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. Remember to watch
the opening credits of each show to spot the creative misspellings on the
hotel sign (my favorite: "Fatty Owls"). (Written by Sean Axmaker as an
editorial review for Amazon.com) This is now rightly regarded as a comic masterpiece and
after watching just one of these episodes you will understand why.
Considering the fact that some of the episodes were made over 25 years ago,
this still stands very well with its fast, furious, razor sharp witty
dialogue and nothing but excellent comic playing. It’s an absolute gem!
John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth wrote
all 12 episodes in the two series' that were made in 1975 and 1979. The
quality never falters through any of these episodes. John Cleese and Andrew Sachs provide most of the laughs with
Cleese playing the permantley
stressed and raving mad, Basil Fawlty, the incompetent owner of the
appropriately named Fawlty Towers and Sachs as the Spanish cook who has
many hilarious moments with his delightfully fractured English, prompting
Basil to continually justify to his baffled guests "Oh don't worry,
he's from Barcelona". Classic stuff! Prunella
Scales as Sybil Fawlty and Connie Booth as the poor put upon maid have
their fair share of laughs too. It’s impossible to select a favorite
episode. A CLASSIC! HILARIOUS! An important contribution
to British comedy. (Written by Ian Phillips as a product review for Amazon.com)
R1 DVD
Warner Home Video released three region 1 DVD volumes in
October of 2001, each containing three episodes, and a Complete DVD set
containing the entire series on three discs.
NTSC VHS
BBC Video released four NTSC VHS volumes in 2000, each
cassette containing three episodes, and a Complete Collection VHS set in 2001
containing the entire series on four tapes.
R2 DVD
BBC Worldwide Publishing released two complete series
region 2 DVDs (each set containing a season), and a DVD set containing a combo
of the two in 2001, and a Collectors edition DVD set containing the entire
series on three discs in 2003.
PAL VHS
BBC Worldwide Publishing released four episodes on PAL
VHS (l → r: The Kipper and the Corpse, The Psychiatrist, The
Germans, and Basil the Rat), and a VHS Complete box set containing the entire
series on four tapes.
Fawlty Towers, the
classic British comedy series from the 1970s set in a slightly crazy hotel
represents the pinnacle of a golden era of television comedy.
http://www.fawlty-towers.com/basil.htm
Fawlty Towers is the everyday story of a hotel
beside the sea in the West Country. Basil Fawlty ran a hotel beside the sea
in the West Country…
http://www.british-sitcom.co.uk/fawlty_towers/
Fawlty Towers, staring
John Cleese, is one of Britain’s best loved sitcoms.
http://www.cultv.co.uk/fawlty.htm
What else is to be
said other than it was the greatest sitcom ever made. Starring and written by
John Cleese and Connie Booth, with unforgettable
performances by Andrew Sachs and Prunella Scales. ...
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