comedy. 10/10

I consider this series one of the best comedies ever produced! Outstanding humor, exquisite physical comedy. It doesn't get any better than this!

An interesting thought about the famous Basil Fawlty occurs to me on reflection - if his dear wife Sybil ("my little nest of vipers"), his put-upon chambermaid/receptionist/waitress Polly and his unfortunate Spanish waiter Manuel all died tomorrow, he'd never be able to cope running the hotel. He'd internally explode or offend the guests just that little bit too much, and that would be the end of Fawlty Towers.

If Basil died, on the other hand, I don't think Sybil, Manuel and Polly would worry at all about carrying on without him. Although he's a hotelier, Mr. Fawlty clearly doesn't like people at all. He exploits the fact that the slightly deaf and constantly complaining Mrs. Richards has her hearing aid switched off to ask, "Is this a piece of your brain?". Obviously sexually repressed, Basil can't come to terms with the liberated 1970s that he lives in. He goes out of his way to avoid giving an unmarried couple a double room, then spends the night "checking the walls" for woodworm and having misunderstandings with a pretty Australian guest, leading Sybil to respond with "If you're going to grope a girl, have the gallantry to stay in the room with her while you're doing it!". With lines like this, you can see why it took Connie Booth and John Cleese weeks to write each episode.

Basil himself is an interesting physical character. I think it particularly helps that John Cleese is well over six feet in height, because when Basil gets in a rage he seems trapped in his own body. Anyone else would be throwing things and flailing their arms about and screaming, but Basil, being emotionally (and certainly sexually) repressed, doesn't seem to know how to handle his anger and his physical struggle is very funny to watch.

There are a wonderful host of interesting characters for Basil to bounce off - a small guest named Mrs. Hall that he doesn't notice, a highly-strung ("Yes, he should be") teenager who demands salad cream instead of fresh mayonnaise and the priceless builder Mr. "lick o'paint" O'Reilly, as well as the better builder Mr. Stubbs ("That's a supporting wall! God help the floors above!"), the Major and the old ladies who seem to live in the hotel.

If Basil Fawlty was still alive today (though I imagine he'd have long since expired of a heart attack or astronomically high blood pressure), I'm not sure if he'd have retired or if he'd be clinging on to his treasured establishment until he dropped down dead. I'd like to think that Sybil could outlive him - perhaps in a twist on Basil's reference to the film "How To Murder Your Wife" she'd have gone mad and killed him - so whether she'd be in prison or retired or mourning the loss of Basil, I can't tell but I hope she'd enjoy her retirement.

Fawlty Towers is just flat out fantastic. What else is there to say? I mean, is there another comedy series as funny, as well acted, as frustrating, and as smart as Fawlty Towers? In my opinion, no! People say shows like Black Books, Seinfeld, Friends, Modern Family, The Office and The Big Bang Theory are the best sitcoms ever. Yes, many of these are great, but none of them, I repeat, none of them are as hysterical as Fawlty Towers! If you like John Cleese as an actor, or if you like British comedy, or if you like sitcoms in general, I can guarantee that you will love Fawlty Towers!

I know this may sound like a bit of a rant, but, in my opinion it is the only way to convey how amazing Fawlty Towers really is!

10/10

I understand that this is supposed to be a classic show. I also understand that a lot of Monthy Python fans are hooked to this. I even understand the people who will be clicking the NO button down there when asked if they found this review helpful.

I just don't get this show.

Granted, some people might find certain situations in the series funny. I can't really say that I do. I didn't laugh with this show, I barely smiled. Maybe I don't get British "humor". Odd, though, because I kind of like the original "The Office". And I can see how some people wouldn't think that is a very funny show at all. However, I can find dark humor funny. Normal comedy that is not funny... well, that, I don't get.

Still, I suppose it doesn't matter what I say, this will continue to be a cult series. Same goes for all with Monty Phyton stamped on it. I'm just not a Python person, I'm afraid.

Although, I can see bad acting when it's in front of me. And Fawlty has plenty. Perhaps Cleese could have done something for this show if he would have been surrounded by a better cast.

