History Series / FawltyTowers

There were three attempts to [[ForeignRemake adapt the series in the U.S.]], none of which proved successful. The first was ''Snavely'', a 1978 pilot starring Creator/HarveyKorman and Creator/BettyWhite that aired on Creator/{{ABC}} but failed to get picked up as a series. Then there was ''Amanda's'' in 1983, also on ABC, which starred Creator/BeaArthur as a female Fawlty expy and was pulled after ten episodes. Finally, in 1999 Creator/{{CBS}} attempted to refashion the premise into a Creator/JohnLarroquette vehicle called ''Payne'' (after Larroquette's character, "[[PunnyName Royal Payne]]"); it only lasted ''nine'' episodes.

* ExtremelyShortTimespan: "The Anniversary"'s action is [[RealTime almost continuous]].

* FawltyTowersPlot: TropeNamer. A good number of episodes feature Basil starting a small lie, only to have it completely [[SnowballLie spiral out of control]] with someone PullingTheThread, or through a string of bad luck. Whatever the reason, Basil's schemes always came crashing down on his head at the worst possible moment.

* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: Basil desires to move up in social standing and attract a better class of customer to his hotel, but he's also verbally abusive to the help, only superficially nice to his guests, and his HairTriggerTemper and [[FawltyTowersPlot persistent zany schemes built on webs of lies]] keep getting him into all kinds of trouble. Were Basil simply more honest and maybe a little cooler-headed, most of his problems would disappear, but [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk any attempts to dig beneath the surface show how petty and shallow he is]], and [[AesopAmnesia any lessons he learns are quickly forgotten]]. Creator Creator/JohnCleese has said that, were Basil a good person, ''Fawlty Towers'' would be the greatest tragedy ever made.

One of the all-time great TV comedies, ''Fawlty Towers'' benefited greatly from its cheerful willingness to create [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist utterly]] ''[[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist horrible]]'' [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist human beings]] and let them act according to their nature at all times; the show takes a particular joy in never allowing the viewer to forget what a despicable person Basil is -- he hardly ever gets a PetTheDog moment, and even when he ''does'' it's quickly undone by multiple KickTheDog moments in rapid succession.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: "The Germans" has Basil asking Manuel to fetch a hammer, and Manuel misunderstands and thinks he is asking for Manuel's pet hamster. In "Basil the Rat", we meet that "hamster"...

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: John Lennon was a big fan of the show and expressed interest in doing at least a walk-on. (After his battles with US immigration had been resolved, he was considering returning to the UK to visit.)

'''Basil:''' Norway. It's a sort of Japo-Scandinavian imitation of the real substitute and I'm afraid that's the last slice anyway.

A classic {{Britcom}}, created by Creator/JohnCleese and Connie Booth and originally airing on [[Creator/TheBBC BBC2]] for one series in 1975 and another in 1979, which centres on Basil Fawlty, a [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist bad-tempered snob]] who runs "the crummiest, shoddiest, worst-run hotel in the whole of Western Europe".

* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Basil towers over his extremely petite wife, Sybil. Of course, this is mostly because John Cleese really is just that tall; he also towers over ''his own'' extremely petite wife, Connie Booth (Polly ... ''ex''-wife, by the second season).

The series was intelligent, effervescent and daring, and the only real complaint one can make is that there wasn't enough of it ([[BritishBrevity only 12 episodes were ever made]]). It also benefits from a terrific EnsembleCast, including Cleese as Basil; Prunella Scales as his calmly domineering wife, Sybil; Booth as the hotel's [[OnlySaneEmployee thanklessly levelheaded]] maid and waitress, Polly Sherman; and Creator/AndrewSachs as the cheerful but bungling [[FunnyForeigner Spanish waiter]] Manuel.

** On the DVD, Prunella Scales recalls that after reading the pilot script, she immediately asked Cleese why Basil and Sybil got married in the first place.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* AccidentalVentriloquism: In "The Germans", the Major believes a moose head is speaking to him, but it's actually Manuel hidden behind a desk practicing his English. This happens again at the end of the episode, when the moose's head has fallen on Manuel.

* ContinuityNod: Zig-zagged throughout the series. There are many [[CallBack small mentions of details from previous episodes]], and occasionally there is a CallForward to what might happen in a future episode. However, sometimes the layout of the hotel is inconsistent with previous episodes, especially in the bedroom numbering, and positions of upstairs rooms; "The Psychiatrist" features a broom cupboard not shown in other episodes.
** In "A Touch of Class", Basil speaks to the inept builder O'Reilly about the unfinished wall. The wall is still unfinished in the next episode, and O'Reilly appears in the episode.
** The lobby changes significantly in "The Builders", and this is consistent with the previous episode "A Touch of Class", and all future episodes. In "The Wedding Party", Basil refers to the recently made kitchen door.
** The timescales of the seasons being about three years apart is referred to. In "The Hotel Inspectors" from the first series, Basil implies that he and Sybil have been together for twelve years. In some episodes from series 2, such as "Waldorf Salad" and "The Anniversary", fifteen years is mentioned.
** In "The Builders", O'Reilly mentioning that Basil will have a stroke before he is fifty is a possible CallForward to [[spoiler: Basil being dragged away unconscious at the end of "Basil the Rat"]].
** In "The Germans", Manuel mishears "hammer" as "my hamster", possibly foreshadowing his pet hamster in "Basil the Rat".
** At the beginning of "Basil the Rat", Sybil rants about the mystery of their getting together, possibly in a reference to the previous episode "The Anniversary".
** In "Basil the Rat": When the Major says "vermin", Basil mishears this as him complaining about "Germans", in a reference to the Major expressing his dislike of Germans in the previous series.

* TheInspectorIsComing: Basil hears that three hotel inspectors are in town, and immediately begins fawning over a guest with an officious manner and a vast professional experience of hotels. He then finds out that his target sells spoons. When another guest mentions he has two colleagues, Basil switches to fawning over him [[spoiler: and even resorts to attempting bribery for a favourable report after he witnesses Basil's fight with the first guest. This one is in town for the regatta, though, at which Basil brightens up considerably, and disappears. He appears minutes later to thoroughly humiliate the first guest (who's leaving in disgust), in full view of the real inspectors who have just arrived.]]

* HouseInspection: Basil hears that three Hotel Inspectors are in town, and immediately begins fawning over a guest with an officious manner and a vast professional experience of hotels. He then finds out that his target sells spoons. When another guest mentions he has two colleagues, Basil switches to fawning over him [[spoiler: and even resorts to attempting bribery for a favourable report after he witnesses Basil's fight with the first guest. This one is in town for the regatta, though, at which Basil brightens up considerably, and disappears. He appears minutes later to thoroughly humiliate the first guest (who's leaving in disgust), in full view of the real inspectors who have just arrived.]]

* HotelHellion: The kid who changes the sign.