Fawlty Towers: The Complete Collection

For our nation's notoriously short memory a comedy series from the 1970's seems as ancient as the Fall of Rome. By that I do not refer to the season. This series debuted in 1975, one of the years a number of our college campuses claimed to have invented sex. By contrast Basil Fawlty, the lead character played by John Cleese, was hopelessly repressed, as blissfully insensitive as they come and possibly, some might add, as self-centered as our culture has generally become today. Cleese and his then wife and co-star, Connie Booth, did a brilliant job of writing 12 classic episodes with remarkable consistency in quality. Once writers establish such a rare, high level as their standard, all successive episodes must have become intimidating to try to emulate. I believe that accounts for the series being so short. Rather than keep cashing the checks, the writers wanted the series to end while all episodes were consistently excellent rather than continue and risk sliding into mediocrity. In any case, it was one of the shortest, and arguably, the best written comedies on TV. This brief, physical, farcical, linguistically playful, and clever humor greet the viewer today with as much intelligence, glee and irreverence as almost 40 years ago. Each episode plays with and counter to our notions regarding good manners, guilty titillation, irrationality, as well as lampooning a variety of national, ethnic, and gender stereotypes including Brits and Yanks. It was all fair game and almost always hilarious. Even the most outrageous script still managed to avoid being outright mean or cruel. Secondly, the bigoted, vain, greedy, foolish, lazy lout called Basil, managed to end up the prime recipient of retributive justice -- to our delight -- every show. He was too thick to ever learn his lesson, thank goodness. The supporting cast was also brilliant and essential as an early triumph of an ensemble comedy. Highly recommended for anyone who loves British humor, those who appreciate analytical comedic writing, and for all of us who can laugh at the outrageously silly. But humor, like everything else dealing in personal taste, is a highly subjective matter. If you have never seen it, please use the magic of VOD or streaming to see if you like it before you buy it. The only criticism I have is to acknowledge that some of the plots have aspects that have not aged as well as others. We live in a different time with our own cultural and social sensibilities. For example, today humor making fun of gay stereotypes in particular is out of step with the majority of Americans and practically everyone else. IMO these jokes simply fall a bit flat today. I can't reject them solely on the basis of their being in bad taste because after all that was one of the fundamental principles of the show's humor. One could argue if it succeeded because of or in spite of its questionable taste. Basil embodies bad taste. His countless flaws are a pantheon of human weaknesses. Much of what makes this series so endearing and enduring is that it underscores many recognizable human frailties that are just as prevalent today as they were then. Yes, if you happen to be more familiar with British culture you will get a little more out of it but it is its universal appeal that carries it. Moreover, comedy in the hands of such gifted, bright, insightful writers and such an outstanding cast will help Fawlty Towers continue to delight new generations. Basil the Rat, despite himself, has earned his place in Western comedic history today as Basil the Icon.

