“…and
now for something completely different.”
I picked up this 1970s’ British comedy show a few months ago on DVD and finally
got around to watching it. There are two
seasons, 1975 and 1979, each of only 6 episodes, so the entire series is only
12 episodes. In fact, The Young Ones,
the 1980s British comedy show, was likewise 6x2 in tribute to this one.
The
show features a bed & breakfast in Torquay, England, a resort town on the
Channel Coast (although not actually filmed there). Torquay is where Wishbone Ash come from. As a B&B its staff is limited and
extremely overworked, which lends itself some very clever comedy.
Basil Fawlty (John Cleese). You may recognize Cleese from Monty Python,
and here he’s just as tall and arrogant as any upper class twit he may have
portrayed on Flying Circus.
Sybil Fawlty (Prunella Scales). His wife is somewhat smarter than him and
constantly puts him down – well-deserved, as it is. They make a good bickering couple.
Polly Sherman (Connie Booth, Cleese’s
real-life wife). The B&B’s waitress
and helper. Frequently she has to cover
for Basil or Manuel and typically gets caught in the crossfire of uppity,
frustrated guests and Basil and/or Manuel.
She’s good eye candy. You may
remember her from the “Lumberjack Sketch” on Flying Circus, with Michael Palin as the lumberjack.
Manuel (Andrew Sachs). The B&B’s waiter from Barcelona, somewhat
lazy, poor English, and not too bright. In
the last episode, he confuses a rat for an oversized hamster and keeps it as a
pet, almost costing the B&B its license.
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