Roku UK: Fawlty Towers at 40 – Q and A with Graham McCann

It’s been 40 years since the first episode of Fawlty Towers was broadcast in the UK but the popularity of this classic sitcom still endures today. Series 1 & 2 are available to stream on Roku via Netflix and Google Play and to mark the occasion, we’re encouraging Roku users to stream both series in all their glory!

We also caught up with Graham McCann, author of a book on the success of Fawlty Towers, to find out why he thinks the comedy remains so popular across the world.

Here’s what he had to say…

Q: Only 12 half-hour episodes of Fawlty Towers were made yet it remains one of the greatest sitcoms in TV history. What do you think is behind the success of Fawlty Towers?

A: It has the key combination of great scripts, great performances and the simple but inspired situation of a hotel (which ensures that the main characters remain rooted to the spot while a fresh set of guests arrive in each episode).  It also helps that each self-contained storyline is structured so rigorously and intricately that it’s absorbing from start to finish.

Q: Fawlty Towers has been broadcast in 60 countries, succeeding where other British programmes have failed. Why do you think the series translates so well to audiences outside of the UK?

A: The obvious point is that, wherever we might be in the world, we’ve all experienced rudeness and bad service, but there’s something deeper than that. At the heart of the show are two universal emotions: fear (especially of being found out) and frustration (especially when failing to avoid being found out).  It always begins for Basil with that fear about a secret being discovered, whether it’s the absence of a chef in the kitchen or the presence of a corpse in one of the rooms.  Then frustration pops up as he struggles frantically to save face.  That’s something with which everyone can identify, and it makes us root for Fawlty in spite of all of his faults.

Q: In your book, Fawlty Towers: The Story of Britain’s Favourite Sitcom, you say the benchmark set by the show still remains unsurpassed. Which show, if any, do you think has the potential to replicate the success of Fawlty Towers?

A:  I think even to start to emulate the success of Fawlty Towers, you’d need tremendous discipline as a writer: many sitcoms today are more like soaps, with a romantic ‘journey’ for their characters to travel along, and that takes away much of the intensity that each and every Fawlty Towers episode possessed.  Also, it was gloriously, remorselessly, cruel in its comedy.  I think today that only Larry David has a similar focus and sensibility, so I hope he returns to Curb Your Enthusiasm, or creates something else for TV, at some point soon.

Q: Thanks to boxsets / Netflix / classic comedy channels etc, the sitcoms of yesteryear are now more accessible than ever. Which other shows do you enjoy revisiting?

A: There are so many: Dad’s Army, Yes Minister, Hancock, Steptoe and Son, Porridge, Alan Partridge, Father Ted, Ever Decreasing Circles, as well as such American greats as The Phil Silvers Show, Cheers, Frasier and Seinfeld – the list goes on and on.

Q: Finally, which is your favourite Fawlty Towers episode and why?

A: It’s hard to single one out, because I love them all, but I think it would have to be ‘The Hotel Inspectors’ – partly because it has a perfectly-constructed plot that really exploits the show’s basic situation, but mainly because of the brilliant performance by Bernard Cribbins as a man even more pompous, fastidious and pedantic than Basil himself.  There are so many funny lines in this but the acting takes it to an even higher level.

For more information on Graham McCann and his work click here.