Inspired by a horrible experience at a hotel, John Cleese and Connie Booth somehow turned out a hilariously witty slapstick comedy with excellent character study to boot.
Basil Fawlty is the cheap, irritable conservative snob who owns a middle-of-nowhere English hotel. Constantly desiring a higher status and constantly frustrated by his venomous marriage and the consequences of his own bad decisions, Basil is rude, unprofessional, and absolutely neurotic. The core relatability of the character comes from his frustrations at being put-upon, but his reactions are so strong for so little that he's obviously framed as pathetic and distasteful. John Cleese is at his peak in the character of Basil Fawlty, with perfect characterization and performances, down to hair-trigger shouting, marvelous physical comedy, and keen characterization that truly understands who Basil and people like him are.
Basil is domineered by his wife Sybil, a mostly-reasonable manager who is almost always absolutely correct when calling things out around her, but her characterization broadens to show a more lazy, obnoxious, and self-absorbed side to her that wrongly expects Basil to pick up the slack while she socializes. At the least, Sybil knows professional hospitality.
Housekeeper and waitress Polly is a level-headed and talented artist, but she often finds herself doomed by her ultimate consent to help Basil out of his schemes.
Manuel caps off the main cast—he's a Spanish porter who was a cheap hire at the detriment of having poor English skills. He means nothing but the best, but the intolerant Basil punishes him for failures exacerbated by his own inability to communicate productively with him.
All of these characters, plus, of course, some unusual guests and management dilemmas, contribute to a magical formula of farce—farce which understands that the formula is only funny when the person trapped within it deserves every bit. The best episodes pile up and crash apart because Basil earns it due to deception and unethical choices he made at the start, and the weakest overarching plots make the issues less in his control. The episodes have excellent verbal and physical comedy, great convoluted plots to torture the horrible Basil with, and even enough character depth to make it real and compelling. Plus some subtler and often overt satire on conservative bigotry.
Fawlty Towers did something magic and really nailed its premise.
Sitcom excellence.
Inspired by a horrible experience at a hotel, John Cleese and Connie Booth somehow turned out a hilariously witty slapstick comedy with excellent character study to boot.
Basil Fawlty is the cheap, irritable conservative snob who owns a middle-of-nowhere English hotel. Constantly desiring a higher status and constantly frustrated by his venomous marriage and the consequences of his own bad decisions, Basil is rude, unprofessional, and absolutely neurotic. The core relatability of the character comes from his frustrations at being put-upon, but his reactions are so strong for so little that he's obviously framed as pathetic and distasteful. John Cleese is at his peak in the character of Basil Fawlty, with perfect characterization and performances, down to hair-trigger shouting, marvelous physical comedy, and keen characterization that truly understands who Basil and people like him are.
Basil is domineered by his wife Sybil, a mostly-reasonable manager who is almost always absolutely correct when calling things out around her, but her characterization broadens to show a more lazy, obnoxious, and self-absorbed side to her that wrongly expects Basil to pick up the slack while she socializes. At the least, Sybil knows professional hospitality.
Housekeeper and waitress Polly is a level-headed and talented artist, but she often finds herself doomed by her ultimate consent to help Basil out of his schemes.
Manuel caps off the main cast—he's a Spanish porter who was a cheap hire at the detriment of having poor English skills. He means nothing but the best, but the intolerant Basil punishes him for failures exacerbated by his own inability to communicate productively with him.
All of these characters, plus, of course, some unusual guests and management dilemmas, contribute to a magical formula of farce—farce which understands that the formula is only funny when the person trapped within it deserves every bit. The best episodes pile up and crash apart because Basil earns it due to deception and unethical choices he made at the start, and the weakest overarching plots make the issues less in his control. The episodes have excellent verbal and physical comedy, great convoluted plots to torture the horrible Basil with, and even enough character depth to make it real and compelling. Plus some subtler and often overt satire on conservative bigotry.
Fawlty Towers did something magic and really nailed its premise.