Fawlty Towers to Return?

[The Big Peat]

I read this morning it's being set in a boutique hotel on a small Caribbean island.

So what you're saying is Cleese has found someone to pay for his holiday in exchange for a little light acting...

A US based Fawlty Towers is doomed. I've had minimal experience travelling near Americans, but the ones I've come in contact with expect a high level of service and general politeness. Basil Fawlty's antics would never be tolerated in the US and US audiences would look at it like "WTF? Why is this guy in business?" rather than find any humour in it.

There's no shortage of US sitcoms that include grossly unprofessional work habits as a main point of humour. In fact, I'd say it's a mainstay. There's also a decent amount of reality TV about hospitality disasters, as mention - possibly not actually realistic, but there is a demand.

The issue isn't the premise for my money. An American audience would expect more focus on personal life and less on the workplace for my money, but that's not an obstacle either.

The major issue I'd see is that *generally* Americans like their humour less nihilistic than Fawlty Towers. Not as many comedies about people who are disasters and will always be disasters. Even the adult cartoons like Archer or Ricky and Morty demand some sort of moving forwards.

Uk to US sitcoms don't seem to have a very good success rate. I've not seen it, but The Office must be the most successful transfer?

I wonder if anyone has even attempted to do a US to UK sitcom?

The Office is the obvious one, but Ghosts has done really well.

List of British television series based on American television series - Wikipedia - looking at this list there's been a couple, but I'd never heard of any of them before.

 

[HareBrain]

So what you're saying is Cleese has found someone to pay for his holiday in exchange for a little light acting...

He lives there, I understand. Maybe he even lives in a boutique hotel run by his daughter.

 

[The Big Peat]

He lives there, I understand. Maybe he even lives in a boutique hotel run by his daughter.

And there was me prepared to be mildly impressed. I always have a sneaking regard for actors who manage to get easy going TV made in gorgeous places as a gig.

 

[Swank]

Uk to US sitcoms don't seem to have a very good success rate. I've not seen it, but The Office must be the most successful transfer?

I wonder if anyone has even attempted to do a US to UK sitcom?

I don't see too many that ran a full season in this list:

List of American television series based on British television series - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

And some of them were from the '70s.

Here's the US to UK list. I see some sitcoms of note in there, but couldn't say what happened to the UK version.

List of British television series based on American television series - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

What's funny is that All In the Family was a UK to US adapt, which spawned Maude, which then had a US to UK adaptation.

 

[condatis]

I'm trying to think of the last time I saw a new British sitcom that I found genuinely funny. Other than Man vs Bee (which doesn't really count), I think the last one was probably Father Ted almost 30 years ago. Maybe I'm showing my age, but the likes of Porridge, Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, Red Dwarf and my favourite Yes Prime/Minister have never been matched, never mind surpassed.

In fact I've just thought of one, Toast of London, from 2013.

Not The Thick of It?

This Country and The Detectorists are very funny from the past few years. Or at least I thought so.

 

[HareBrain]

Not The Thick of It?

This Country and The Detectorists are very funny from the past few years. Or at least I thought so.

Definitely agree on The Thick of It. Also Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, which hasn't been mentioned yet.

 

[Venusian Broon]

Definitely agree on The Thick of It. Also Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, which hasn't been mentioned yet.

Well, it's all subjective of course, but I think we've shown that, indeed, there has been plenty of good stuff over the years.

I personally could happily go the rest of my life without seeing again Del boy, Captain Mannering & Co, Ronnie Barker talking about forks and all the other trad sitcoms from the 70s and 80s. But's that's just me.

 

[CupofJoe]

Fawlty Towers reboot: with farces out and 'dramedies' in, audiences could see a darker side of Basil Fawlty

Lies that spiral out of control feature in both farce and ‘dramedy’ - but the latter deals with more serious issues.

theconversation.com

 

[Judderman]

Perhaps Cleese has become Fawlty so it will be a very easy role for him.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Not The Thick of It?

This Country and The Detectorists are very funny from the past few years. Or at least I thought so.

Tbh none are programmes which I've watched. I did used to enjoy Spitting Image and in particular Yes Minister for satirising politics and politicians, but these days they don't seem to need any help.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Well, it's all subjective of course, but I think we've shown that, indeed, there has been plenty of good stuff over the years.

I personally could happily go the rest of my life without seeing again Del boy, Captain Mannering & Co, Ronnie Barker talking about forks and all the other trad sitcoms from the 70s and 80s. But's that's just me.

And I could happily watch Jim Hacker, Edmund Blackadder, Officer Crabtree and Arnold Judas Rimmer without watching another new sitcom.

The world would be very dull if we all liked the same things.

 

[Judderman]

The Inbetweeners was an immature but very funny UK sitcom.

 

[Matteo]

Hopefully the hotel sign won't read AWFL WORST YET.

And I wish I could claim credit for that, but it was in the latest Private Eye.

 

[HareBrain]

Very honest of you! Have a "laugh" anyway.

 

[Harpo]

Have another

 

[BAYLOR]

Coming in February 2024?

 

[paeng]

From last year:

An anti-woke nightmare! Why the Fawlty Towers remake is a truly nauseating idea

This is 2023 – not the 80s or 90s. Today’s John Cleese is tediously obsessed with cancel culture and most of the sitcom’s original cast aren’t involved. It’s destined to be terrible

www.theguardian.com

Imagine this Cleese as Basil Fawlty. Imagine him “navigating the modern world” and all that involves. Imagine how every episode will end with him complaining about cancel culture until he runs out of breath. Imagine how the series will finish with a 45-minute sequence in which he curls up into a ball and babbles about how everything is far too progressive these days.

Listen, I choose to remain optimistic about this. If the revived Fawlty Towers can regain even a spark of the old show – of the manic ricocheting momentum, the clockwork precision – there is every chance that it will be fantastic and I will publicly apologise for doubting it. But given the circumstances, it is an almost impossible task.

 

[KiraAnn]

This is not something that should be remade, even with Cleese involved. Just let it be...

 

[Judderman]

John Cleese recently said that it takes a long time to plot and write an episode (6 weeks per episode for the original).. So I suppose no chance it will be out this year, and probably not next.
Also a West End show version he wrote based on 3 of the classic episodes is just starting.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Without Prinella Dcsles and Andrew Sachs, the show would be surprised disaster.

It wouldn't surprise me if it never saw the light of day.