Fawlty Towers - The Complete Collection

Rating:
Summary: Best BBC comedy of all time
Review: Where have you been hiding if you have never seen an episode of this BBC treasure trove? Fawlty Towers is easily BBC's best comedy, bar none. Filmed over two seasons (1975 and 1979), the show featured clever, witty and engaging scripts allowing for plenty of re-watch factor. A stellar cast included John Cleese and Prunella Scales. It is very difficult to pick a favourite scene, but safe to say that are all outstanding.

This is a DVD you can purchase without doubt. Picture quality is outstanding in comparison to the video version. Yes, the price may be high, but it is worth every single penny.

Rating:
Summary: Best BritCom PERIOD!!!
Review: This is the British Comedy by which all others are measured!

Do not pay any attention to the idiot's that gave this a bad review. They obviously have no sense of humor or just don't get British humor. This is a must see/buy! You shall not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Laugh till you cry!
Review: It's a crime I say!!! How can there only be 12 of these gems in the world? I searched and searched and then I found out that this is all there is. There ain't no more folks. Fawlty Towers is funny for more than one reason. Generally, British sitcoms are not as rigid as American sitcoms. Then there is the language itself. Pronounciations and accents make things sound even funnier. I would imagine that you've never called your wife a "stupid cloth eared beet" before. John Cleese is simply mad. He's very tall and the sight of him doing his slapstick physical comedy is hilarious.

You can usually see Fawlty Towers and all the other "Britcoms" on PBS but they go through periods where they remove certain shows from the air from time to time. You may remember John Cleese from his younger days with Monty Python's Flying Circus, which I didn't watch for years because I thought it was a circus show. What a fool was I.


Here are some of my favorites that you simply must see:

The Corpse and the Kipper - A guest dies during the night but when Basil Fawlty brings his breafast in the morning he doesn't even notice the guy is dead!

The Health Inspector - The Health Inspector comes to perform a suprise inspection. Little does Basil know that Manuel has a pet rat that gets loose in the hotel. Manuel thinks it's a hamster. Everyone tries to catch the rat while keeping it hush-hush from the inspector. This episode is wild.

The Germans - Basil Fawlty's done himself a mischief and gotten a concusion. He leaves the hospital insisting that he's okay because the Germans are coming and he must be there. Add that to the fact that he can't speak German and watch the fun.

Gourmet Night - Basil tries to cater to the upper crust of British Society by offering a Gourmet Night at the hotel. It doesn't go well. The chef (a male) gets drunk and falls in love with Manuel. There's no dinner to serve and Basil orders it from another restaurant. He has to pick it up but he gets stuck because the car that he tried to fix himself stops running. He threatens the car but when that doesn't work, he decides to beat the car with a switch! When he finally gets back his dinner is not quite what he expected.

The Anniversary - Basil and his wife have a bit of a row (fight) and she leaves just when he's all set to suprise her with a party. He decides to have the maid pretend that she is his wife. I can't even explain the rest. It's too nuts!

You must get this DVD especially if you love Britcoms. You'll laugh from beginning to end.

Rating:
Summary: Superb Albeit All-Too-Short-Lived Series!
Review: I have had this collection for a very long time now and yet I continue to watch each episode over and over again. These episodes - for whatever reason - have great "re-watchability". 12 episodes! Gahaad! I don't know why they made only 12 of these gems, but there ain't nothin' I can do about it, I guess. This collection is superb! The only complaint I have is that the "case" that houses these 3 disks is ungainly and one is forced to lay the thing down flat to unfold it fully. Also dust and dirt can get in from the top and bottom when fully closed. I would have preferred 3 independent fully-protective cases.

Rating:
Summary: He's from Barcelona...
Review: If you were to look up some of the most hysterical moments on the BBC, you would no doubtably come across two names. Those names would be John Cleese and Ricky Gervais. While Gervais recently found comedy through his program called "The Office", Cleese has been providing wit, wisdom, and down-right hysteria for the past several decades. While away from his namesake (Monty Python), you can find Cleese comfortable in several other roles that showcase his bubbling talent. One of those programs just happens to be the funniest bit of crumpet called "Fawlty Towers".

Remembering this show when I was a child and was on our local PBS station, I eagerly bought it when it was released on DVD about a year ago. Since then, I have watched random episodes here and there but never fully taking in the enjoyment from watching it all. So, today I decided to sit down and watch this series from beginning to end and I have yet to finish laughing. If this program doesn't define comic genius, I don't know what does. Never have I witnessed a show that has continually been fresh, hysterical (I cannot use that word enough), real, and outlandish all at the same time. Normally, with our current television programming, you need to pick or choose which it will be, but thankfully "Fawlty Towers" is all of these and many more.

Cleese remains in top form as Basil Fawlty, the owner/manager of the B&B that just happens to have his hands and over-worked imagination in everything. With the aid of his helpers Manuel (he's from Barcelona) and Polly (co-writer Connie Booth and ex-wife of Cleese), Cleese always seems to find himself in a heap of trouble with his wife Sybil (the dragon of the hotel). Armed with physical humor and a snake-like banter, we witness everything from a dead body, hotel inspectors, a failed anniversary party, a moose head, and a Himalayan rodent of sorts happen to this simple, everyday, B&B. This is not only a few of the episodes you will find in the complete set, but also the daily stress that Basil finds himself falling into daily.

This series, again, is hysterical. Cleese is the master of his trade while proving that he can manage any task thrown in front of him. While some will argue that he overshadows the rest of the cast, I would say "hogwash" to that. My two favorite characters in this series were Major and Manuel. The comedy that they provide cannot be found on television today. All I need to say is thank God for the BBC.

Grade: ***** out of *****