History Series / FawltyTowers

A SitCom created by JohnCleese and Connie Booth which focused on Basil Fawlty, a [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist bad-tempered snob]] who runs "the crummiest, shoddiest, worst-run hotel in the whole of Western Europe".

* AllPsychologyIsFreudian: Basil's viewpoint in "The Psychiatrist".

-->'''Basil:''' You need a plastic surgeon, dear, not a doctor.

* ComedicSociopathy: Were Basil a normal human being, we'd feel so sorry for him.

* CouchGag: The "Fawlty Towers" sign. At first, the letters are just skewed; later they're rearranged into humorous anagrams (eg. "Farty Towels", "Flowery Twats"). In one episode, the paper boy is seen rearranging them.

* ForgottenAnniversary: In "The Anniversary", Basil plans a surprise anniversary party for Sybil, but pretends that he's forgotten it to torture her a bit. She angrily storms off, leaving him to try and maintain a facade of normality in front of the party guests.

* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan:

** Another incidence happens during "The Gourmet", where the new chef Kurt is in love with Manuel. At first, Basil assumes the chef must be French. When corrected that Kurt is in fact Greek he responds "Well that's even worse. I mean, they invented it." Incase you didn't get it, "it" is "sodomy", also known as "Greek sex" or "the Greek way".

** In an interview Cleese said that he reckons the last time Basil and Sybil had sex was somewhere around the time of the Second Punic War.

* YouGetWhatYouPayFor:
** Basil hired Manuel because he's cheap.

* LastSeconWordSwap: Basil tries it in "The Germans", but only makes it worse: "Now, would you like|to eat first or would you like a drink before the war? ...ning... that trespassers will be tied up with piano wire.

* GodwinsLaw: This trope is older than the Internet: "[[HypocriticalHumor You ponce in here expecting to be hand-waited on hand and foot, well I'm trying to run a hotel here]]! Have you any idea of how much there is to do?! Do you ever think of that?! No, of course not: you're too busy sticking your noses into every corner, poking about for things to complain about! Well, let me tell you something: this is ''exactly'' how Nazi Germany started!"

** Then there's "The Wedding Party", in which Basil is caught once with a female guest and twice with Manuel; Manuel was drunk the first time and had accidentally knocked him over, and Basil mistakes him for a burglar the second time. Meanwhile, Basil accidentally walks in on two of the wedding guests embracing (they're related), and discovers Polly hurrying out of the lovers' room after hearing some weird noises (Polly was trying on one of the girl's dresses; the girl was giving her boyfriend a massage).

--> Mrs Richards (Counting money): "It's ten pounds short."
--> 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!'''

* TheUnfairSex: Played for laughs; in one episode, Sybil hits the roof when Basil finds himself inadvertently getting into all sorts of compromising situations surrounding an attractive young Australian guest. However, she has spent much of the very same episode [[HypocriticalHumor shamelessly flirting with an attractive male guest]], and [[MoralMyopia she has frequently done so with other male guests in the past as well]].

* [[WhosOnFirst Who's On First?]]

* YouGetWhatYouPayFor: Basil's overriding of his wife's decision to hire Mr. Stubbs for some repair work in favor of the cheaper O'Reilly leads to disastrous results.

** Another incidence happens during "The Gourmet", where the new chef Kurt is in love with Manuel (again, [[MoralGuardians they would never get away with this on American tv]]). At first, Basil assumes the chef must be French. When corrected that Kurt is in fact Greek he responds "Well that's even worse. I mean, they invented it." Incase you didn't get it, "it" is "sodomy", also known as "Greek sex" or "the Greek way".

* AwwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Subverted in "Communication Problems":

-> ''"[[SammysGlassEye Don't mention the war]]. ''I'' mentioned it once, but I think [[BlatantLies I got away with it all right]]."''

* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: Basil breaks down when confronted with a construction snafu with Sybil returning any minute. Polly slaps him and he recovers enough sense to ask her for two more.

* AllJustADream: subverted: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aia2mKUfxlI "No, it's not a dream; we're stuck with it!"]]

