Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) is a man who aspires for the good life. Running a hotel he’s named after himself with his wife Sybil (Connie Booth), Basil plays the fool in what has been considered one of Britain’s best comedies in Fawlty Towers. Now the series has been remastered for another release and we are better for it.
Featuring all twelve episodes of the series, the series’ influence is astounding. Stopping at only two seasons, mainly because Cleese wanted to end the show before he “ran out of ideas” in the same manner he left Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the series influenced many others ending short (including The Office and Extras) in a similar manner.
What makes the series so delightful, and one that hasn’t aged or feels dated, is the comedic genius of John Cleese. Basil Fawlty is essentially the sort of buffoon that Larry David would become famous portraying on Curb Your Enthusiasm, except funnier and British. Basil wants the high life and looks down his nose at many people he feels people, which is amusing because he has to serve them while doing nearly everything at his hotel. An intellectual who aspires to become the hotelier to the rich and nobility of England, Basil’s aspirations aren’t in life with his personality quirks and frugality that result in his inability to move up in the world.
Cleese plays the buffoon better then most and Basil is just so funny that his snide comments and pompous nature become endearing. Basil, with any other actor portraying him, would be a miscast villain and the show wouldn’t work. Cleese is able to hone in on the sort of good-natured doofus that Basil is and make his shortcomings comical as opposed to being dislikable. In 360 minutes he develops a character that has more memorable lines in one episode then some have in entire seasons.
Cleese takes good material from his creative writing peak, as he was the show’s head writer, and just hits home runs with every caustic line. Every episode he’s on the top of his game, taking good performances from the rest of his cast and elevating them to near where he is. If Michael Jordan at his basketball peak could carry a team of good players and make them into something special, Cleese pulls off the same with a moderately talented cast. It’s stunning to see and remarkably funny.
It says something to the brilliance of his performance that in only 12 episodes that Basil Fawlty is in the team picture of iconic British comedic characters. The BBC has given the world an amazing treasure trove of television material, and it’s hard to argue against Fawlty Towers as being amongst its very best.
The a/v on the series has been remastered from the original release but it’s not a terrific one by any stretch of the term. Or even a very good one. It’s an upgrade but it shows a bit of aging and grain from the original.
There are separate Commentary tracks from John Cleese on both seasons, and season one director John Howard Davies and season two director Bob Spiers each contribute soundtracks to their respective seasons.
2009 Interviews is an interview with John Cleese, Connie Booth and others where they discuss the series. Plus there is the full interview with Cleese, Andrew Sachs and Prunella Scales provided.
There’s a brief biography segment on the principal actors called Helpful Staff which focuses on the workers of the hotel and Guest Registry that focuses on the mainstay residents.
Cheap Tatty Review segues from the end of the series to the next one that filled its place.
A brief documentary on the area the series was filmed in Tourqay Tourist Office is a look from years ago at the region in which the series was filmed. Included is the anecdote that led to the series creation.
Two minutes worth of Outtakes are included.
The extras are mediocre, but Fawlty Towers is worth the purchase if only to see a comedic legend in perhaps his finest three hours.
BBC presents Fawlty Towers: The Complete Collection Remastered . Starring John Cleese. Connie Booth. Running time: 360 minutes. Not Rated. Released on DVD: October 20, 2009. Available at Amazon.
