Fawlty Towers - S2E5 - The Anniversary (ETS21 Reacts)

I always found this episode hard to rewatch as I felt so sorry for Basil!

It's on the movie list

Elizabeth Cushway

Hi is father Ted stlll coming out tonight?

Adam Theaker

Yes, that’s the most cringeworthy episode of them all, so much so I usually skip this one entirely. Good job guys!

Mark Beard

We need withnail and i, its more british than anything

Harl

Thank you. Yeah absolutely. They still do too!

Elizabeth Cushway

Very good point... The middle-classes also felt like they shouldn't be associated with the working-class, which we've seen with him looking down on them and barring them from the hotel in previous episodes so it's more than just a comedy but a reflection of British culture at the time.

BigChanChan

John and his then X wife Connie who plays Polly wrote every episode together. Also, here's a YouTube link for the league of gentleman film, I think you'll love it. https://youtu.be/CqFcWjm8kBU

Rembrandt Le Beau Von Goethe De Wolfe

I think you guys need to do anagrams of your names for the final episode and we vote on the best one.

To understand why Basil acts the way he does, apart from being uptight, neurotic and nuts, you've got to understand the class system in this country. He's middle class and somebody who is middle class, particularly in that era, would never admit to rowing with their wife or that they'd made a mistake. It's so uptight, repressed and all about keeping up appearances (which is incidentally another fantastic sitcom to check out). He simply can't tell the truth because he feels it would humiliate and cripple him socially.

Elizabeth Cushway

That's really interesting.

Elizabeth Cushway

John Cleese has said that this one of the best episodes to make, because they had more time on it. A strike had happened at the BBC while they were in the middle of rehearsals and when they came back, they were given another week of rehearsals, so the pacing and everyone’s timing on their lines and jokes was just perfect in Cleese’s eyes. Also, this is the best story to watch with Cleese’s commentary, because he just absolutely loses it at the sight of Connie trying to be Prunella in bed and he can’t get a word in from laughing so hard.

Daniel Davies