My favourite ever TV sitcom is Fawlty Towers.John Cleese played the part of Basil Fawlty, the eccentric owner and manager of Fawlty Towers a Hotel in Torquay, England.
Basil is the henpecked husband of Sybil - played by Prunella Scales.
I came across this legendary extract and it brought back memories of this classic comedy.
Only about 10 episodes were made and it was over 30 years ago. It still makes me laugh!
Sybil: You're going to wear that jacket, are you Basil?
Basil: Yes I am, thank you dear, yes.
Sybil: You just haven't a clue, have you?
Basil: You wouldn't understand, dear - it's called 'style'.
10 comments:
Many thanks for your kind reply to my previous comment Trevor. I to remember with great warmth Falty Towers with Basil and his Wife plus the rest of the guests at the Hotel including Manuel and the Ols Major, not forgetting Polly. A great series and a real shame this kind of comedy is not produced more today instead of all the violent films we see on our TV screens. Keep up the blogging, you are doing well!
Thanks Brian and it is quite amazing how Falwty Towers is ageless comedy. I have watched many episodes more than once and they still make me laugh. Classic stuff!
Hi Trevor, my favorite comedy of all times is a British one. I am talking about "The rise and fall of Reginald Perrin". Absolutely hilarious. I was just a kid when I watched it for the first time, but it still remains in my memory as something unique.
Hi Felix - good to hear from you Amigo!
The actor that played Reginald Perrin was Leonard Rossiter who played many comedy roles in TV in Britain. Sadly he died relatively young. Another of his best sitcoms was called Rising Damp - did you ever see that?
In the Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin there was another wonderful character known as CJ (Reginald Perrin’s boss) … He used to say at the beginning of almost very sentence ‘I didn’t get where I am today without ....’
Hilarious stuff – they just don’t make ‘em like that any more.
I remember Rising Damp, Trevor. And, I still have Fawlty Towers on video. And Black Adder. And The Young Ones. Keeping Up Appearances is still a staple on our Public Television stations here. Benny Hill and Monty Python still run regularly.
Quality is indeed timeless.
Hi Trevor,
I watched Fawlty Towers a while back on DVD. I like it ok but I can't say I love it. What I do love is "Yes Minister" (and "Yes Prime Minister). I had no idea that many of those crazy stories were actually based on real events.
For example, I love the episode called "The Moral Dimension" where "Jim Hacker learns that due to Islamic law, there will be no alcoholic beverages during the reception (5 hours of orange juice instead!). Dreaded with this prospect, Jim Hacker suggests to set up a security communications room filled with booze brought in from the British Embassy." According to a writer of the show, apparently this was based on a true story. (smile)
source:
http://www.yes-minister.com/ymseas3b.htm
Kempton
Hi Kempton - The ‘Yes Minister’ and ‘Yes prime Minister’ series were also classics. Paul Eddington (sadly no longer with us) was excellent as Jim Hacker. I suspect this was only a very slight exaggeration of the truth about how government is run.
Hi Mike - the shows you mention bring back great memories. Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) had some classic lines. One I remember well was:
"Flashard .. If my men had to choose who to follow between you and the public lavatory cleaner in Aberdeen they would choose wee Jock McPoo Plop every time.”
I can still see Benny Hill’s when he played a Chinese Politician who got his ‘r’s’ and his ‘l’s’ muddled in his broken English. The TV interviewer asked him. “When did you last have an election?’ – Benny’s eyes rolled in that inimitable way
Your word Timeless is a great description!
Hi Trevor, I don't remember having watched Rising Damp.
Like Kempton, what I can remember perfectly is "Yes, Minister". I used to watch it on Saturdays and it was so "real"... I think one could learn a lot about politics from that. By the way,the minister was a labourist, wan't he?
Hi Felix
Jim Hacker was from an unspecified party - I suspect as it was the BBC they could not specify the party in order to retain their independence as the national broadcasting company. It was very funny and even Mrs Thatcher was rumuored to have enjoyed the programme!!
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