0
LONDON Classic British sitcom 'Fawlty Towers'was almost rejected by the BBC, the comedys co-writer and star John Cleese revealed as he staged a rare reunion of the cast Wednesday.
The 69-year-old, who co-wrote the comedy with Connie Booth when they were married in the 1970s, before making millions and moving to California, added that they would be mad to try to revive the show.
'Were too old and tired now,' he said at the launch of a documentary about the series, which only ran for 12 episodes but made 'Dont mention the war' a catchphrase among generations of fans.
'The real problem is that, when youve done something that people think is really good, the bar is almost unattainably high. So I think it would be a mistake to do it,' added Cleese, who played manic hotel keeper Basil.
Cleese, who started in Monty Python and went via 'Fawlty Towers' to success on the big screen including 'A Fish Called Wanda,' was shown in excerpts from the documentary revealing what the BBC first thought of it.
'There is a famous note which I have a copy of, I think its framed,' he said. 'What happened was, Connie and I wrote that first episode and we sent it in to Jimmy Gilbert.'
'And first of all the fellow whose job it was to assess the quality of the writing said, and I can quote it fairly accurately, 'This is full of cliched situations and stereotypical characters and I cannot see it as being anything other than a disaster.'And Jimmy himself said 'Youre going to have to get them out of the hotel, John, you cant do the whole thing in the hotel.' Whereas, of course, its in the hotel that the whole pressure cooker builds up,' he added.
Fans of the show, which is regularly repeated on cable and satellite television channels, often argue about the best episode, with favourites including The Germans, Waldorf Salad or the Hotel Inspectors.
Cleese also recalled how, for the first series of six 'Fawlty Towers' episodes in 1975, which was followed by a second series of six in 1979 - he was paid only 6,000 pounds (9,000 dollars) for 43 weeks work.
'That took so much energy to do, that show,' he said, standing next to Booth, who played chambermaid Polly, Prunella Scales (his wife Sybil) and Andrew Sachs (the long-suffering Spanish waiter Manuel.)
Cleese, now a multi-millionaire recently divorced from his third wife, US psychotherapist Alyce Faye Eichelberger, was also downbeat about modern British comedy.
'I dont think the writers work as hard as they used to, and I think they may lack experience because I dont think the writing is as good as it used to be,' he said. 'But I do proudly say that in the 60s, 70s and 80s we did have the least bad television in the world, and thats quite a claim.'— AFP
