Russell Brand has pledged not to tone down his comic tones, adding he does not regret his offensive prank phone calls to actor Andrew Sachs. The Brit prankster faced much heat after leaving a series of lewd messages on the answering machine of the Fawlty Towers star, including one in which he boasted about sleeping with [...] Related posts: Andrew Sachs : Brand-Ross prank call marred relationship with...
On one level the email staff memo republished by Bob Sutton on his excellent web site is funny. It sounds as if Fawlty Towers was run by someone with Lenny Bruce’s vocabulary. On the other level, it’s disturbing just how bad some managers can behave. And it must harm the business. Bob Sutton: Asshole Boss of the [...]
I've seen every single one of these episodes too many times to count. Doesn't matter a bit. This is timeless inventive, stuff. The kind of thing that you feel obligated to introduce to the unitiated and invite friends overt o watch and rewatch. The fact that the character of Basil Fawlty is based on a real person makes the show all the more rich. Like Seinfeld and other programs that expertly replicate...
Social networking sends $15,000 shocker inspired by Fawlty Towers into box-office hall of fame There is nothing remotely scary about the beige library in the Soho Hotel. It's calm, quiet, bland. Yet towards the end of a low-key interview with Oren Peli, who's in London for less than 24 hours to promote his smash-hit low-budget horror flick Paranormal Activity , there's a loud creak in the corner of...
Gavin Gaughan writes: Michael Coveney's account of Timothy Bateson (obituary, 8 November) omitted a minor but noteworthy event in television comedy. The first person to give life on screen to Basil Fawlty was not John Cleese, but the diminutive, inoffensive-looking Bateson. Cleese took the inspiration from the real-life hotel proprietor Donald Sinclair, and before Fawlty Towers used Sinclair as the...
BBC Worldwide has a cunning plan Following the release of Fawlty Towers , BBC Worldwide has seen fit to launch another British classic on iTunes. To mark twenty years since the series last appeared on our screens, the entire series of Blackadder is available to download from the iTunes Store for the first time ever. Fans can now download series 1 to 4 or a single episode from iTunes, while in December,...
Rent It I don't know how long ago it was, but I have a vague memory of watching the sixth episode of "Fawlty Towers". Either I just happened to click over to it on late-night TV or I had dug up an old family VHS recording taped off of PBS, but watching the episode, called "The Germans", in which Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) gets knocked on the head and suffers a concussion, I laughed...
Space For Commerce, by Brian Dunbar (Free subscription) | 11/16/2009
In which our intrepid tourists discover that booking a hotel room on short notice and paying cut-rate fares invokes the principal of 'you gets whats you pays for'. The gentleman that owns it is very friendly and helpful, but his wife or the woman that runs it with him, does not seem overly thrilled to have us here. It's Fawlty Towers!
lived right on a boundary between the 13th and the 14th arrondissements, and their home was a large-ish kind of guesthouse. They had their own wing, as big as a solo house, and there were apartments for visitors. A man who reminded me of Manuel from Fawlty Towers had charge of guest arrangements. All of the [...]
Given the chance, I spend as much time as I can in this wonderful part of the English countryside. It's a place of changing moods and lush green rolling vistas. The South Downs are a great place to exercise, relax and unwind. Today, Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP (Secretary of State Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) signed the documents officially stating the long awaited boundary decision. You may be...
Zach Baron in The Village Voice: Those who have been paying attention to Zadie Smith since her White Teeth debut likely already know about her affinities for E.M. Forster, Lil Wayne, George Eliot, Kafka, and Fawlty Towers. She's one of...
As a longtime Monty Python fanatic, I’ve often heard of the legendary Fawlty Towers, the British sitcom John Cleese co-created and starred in after Flying Circus had gone off the air. The show ranks high in the annals of sitcom lore, with Cleese singled out for his performance as Basil Fawlty, the co-owner of a [...]
Tea and Talk is the lucky winner of the remastered DVD collection of Fawlty Towers! Thanks to everyone who entered and if you didn't win, you can visit Uniquely Tea and enter again. Good luck!
Just a few quick words on two Britcom TV on DVD releases today that brought a smile to this jaded writer's face. BBC Video today releases new editions of British comedy classics Blackadder and Fawlty Towers, both in deluxe remastered versions that not only include all episodes produced but a healthy dose of extras and bonus features. (Just don't mention the war.) It's a testament to the creative forces...
This past weekend was a lovely one in the north east and surely one of the last of the season. Even though Autumn is only half over, in a very short time the days will be too cold for me and there might even be snow. So we took full advantage and spent Sunday in the park with our girl London, the newest member of our clan. It isn't very often that you get to see her obsessed mother who writes this...
The BBC is facing mounting criticism after its presenters Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross made crude phone calls to a former Fawlty Towers star. readmore
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