I'm giving this a 4 instead of a 3 due to the "Classic/cult" status.

Just saw again the first four episodes of John Cleese's wonderful, wonderful Fawlty Towers, the dysfunctional hotel run by the inimitable Basil Fawlty (Cleese), and his battle-wagon wife, Sybil (Prunella Scales). Amazing how many belly laughs and guffaws the show can still inspire, and this is probably my third or fourth viewing (still, it's been years).

Even more amazing is the short documentary on the realBasil Fawlty--Donald Sinclair, manager and owner of the Gleneagle, an ex Navy commander who (as Ray Marks, present manager of the Gleneagle puts it) thought running the Gleneagle "would have been a wonderful job, if it wasn't for the guests. The guests spoiled his job."

According to legend, the Monty Python troupe once booked rooms at the Gleneagle, in the seaside town of Torquay; they still remember some of the things Sinclair did to them there. Pythoner Eric Idle carried an alarm clock inside his briefcase at the hotel reception; when Sinclair heard the ticking he said "My God, there's a bomb in there!" and threw it off a cliff. Later, Pythoner Terry Gilliam sat down to a meal and ate American style, cutting up the food first before picking up the pieces with his fork; Sinclair, passing by, picked up Gilliam's knife and snapped "we don't eat like that here!"

Eventually the entire Python troupe moved to another hotel--all except Cleese, who stayed. Apparently, he thought there was an idea for a TV show here somewhere.

It wasn't only the Pythoners that suffered; one guest asked for a drink at the bar, to which Sinclair replied by slamming down the grill and saying "the bar's closed." When his friend invited him to a nearby hotel to drink, Sinclair informed him that if he isn't back by 11 pm, the front door will be locked. He comes back late, and just as Sinclair threatened, the front door was locked. "This is ridiculous," he said, "my wife and daughter are in there," and started banging on the door; a light turned on in a window, and Sinclair popped his head out and said "I told you I'd lock the doors by 11!" The guest replied: "If you don't open the doors I'm going to knock them down!" Three or four minutes later, Sinclair opens the door, lets him in, bangs the door behind him loud enough to, as the guest put it, wake everyone in the hotel, and yells "Don't let that happen again!"

Sinclair was also hard on the hired help. He hated builders, and would yell and curse at them; one Greek waiter was so fed up with Sinclair's treatment of him he jumped into a taxi and demanded to be driven to London. Rosemary Harrison, who once worked for Sinclair, describes how when one waiter, tired of waiting for Sinclair to make the tea, took a teapot meant for another table. Sinclair stopped the serving of breakfast and "went up and down the tables like a policeman, questioning the guests. He came across a set of teapots at a table for two. He realised because of their size they were meant for a table for four, and he asked the guests for a description of the waiter."

Sinclair was apparently so appalling that when his wife had to go out shopping, she would lock him up in their room, and say to the staff "don't let him out, he's only going to upset you." Ian Jones, owner of the nearby Coppice Hotel, said "fugitives from the Gleneagle used to come knocking on our door, pleading accommodations."

He was, as Cleese would put it, "the most wonderfully rude man I have ever met."

After have been using catch frases from the series during the last few years, i decided it was time to buy the whole series on DVD.

As often it's only the highlights you remember, and the jokes tend to be a bit mote extreme as they are retold during the years. Never the less, the episodes still hold world class! It was fanaticly funny to see them all again and the jokes are fantastic! I admit that not all of them was as funny as i remember them, but to my suprice, some of them was even better. That might say something about my memory or sense of humor, or it might say something about the authors and actors extremely well done work.

Anyways, these three DVD's including extras are well spent money and the interviews add some extra depth to the story. So go ahead and enjoy Fawlty Towers once more!

According to me, this is a perfect comedy. There is nothing which can be improved upon, whether it is the script, cast, props, editing, direction... anything at all! Everything works brilliantly! I caught ALL the episodes one Sunday on TV... Don't remember which channel, though! Suffice to say, I just sat in front of the TV, helpless with laughter! Now, I am desperately trying to find the complete set on DVD.

