Fawlty Towers Page 9

Quote: Chappers @ 16th October 2019, 5:53 PM

why won't they show Til Death us do Part?

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Perhaps because the fanciful notion that the target of the comedy was Alf's prejudices rather than the people he was prejudiced against holds water only until you see Johnny Speight's follow-up series: the unashamedly racist Curry and Chips?

John Cleese making food-related Nazi jokes while goose-stepping around the hotel, as potentially offensive as it was then and is now, wasn't and isn't even remotely near the same league of potential offensiveness as the above Speight works.

Quote: Rood Eye @ 16th October 2019, 5:58 PM

John Cleese making food-related Nazi jokes while goose-stepping around the hotel, as potentially offensive as it was then and is now, wasn't and isn't even remotely near the same league of potential offensiveness as the above Speight works.

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Precisely. Besides which, every German character in the episode is polite, erudite and well mannered, the joke is entirely on Basil's outdated prejudice.

Quote: Rood Eye @ 16th October 2019, 3:49 PM

In this day and age, in which millions of people apparently live for no reason other than to take offence at every possible opportunity (and often on behalf of other people, rather than themselves) there would be no shortage of zealots keen to march on Broadcasting House, carrying pitchforks and flaming torches, if that particular episode were to be screened.

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I agree we live in an Outrage Culture, but that outrage often cuts both ways. You only have to read the Ghosts thread to see the barely contained fury at the number of ethnic minorities at it.

Quote: Rood Eye @ 16th October 2019, 3:49 PM

In comedy today, the only way to get away with comedy based on the senior Nazis is to condemn them unreservedly and to make it perfectly plain that that's what you're doing. Such condemnation can be subtle or blatant - but it has, at the very least, to be discernible.
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Generally, yes, but not always. If you watch the brilliant TV show Preacher you'll see a a portion set in hell, in which the most sympathetic character by far is Adolf Hitler (although I believe this changes in later seasons).

I think the basic fact of the matter is that we now live in an age in which a great many people get out of bed every morning for the sole purpose of spending their day being offended as often as possible - either on their own behalf or on behalf of other people.

Indeed, such is the zeal of these people that it is almost impossible to come up with a joke - in real life, on TV or anywhere else - that isn't going to offend one or more of them.

In Scarborough, somebody quoted Jimmy Savile, saying that women cause brain damage.

The suggestion that women cause brain damage appeared to offend nobody but the tabloids were absolutely and utterly appalled that Jimmy's name should be mentioned in any context whatever for the purpose of raising a laugh.

Now, as we all know, Jimmy is suspected of getting up to some quite unsavoury antics but, as far as I know, he never killed anybody.

Compare him, therefore, with the leaders of the Third Reich (who, if I recall correctly, were responsible for several innocent deaths) and it's not difficult to see why the mention of these people purely for comedy purposes might, in and of itself, cause offence - particularly to those among us who aren't difficult to offend.

You have to distinguish between genuine outrage which triggers genuine fury in the public, and articial outrage that is merely the product of editors simply trying to generate some click bait articles to drive traffic to their site or readers to their papers, which most people don't really care about. The example you give (of which I wasn't aware) sounds like the latter

Quote: chipolata @ 17th October 2019, 4:23 PM

You have to distinguish between genuine outrage which triggers genuine fury in the public, and articial outrage that is merely the product of editors simply trying to generate some click bait articles to drive traffic to their site or readers to their papers, which most people don't really care about. The example you give (of which I wasn't aware) sounds like the latter

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Yes, I agree with what you say.

It is indeed unlikely that vast numbers of TV viewers were phoning, emailing or otherwise communicating with Ofcom in order to register complaints about the Jimmy Savile reference.

I also think it unlikely that vast numbers of viewers would be offended by a re-showing of the Nazi-related episode of Fawlty Towers.

Nevertheless, I am absolutely certain that some people were offended by the Jimmy Savile reference and I am equally certain that some people would be offended by a reshowing of the aforementioned FT episode.

In decades gone by, little notice would have been taken of complaints by such people but, in the modern socio-political climate, such complaints are taken extremely seriously by broadcasters and production companies because narrow-minded, humourless people who were once dismissed as "moaning Minnies" are now, for all practical purposes, controlling the TV industry from the comfort of their keyboards.

I'd love to see "The Germans" on TV again but it would be a brave broadcaster that gives me the pleasure.

Quote: Rood Eye @ 17th October 2019, 4:52 PM

I'd love to see "The Germans" on TV again but it would be a brave broadcaster that gives me the pleasure.

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As I said earlier it was shown on Yesterday a couple of nights ago.

Quote: Chappers @ 17th October 2019, 10:04 PM

As I said earlier it was shown on Yesterday a couple of nights ago.

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Three cheers for that (in principle)!

Given Yesterday's tiny overall audience share and the fact they chose to screen it after midnight, it's a shame so few people were able to enjoy it.

On the other hand, it's a good thing so few people were given an opportunity to complain about it.

If it's ever repeated on the BBC when anybody's likely to be watching, my faith in human nature will be (partially) restored.

The more pertinent question is surely whether the Major's explanation of the difference between the Indian cricketers and the West Indian cricketers was, or would be, broadcast un-cut.

Quote: Billy Bunter @ 17th October 2019, 11:17 PM

The more pertinent question is surely whether the Major's explanation of the difference between the Indian cricketers and the West Indian cricketers was, or would be, broadcast un-cut.

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Do you mean this one?

"The strange thing was that throughout the morning, she kept referring to the Indians as 'n*****s'.
'No, no', I said. 'N*****s are the West Indians. These people are w**s!'
'No, no', she said. 'All cricketers are n*****s.' "

If so, I have my doubts it will ever be broadcast uncut on the BBC.

I am, however, able to report that the speech is broadcast uncut on Netflix.

Every word is unbleeped and unmuted, and every word appears in full in the subtitles.

The episode is, in my view, one of the funniest and most beautifully-written 30-minute comedies ever to be broadcast on British TV.

Quote: Chappers @ 17th October 2019, 10:04 PM

As I said earlier it was shown on Yesterday a couple of nights ago.

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I watched a few episodes of Fawlty Towers last night on Yesterday and had a good old guffaw. The highlight was Gormet Night. Fancy putting no riff raff.

Feels like the right thread to put this. John Cleese's first writing for the stage, a farce called Bang Bang is to tour the UK next year. Given than Fawlty Towers are twelve perfect farces, I shall eagerly await this!

https://www.bangbangtour.co.uk/

Quote: Sitcomfan64 @ 18th October 2019, 3:51 PM

Feels like the right thread to put this. John Cleese's first writing for the stage, a farce called Bang Bang is to tour the UK next year. Given than Fawlty Towers are twelve perfect farces, I shall eagerly await this!

https://www.bangbangtour.co.uk/

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It's in my diary...

On in Croydon. I may give it a go.

It's a bit of a shame it's not an original piece, but I'll be keen to go to see it all the same.