Fawlty Towers

From The TV IV

Fawlty Towers

Premiere	September 19, 1975
Finale	October 25, 1979
Airs
Creator	John Cleese Connie Booth
Network	BBC
Style	30-minute comedy
Company	British Broadcasting Corporation
Episodes	12
Seasons	2
Origin	UK

Fawlty Towers (1975–79) is arguably one of the greatest, most influential and funniest sitcoms in the history of television. Frequently referenced and imitated and remade several times, it is therefore shocking to realize, as in the case of The Honeymooners before it, so very few episodes of this groundbreaking series were ever filmed. In the case of Fawlty Towers, only twelve episodes in two six-episode seasons exist.

The brainchild of Monty Python member John Cleese and his then-wife Connie Booth, the show revolves around Basil Fawlty, the snooty, niggardly, short-tempered manager of a small hotel in England. Although Basil heaps abuse upon the beleaguered Spanish waiter Manuel, the artsy waitress Polly and his guests, he lives in abject fear of his wife Sybil. Many episodes involve Basil concocting some scheme to improve the hotel's clientele, or eject a guest whom he considers "riff raff," or save a buck by cutting corners, then working furiously to appease or hide his scheme from his wife.

1 Cast
2 Seasons
3 In-Depth
4 DVD Releases
5 External Sites

[edit] Cast

Actor	Character	Duration
Billed Cast
John Cleese	Basil Fawlty	1	2
Prunella Scales	Sybil Fawlty	1	2
Connie Booth	Polly Sherman	1	2
Andrew Sachs	Manuel	1	2
Secondary Cast
Ballard Berkeley	Major Gowen	1	2
Gilly Flower	Miss Tibbs	1	2
Renee Roberts	Miss Gatsby	1	2
Brian Hall	Terry		2

[edit] Seasons

Season	Premiere	Finale	#
BBC-Two
Season One	September 19, 1975	October 24, 1975	6
Season Two	February 19, 1979	October 25, 1979	6

[edit] In-Depth

At a Glance: Additional information about the series
History: Historical background on the series

[edit] DVD Releases

Title	Release Date	#
Single Discs
Fawlty Towers: Vol. 1	October 16, 2001	1
Fawlty Towers: Vol. 2	October 16, 2001	1
Fawlty Towers: Vol. 3	October 16, 2001	1
Complete Collection
Fawlty Towers: The Complete Collection	October 16, 2001	3