Fawlty Towers - don’t mention the reboot!

A lot of what is considered to be classic comedy hasn’t aged well.

And so the news that Fawlty Towers is being revived has led to much speculation about whether it can possibly be funny if it is not offensive, or whether it will remain offensive, and not be well received. 

From the golden age of BBC sitcoms, Fawlty Towers holds a special place in people’s memories. Though repeated for decades afterwards, there were only ever two series of the show made for BBC 2, airing originally in 1975 and 1979.

A lot of people have their favourite episodes or scenes, and the infamous line ‘Don’t mention the war!’ is one of several phrases from the show to have slipped into common usage. 

John Cleese had many of us in stitches in the title role of Basil Fawlty, an hilariously inept hotelier in the resort town of Torquay. 

Along with his wife Sybil, they ran their very English establishment in a very English way. And while on the surface, this was the basis of the comedy, it has come in for much criticism for offensive content.

Cleese has defended his writing, claiming that he was not supporting offensive or outdated views, but was in fact showing them for what they were by making fun of them. 

One example is  the Old Major, a long-term guest at the Fawlty Towers hotel, repeatedly using the N-word when referring to the West Indies cricket team.

There is a definite split in modern society when it comes to whether such humour is acceptable or not. The defence that it was ‘of its time’ is often used. But does that really make it alright?

We also hear that same defence used when it comes to a blind eye being turned to institutional sex abuse, or to mother and baby homes, to children being whipped with belts for minor misbehaviour, to people being outcast and even imprisoned because of their sexuality. 

It doesn’t make those things alright; it is instead something that people say to justify their lack of action. 

It is only because of people who have been brave enough to stand up and call out such systemic wrongs that we have managed to progress - to some degree - to a more compassionate and inclusive society.

When the offensiveness of our classic comedy shows comes under the spotlight, the ‘PC gone mad’ response is sure to follow, often accompanied by an eyeroll. It is closely followed by ‘shure you can say nothing these days without someone getting offended.’

I would argue that the offence was always there, even if we didn’t realise it. 

What has changed is that minority groups and those who were targeted by the offensive jokes have found a voice, and have expressed their hurt. 

Surely this is something that should not be ignored. 

If someone says, ‘that is offensive to me and to people like me,’ then why does another person feel that they have the right to say that those people are not allowed to be offended - and that by expressing their feeling of being offended, they risk being accused of killing comedy?

Comedy writing usually plays on one of two scenarios - putting ordinary people in extraordinary situations, or putting extraordinary people in ordinary situations.

Fawlty Towers plays on the latter - Basil Fawlty is running a small, run-of-the-mill English hotel. It is his extraordinary character, his madcap plans destined to failure, his strained relationship with his wife, his obvious dislike of most of his guests, his overreaction when plans go awry (who could forget that classic scene of him battering his car with a tree branch?) and his gross overestimation of his own abilities that make the comedy work. 

And it does work, very well. Cleese is without doubt a talented writer and an exceptional comic actor.

Unfortunately, he himself has come to be viewed as that outdated, misogynistic Basil Fawlty caricature. And he has not done himself any favours in interviews and public comment in recent years. 

It seems that the revived Fawlty Towers will see Basil trying to navigate the modern world. 

Cleese and his daughter Camilla will write and star in the series set in a boutique hotel, and people are being told to expect offensive content.

It certainly has the potential to be very funny. 

What  remains to be seen is if Cleese is humble enough to show that some of those offensive ideas have no place in today’s society, or if misogyny and self-righteousness will taint the writing and perhaps spoil the whole Fawlty Towers memory even for original fans.

Comedy is not being killed by people who are offended at being the butt of jokes. There is plenty of really good comedy out there that holds people to account, that shows a mirror to society but allows us to laugh at our ineptness so that we are not overwhelmed by it.

As one of my favourite writers, the late Terry Pratchett said: “If you are laughing at people who are hurting, it's not satire, it's bullying.”

I really hope that the reboot of Fawlty Towers finds the right balance.