Come visit the worst-run hotel in the whole of western Europe (well, except for that place in Eastbourne...) In a field with many top contenders, 'Fawlty Towers' remains my favourite of all 'Britcoms' - situation comedies originating on British television. Fawlty Towers has a cult following decades after the originals aired; it is sometimes hard to believe that there are but 12 episodes, six hours total. The regular cast is led by John Cleese, veteran of the famous Monty Python comedy troupe, as the irrepressible Basil Fawlty, titular head of the hotel with dreams of class and glory; Prunella Scales is his long-suffering and hardworking wife, Sybil, who recognises that while Basil may think 'the sky's the limit!', in fact, '22 rooms is the limit'. Connie Booth (Cleese's real-life wife) played the level-headed and sensible, overworked maid Polly, and in a role matched only by Fawlty's own bizarre manner, Andrew Sachs plays the loveable and ever-incompetent Spanish waiter, Manuel (he's from Barcelona...). Ballard Berkeley makes a regular appearance as the Major, a retired long-term resident at the hotel. Brian Hall joined the cast for the second season as the not-quite-gourmet chef, Terry. From the very first episode (first aired in 1975) featured a social-climbing Fawlty as perhaps the most rude and insufferable hotel manager in existence, in the resort town of Torquay, on the Channel coast of Britain. Sybil tries to maintain a reasonable level of service, but Fawlty's snobbishness permits him to be gracious (indeed, excessively fawning) toward those he considers 'worthy', which in this episode turns out to be Lord Melbury, who ends up not being Lord Melbury, but rather a confidence trickster, and Fawlty's revenge scares away the real 'posh' guests, whom Fawlty sends off with the hilarious shout, 'Snobs!' In each of the episodes, there is a crisis - one gets the sense that the life of Fawlty is non-stop crisis, with his wife and Polly forever picking up the pieces, Manuel always complicating things, and the others wandering around in a state of disbelief (or, in the case of the Major, perpetual daze). The twelve episodes highlight all the things that could wrong at hotel in classic comedic fashion - the institution of a Gourmet Night falls flat when the not-quite-recovering alcoholic chef starts drinking the night of the main event; a guest dies in the middle of the night, and Fawlty tries to slip him out unnoticed; remodelers install and remove the wrong doors; the health inspector unexpected shows up and gets served a bit of rat with his cheese. However, nothing quite matches the kinds of situations Basil can get himself into. When trying to plan a surprise anniversary dinner for his wife, she leaves the hotel thinking that Basil has forgotten again, and Basil dresses Polly up as a sick-bed-bound Sybil to fool the guests. When Polly's friends check in for a wedding over the weekend, Basil suspects the group of free sexual expression (highlighting his own repression); this theme is carried over to a glorious extreme in the episode about the visiting Psychiatrist. 'How does he make his living?' Basil protests. 'He makes his money by sticking his nose into others' private parts, er, details...' This is also the episode where Sybil finally confronts Basil about his double-sided hotel manner toward guests: 'You're either crawling all over them, licking their boots, or spitting poison at them like some Benzedrine puff adder,' she declares. He replies in perfect form, 'Just trying to enjoy myself, dear.' As the psychiatrist will comment near the end, there's enough material for an entire psychiatrist conference. Indeed there is, as this is slapstick humour with a difference. Intelligent and witty while utterly chaotic and beyond the pale, one is treated to the moose-head incident and the ingrowing toenail as well as Fawlty's unique form of automobile motivation (how many of us have ever been tempted to whack away at a stalled car with a stick!) and a nice performance of Brahms (his 'third racket', to be precise). One must not overlook the little details, either, including the ever-changing sign in front (the actual hotel used for the exteriors unfortunately burned down many years after the show), and the fact that the interior and exterior layouts of the building cannot correspond (shades of 'The Simpsons' whose furniture layout changes from scene to scene). It is almost inconceivable that the two series, each of six episodes, were four years apart (1975 and 1979), as they flow rather seamlessly together. Popular on television networks worldwide, it can be seen variously on BBC America and local public television channels, often during the fund drives, when the most popular pieces are shown. The DVD has various extras, including interviews with Cleese, Scales and Sachs (Booth was not available); there are director's commentaries as well as a tour of the now-abandoned hotel used for the exterior (a rather bizarre piece, that). The extras are sadly substandard, but the series itself is excellent, and worth having in the digital format.

Much as I am loathe to start off with a cliche, cliches are cliches because they're true. As many have said, Fawlty Towers is the single funniest TV series ever created. There's no argument, and no other series even comes close. It's like comparing the Beatles to other bands or Jimi Hendrix to other guitarists. Some artists just exist in their own singular dimension, and it's true of this show. What does one say, that it's the Mount Everest of television comedy? More like the rings of Saturn... This masterpiece is given its proper honor in this fine box set, loaded with lengthy extras. The most surprising of these is the contemporary interview with Prunella Scales, revealing her to be a warm, charming and very sweet woman, which of course hammers home what a remarkable performance she gave in every episode of the show. And the same is true of the interview with Andrew Sachs, the immortal and incomparable Manuel. Currently offered at a steep discount by Amazon, the price is in fact irrelevant. The set is worth twice, three times the cost, even if and perhaps especially if you've lived with the show since your youth. Every minute is just perfection, especially in terms of the writing, the quality of which is off the scale. And in every episode, episodes you may have seen dozens of times over the decades, there are countless laugh out loud scenes... even in cases where you know every line, where you anticipate every punch line, every fall, every double-take. Most comedy doesn't bear up well to repeated playing but that's not the case here. Fawlty Towers is like a piece of great music, a classic album, in that its appeal never ends and in fact grows on the listener. It flourishes, it unfolds. In watching these episodes you see little things you never saw before, nuances of delivery that escaped you... and again, it's the writing... you relish every syllable, and if writing means something to you, you find yourself in awe of these scripts for there's not a line wasted. I know, this review seems excessive in its praise, but I'll just end with the delicious fact that the British Film Institute named Fawlty Towers as the #1 Television Program of All Time. Sheer unadulterated and relentless GENIUS.

