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About Fawlty Towers & Episode Guide

About Fawlty Towers & Episode Guide


Fawlty Towers Aired From September 19, 1975 - October 26, 1979



the story:
Although it only had 12 episodes, which originally aired between 1975 and 1979, the British sitcom Fawlty Towers remains an all-time favorite. The hotel is owned by Basil Fawlty – a snobbish, miserly, xenophobic and sexually repressed paranoiac who is desperate to belong to a higher social class – and his wife Sybil – an effective but rather lackadaisical manager. The episodes typically revolve around Basil's efforts to get ahead and his frustration at mistakes, both his own and those of others, which prevent him from doing so. Much of the humor comes from Basil's insulting and sometimes aggressive manner, engaging in angry but witty arguments with guests, staff, and in particular his frightful wife, whom he addresses with insults such as "my little piranha fish" and "my little nest of vipers".

The two other major characters are Polly Shearman and Manuel. Polly is the hotel’s waitress who is often stuck doing many other jobs. She often stands as the voice of sanity during chaotic moments in the hotel, but is frequently embroiled in ridiculous masquerades as she loyally attempts to aid Basil in trying to cover a mistake he's made, or to keep something from Sybil. Manuel, the waiter/bellhop/oddjobber, is a well-meaning but disorganized and constantly confused Spaniard from Barcelona with a poor grasp of the English language and customs. He is constantly verbally and physically abused by his boss.


the main cast:
John Cleese  Basil Fawlty
Prunella Scales   Sybil Fawlty
Andrew Sachs      Manuel
Connie Booth Polly Shearman

Farty Towels (the paperboy rearranged the letters for the Fawlty Towers sign at the beginning of each episode):
In 2000, British Film Institute voted Fawlty Towers first in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes. It was also voted fifth in the BBC's "Britain's Best Sitcom" poll in 2004 and second only to Frasier in The Ultimate Sitcom poll of comedy writers in January 2006.

The show’s depiction of a dysfunctional "family" in the workplace has influenced many popular sitcoms since and a Lonely Planet Tourist Guide of London summarized its critique of the bad state of London hotels by stating that "Fawlty Towers was really a documentary."
info compiled from wikipedia.org

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  • gabsimom Points +10 Good work! 2-27-2008 07:43

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Season 1 Episode Guide



Episode 1: A Touch of Class
Basil wants a new, upmarket clientèle. He thinks he has got it, little does he know that his new posh guest in a con man!

Episode 2: The Builders
Sybil has been on at Basil to get some building work done on the hotel. He hires a   cheap builder, who Sybil warned him against, to do the work while they are away. What will they come back to? What will Sybil say when she finds out.

Episode 3: The Wedding Party
A wedding party comes to the hotel and Basil is sure there's some funny business going on. He's not going to have any of that going on in his hotel so sorts it out in his own very unique style!

Episode 4: The Hotel Inspectors
Basil sees how many guests he can offend while trying to be the perfect hotelier for the hotel inspectors.

Episode 5: Gourmet Night
Once again Basil tries to attract a higher class of people to his hotel. As you may have guessed, things don't go quite to plan!

Episode 6: The Germans
Don't mention the war! Basil has to cope with the hotel alone while Sybil is in hospital. He could do with taking his own advice!


Contributed By meljones_83

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Season 2 Episode Guide



Episode 1: Communication Problems
Basil has problems a-plenty in this episode. (What's new I hear you cry?!) This time it's with a selectively deaf guest. On the bright side, he has a win on the horses....

Episode 2: The Psychiatrist
Basil is concerned that a young male guest with an eye for the ladies has smuggled a girl into his room, but should we be more worried about what Basil himself has been getting up to? The psychiatrist also staying at Fawlty Towers finds the whole thing fascinating.   

Episode 3: Waldorf Salad
Celery, apples, walnuts, grapes! An American guest demands quality service. I think he may be in the wrong place. His requests are just a bit to upmarket for Torquay.

Episode 4: The Kipper and the Corpse
Basil fears that out-of-date kippers are to blame for a death in the hotel. So what do you do? Hide all the evidence of course!

Episode 5: The Anniversary
Basil has forgotten his wedding anniversary. Again. Or has he? Sybil certainly seems to think so.

Episode 6: Basil the Rat
The public health inspector is in town. Unfortunately, Manuel's pet hamster has escaped and is loose in the hotel. Oh, and this hamster looks suspiciously like a rat!

Contributed By meljones_83

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