FANS of 70s comedy Fawlty Towers were left stunned this week when it was revealed it would be making a comeback.
John Cleese, 83, and his daughter Camilla, 39, will write and star in the reboot, with John reprising his role as Basil Fawlty.
Fawlty Towers is making a surprise comeback
Fawlty Towers aired in 1975 with a second series in 1979, consistently tops all-time comedy lists thanks to its famous scenes.
Here are some of the most memorable.
Manuel is from Barcelona
Manuel’s battle to master the English language provided many laughs
Hapless Spanish waiter Manuel was played by the late Andrew Sachs.
Manuel was the verbal punchbag for Cleese’s Basil thanks to his faltering English.
The character was known for saying things like “I know nothing, Que?” and being beaten by Basil with objects including frying pans and spoons.
Even Sybil and Polly would patronise him for his language barrier, excusing his behaviour with, “He’s from Barcelona.”
The Moose’s Head
The Major thinks a moose can talk in one episode
This episode put Major Gowen (Ballard Berkeley) – a permanent resident at the hotel – at the forefront.
Sybil tasked Basil with hanging a moose’s head in the lobby, but Basil being Basil kept putting it off and eventually left it on the reception desk.
When the Major could hear Manuel’s voice under the counter as he practiced his English, the bumbling veteran became convinced the moose as speaking to him.
His delusion was not helped when the moose’s head later falls off the wall onto Manuel’s head.
Manuel said: “I can speak English. I learned it from a book” before the Major replied: Did you really? Remarkable animal you’ve got there, Fawlty.”
Basil the Rat
Basil the rat on the loose in the hotel caused his human namesake a lot of stress
The final episode of Fawlty Towers saw Basil on the receiving end of a long list of hygiene problems courtesy of a health inspector.
As well as dead pigeons in the water tank, Manuel’s pet ‘Siberian hamster’ – or rat to the rest of us – ends up let loose on the premises.
What starts out as a discreet hunt soon turns into all out chaos with the Major taking shots with his rifle.
In the end, Basil the rat pops his head out of a biscuit tin right in front of the health inspector, prompting Basil the human to faint.
The Corpse
When a guest died in his sleep, Basil had another problem on his hands
In this episode, a guest passes away in his sleep, with Basil commenting: “Oh, there’s another one snuffed it in the night. Another name in the Fawlty Towers Book of Remembrance.”
However, he does panic about the fact he served the man out of date kippers for breakfast before his death.
Basil is keen to remove the corpse without upsetting the other guests, but once again his best laid plans go awry, prompting him to store it in wardrobes, linen baskets and even behind hat stands.
The Car Thrashing
Basil thrashing his broken down car is one of the most memorable moments from the sitcom
In possibly one of the most iconic scenes from the whole sitcom, Basil ends up thrashing his broken down car with a branch.
The moment occurs when Basil decides to host a gourmet night but when his alcoholic chef passes out, it looks like his plans are scuppered.
In a panic – what’s new? – Basil decides to offer three dishes, duck with orange, duck with cherries or duck surprise (without orange or cherries).
Basil heads off across Torquay to try and source his ingredients, only for his car to break down.
In a fury, he says: “Right, that does it. I’m going to give you a damn good thrashing.”
And the rest – as they say – is history.
