Fawlty Towers is about two hotel owners who are man and wife - Basil and Cybil Fawlty played by John Cleese and Prunella Scales respectively. As viewers we have the pleasure of witnessing the day to day running of this ill-fated guest house but more crucially how the eccentric and obsequious Basil Fawlty deals with the predicaments.

The script itself is funny but not too grand; the factors that make the comedy work are the set pieces and top rate physical / slapstick humour. The scenarios in each of the episodes are side-splitting e.g. disposing of a dead guest, organising a search party to seize a rat called Basil and trying to catch out the guest who smuggles people into his room. The best part of the physical humour is down to the legendary John Cleese who plays his role perfectly. Not many comedians can overreact (at the best of times) be it fussing or prancing about and still be appreciated for it on every occasion. His constant quibbling is central to the show and to the… more »

Fawlty Towers is about two hotel owners who are man and wife - Basil and Cybil Fawlty played by John Cleese and Prunella Scales respectively. As viewers we have the pleasure of witnessing the day to day running of this ill-fated guest house but more crucially how the eccentric and obsequious Basil Fawlty deals with the predicaments.

The script itself is funny but not too grand; the factors that make the comedy work are the set pieces and top rate physical / slapstick humour. The scenarios in each of the episodes are side-splitting e.g. disposing of a dead guest, organising a search party to seize a rat called Basil and trying to catch out the guest who smuggles people into his room. The best part of the physical humour is down to the legendary John Cleese who plays his role perfectly. Not many comedians can overreact (at the best of times) be it fussing or prancing about and still be appreciated for it on every occasion. His constant quibbling is central to the show and to the demand of the viewer, as Cleese works magic in providing great chemistry between the colourful ensemble cast.

Considering that other classic sitcoms like Only Fools and Horses (66 episodes Approx) and Blackadder (24 episodes approx) went on longer, it is surprising to see only 12 episodes of Fawlty towers. However don't let this dampen you spirits as the purpose serves up well in the small number (in comparison with others) of shows that we have at hand. At least the ideology has not been exhausted and that we are left with 12 classic episodes that can be re-visited time and time again without the fear of repetitiveness.

At this point in time TV is evolving; most new programmes claim to offer something fresh and innovative. Some of them do (The Office, Phoenix Nights) and as usual some of them are just dim-witted (Vicar of Dibley, Two Pints of Lager ....), but Fawlty Towers still reminds us that they don't make them like they used to. This show is Great British humor at its very best, often imitated (Black books) but rarely bettered.

John Cleese as Fawlty Towers is one of the most memorable characters ever. It goes to show that as an audience we take an instant liking to odd and flawed personalities who we can laugh at, rather than laugh with. Years later we were presented with similar characters in Alan Partridge, David Brent and Brian Potter, whose self centered approach and pig ignorance is still worthy of our compassion. This is probably because we can relate to some of their weaknesses and habits to ourselves, and this makes the characters more human and realistic.

Favorite episode? Most will go for the Germans one, but personally I prefer the Hotel Inspectors (series one) which is pure slap-stick from start to finish. However every episode is a classic in its own right, and Series 2 betters the momentum of the show.