British Comedy Guide

Transitions

Fawlty Towers. Image shows left to right: Miss Gatsby (Renee Roberts), Major Gowen (Ballard Berkeley), Miss Tibbs (Gilly Flower), Sybil Fawlty (Prunella Scales), Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), Mrs Johnson (Aimée Delamain), Mr Johnson (Nicky Henson)

Newer writers - in fact, all writers - want their scripts to be perfect. A perfect story with perfect characters. Perfectly hilarious. And, of course, perfectly presented.

The reality is, perfection is virtually impossible to achieve and, on those rare occasions it does arrive, it's more by luck than judgment. It is also a matter of perception.

Many of us consider Fawlty Towers a near perfect sitcom. And many of us recall the BBC's initial reaction:

[quote]I'm afraid I thought this one as dire as its title.

It's a kind of 'Prince of Denmark' of the hotel world. A collection...

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Published: Friday 14th June 2024

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