Fawlty Towers
A British Sitcom set in a hotel in Torquay managed by Basil and Sybil Fawlty. Featuring waiter Manuel ("Que?" "Is a hamster") from Barcelona. Even though it has only twelve episodes in two seasons, it is still seen as one of the most influencial British Sitcoms of all times. The BBC, on which it was aired, calls it "up to this day [...] a jewel in the BBC's comedy crown".
Background and Setting
The series is set in a hotel in Torquay managed by Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) and his wife Sybil (Prunella Scales). The Background to the creation of the series was an unpleasant stay of the Monty Python cast at an actual hotel in Torquay. Cleese was reportedly inspired by the rudeness of the hotel proprietor and decided to turn his experience into a sitcom when asked by the BBC. Cleese modeled the main character Basil on the said hotel director and made him an embodiment of the frustrated, English would-be snob who shows contempt towards his guests because he deems them inferior and considers their petty demands an interference with smooth running of his business.
Aside from his guests Basil himself and his chaotic staff are constantly preventing the smooth running of the Fawltys' hotel. Because of his chaotic character Basil is incapable of running a hotel and constantly fights with his staff, guests and with his own wife.
Sybil is a idiosyncratic character on her own. Even though she shows more leniance when dealing with her guests, she shows a lack of understanding of Basil and his escapade and often fights with him. She is often displeased with his incompetence and his vainglory. The tension between Basil and Sybil provides for disorder and introduces a comic element.
Another important character is Manuel (Andrew Sachs), the Spanish waiter (from Barcelona, which is frequently mentioned throughout the series), who finds himself repeatedly bullied by his boss, Basil. Manuel is a typical example of the comic stereotype of the "funny foreigner". He knows only little English and takes some things a bit to literal. Manuel is one of the more sympathetic characters in the sitcom, among others because of his polite manners and his status as main victim of Basil's attacks. Nevertheless, as is revealed in the final episode, Manuel has a pet hamster (actually a rat!), which is named "Basil", in honour of his boss. Another feature of Manuel is his regular use of catch-phrases, like "Qué?" (Spanish for "what"). Manuel is used to portray the weaknesses of Basil, rather than making fun of foreigners from Spain. The clashes between Basil and Manuel serve to illustrate Basil's lack of tolerance and his incapability of dealing with people with a different cultural background simply because Basil is to proud of his "Englishness".
Another (minor) stereotypical character is eccentric old colonial Major Gowen (Ballard Berkeley), who serves as illustration of the old, racist veteran, whose political attitudes are at least outdated if not utterly ridiculus.
The character of Polly, played by co-writer Connie Booth, is the least comic and stereotypical role in the show. She provides sanity and tempers the worst excesses of the other main characters.
Style
The style of Fawlty towers is reminiscent of the comedy of the famous Monty Python. It combines classical elements of sitcoms (hackneyed theme, stock shots and inexplicably rearranged name-board, fixed cast of characters) with the typical "Monty Python-style" excess. The character behave in an oddly exaggerated way and create a carnevalesque atmoosphere, known from works of Monty Python (e.g. Monty Python's Flying Circus or works such as Monty Python and the Holy Grail).
According to Peter Goddard, Fawlty Towers "challenged the bounds of acceptability in domestic comedy. Basil thrashing his stalled car with a tree-branch, concealing the corpse of a dead guest or breaking into Hitlerian goose-stepping before a party of Germans were incidents outside the traditional capacity of the form which could have been disastrous in lesser hands."
Cast
Basil Fawlty ..........................................John Cleese
Sybil Fawlty..................................... Prunella Scales
Manuel ..............................................Andrew Sachs
Polly................................................... Connie Booth
Major Gowen ...................................Ballard Berkeley
Miss Tibbs............................................ Gilly Flower
Miss Gatsby ......................................Renee Roberts
Producers
John Howard Davies, Douglas Argent
Programming History
Fawlty Towers was aired on BBC1 from 19 September 1975-24 October 1975 and from 19 February 1979-26 March 1979. Both seasons consisted of only six episodes of 30 minutes respectively.
Further Reading
Cleese, John, and Connie Booth. The Complete Fawlty Towers. London: Methuen, 1988.
Skynner, Robin A. C., and John Cleese. Families and How To Survive Them. London: Methuen, 1983.
Wilmut, Roger. From Fringe To Flying Circus. London: Methuen, 1980.