John Cleese could not have been better as Basil Fawlty... I mean, he was born to play that role! Basil Fawlty has to be the most irritatingly funny character ever created. All the other characters are also very well cast, whether it is Andrew Sachs (Manuel), Prunella Scales (Sybil Fawlty), Connie Booth (Polly) or any of the others...

If you haven't come across this, please rectify the situation and find it! Trust me, you will not regret it!

Fawlty Towers sadly should have been more than 12 episodes or two seasons by British standards. John Cleese who turned down an C.B.E. (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1996 should have been knighted but if he refused the C.B.E. then why bother but he is a comedic genius and brilliant intellectually. Sadly, he and his partner, his then wife American playing British woman, Connie Booth was also a major part. SHe played the only sane person among a sea of lunatics. Basil Fawlty is one of the most memorable characters in British television history. Who can forget the German episode or the wedding episode where the unmarried couple believe he is fooling around with Manuel played perfectly by Andrew Sachs. Prunella Scales C.B.E. is quite the opposite of her actual personality. I still love her and think she should become a Dame soon by now. Her performance as Sybil Fawlty is etched in stone. The cast including the older two women who are probably a lesbian couple which was never talked about on the show broke barriers even though they played it straight and Ballard Berkeley's performance as the Major in the moose episode is unforgettable. Twelve episodes is not enough. It should have ran for a 100.

When i was young my parents showed me Fawlty towers and i must say i didn't really understand it. But then a couple of days ago I found the old videos and decided to put it on, and i couldn't stop laughing. John Cleese is a comic genius and all the actors play their roles superbly. Also before watching the videos i never knew how much my parents quoted fawlty towers, and its not had to see why when the script is so witty and original. I have to say though that the funniest episode is the Germans, where Mr. Fawlty gets a nasty bump on the head and has to go to hospital. When he gets back he discovers that a family of Germans are staying in the hotel which leads to some very funny results. 10/10

Britain have had their fair share of great sit-coms, Last of the Summer Wine, Black Adder and Only Fools and Horses are classics. So is Fawlty Towers- it is just a shame the show didn't last longer, it only lasted for 12 episodes which is a real shame as this show is a comedy jewel! The writing is consistently hilarious, it's not everyday we hear somebody say stuff like "if you bother me again I shall visit you in the small hours of the morning and put a bat up your nightdress", and the story lines are always well written and original, the Kipper and the Corpse episode especially is a classic, so is The Germans(especially for the final insult). If I had a least favourite episode it is Waldorf Salad, merely because I found the American tourist annoying and unlikeable, but that is such a minor criticism, plus there were some very good moments still in that episode, especially Basil's facial expressions. The production values are well above average, the music is also good and the direction is very well done. And I love the acting; John Cleese is superb in what I consider the best of his non-Monty Python roles, and Prunella Scales matches him perfectly as his wife. Everyone else is wonderful too. Overall, just a gem of a comedy series. 10/10 Bethany Cox

"Fawlty Towers" must be the funniest programming ever put on television. I include in that the comedy shows of old, the modern sitcoms and the various series over the years. This BBC production is called a mini-series, and it was produced just two years - and those, four years apart. The initial season was 1975 with six episodes. It proved so popular, and John Cleese and Connie Booth had enough material, that it returned for another season of six episodes in 1979. Not only did it go against the grain of ongoing shows wearing out (diminishing in quality), "Fawlty Towers" was even better the second time around. Each episode seemed to be a little funnier than the one before it.

I rate comedy by a few factors. Uppermost is how much it makes one laugh. Not just me, but others as well. And not just once, but on repeated viewings. Then, is its broad audience appeal. It must be clean (not toilet humor or foul language). Witty, clever lines appeal to more mature audiences; slapstick appeals to all ages but is especially catching for younger audiences; and hilarious antics reach across the board. Add to these smaller things such as tongue- in-cheek comments, off-hand jabs, aside glances, double takes, and various comedy nuances. Finally is its longevity and timelessness. Regardless of when it was made, or where, the humor is not dated. It's just as funny to succeeding audiences over time.

