Fawlty Towers DVD Giveaway!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 08:09am by freakgirl
Join the BBC in celebrating the 30th anniversary of John Cleese’s (Monty Python’s Flying Circus, A Fish Called Wanda) legendary TV series, Fawlty Towers! You can buy the remastered DVD box set today at BBCAmericaShop.com.
OR, comment on this post for a chance to win your own set! Tell us why you want to win, tell us your favorite Fawlty Towers moments, anything goes.
Named the #1 television series of all time by the British Film Institute, the BBC celebrates this comedy classic by releasing the deluxe, special edition DVD box set – Fawlty Towers Remastered. Each episode was painstakingly restored from the original program masters to present this farcical sitcom in crystal clarity as never seen before. Along with every episode of the series, this must-own DVD box set comes loaded with fresh bonus material including newly recorded commentary from Cleese, all-new cast interviews, and much more. The 3-disc Fawlty Towers Remastered arrives in stores today, October 20, 2009 for the suggested retail price of $49.98 ($62.48 in Canada) and is currently available at BBCAmericaShop.com for $42.98.
Keep reading to find out more about this DVD, and please read the fine print about our giveaway.*
ABOUT FAWLTY TOWERS
Hot off the runaway success of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, John Cleese embarked on his now-legendary sitcom, Fawlty Towers, . One of the most memorable and best-loved characters in British comedy, Basil Fawlty is a much put-upon, hardworking hotel manager whose life is plagued by dead guests, hotel inspectors and other assorted riff-raff. Of course his biggest headache is his “little nest of vipers,” his nagging wife Sibyl, the unflappable Polly and the trainee waiter from Barcelona, Manuel, who has marginally more intelligence than a monkey.
Premiering in the UK in 1975 and airing in continuous PBS syndication ever since, , Fawlty Towers, has received three BAFTA Awards, Best Comedy Performance for John Cleese and two for Best Situation Comedy. In addition, the beloved sitcom is the BBC’s top-selling comedy series of all time on DVD.
FAWLTY TOWERS CAST
- Basil Fawlty, John Cleese (Monty Python, A Fish Called Wanda)
- Sybil Fawlty, Prunella Scales (A Question of Attribution, Wolf)
- Polly, Connie Booth (Monty Python, The Buccaneers)
- Manuel, Andrew Sachs (History of the World: Part I)
FAWLTY TOWERS REMASTERED BONUS FEATURES
- All-New Digital Restoration from the original program masters
- All-New Commentary by John Cleese
- All-New Interviews with John Cleese, Connie Booth, Andrew Sachs and Prunella Scales
- Outtakes
- A Visit to Torquay, Home of Fawlty Towers
- Additional Interviews and Featurettes
* Only one comment per entrant will be counted. Contest closes on Tuesday 10/27 and winners will be chosen on Wednesday 10/28. You’ll be notified through email, so make sure you enter a valid address. USA only.
1. Nicole said ( Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 9:03 am )
I love Fawlty Towers and would love to win the set! I was just watching some clips this morning on You Tube. It’s hard to choose a favorite moment, there are so many good ones.
2. Janet said ( Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 9:10 am )
Hands down, the funniest sitcom of all time. The first episode I ever saw is still my favorite moment (although the episode with the horseracing bet is a very close second):
Basil Fawlty: There is your bath!
Mrs. Richards: [looking at it] You call that a bath? That’s not big enough to drown a mouse. It’s disgraceful.
Basil Fawlty: I wish you were a mouse.
Mrs. Richards: What? And another thing. I asked for a room with a view.
Basil Fawlty: [going to window, indicating] That is Torquay, ma’am.
Mrs. Richards: That is not good enough.
Basil Fawlty: Well, may I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeasts swinging majestically…
Mrs. Richards: Don’t be silly. I expect to be able to see the sea.
Basil Fawlty: You can see the sea. It’s over there, between the land and the sky.
Mrs. Richards: I’d need a telescope to see that!
