Fawlty is Fifty

[Mr+Ripley]

  It certainly is a year for big anniversaries, & here's another one. Fawlty Towers is 50 this year. To celebrate, U&Gold will be airing Fawlty Towers: The Play in September.

  The following is from RadioTimes.com - 

  " U&Gold will be marking the occasion with a live "pro-shot" recording of the West End show’s original cast.

The two-hour long broadcast will air in September, with full support of show co-creator and star John Cleese, who said: "I've been overwhelmed by the wonderful response to Fawlty Towers: The Play since its debut in the West End and it's a pleasure to hear U&Gold will be bringing it straight to everyone's living rooms just in time for the 50th anniversary. The play is a combination of three of the sitcom’s most notable episodes: The Hotel Inspector, The Germans, and Communication Problems. "

  It should be interesting to see a whole new cast take on one of the most beloved British sitcoms. One thing I like about Fawlty Towers is that it packed more comedy into one episode than most modern sitcoms do in one season. 

[MarkGoldsmith]

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@Mr+Ripley wrote:

  It certainly is a year for big anniversaries, & here's another one. Fawlty Towers is 50 this year. To celebrate, U&Gold will be airing Fawlty Towers: The Play in September.

  The following is from RadioTimes.com - 

  " U&Gold will be marking the occasion with a live "pro-shot" recording of the West End show’s original cast.

The two-hour long broadcast will air in September, with full support of show co-creator and star John Cleese, who said: "I've been overwhelmed by the wonderful response to Fawlty Towers: The Play since its debut in the West End and it's a pleasure to hear U&Gold will be bringing it straight to everyone's living rooms just in time for the 50th anniversary. The play is a combination of three of the sitcom’s most notable episodes: The Hotel Inspector, The Germans, and Communication Problems. "

  It should be interesting to see a whole new cast take on one of the most beloved British sitcoms. One thing I like about Fawlty Towers is that it packed more comedy into one episode than most modern sitcoms do in one season. 

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That will be well worth watching.

I went to see it in the West End and it was such a good show.

[Mr+Ripley]

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@MarkGoldsmith wrote:

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@Mr+Ripley wrote:

  It certainly is a year for big anniversaries, & here's another one. Fawlty Towers is 50 this year. To celebrate, U&Gold will be airing Fawlty Towers: The Play in September.

  The following is from RadioTimes.com - 

  " U&Gold will be marking the occasion with a live "pro-shot" recording of the West End show’s original cast.

The two-hour long broadcast will air in September, with full support of show co-creator and star John Cleese, who said: "I've been overwhelmed by the wonderful response to Fawlty Towers: The Play since its debut in the West End and it's a pleasure to hear U&Gold will be bringing it straight to everyone's living rooms just in time for the 50th anniversary. The play is a combination of three of the sitcom’s most notable episodes: The Hotel Inspector, The Germans, and Communication Problems. "

  It should be interesting to see a whole new cast take on one of the most beloved British sitcoms. One thing I like about Fawlty Towers is that it packed more comedy into one episode than most modern sitcoms do in one season. 

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That will be well worth watching.

I went to see it in the West End and it was such a good show.

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  @MarkGoldsmith  That's good to know. It's one of those things where you wonder if they should play about with it, as in are people going to want to see a completely different cast copy such revered episodes? From your comment, it sounds like it worked. A similar thing has been done, of course, with Only Fools and Horses: The Musical ( which we saw a couple of months ago ), so I guess there is a market for it. I am glad they didn't make the stage adaptation of FT into a musical, though. I've nothing against musicals, I really like them, but I'm not so sure if it would've worked in this case.

[MarkGoldsmith]

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@Mr+Ripley wrote:

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@MarkGoldsmith wrote:

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@Mr+Ripley wrote:

  It certainly is a year for big anniversaries, & here's another one. Fawlty Towers is 50 this year. To celebrate, U&Gold will be airing Fawlty Towers: The Play in September.

  The following is from RadioTimes.com - 

  " U&Gold will be marking the occasion with a live "pro-shot" recording of the West End show’s original cast.