Fawlty Towers is still the funniest series ever produced. The cast was perfect, the scripts crisp, action-packed and hilarious, and the situations were totally believable. John Cleese is a master of physical and verbal comedy, with the remarkable goose-step, the thrashing of the mini, the manhandling of Manuel, the spasmodic jerks and jumps - one can go on and on. The rest of the cast is perfect and fantastics, but Cleese is the pivotal character in the mix. His unctious, obsequiousness to those perceived to be in the upper class and drop-dead rudeness to everyone else is one of key elements of action at Fawlty Towers. There was an attempt to translate the series to the US in a version starring Diana Rigg. This series followed in the steps of several other British series with less than likeable main characters coming to the US with great success (Sanford & Son, All in the Family). The series lasted through several episodes which were straight re-writes of the original. The move from male to female lead did not work, and the emphasis on class differences necessary to the British version did not play in the States. I am not going to list the episodes or heap masses of praise - others have done that. I am going to tell you about my favorite episode - the Anniversary Party - where the normally obnoxious Basil tries to plan a surprise party for his wife, gets her so mad at him by pretending to have forgotten the event that she leaves, forcing him to resort to a small lie to placate the arriving guests. This lie balloons with each arrival, until Basil is forced to hire Polly, the maid, to impersonate his wife. In this episode you actually wind up feeling sorry for Basil, who, though hoist by his own petard, is doing what he thinks is best for good reasons with very bad results. The episodes in this series are so tightly written that several of them actually seem like two separate episodes in terms of action (the concussion/fire alarm is a prime example). This series is the best ever made. It can be watched again and again and again. If you have not discovered the joys of Fawlty Towers and its dysfunctional staff, rush out an rent or buy.

Hilarious. Truly hilarious. But I’m a fan. What can I say.

I love British comedies, especially the older ones. Over the years, I've caught a few episodes of "Fawlty Towers" on our local PBS station, but it was never shown at a regular time. I decided to purchase this DVD set just to have the entire series...but, oh my gosh, I had no idea how good this series was. I won't echo what other reviewers have said...just agree with them. Some of the scenes and one-liners were so funny they deserved a second, third and (in one instance, with "The Psychiatrist" episode) a 4th viewing. While Basil can be an annoying character, his takedown of Sybil toward the end of the episode was so good, I would love to be able to berate people in such a fashion and be get away with it!). And I have to say Basil's goosewalk in "The Germans" brought me to tears. This DVD set comes with a disc of special features I haven't watched yet...but I do want to comment on the playback issues some reviewers have mentioned. I've watched 9 of the 12 episodes so far and all episodes have played without issue. The staff probably made the correct decision to end "Fawlty Towers" after two series, so as not to diminish the quality of the overall body of work...but there was probably enough left in the tank to go a couple of more series. We'll just have to appreciate what we have...and be secure in the knowledge we can watch these 12 episodes over and over again whenever we wish.

Kevin Murphy of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (another show all comedy fans should own on DVD) said it best once when he referred to Fawlty Towers as the "greatest sitcom" ever. I simply cannot say enough good things about the show. Even after repeated viewings over many years it is amazingly funny; no surprise there, Cleese and Booth crafted each script for six weeks till the comedy was honed to a razor edge. By limiting themselves to just six shows per series and spacing the two series a few years apart, they were able to spend enough time on each script to ensure that there were no wasted lines or filler, it's pure comedy from start to finish. Nearly every moment of the show is used as an opportunity to generate laughter. The extras on this DVD set are also worth viewing. They include a concise, informative interview with John Cleese, a brief bit about the fate of the building used as Fawlty Towers in the show, a documentary on the Gleneagles Hotel in England which inspired the show, and more. My only complaint about this DVD set and the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is the picture quality. The picture quality is simply inexcusable for DVD. It is grainy and fuzzy in many spots and there are even some color anomalies that pop up occasionally. A show of this caliber certainly deserves better, especially on a medium that can provide terrific picture quality. My old VHS copy of the show had a better picture quality. The DVD at times looks degraded in a way similar to a VHS tape that has been watched hundreds of times. Picture quality notwithstanding, any comedy fan, especially those who appreciate off-beat comedy like Monty Python's Flying Circus, Black Adder, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Red Dwarf, etc. will LOVE Fawlty Towers. In spite of the picture quality, you will enjoy this immensely.

Got here quickly and was packaged nicely. I bought it as a Christmas gift for my mother. She loves this show. It's a great price for the complete series.

Für die, die englischen Humor mögen, ein Muss.

Una serie mítica para fans de Jhon Cleese, al estar doblada, imagino que perderá muchos dobles sentidos y mucha "esencia", pero si no dominas el Inglés, es la mejor manera de verla y enterarte

HYSTERICAL....KEEPS YOU LAUGHING ALL THE WAY THROUGH....THE CHARACTERS ARE SO INTENSE WHEN THEY INTERACT...WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE ?

The best comedy series (Other than Only Fools and Horses) - can't believe there were only 12 episodes - Great purchase as an add-on gift. The disks were in pristine condition, as was the box/case.

dvd arrived in good condition and was as described, good seller who I would recommend