John Cleas and Conny Booth are hilarious in this British Comedy Falthy Towers.

Fawlty Towers is, in my opinion, hands down the absolute gold standard for what a sit-com can be and should be.While many sit-coms went on for years after they ceased to be funny, this gem of a series did not follow suit. Only twelve episodes were produced, and each one is a masterpiece of dry-witted, British humor.Be warned - watching this DVD may cause episodes of uncontrollable laughter. It should probably come with a Surgeon General's warning, due to the hysterically funny content!Although filmed in the mid 1970's, the humor is timeless. Phrases from the series, such as, "Brahms' Third Racket", and "Don't mention the war!", have taken on a life of their own.Take a break from putting up with riff-raff and join Basil Fawlty, Sybil, Polly, Manuel and company on a side-splittingly hilarious quest to attract a better class of clientele... Just don't mention the war!My verdict: Recommended!

I love British comedies, especially the older ones. Over the years, I've caught a few episodes of "Fawlty Towers" on our local PBS station, but it was never shown at a regular time. I decided to purchase this DVD set just to have the entire series...but, oh my gosh, I had no idea how good this series was. I won't echo what other reviewers have said...just agree with them. Some of the scenes and one-liners were so funny they deserved a second, third and (in one instance, with "The Psychiatrist" episode) a 4th viewing. While Basil can be an annoying character, his takedown of Sybil toward the end of the episode was so good, I would love to be able to berate people in such a fashion and be get away with it!). And I have to say Basil's goosewalk in "The Germans" brought me to tears.This DVD set comes with a disc of special features I haven't watched yet...but I do want to comment on the playback issues some reviewers have mentioned. I've watched 9 of the 12 episodes so far and all episodes have played without issue.The staff probably made the correct decision to end "Fawlty Towers" after two series, so as not to diminish the quality of the overall body of work...but there was probably enough left in the tank to go a couple of more series. We'll just have to appreciate what we have...and be secure in the knowledge we can watch these 12 episodes over and over again whenever we wish.

The discs arrived a day earlier than expected, but the app kept me informed about it's location. Great quality and in good conditions.

それぞれのキャラクターが際立つ、大爆笑の止まらない番組です。1ヶ月に1度は見たくなり、何度もリピートして見ているので本当に購入してよかったと思っています。日本語訳されたものが高価なのが残念です。

For our nation's notoriously short memory a comedy series from the 1970's seems as ancient as the Fall of Rome. By that I do not refer to the season. This series debuted in 1975, one of the years a number of our college campuses claimed to have invented sex. By contrast Basil Fawlty, the lead character played by John Cleese, was hopelessly repressed, as blissfully insensitive as they come and possibly, some might add, as self-centered as our culture has generally become today. Cleese and his then wife and co-star, Connie Booth, did a brilliant job of writing 12 classic episodes with remarkable consistency in quality. Once writers establish such a rare, high level as their standard, all successive episodes must have become intimidating to try to emulate. I believe that accounts for the series being so short. Rather than keep cashing the checks, the writers wanted the series to end while all episodes were consistently excellent rather than continue and risk sliding into mediocrity. In any case, it was one of the shortest, and arguably, the best written comedies on TV.This brief, physical, farcical, linguistically playful, and clever humor greet the viewer today with as much intelligence, glee and irreverence as almost 40 years ago. Each episode plays with and counter to our notions regarding good manners, guilty titillation, irrationality, as well as lampooning a variety of national, ethnic, and gender stereotypes including Brits and Yanks. It was all fair game and almost always hilarious. Even the most outrageous script still managed to avoid being outright mean or cruel. Secondly, the bigoted, vain, greedy, foolish, lazy lout called Basil, managed to end up the prime recipient of retributive justice -- to our delight -- every show. He was too thick to ever learn his lesson, thank goodness. The supporting cast was also brilliant and essential as an early triumph of an ensemble comedy.Highly recommended for anyone who loves British humor, those who appreciate analytical comedic writing, and for all of us who can laugh at the outrageously silly. But humor, like everything else dealing in personal taste, is a highly subjective matter. If you have never seen it, please use the magic of VOD or streaming to see if you like it before you buy it.The only criticism I have is to acknowledge that some of the plots have aspects that have not aged as well as others. We live in a different time with our own cultural and social sensibilities. For example, today humor making fun of gay stereotypes in particular is out of step with the majority of Americans and practically everyone else. IMO these jokes simply fall a bit flat today. I can't reject them solely on the basis of their being in bad taste because after all that was one of the fundamental principles of the show's humor. One could argue if it succeeded because of or in spite of its questionable taste.Basil embodies bad taste. His countless flaws are a pantheon of human weaknesses. Much of what makes this series so endearing and enduring is that it underscores many recognizable human frailties that are just as prevalent today as they were then. Yes, if you happen to be more familiar with British culture you will get a little more out of it but it is its universal appeal that carries it. Moreover, comedy in the hands of such gifted, bright, insightful writers and such an outstanding cast will help Fawlty Towers continue to delight new generations. Basil the Rat, despite himself, has earned his place in Western comedic history today as Basil the Icon.