Basil Fawlty: Well, may I suggest that you move to a hotel closer to the sea…
[sotto]
Basil Fawlty: or preferably in it?
Mrs. Richards: Now, listen to me. I am not satisfied, but I have decided to stay here. However, I shall expect a reduction.
Basil Fawlty: Why? Because Krakatoa’s not erupting at the moment?
3. Lisa said ( Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 9:33 am )
I couldn’t love this show more. My brother and I bonded over this show (and the Flying Circus.) I would love to give him this dvd set for his birthday (which is TOMORROW.) Also, I named my beloved cat Basil in honor of Basil Fawlty. I miss you, kitty boy!
4. Jo Bryan said ( Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 12:07 pm )
Oh hard to choose as it has me roaring with laughter in every episode, but The Gemans stands out, from the Major talking to the moose head, to Basil making awful cringeworthy comments to the Germans oh an Basil beating his car to death with a branch, sorry I have so many.
5. Chips O'Toole said ( Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 12:10 pm )
Favorite moment? So much from The Germans episode.
I once bought an audio tape of two episodes at a WHSmiths in Stratford when there on a class trip in junior high in 1987. The Germans was one of the episodes.
And is there some way to work in the thing about Andrew Sachs (Manuel) at the whole Russel Brand thing? Maybe this – I had a recording of Manuel saying “oh England, oh England, I speak of you with pride / And Scotland, too, which is at the top, and Wales, on the left hand side.”
6. Chips O\'Toole said ( Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 12:10 pm )
oh, and my birthday is next week (the 29th).
7. Jimster said ( Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 3:28 pm )
I’d give an arm and a leg to win this contest. I work at the morgue, so let me know if you want a man’s arm and leg or a woman’s.
8. Cristiane said ( Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 6:42 pm )
“Would you like some…rat…with your cheese?” That, or Basil furious tearing apart the blancmange in search of the promised chicken. Fawlty Towers makes me laugh harder than anything else – to the point of completely losing my breath. The funniest twelve episodes ever made – each a perfect farce.
9. Lizzie said ( Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 12:00 am )
I just discovered Fawlty Towers this weekend. It was hilarious!
10. Justine said ( Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 12:01 am )
Not sure I could quote an episode…but used to watch it with my dad all the time. Now anytime he and I have a ridiculous moment in the world of customer service we laugh about possible Fawlty Towers episodes that could be built around our bizarre experiences. And in the restaurant business there are always so many….:) One of the very funniest shows EVER!
11. Katie A said ( Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 8:45 am )
I first watched Fawlty Towers in a psychology class in college — my professor showed us episodes and used Basil as an example of a personality disorder. So funny.
I have all the episodes in my Netflix queue, but haven’t gotten around to watching them.
12. Kathy said ( Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 7:13 pm )
Fawlty Towers is my all time favorite tv show! Even after seeing it numerous times I still laugh until I cry when John Cleese and and the Spaniard waiter have communication problems!
13. luscious loulou said ( Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 8:18 pm )
Because John Cleese basically wrote out every passive/agressive thought that I ever/never had and turned it into the scripts to a Classic series. All the sotto voce then his look of What? What? I didn’t say anything. What? Brilliant man.
And he had the guts to NOT make a film of it. Stopping at “Perfect”. Well done.
Nor did he cast his real wife (Connie Booth) as Basil’s wife. Instead she was Polly the savvy maid
Manuel was his perfect foil. So innocent. So oblivious to Basil’s aggro.
It just brings back great memories and great disbelieving Whoops of laughter at Basil’s escalating bitterness.
14. Nancy C. said ( Monday, October 26, 2009 at 8:50 pm )
I want to win because I’ve had 6 surgeries in the last 18 months and need a good laugh!
15. Mandie Lee said ( Monday, October 26, 2009 at 10:53 pm )
I just finished watching some of the eposides for the first time today. too funny…had a laugh in each one. I’m a big fan of British humor, slowly working my way through their shows. Would love to add Fawlty Towers to my collection.