I am a huge fan of the hilarious John Cleese and Connie Booth TV programme Fawlty Towers released in 1975. Even though it's been 49 years since it was released, I still regularly find my perceptual peepers hankering after this stone cold classic, or at the very least craving a wee read around the subject matter, perhaps open up the Wikipedia page or find a YouTube analysis of the TV programme.
Why is Fawlty Towers so good?
As well as an unwavering sense of nostalgia that keeps me returning to this TV programme, there's also a hypnotic je ne sais quoi about Fawlty Towers that keeps it fresh no matter how many times I revisit this work of art. Maybe it's that I was an impressionable young whippersnapper in the year 1988 when I first discovered Fawlty Towers, or the fact that John Cleese and Connie Booth were absolutely at the top of their game when they released said TV programme. It's hard to pinpoint something so transcendental. Once you love a piece of art you become faithful to it's ethos.
Fawlty Towers is a TV programme that is still relevant
One thing's for sure though, Fawlty Towers has stood the test of time and then some. It remains as powerful and relevant today as it did in 1975. And why wouldn't it? With razor-sharp writing like that, it's no wonder people return to this TV programme again and again. I can't imagine life without it John.
John Cleese and Connie Booth knocked it out the park
But it's not just the razor-sharp writing that make this TV programme great. It's the overall package. The faultless comedic timing of John Cleese is a tour de force. The fantastic ensemble cast, including standout performances by Prunella Scales and Andrew Sachs is integral, as is the memorable one-liners and physical gags. And who can forget classic episode 'The Germans' which still raises questions of appropriateness today. When John Cleese and Connie Booth created this timeless classic, never mind the ball park, they knocked this one out of the solar system. This bad boy is in danger of bothering Voyager.
Has Fawlty Towers stood the test of time?
Of course, there are other TV programmes out there to be argued for. Harder, better, faster, stronger. Some might argue that Battlestar Galactica is better than Fawlty Towers, or that Glen A. Larson is better than John Cleese and Connie Booth. They may well have a point. But for me, Fawlty Towers will always hold a special place in my heart. And 49 years tickling the meridian response does not lie.
Fawlty Towers in conclusion
To sum up, Fawlty Towers is a wonderful thing, a TV programme of unrivalled quality. It's a TV programme that has etched itself into the psyche, distributing untold tingles up the spine, hogging synapses and monopolising neurons that could otherwise be put to use appreciating more important, or perhaps more useful information. But no matter what life throws at me, I know I can always rely on Fawlty Towers to deliver the goods.