John Cleese’s ‘Fawlty Redux’ is unlikely to buck the trend in ailing TV sitcoms
Opinion
Rather than be disappointed to miss out on a Fawlty Towers revival, the BBC should rerun the 12 original episodes against whatever John Cleese comes up with.
Five years ago, John Cleese explained why there would be little point in him trying to make a sitcom again.
“Everyone would say, ‘Well, it’s got its moments, but it’s not as good as Fawlty Towers’; you have to do different things,” the Monty Python star told The Independent.
Presumably money, and the desire to make a late-career hurrah has prompted him to reject his own advice and bring back Basil Fawlty, this time without the aid of first wife and co-writer Connie Booth.
Instead Cleese has opted to collaborate with daughter Camilla (by second wife, the late Barbara Trentham), a stand-up comedian.
And 82-year old Booth said she was caught on the hop by the decision to resurrect Fawlty: “I’d have appreciated learning about the project from John rather than reading about it in the papers. I was even more surprised to read that John intends to write and to perform in it together with his daughter Camilla.”
Financial reasons aside, you can understand why Cleese wanted to revisit his greatest glory, as otherwise his decision to join GB News may be his most visible legacy; a dubious decision made even more questionable given the current controversy surrounding unhinged ant-vax presenters Neil ‘The Coast Guy’ Oliver and the now departed Mark Steyn.
Is this a piece of your brain?
The sight of Cleese chatting to the ludicrous Dan Wootton the other evening on GB News was enough to make some wonder whether the comedian had bashed his noggin in some Fawlty-esque accident. Years earlier, Cleese would have ridiculed idiotic bloviators such as Wootton, but nowadays is content to banter with the fawning presenter. A fellow who appears to mirror Sybil’s description of her husband Basil as, “either crawling all over them, licking their boots… or spitting fire at them like a Benzedrine puff adder!”
Cleese’s declaration that he won’t permit the Fawlty reboot to be shown on the BBC won’t have Auntie quaking in her boots. After the failure of his drab BBC1 sitcom Hold the Sunset (2018-19), Cleese is not the draw he apparently thinks he still is.
If the Corporation has any nous, it will rerun the 12 original Fawlty episodes against whatever Cleese comes up with.
That’s not to condemn outright before the show debuts, but it must be admitted that the chances of Cleese surprising us with a comedic tour de force are slim.
For a start, it runs contrary to the general decline in the popularity of the sitcom genre. Although, depressingly, it also chimes with the recent trend to revive past comedy hits: That 90s Show, Murphy Brown, Will & Grace, Mad About You, Saved By The Bell, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air…
And just look at his most recent scripted project, Father Christmas is Back, a 2022 Netflix holiday movie with Liz Hurley, Kris Marshall, Katy Brand, Caroline Quentin and Kelsey Grammar — the latter similarly in the process of rebooting Frasier and, like Fawlty, sans original cast members.
The Laughter Inspectors
Not to say that Cleese hasn’t done some amusing work post-A Fish Called Wanda (1988); his roles in US sitcoms Cheers (actually the year before), 3rd Rock From the Sun and Will & Grace were all well-received. His King Harold in the Shrek movies passed muster, although I prefer his old Python colleague Eric Idle’s much funnier turn as Merlin in Shrek the Third.
Indeed Cleese seems more comfortable in US productions nowadays; perhaps America should be the setting for Fawlty’s new boutique hotel in, say, San Francisco, where he can really go to town on the ‘woke’ hordes who supposedly dwell there.
I sincerely hope not.
Cleese is said to be mulling a Caribbean resort island (shades of The White Lotus) as the location for Fawlty‘s return, conjuring up visions of cringe-worthy cultural misunderstandings, corrupt local officials and dated gags about colonic irrigation and New-Age spa treatments. Throw in a trans receptionist, ganja dealers and a shady Epstein-style billionaire, and you’re good to go.
A shame Cleese has snubbed the BBC, as they could have worked out a money-saving crossover on Death in Paradise’s fictional island of Saint Marie.
The new series will be co-executive produced by Spinal Tap director Rob Reiner. It’s one small sign of hope, but Reiner’s recent comment, “Cleese is a comedy legend. Just the idea of working with him makes me laugh.” makes one wonder if he has seen the comedian in action recently.
As for me, I’m still waiting for the third season of Idle’s Rutland Weekend Television (BBC Two, 1975-76) to be made. Oh, and a new series of Ripping Yarns, when Michael Palin takes a break from his globe-trotting travelogues, that is.
‘Tomkinson’s Dotage’, or ‘Across the Andes by Stiltz Home Lift’, anyone?
Stephen Arnell began his career at the BBC, moving to ITV where he launched and managed digital channels. He continues to consult for streamers and broadcasters on editorial strategy. He currently writes for The Spectator, The Independent, and The Guardian on film, TV and cultural issues. He is also a writer/producer (including Bob Fosse: It’s Showtime for Sky Arts) and novelist.