this is a fantastic comedy, and probably the best ever. it is so good because only 12 episodes were ever made, and i think it would have lost some of its value if it had made more episodes. john cleese is in his finest element here, and some of his comments are fantastic ( eg is this a piece of your brain? and ah, so, you want to go to a chemist, ai!" prunella scales is also a very fine actor who manages to manage her dignity whilst her husband basil can never seem to get out of trouble. Manuel is also a highlight, but i think his character would have gotten very tedious if more episodes had been made.Polly also brings a lot to the table, and i like how she is portrayed as intelligent, breaking the dumb blonde stereotype.
with respect to the guy from Boston who wrote a review, yes the characters are stereotyped, but you must remember that this was made in 1975! certainly now these sorts of characters have been overdone, but not back then ( this was when a movie about sharks was the best think since sliced bread). thinking retrospectively, i think the characters were perfect for the time they were cast.
favorite episodes are definitely the episode where the chef gets drunk and basil has to go and get a duck from another restaurant, and of course the horse racing episode which is probably one of the funniest things i have ever seen on TV. their are countless references to both world wars and international relations in general which makes for very witty comedy ( yanks- see not friends or married with children!) an interesting point of note is that back in this time there is little on screen affection between the actors shown. for example, i don't remember scales and cleese kissing, in fact i only saw physical contact between them in one episode! contrast this to today where an average episode of say the o.c has at least two minutes of making out every episode.
overall this is a great comedy that i would recommend to anyone to watch. 10/10
with respect to the guy from Boston who wrote a review, yes the characters are stereotyped, but you must remember that this was made in 1975! certainly now these sorts of characters have been overdone, but not back then ( this was when a movie about sharks was the best think since sliced bread). thinking retrospectively, i think the characters were perfect for the time they were cast.
favorite episodes are definitely the episode where the chef gets drunk and basil has to go and get a duck from another restaurant, and of course the horse racing episode which is probably one of the funniest things i have ever seen on TV. their are countless references to both world wars and international relations in general which makes for very witty comedy ( yanks- see not friends or married with children!) an interesting point of note is that back in this time there is little on screen affection between the actors shown. for example, i don't remember scales and cleese kissing, in fact i only saw physical contact between them in one episode! contrast this to today where an average episode of say the o.c has at least two minutes of making out every episode.
overall this is a great comedy that i would recommend to anyone to watch. 10/10