An interesting thought about the famous Basil Fawlty occurs to me on reflection - if his dear wife Sybil ("my little nest of vipers"), his put-upon chambermaid/receptionist/waitress Polly and his unfortunate Spanish waiter Manuel all died tomorrow, he'd never be able to cope running the hotel. He'd internally explode or offend the guests just that little bit too much, and that would be the end of Fawlty Towers.
If Basil died, on the other hand, I don't think Sybil, Manuel and Polly would worry at all about carrying on without him. Although he's a hotelier, Mr. Fawlty clearly doesn't like people at all. He exploits the fact that the slightly deaf and constantly complaining Mrs. Richards has her hearing aid switched off to ask, "Is this a piece of your brain?". Obviously sexually repressed, Basil can't come to terms with the liberated 1970s that he lives in. He goes out of his way to avoid giving an unmarried couple a double room, then spends the night "checking the walls" for woodworm and having misunderstandings with a pretty Australian guest, leading Sybil to respond with "If you're going to grope a girl, have the gallantry to stay in the room with her while you're doing it!". With lines like this, you can see why it took Connie Booth and John Cleese weeks to write each episode.
Basil himself is an interesting physical character. I think it particularly helps that John Cleese is well over six feet in height, because when Basil gets in a rage he seems trapped in his own body. Anyone else would be throwing things and flailing their arms about and screaming, but Basil, being emotionally (and certainly sexually) repressed, doesn't seem to know how to handle his anger and his physical struggle is very funny to watch.
There are a wonderful host of interesting characters for Basil to bounce off - a small guest named Mrs. Hall that he doesn't notice, a highly-strung ("Yes, he should be") teenager who demands salad cream instead of fresh mayonnaise and the priceless builder Mr. "lick o'paint" O'Reilly, as well as the better builder Mr. Stubbs ("That's a supporting wall! God help the floors above!"), the Major and the old ladies who seem to live in the hotel.
If Basil Fawlty was still alive today (though I imagine he'd have long since expired of a heart attack or astronomically high blood pressure), I'm not sure if he'd have retired or if he'd be clinging on to his treasured establishment until he dropped down dead. I'd like to think that Sybil could outlive him - perhaps in a twist on Basil's reference to the film "How To Murder Your Wife" she'd have gone mad and killed him - so whether she'd be in prison or retired or mourning the loss of Basil, I can't tell but I hope she'd enjoy her retirement.
If Basil died, on the other hand, I don't think Sybil, Manuel and Polly would worry at all about carrying on without him. Although he's a hotelier, Mr. Fawlty clearly doesn't like people at all. He exploits the fact that the slightly deaf and constantly complaining Mrs. Richards has her hearing aid switched off to ask, "Is this a piece of your brain?". Obviously sexually repressed, Basil can't come to terms with the liberated 1970s that he lives in. He goes out of his way to avoid giving an unmarried couple a double room, then spends the night "checking the walls" for woodworm and having misunderstandings with a pretty Australian guest, leading Sybil to respond with "If you're going to grope a girl, have the gallantry to stay in the room with her while you're doing it!". With lines like this, you can see why it took Connie Booth and John Cleese weeks to write each episode.
Basil himself is an interesting physical character. I think it particularly helps that John Cleese is well over six feet in height, because when Basil gets in a rage he seems trapped in his own body. Anyone else would be throwing things and flailing their arms about and screaming, but Basil, being emotionally (and certainly sexually) repressed, doesn't seem to know how to handle his anger and his physical struggle is very funny to watch.
There are a wonderful host of interesting characters for Basil to bounce off - a small guest named Mrs. Hall that he doesn't notice, a highly-strung ("Yes, he should be") teenager who demands salad cream instead of fresh mayonnaise and the priceless builder Mr. "lick o'paint" O'Reilly, as well as the better builder Mr. Stubbs ("That's a supporting wall! God help the floors above!"), the Major and the old ladies who seem to live in the hotel.
If Basil Fawlty was still alive today (though I imagine he'd have long since expired of a heart attack or astronomically high blood pressure), I'm not sure if he'd have retired or if he'd be clinging on to his treasured establishment until he dropped down dead. I'd like to think that Sybil could outlive him - perhaps in a twist on Basil's reference to the film "How To Murder Your Wife" she'd have gone mad and killed him - so whether she'd be in prison or retired or mourning the loss of Basil, I can't tell but I hope she'd enjoy her retirement.