Rating: 
Summary: The Manger's Faulty? What's Wong With Him?
Review: "Fawlty Towers", for those who have somehow not been exposed to it, is simply the most glorious example of the farce ever to be committed to television. "Monty Python"'s John Cleese is Basil Fawlty, a snobbish, rude owner of a small hotel in Torquay. On staff are his wife Sybil (Prunella Scales) - a gregarious woman with the most amazing laugh in television history, receptionist Polly (Cleese's wife Connie Booth) - probably the only staff member with an ounce of common sense, and Manuel (the incomparable Andrew Sachs) - a Spanish waiter with severely limited English. Of the guests, Ballard Berkely delivers a wonderful performance as the not-quite-there Major.Each episode deals with Basil's various problems at the hotel, problems which he never fails to make much worse by saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, leaving Manuel in charge or generally being himself. The laughs ramp up to fever pitch very rapidly and each episode ends with rapturous cheers from the studio audience. There were only ever 12 episodes recorded of this classic series, but each one has incredible quality. As Cleese explains in part of his interview, attempting to equal the highlights of each series just got too much for the writers and performers. Here is a quick summary of the premise of each episode and what to watch for:
"A Touch of Class" - this was the first episode ever recorded and deals with Basil's attempt at attracting "a better sort of clientele" to the hotel. Watch for Basil's changing attitudes toward Lord Melbury and the man in the biker jacket, while the standout scene is Basil's seating of Lord Melbury "in his usual seat" in the dining room. Best line: "A lemon squash, a gin and orange and a scotch and water please."
"The Builders" - Basil's attempts at cost-cutting result in a drastically reconfigured hotel. Watch for Mr O'Reilly's Irish accent and Basil's monster double take at the renovations. Best lines: "Where are your ears you halfwit? He no here - LISTEN", "Which of you is Man With Beard?" and "Door gone was here!"
"The Wedding Party" - Basil gets caught up in the fray as a large number of guests appear to be getting very close to each other. Watch for the drunken Manuel and Basil's rising blood pressure at the various couplings. Best lines: "And I saw him...sitting on the waiter!" and "Leaving my three mothers".
"The Hotel Inspectors" - Basil desperately tries to impress guests who he thinks are inspectors. Watch for the revelation of who everyone is.
"Gourmet Night" - Basil's attempt at a gourmet night goes horribly wrong. Watch for the "beating the car" scene (recently voted one of the funniest scenes ever). Best line: "I warned you, you vicious bastard!"
"The Germans" - this is probably the best episode of the entire show. Sybil is in hospital and Basil ends up there as well, but then (still suffering the after-effects of a concussion) handles the arrival of some German guests. Watch for the Major's reaction to the "talking moose" and Basil's marvellous "don't mention the war" performance. Best lines: "I speak eeengleesh very well. I learned eeet from a booook.", "one Hermann Goering" and "well YOU started it!".
"Communication Problems" - a deaf guest checks into the Hotel. Meanwhile, Basil needs to keep his gambling a secret. Watch for the "your horse, he win" scene and the incredible scene in which Manuel can't explain the source of the money. Best lines: "Is this a piece of your brain?", "nitwit or dragonfly?" and "I know NOTHING."
"The Psychiatrist" - Basil provides some great research material for two visiting psychiatrists. Watch for his shameless buttering-up of the doctors. Best line: "Two doctors? How did you become two doctors?"
"Waldorf Salad" - an American attempts to order a Waldorf Salad from the chef. Watch for Basil playing both himself and the chef. Best lines: "What's a waldorf anyway?" and "Whopee, let's all have an apple party!!"
"The Kipper and the Corpse" - a guest dies and Basil tries to prevent everyone else from finding out. Watch for the carrying-the-guest-up-and-down-the-stairs scene. Best line: "I'm a doctor and I want my breakfast".
"The Anniversary" - Basil infuriated Sybil by seemingly forgetting their wedding anniversary. Watch for his solution to the problem. Best line: "Agincourt? Poitiers? Crecy?"
"Basil The Rat" - a health inspector's arrival is precipitated by Basil's discovery of Manuel's "siberian hamster". Watch for the look on Manuel's face as he puts out some food for his pet and Basil's "celebration" upon finding that the cat is alive. Best lines: "Basil, Basil", "To spleep?", "He put Basil in the ratatouille?", "Pigin, like your English" and "no no, is hamster". For die-hard fans, the third disc, containing interviews and outtakes is also more than worthwhile as a purchase. Enough praise cannot be given to this series. It should be compulsory viewing for anyone remotely interested in comedy.
Rating:
Summary: Best Comedy.... Period!
Review: Please believe what these reviewers say! Absolutely hilarious! A true classic!