The two-hour long broadcast will air in September, with full support of show co-creator and star John Cleese, who said: "I've been overwhelmed by the wonderful response to Fawlty Towers: The Play since its debut in the West End and it's a pleasure to hear U&Gold will be bringing it straight to everyone's living rooms just in time for the 50th anniversary. The play is a combination of three of the sitcom’s most notable episodes: The Hotel Inspector, The Germans, and Communication Problems. "

  It should be interesting to see a whole new cast take on one of the most beloved British sitcoms. One thing I like about Fawlty Towers is that it packed more comedy into one episode than most modern sitcoms do in one season. 

---

That will be well worth watching.

I went to see it in the West End and it was such a good show.

---

  @MarkGoldsmith  That's good to know. It's one of those things where you wonder if they should play about with it, as in are people going to want to see a completely different cast copy such revered episodes? From your comment, it sounds like it worked. A similar thing has been done, of course, with Only Fools and Horses: The Musical ( which we saw a couple of months ago ), so I guess there is a market for it. I am glad they didn't make the stage adaptation of FT into a musical, though. I've nothing against musicals, I really like them, but I'm not so sure if it would've worked in this case.

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All in all, I think the cast did a great job portraying the original characters. The only performance I didn't like was Sybil, as I felt the actress didn't quite get the voice and mannerisms correct. 

I also saw the Only Fools and Horses Musical a couple of years ago which i also loved. Again i thought most of the cast portrayed the character exceptionally well and did a great job imitating the original characters.

[Mr+Ripley]

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@Mr+Ripley wrote:

  It certainly is a year for big anniversaries, & here's another one. Fawlty Towers is 50 this year. To celebrate, U&Gold will be airing Fawlty Towers: The Play in September.

  The following is from RadioTimes.com - 

  " U&Gold will be marking the occasion with a live "pro-shot" recording of the West End show’s original cast.

The two-hour long broadcast will air in September, with full support of show co-creator and star John Cleese, who said: "I've been overwhelmed by the wonderful response to Fawlty Towers: The Play since its debut in the West End and it's a pleasure to hear U&Gold will be bringing it straight to everyone's living rooms just in time for the 50th anniversary. The play is a combination of three of the sitcom’s most notable episodes: The Hotel Inspector, The Germans, and Communication Problems. "

  It should be interesting to see a whole new cast take on one of the most beloved British sitcoms. One thing I like about Fawlty Towers is that it packed more comedy into one episode than most modern sitcoms do in one season. 

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  This is on next Friday at 9 pm.

[Marlu-Nyu]

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@Mr+Ripley wrote:

  It certainly is a year for big anniversaries, & here's another one. Fawlty Towers is 50 this year. To celebrate, U&Gold will be airing Fawlty Towers: The Play in September.

  The following is from RadioTimes.com - 

  " U&Gold will be marking the occasion with a live "pro-shot" recording of the West End show’s original cast.

The two-hour long broadcast will air in September, with full support of show co-creator and star John Cleese, who said: "I've been overwhelmed by the wonderful response to Fawlty Towers: The Play since its debut in the West End and it's a pleasure to hear U&Gold will be bringing it straight to everyone's living rooms just in time for the 50th anniversary. The play is a combination of three of the sitcom’s most notable episodes: The Hotel Inspector, The Germans, and Communication Problems. "

  It should be interesting to see a whole new cast take on one of the most beloved British sitcoms. One thing I like about Fawlty Towers is that it packed more comedy into one episode than most modern sitcoms do in one season. 

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Isn't it crazy how there was only 12 episodes, and 2 series  (of 6 episodes each) of Fawlty Towers? 

[ozsat]

I think the reason there are so few episodes is why they are timeless classics.

OF&H went on far too long and I feel the poor quality on the later episodes inpacts on how good the early series are seen as. Jolly Boys Outing was the series at it's best.

Fawly Towers - I can't really pick a best episode as there are all good - if kept away from the censors.

I've set the play to record and hope it captures the quality of the tv series.

[lettice]

Just brilliant classic comedy.
Been a long time since I've watched it.

Though have probably watched many many times over the fifty years.

Have playlisted it to watch. Will certainly enjoy the cloud recordings in the coming weeks.

Not so sure about the play. Never heard of that before, not that I've ever been a fan of such things.

Might give it a watch.

Noticed the play was there as a tile today, but on clicking on it ended up with a Sorry message.

