Fawlty Towers
- TV sitcom
- BBC Two
- 1975 - 1979
- 12 episodes (2 series)
Comedy about a hotel and its owner, a man of infinite rudeness with a rabid dislike of almost all guests. Stars John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs, Connie Booth, Ballard Berkeley and more.
Press clippings Page 2
Don't mention the war ... and the rest: the trouble with bringing back Fawlty Towers
Stage revivals of the 70s sitcom and The Fast Show have enough nostalgia value to delight fans. Less certain is what will happen to their more problematic material.
Brian Logan, The Guardian, 5th February 2024Fawlty Towers to premiere on West End stage
John Cleese has adapted Fawlty Towers as a West End stage show. It'll premiere at London's Apollo Theatre in May.
British Comedy Guide, 2nd February 2024'Great sitcoms are missing from our TV screens and our lives - we need them in these times'
Even if "we're all doomed" under the Tories, as Dad's Army's Pte Frazer would say, shows like George And Mildred, Are You Being Served?, Robin's Nest and Three's Company still make us laugh.
Siobhan McNally, The Mirror, 24th January 2024Basil Fawlty could have driven me to prison!
Floor manager Tony Guya has been reflecting upon some of the hair-raising details of filming Fawlty Towers.
British Comedy Guide, 13th January 2024Timothy West recalls the double act that made his wife Prunella Scales a star
When I told Pru that I'd soon be attempting to write something about Sybil and Fawlty Towers, she issued me with one simple instruction. "You will do a good job, won't you, darling? Everybody loves Sybil."
Daily Mail, 10th September 2023British comedy's US disasters
As media continues to become more globally inclusive (largely thanks to the rise of streaming services) the idea of remaking anything to fit another culture is gradually becoming more of an outdated concept. But in the past, American TV producers have repeatedly tried and failed to remake many beloved British sitcoms with terrible consequences.
Jazzy Janey, The Comedy Blog, 2nd September 2023UK vs US comedy: A lesson in quality over quantity
It essentially comes down to the fact that UK comedy shows often run for just a few seasons, packed to the rafters with quality and hidden moments that only reveal themselves after several viewings. By contrast, US comedy shows often go on for several seasons, mostly overstaying their welcome and having audiences become tired of their tropes and characters.
Thomas Leatham, Far Out, 1st August 2023TV sitcoms give clues to why Brits voted for Brexit
Sitcoms such as 'Allo 'Allo!, Dad's Army and Fawlty Towers could explain Brexit, an academic has claimed. Historian Gavin Schaffer says the comedies offer a way to understand the political cultures that led to the seismic vote to leave Europe - reflecting the British public's ambivalence towards Europe and their desire to stand apart from the reset of the continent.
University of Birmingham, 3rd July 2023Project No: 1144/3361
If there's one thing you should know about me by now, it's that I will accept any excuse to write about Fawlty Towers. Already this year, we've taken a look at cut material from Gourmet Night, a superb stage direction from the pilot, and the real truth behind Polly becoming a philosophy student. Those latter two pieces were written with the aid of a camera script of that pilot: the actual script they took into the studio on the 23rd December 1974.
Tanya Jones, Dirty Feed, 19th May 2023Sybil dies at the start of the new Fawlty Towers
John Cleese has said that the new version of Fawlty Towers will start with the death of Basil's wife Sybil.
British Comedy Guide, 16th May 2023