* ForgottenAnniversary: In one episode, Basil plans a surprise anniversary party for Sybil, but she assumes he's forgotten it. And now Basil has to look normal in front of the party guests...

* CreatorCouples: Cleese and Booth were married when they made the first season. They divorced by the time of the second one, but still could work together.

-> ''"[[MemeticMutation Don't mention the war]]. ''I'' mentioned it once, but I think [[BlatantLies I got away with it all right]]."''

* HeyItsThatGuy: [[TheEmpireStrikesBack General]] [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Carlist_Rieekan Rieekan]] wants his goddamn Waldorf Salad!
** [[Series/DoctorWho Wilfred Mott]] was very a picky spoon specialist when he was younger.
** [[AsTimeGoesBy Lionel Hardcastle]] (also the judge from AFishCalledWanda) is a doctor who wants his sausages.
** [[ThePinkPanther Francois, assistant to Chief Inspector Dreyfus]], runs a restaurant.
** [[CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory Grandpa Joe]] is on the verge of having a large garden gnome inserted in him.

* [[Incompetent Builder]]=Mr O'Reilly qualifies for one of these.
* ItsBeenDone: Defied by Richard Curtis. He has said that his primary instruction when writing ''{{Blackadder}}'' was "Make it as unlike ''Fawlty Towers'' as possible", as at the time every British sitcom was ripping it off.

* [[ObfuscatingStupidity Obfuscating Illiteracy]]: "The Germans" implies that Manuel's grasp of English is actually far better than he lets on, and that he pretends to have bad English for the purpose of annoying Basil. If you look at the previous episodes, you can see what is in retrospect quite an obvious pattern -- he understands what Polly tells him nearly all of the time (although arguably only because she sprinkles gratuitous Spanish into the conversation), Sybil most of the time except when she's trying to make him work too hard for his liking, and Basil hardly any of the time. Evidently, how well he likes someone is directly related to how often he chooses to understand what they're saying.
** Then again, why would he play dumb when he knows perfectly well it gets him slapped, kicked and punched?
**** Because it's [[WorthIt worth]] [[{{Troll}} it]].
** Possibly another hint that Manuel is deliberately winding Basil up comes in the Hotel Inspectors episode, where Basil holds up picture cards for "Cases", "Upstairs" and "7", and a grinning Manuel holds up a sign saying "OK!"

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 PetTheDog moment, ever. The series was intelligent, effervescent and daring, and the only complaint one can make is that there wasn't enough of it ([[BritishBrevity only 12 episodes]] [[TooGoodToLast 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 JMichaelStraczynski said in a book on screenwriting that if a writer watches ''FawltyTowers'' and ''TheMaryTylerMooreShow'', they will have had the best possible grounding in how to write comedy.

In 1999, {{CBS}} attempted to remake ''FawltyTowers'' as a John Laroquette vehicle entitled ''Payne'' (after Laroquette's character, "Royal Payne"). It lasted even fewer episodes than the original. There was also an earlier attempt by {{ABC}} to remake the show. It had the original title, but Fawlty was a woman played by Bea Arthur.

* EagleLand: Although he does turn out to be the hero of the tale who puts Basil in his place, the American visitor in ''Waldorf Salad'' is still one of the biggest American stereotypes you'll ever see. Then again, almost everyone on the show is some kind of national stereotype. There's also a bit (most likely intentional) of CriticalResearchFailure, in that the American, when asked about palm trees in his hometown of L.A. (where else?), says very seriously that he's heard that Burt Lancaster has one in his backyard but he doesn't believe it personally. There are palm trees all ''over'' most of California, which is why you'll so often [[TelevisionGeography see them in the background of Hollywood films taking place in locations like Ohio]].
** This troper thought that he was [[CrowningMomentOfFunny being sarcastic]].

* FakeBrit: Yes and no. Connie Booth had lived in Britain for so long that she could be said to be actually British. Also played with in "Gourmet Night," where she sings in a perfect but annoying American accent.
* FakeNationality: Manuel, who's from Barcelona, is played by Andrew Sachs, a German-born British actor. Also, the American guy from "Waldorf Salad" was clearly NOT an actual American. [[spoiler:He was, in fact, Canadian]].