Fawlty Towers: Fully Booked [Hardcover]

The year 2000 marked the 25th anniversary of the first series of the show, and to celebrate, writers Morris Bright and Robert Ross, have penned a lovely 192-page tribute book loaded with colour photos (mostly stills from the show, but there are a few photos of the main stars at different stages in their careers). The book covers the history of the show, which I found to be quite interesting, not to mention entertaining. Did you know, for example, that the inspiration for the rude, abrasive Basil Fawlty came from a real-life hotelier that John Cleese (and his fellow Monty Python co-stars) had the misfortune to encounter? Indeed, co-writer John Cleese has contributed a wealth of anecdotes on his and his fellow co-writer (and wife at the time) Connie Booth's experiences in creating and writing the series. It will come as no surprise to fans to find that Cleese and Booth (who also played Polly, the maid) sometimes took as long as 2 1/2 weeks to draught a plot!

The book also includes an informative episode guide for each of the twelve episodes (which includes anecdotes and recollections by Cleese), a brief blurb on each guest star to have appeared on the show, and a two- to fourteen-page career bio of the "regulars" (ie. Basil, Sybil, Manuel, Polly, Terry (who died in 1997 of cancer at age 59), the Major, and the two old ladies).

As enjoyable as the book is, I must admit that I was surprised not to find more participation by the other actors--the main ones anyway. Though the career bios are informative and Cleese's many anecdotes extend to the characters and actors portraying them, various incidents, and so on, there are no recollections or remembrances from either Connie Booth (who incidentally, having married Cleese in 1968, was divorced from him in 1976--in between series one and two) or Prunella Scales (Sybil). Usually the writers (at the very least) participate tremendously when a tribute book is written, and I found myself wondering why Connie Booth didn't provide a few tales of her own, as it would have been lovely to have her perspective too. Nevertheless, this is a minor point only--the book is superb in every other respect.

I'll just mention a couple of interesting anecdotes, which happen to concern Andrew Sachs (Manuel), who incidentally hails from Germany and seriously questioned his ability to play a Spaniard--he needn't have worried! In the German episode, there is a fire drill during which Manuel catches fire; unfortunately, Sachs was accidentally burnt by the acid used to make his jacket smoke. In another episode, Fawlty whacks Manuel on the head with a frying pan; unfortunately (and inexpicably!), Cleese was using a real pan (not a rubber one) with the unintentional result that Sachs had a headache for about two days!

In short, this is a lovely, informative book and one which I (as an enormous fan of the show) highly recommend to fellow fans. I have the hardcover version, and it is a weighty 8 x 10 inches with thick, glossy pages. It's a lovely keepsake--one which I think any fan of this outstanding, all-time classic series would enjoy.

The year 2000 marked the 25th anniversary of the first series of the show, and to celebrate, writers Morris Bright and Robert Ross have penned a lovely 192-page tribute book loaded with colour photos (mostly stills from the show, but there are a few photos of the main stars at different stages in their careers). The book covers the history of the show, which I found to be quite interesting, not to mention entertaining. Did you know, for example, that the inspiration for the rude, abrasive Basil Fawlty came from a real life hotelier that John Cleese (and his fellow Monty Python co-stars) had the misfortune to encounter? Indeed, co-writer John Cleese has contributed a wealth of anecdotes on his and his fellow co-writer (and wife at the time) Connie Booth's experiences in creating and writing the series. It will come as no surprise to fans to find that Cleese and Booth (who also played Polly, the maid) sometimes took as long as 2 1/2 weeks to draught a plot!

The book also includes an informative episode guide for each of the twelve episodes (which includes anecdotes and recollections by Cleese), a brief blurb on each guest star to have appeared on the show, and a two- to fourteen-page career bio of the "regulars" (ie. Basil, Sybil, Manuel, Polly, Terry (who died in 1997 of cancer at age 59), the Major, and the two old ladies).

As enjoyable as the book is, I must admit that I was surprised not to find more participation by the other actors--the main ones anyway. Though the career bios are informative and Cleese's many anecdotes extend to the characters and actors portraying them, various incidents, and so on, there are no recollections or remembrances from either Connie Booth (who incidentally, having married Cleese in 1968, was divorced from him in 1976--in between series one and two) or Prunella Scales (Sybil). Usually the writers (at the very least) participate tremendously when a tribute book is written, and I found myself wondering why Connie Booth didn't provide a few tales of her own, as it would have been lovely to have her perspective too. Nevertheless, this is a minor point only--the book is superb in every other respect.

I'll just mention a couple of interesting anecdotes, which happen to concern Andrew Sachs (Manuel), who incidentally hails from Germany and seriously questioned his ability to play a Spaniard--he needn't have worried! In the German episode, there is a fire drill during which Manuel catches fire; unfortunately, Sachs was accidentally burnt by the acid used to make his jacket smoke. In another episode, Fawlty whacks Manuel on the head with a frying pan; unfortunately (and inexpicably!), Cleese was using a real pan (not a rubber one) with the unintentional result that Sachs had a headache for about two days!

In short, this is a lovely, informative book and one which I (as an enormous fan of the show) highly recommend to fellow fans. I have the hardcover version, and it is a weighty 8 x 10 inches with thick, glossy pages. It's a lovely keepsake--one which I think any fan of this outstanding, all-time classic series would enjoy.