Rating: 
Summary: boring
Review: although I enjoy fawlty towers very much this collection is too boring --- there is a really boring interview that lasts forever right before each episode. they could easily have put more episodes in the collection if they only would eliminate those interviews... well --- sigh --- live and learn...
Rating:
Summary: As funny a TV show as has ever been seen
Review: I would like to state a bit of a paradox: while I believe MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS to be the greatest television comedy series in the history the medium, I believe FAWLTY TOWERS is the funniest. With the former, much of the delight is the sheer intellectual or conceptual brilliance of the skits. There is relatively little that is conceptual or intellectual about FAWLTY TOWERS: it is a classic situational farce done as perfectly as is possible. There is none of the self-reflective genius of Monty Python, in with the boys made fun of history, politics, society, the BBC, and the television medium itself. Instead, we get the most absurdly funny character in the history of TV, one Mr. Basil Fawlty. Of the members of Monty Python, several of the members were verbally brilliant. Actually, any of the group was capable of saying something utterly off the wall and brilliant. But John Cleese was the only member of the group who was a truly great physical comedian. He was the only one who could have performed the Silly Walk. His greatness as a physical comedian was never greater than in the two FAWLTY TOWERS series. His disjointed, gangly contortions are perhaps the funniest this side of the double jointed Jim Carrey, and his verbal ripostes are even better than his physical comedy. The cast as a whole is brilliant. Prunella Scales as Sybil, acutely aware of Basil's absurdities while blithefully ignorant of her own, is the perfect ballast to Cleese's Basil. Andrew Sachs is always delightful as the linguistically challenged Manuel ("Don't mind him, he's from Barcelona"). American Connie Booth, co-writer of the series and married to Cleese for most of the series, was solid as Polly, sort of the "straight man" in the cast. Besides the actors, the key to the series is the utterly brilliant scripts. In a way, it is a miracle that there were 12 episodes. Each show was packed with so many bits of verbal brilliance and brilliant conceived guest characters that it would have been impossible to sustain them beyond that number of episodes. I will defend to my dying day MONTY PYTHON as the greatest TV comedy, but as much as I adore it, I have never, ever laughed as hard at anything on TV as at FAWLTY TOWERS.
Rating:
Summary: Genius
Review: Here in the UK, John Cleese is regarded as a bit of a genius. With possibly the quickest wit and imaginitive writing skills as well as his unrivalled acting skills, this man is a heavywieght when it comes to light-hearted comedy. Fawlty Towers is simply hilarious, and never disappoints, even when you've seen it so, so many times. I won't go on about individual gems, everyone else below has done a good Job with that.
Just know that it is British Comedy at it's absolute best. Some John Cleese movies include... Clockwise - (this is the film that is mentioned by a reviewer below, but he couldn't remember it's name - well, here it is) Monty Python (life of Brian, The Meaning Of Life, The Holy Grail) A Fish Called Wonda (Absolutely brilliant - with Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Klien & Michael Palin) And of course, he's the new Gadget guy in the Bond films.
If you ever see anything penned by, or starring Cleese, it's worth a look, and certainly a few of your American dollars!
Rating:
Summary: A Must Have!
Review: I loved the series on PBS. If you enjoyed John Cleese in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", or "The Life of Brian", This is a must have. This set includes interviews with All the cast. It's worthwhile watching, both the series, and the interviews. John Cleese outdoes himself as Basil Fawlty. The only drawbacks I can think of are A. The series was so short (12 episodes), and B. I had to stop the DVD frequently to groan on Basil's behalf. Silly. Absurd. Slapstick. Fun!! DC
Rating:
Summary: Fawlty Towers
Review: This DVD box set is a must for anyone who loves British Comedy at its best. Do yourself a favor and pick one up.
Rating:
Summary: Abosulte must own
Review: Anybody that has ever appreciated physical comedy must own this collection, even if you've never seen the show before. The quality is exceptional. Extra features are very nice. If you've enjoyed John Cleese in any other program or movie you must buy this collection.
Rating:
Summary: The best comedy series.....ever
Review: This comedy series sparkles with genius in almost every respect.
Brilliant writing and superb casting make this some of the funniest material ever put on DVD. Basil Fawlty is a rude, abusive and paranoid hotel manager who
has a talent for turning simple matters into major catastrophes. Absolutely hilarious ! You'll laugh til it hurts ! Many thanks to John Cleese and Connie Booth for this outstanding
series.
Rating:
Summary: HYSTERICAL!!!!
Review: Completely hysterical, Fawlty Towers are the funniest shows I have ever seen in my life. They keep me in stitches the entire time, even though I've watched each show about 20 times. You'll never get bored. Great shows to watch if your sad or mad it is guraunteed to cheer you up. Though be careful you'll stomache muscles will be very sore the next day from all the laughing. Hope you enjoy!!!
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