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Revision as of 08:36, 7 August 2014 (view source) Dai-Guard (talk \| contribs) m (revise quote template spacing) ← Older edit		Latest revision as of 22:05, 29 April 2023 (view source) Robkelk (talk \| contribs) No edit summary Tag: Disambiguation links
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Line 2: [[File:FawltyTowers.jpg\|frame]] {{quote\|"''Please allow me to introduce myself. I am the owner of Fawlty Towers. And I would like to welcome [[World War ~~Two~~II\|your war]], [[Berlin Wall\|your wall]], ''you all..."\|Basil Fawlty}} {{quote\|''"[[~~Sammys~~Ignore ~~Glass~~the ~~Eye~~Disability\|Don't mention the war]]. ''I'' mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it all right."''\|Basil Fawlty}} A [[Sitcom]] created by [[John Cleese]] and Connie Booth which focused on Basil Fawlty, a [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist\|bad-tempered snob]] who runs "the crummiest, shoddiest, worst-run hotel in the whole of Western Europe". Line 10: {{quote\|"NO!, No, I won't have that! There's a place in Eastbourne..."\|The Major}} One of the all-time classic TV shows, it benefited greatly from its cheerful willingness to create horrible human beings and let them act according to their nature at all times: Basil doesn't get a single [[Pet the Dog]] moment, ever. The series was intelligent, effervescent and daring, and the only complaint one can make is that there wasn't enough of it ([[British Brevity\|only 12 episodes]] were [[Too Good to Last\|~~were~~ ever made]]). In 2000, the British Film Institute declared it the best British television programme ever made. A few years ago, it was voted best UK sitcom ever in a poll, and [[J. Michael Straczynski]] said in a book on screenwriting that if a writer watches ''[[Fawlty Towers]]'' and ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'', they will have had the best possible grounding in how to write comedy. In 1999, [[CBS]] attempted to remake ''[[Fawlty Towers]]'' as a John Laroquette vehicle entitled ''Payne'' (after Laroquette's character, "Royal Payne"). It lasted even fewer episodes than the original (which lasted for 12twelve). There was also an earlier attempt by [[American Broadcasting Company\|ABC]] to remake the show. It had the original title, but Fawlty was a woman played by [[Bea Arthur]]. Came fifth in ''[[Britain's ~~Best Sitcom\|Britains~~ Best Sitcom]]''. ~~See also [[Fawlty Towers Plot]].~~ {{tropenamer}} ~~----~~ ~~===~~* ''[[Fawlty Towers Plot]]~~'' provides examples of: ===~~ {{tropelist}} * [[Accidental Pervert]]: Basil Fawlty became this in the episode "The Psychiatrist", in which his efforts to prove that one of his guests broke the rules by sneaking his girlfriend into a room lead him into one [[Not What It Looks Like]] after another. * [[All Just a Dream]]: subverted: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UwJHE282d8 "No, it's not a dream; we're stuck with it!"] Line 139 ⟶ 141: '''Basil:''' ''(Rather annoyed, having just seen £75 slip through his fingers)'' '''It's not! TEN POUNDS SHORT! Oh, My God! Don't panic! We'll have a whip 'round!''' ''Starts shaking out the charity collection tin'' }} * [[Trans -Atlantic Equivalent]]: The US's ''Amandas By The Sea'' (Bea Arthur as John Cleese) and ''Payne'' (John Larraquette as John Cleese). Neither lasted longer than the typical British series. ** ''[[Newhart]]'' was also noted as having some similarities, but it's different enough to just be a coincidence. * [[Truth in Television]]: John Cleese said that he based the idea of the character of Manuel on his own experience in restaurants where the owners are too cheap to hire anyone but desperate immigrants who don't speak one single ''word'' of English, "so that the chances of you getting what you've ordered are literally about one in six". Line 145 ⟶ 147: * [[Unsatisfiable Customer]]: Ohh yeah. * [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist]]: Basil. * [[Values Dissonance]]: Ricky Gervais has noted that Basil Fawlty's obsession with climbing the social ladder was much more important in the 1970s than when ''[[The Office]]'' was made - when David Brent's preoccupation was becoming a celebrity. * [[Visible Boom Mic]]: "The Psychiatrist"▼ * [[Vomit Discretion Shot]]. In the episode "Gourmet Night". * [[We Named the Monkey "Jack"]]: Manuel names his pet rat Basil.▼ * [[Who's on First?]]: In "Communication Problems": {{quote\|'''Mrs. Richards''': Now, I've reserved a very quiet room, with a bath and a sea view. I specifically asked for a sea view in my written confirmation, so please be sure I have it. Line 164 ⟶ 169: '''Polly''': It's all right, Mrs. Richards, he's from Barcelona. '''Mrs. Richards''': The manager's from Barcelona? }} ▲* [[Visible Boom Mic]]: "The Psychiatrist" ▲* [[We Named the Monkey "Jack"]]: Manuel names his pet rat Basil. * [[World's Shortest Book]]: Johnson in "The Psychiatrist," says the guidebook about interesting things in Torquay must be "one of the world's shortest books," like "The Wit of Margaret Thatcher" or "Great English Lovers." * [[You Get What You Pay For]]: Line 172 ⟶ 175: {{reflist}} [[Category:~~TV Series~~{{PAGENAME}}]]▼ [[Category:~~The~~TV ~~Seventies~~Series]]▼ [[Category:Live-Action TV of the 1970s]] [[Category:British Series]] [[Category:Work Com]] ▲[[Category:The Seventies]] [[Category:Britcom]] ~~[[Category:Fawlty Towers]]~~ ▲[[Category:TV Series]] [[Category:Britain's Best Sitcom]] [[Category:Pages with working Wikipedia tabs]]