[Mr+Ripley]

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@lettice wrote:

Just brilliant classic comedy.
Been a long time since I've watched it.

Though have probably watched many many times over the fifty years.

Have playlisted it to watch. Will certainly enjoy the cloud recordings in the coming weeks.

Not so sure about the play. Never heard of that before, not that I've ever been a fan of such things.

Might give it a watch.

Noticed the play was there as a tile today, but on clicking on it ended up with a Sorry message.

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  I've set it to record, but I'm hoping there may be an ad-free version after it's aired from On Demand. It will be so much better if it's allowed to be seen the same way you'd see it in a theatre.

[Mr+Ripley]

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@Marlu-Nyu wrote:

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@Mr+Ripley wrote:

  It certainly is a year for big anniversaries, & here's another one. Fawlty Towers is 50 this year. To celebrate, U&Gold will be airing Fawlty Towers: The Play in September.

  The following is from RadioTimes.com - 

  " U&Gold will be marking the occasion with a live "pro-shot" recording of the West End show’s original cast.

The two-hour long broadcast will air in September, with full support of show co-creator and star John Cleese, who said: "I've been overwhelmed by the wonderful response to Fawlty Towers: The Play since its debut in the West End and it's a pleasure to hear U&Gold will be bringing it straight to everyone's living rooms just in time for the 50th anniversary. The play is a combination of three of the sitcom’s most notable episodes: The Hotel Inspector, The Germans, and Communication Problems. "

  It should be interesting to see a whole new cast take on one of the most beloved British sitcoms. One thing I like about Fawlty Towers is that it packed more comedy into one episode than most modern sitcoms do in one season. 

---

Isn't it crazy how there was only 12 episodes, and 2 series  (of 6 episodes each) of Fawlty Towers? 

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  It's the ol' showbiz motto, go out whilst you're still on top. It also worked for Ricky Gervais with The Office - 14 episodes, & Extras - 13 episodes.

[Mr+Ripley]

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@Mr+Ripley wrote:

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@Marlu-Nyu wrote:

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@Mr+Ripley wrote:

  It certainly is a year for big anniversaries, & here's another one. Fawlty Towers is 50 this year. To celebrate, U&Gold will be airing Fawlty Towers: The Play in September.

  The following is from RadioTimes.com - 

  " U&Gold will be marking the occasion with a live "pro-shot" recording of the West End show’s original cast.

The two-hour long broadcast will air in September, with full support of show co-creator and star John Cleese, who said: "I've been overwhelmed by the wonderful response to Fawlty Towers: The Play since its debut in the West End and it's a pleasure to hear U&Gold will be bringing it straight to everyone's living rooms just in time for the 50th anniversary. The play is a combination of three of the sitcom’s most notable episodes: The Hotel Inspector, The Germans, and Communication Problems. "

  It should be interesting to see a whole new cast take on one of the most beloved British sitcoms. One thing I like about Fawlty Towers is that it packed more comedy into one episode than most modern sitcoms do in one season. 

---

Isn't it crazy how there was only 12 episodes, and 2 series  (of 6 episodes each) of Fawlty Towers? 

---

  It's the ol' showbiz motto, go out whilst you're still on top. It also worked for Ricky Gervais with The Office - 14 episodes, & Extras - 13 episodes.

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  Someone else who has followed this idea is Steve Coogan, with various shows starring Alan Partridge.

[KevNewMedia]

Love this comedy as well and 50 years in, I can't wait to tell my other half who is 50 tomorrow, how old he really is 😂

[Mr+Ripley]

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@Mr+Ripley wrote:

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@lettice wrote:

Just brilliant classic comedy.
Been a long time since I've watched it.

Though have probably watched many many times over the fifty years.

Have playlisted it to watch. Will certainly enjoy the cloud recordings in the coming weeks.

Not so sure about the play. Never heard of that before, not that I've ever been a fan of such things.

Might give it a watch.

Noticed the play was there as a tile today, but on clicking on it ended up with a Sorry message.

---

  I've set it to record, but I'm hoping there may be an ad-free version after it's aired from On Demand. It will be so much better if it's allowed to be seen the same way you'd see it in a theatre.

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  As I hoped, there is a shorter version - 1h 38m as opposed to the recorded version of 2h 9m - available from U & Gold On Demand.