Fawlty Towers by John Cleese one of the greatest comedians of all time, a member of the best comedy team ever, they have made what is probably the most hilarious film Monty Python’s Life of Brian, my note on it is at https://realini.blogspot.com/2017/03/monty-pythons-life-of-brian-bymonty.html along with a few thousand other reviews - 10 out of 10

 

Fawlty Towers by John Cleese one of the greatest comedians of all time, a member of the best comedy team ever, they have made what is probably the most hilarious film Monty Python’s Life of Brian, my note on it is at https://realini.blogspot.com/2017/03/monty-pythons-life-of-brian-bymonty.html along with a few thousand other reviews

 

10 out of 10

 

I know of no better comedy series than this one, Fawlty Towers is magical an I must see it again (and again) let me plunge into it, and mention I have another note on one of the episodes, The Waldorf Salad https://realini.blogspot.com/2017/11/waldorf-salad-by-john-cleese.html which has Americans coming in the hotel

 

They arrive late at night, and the chef is gone, however, the proprietor, Mr. Basil Fawlty aka stupendous John Cleese – who has created this masterpiece with his then wife, Connie Booth, playing Polly on screen, - is a cheap bastard, and so he would do anything for some money, which is betting on horses, losing on other projects

When the American guest is offering extra to have his meal, Basil Fawlty imagines that he will be able to do something, only he is overwhelmed by the…Waldorf Salad, ordered by the guests, well, the man in particular, the wife, if I remember well, have not seen this again in a few years, came from England, but he tries hard.

 

The manager of the hotel will even put on a show, when the results of his kitchen efforts are not appreciated, pretending behind the curtains that he is arguing with the chef, who is gone for the day, so he just shouts by himself, would even start a sort of fight, until the American walks into the kitchen, exposing the fraud

Another episode I loved involved the deaf woman, who was preposterous, difficult, pushy – she reminds me two women I meet almost every day, expecting weekends, early in the morning, as we wait to get into the club, they are always fussy, want to be let in before the official opening, then they reject the towels

 

I was telling one earlier today ‘look, considering how often we come, we just spend maybe 3 dollars per day, dividing the price of the subscription, so we are actually subsidized what with the shower and the rest, so why complain that much’, never mind that was the answer, she still wants this that, and a thick towel…

This character in the show complains about the view, so Basil Fawlty is up to her room, showing her the vista, and asking ‘what did you expect in Torquay, the hanging gardens of Babylon’, and he has a clear point there, albeit the rudeness is inappropriate, but so hilarious, this personage is an absolute blast, you have to see this!

 

He has a thing with Manuel aka wonderful Andrew Sachs – I understand the poor thespian was actually hit hard at one point, in confusion, because they were supposed to have a prop, but somehow, a real utensil was used to get him – this is the waiter they have brought from Spain, at that stage, there was this difference

The cruel manager says ‘Manuel, let me explain’ and then he hits him with a spoon on the head, another time it is ‘you know nothing, if anybody asks’, but this will turn against vicious Fawlty, for he wants confirmation from Manuel, in front of his wife Sybil aka Prunella Scales, but Manuel does as instructed, he insists

 

-          I know nothing!

 

One night, the waiter returns from a night out, drunk, and he wants to read a prepared gratitude message – by the way this is ‘Happiness Activity No 1: Expressing Gratitude –counting your blessings for what you have either to a close other or privately, maybe in a journal, conveying gratitude to one or more individuals you haven’t properly thanked’

You find it in the marvelous book The How of Happiness https://realini.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-how-of-happiness-by-sonja.html by Sonja Lyubomirsky, and it is a leit motif, all psychologists recommend this, and you have it in religions, of course, thanking the gods is one of the needed rituals, working in part because of psychology

 

So, Manuel is inebriated and tries to say ‘since I came from Barcelona, leaving my five brothers and sisters…’ but the scene between him and Fawlty is interrupted by guests, who have already had unusual, bizarre interactions with the owner, who was determined to prevent a man from sharing a room with his lover

It is not just uptight Britain, and some moeurs from decades ago, it was Fawlty, interested in some hanky panky for himself, but rigid and pretentious when it comes to etiquette, but he will make a fool of himself, no question about that, caught in the most ridiculous situations, trying to spy, and then with Manuel, in what looked like an intimate moment

 

Snob that he is, when a guest claims he is lord Mabry, it is enough for Fawlty to do whatever is required, giving cash, taking in the valuables left by this aristocrat, only it turns out (spoiler alert, if needed) that the precious suitcase had only some bricks in it, the lord was just a crook, like Orange Jesus in the US

In another episode, Fawlty brings breakfast to bed, aloof and indifferent as he is, he is making conversation, but the client does not respond, and he is annoyed downstairs, complains about that to wife and staff, only the client was…dead

 

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

 There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

 

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

 

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

 

‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

 

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”