Five Totally Awesome Things You Missed the First Time Around – The Comedy Edition

Five Totally Awesome Things You Missed the First Time Around — The Comedy Edition

We at With An Accent totally understand how busy life can be. In the hectic whirlwind that is your existence, some things, such as watching television, can understandably fall by the wayside. Between school, and kids, and work, and just everyday life, we know that you can really only follow so many great shows at a time. And then, when you miss something, or get too far behind, it really is hard to catch up. We understand how some great television gets missed. Thus, the idea of Five Totally Awesome Things. We will be your resource for the shows/movies that you should go back and take a look at. And now you have absolutely NO EXCUSE for not knowing these things exist and how totally awesome they are.

1) Fawlty Towers

Stats: Aired on the BBC2 in 1975 and in 1979. There are two series of 6 episodes each.

Starring: John Cleese, Connie Booth, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs

Why you might have missed it: It is very possible that you might not have been born yet. Also, John Cleese is more well-known for that other comedy show he did.

Summary: Basil Fawlty and his wife Sybil are owners and operators of a hotel in the seaside town of Torquay. They employ a waitress, Polly, and a porter, Manuel. Basil, always desperate to raise the class of the establishment, is often snobbish and rude to his guests and employees and is constantly trying to make improvements which never go the way he plans. Basil is terrified of his wife Sybil (though he does call her terms of endearments such as “my little nest of vipers”) and he just doesn’t belong in the service industry whatsoever. His aggressive and over-the-top interactions with his guests, employees and wife provide many of the comedic moments as does farcical elements such as misunderstandings, misinterpretations etc. It’s just really funny to see Basil get frustrated and watch as his plans go awry. Also, each episode is a different set of guests and personalities for Basil to play against.

Why it is AWESOME: It’s hilarious. Cleese brings his ability for physical comedy as well as his ability to pull off that dry, snobbish wit to the role of Basil. His supporting cast is great and some episodes just feel like everything is meant to go wrong in some absurd way. It is classic humor and many sitcom creators cite Fawlty Towers as inspiration.

How can you see it?: The seasons are available on DVD through Netflix. Also, there are some clips on Youtube.