Not sure if you've seen this but John Cleese reveals how, and why, Fawlty Towers was made in the way it was. Really insightful and certainly gave me a lot of ideas. Hope it helps you too!
The making of Fawlty Towers
John Cleese as Basil Fawlty is superlative. John Cleese as John Cleese is infuriating.
John Cleese as Mr Gumby is sublime...
Interesting that he and Connie Booth allowed themselves six weeks to write each episode, and half of that was working out the elaborate plot, before they even started writing the jokes.
A lesson to us all.
Do you read anything I write here at all Beaky? Lol.
I can't see anything of yours on this thread, Marc...but naturally I normally read every word you write.
I wonder if that's been misreported, Beaky? In a farce, plot would include going into a room with a man trying to use a blow up doll. Opening a cloche to reveal a trifle. It's difficult to remove jokes from the plot. Maybe you could call these types of thing "jokes essential to the plot"?
It was the lesson to us all bit I was referencing Beaky 
Quote: Paul Wimsett @ 22nd July 2014, 12:08 PM BSTI wonder if that's been misreported, Beaky? In a farce, plot would include going into a room with a man trying to use a blow up doll. Opening a cloche to reveal a trifle. It's difficult to remove jokes from the plot. Maybe you could call these types of thing "jokes essential to the plot"?
Just repeating what Cleese said, Paul. Of course, he could have been simplifying or exaggerating...
Quote: Marc P @ 22nd July 2014, 12:17 PM BSTIt was the lesson to us all bit I was referencing Beaky
Haha! I meant to say A lesson to us all, apart from Marc P, who already knows it!
That's ok then
I'm always interested to hear the reasons why writers work as they do - I recall reading a book years ago in which comedy duos talked about the process and that's when I learned that Ben Elton and Richard Curtis used to send floppy discs to one another. I also note that the first series of FT was recorded four years before the second because Cleese and Booth had divorced in the interim amongst other things.
The name of the man who's caught in his room with a blow up doll is named 'Mr Ingrams' after Richard Ingrams whom Cleese fell out with at some point during his career.
I am also currently reading Andrew Sachs' autobiography; it's very interesting so far and I can't wait for the FT chapters. I think that you can guess the content of some of the latter ones though 
Quote: Marc P @ 22nd July 2014, 9:39 AM BSTDo you read anything I write here at all Beaky? Lol.
Who said that?