Since the advent of TV in the mid-20th century, there have been hundreds of comedy shows, mini-series, and what today are called sitcoms. Few TV comedy programs today fit the above criteria that make for great, lasting comedies. Few of them today will sustain the laughter some old shows generated. "I Love Lucy" of 1951-1957 often had people rolling with laughter. Reruns of it today still are very funny. The Carol Burnett Show of 1967-1978 had some of the most outlandishly funny and clever skits ever done on TV. The reruns of those still get much laughter.

But, since I first saw "Fawlty Towers" after it came out in the 1970s, I haven't seen any comedy that can top it. So, once a year or so, I trot out my DVD set of the complete series and watch it again. John Cleese's Basil Fawlty is the perfect antidote for the blues or lethargy that may set in at times. The egocentric, stuffed shirt, proud, prudish and bombastic Basil is a surefire cure for the doldrums.

My DVD set Includes some bonus materials on the background for the series. Cleese and Connie Booth (who plays Polly in the series) got the material for the show while staying at a hotel in Torquay on the English Channel. That was while they were working on "Monty Python's Flying Circus." Apparently, the innkeeper was a boorish character who tended to turn customers away. So, they modeled Basil on him. All the members of the cast contribute to the success and humor of the series. But this is a Cleese show all the way. I enjoy great humor, and "Warty Fowls" (one of the many derivatives of the title shown with the opening credits of succeeding shows) is my favorite TV comedy of all time.

Just ekes out 'The Young Ones' for best Brit TV comedy. (Sorry Rik.)

This show kept the laughs coming fast and furious and never let up.

Think about it for a second. Stressed out husband, nagging shrew of a wife, incompetent employees, family owned Inn, plots include health inspectors, overnight death, criminal hiding out...

My point? Hardly very original. But that's the genius.

Cleese and crew took these basic overused devices and turned them into a riot. No situation was left untouched. If you think about it still, it was just Basil Fawlty (Cleese, you knew that right?) constantly trying to cover up a gaffe only it leads to a bigger one. And so on and so forth.

The frantic pacing and wild anarchy was perfect.

Kudos go to Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs, Connie Booth (Cleese's ex) and the Major for their excellent support.

Ask anyone what the best British comedy is, and this series will inevitably crop up before long. From the antics of Basil Fawlty to the hilarious mannerisms of the Major, British comedy has, despite the incompetence of the hotel, seldom been more at home than in Fawlty Towers. Consistently brilliant, there really is very little fault (if any) to be found across the two seasons.

It is a sign of a classic when it withstands multiple viewings and is still hilarious, a feat that comedies rarely achieve. Fawlty Towers also has more memorable scenes and lines than several other, longer comedies have combined; it is easily quotable for anyone who has seen even a few episodes ('don't mention the war!', 'he put Basil in the soup?!', the Waldorf salad fiasco).

In an interview from a few years back, John Cleese noted that they spent roughly six weeks on every single episode of the series. Clearly, it was well worth it, as every episode is comedic gold, and you have to appreciate the level of work that must have gone into making it what it is. Fawlty Towers has done much to achieve its status as one of the iconic British series. The best British sitcom ever to be produced, and maybe the best period.

I realize people keep heaping praise on this sitcom, and it does have a number of laughs and a lot of wit. BUT...

Let's face it, it's a one-joke comedy. The premise depends on Basil Fawlty screaming like a banshee and being obnoxious, then occasionally quickly switching into sycophancy if the situation requires. Good for one comedy sketch, but not really for a series, which is probably why Cleese decided to stop things after twelve episodes.

There are clever episodes, such as his dealing with the hard-of-hearing guest while he tries to hide his gambling winnings from his wife, and his attempt to do so backfires even when it goes according to plan. But other episodes fail, such as his overdone joke about forgetting his wedding anniversary and making his employee play his wife, or the one with the Germans, where we're supposed to find the use of racial epithets and ethnic hatred funny. And Manuel being a "funny little foreign person who doesn't know proper English" is both trite and hardly amusing.

I don't understand why so many perfect ratings, and I really tried to watch it several times, and I was waiting the Show to improve... May be something is wrong with my sense of humor, but to me, this comedy is not funny or amusing at all.