‘Fawlty Towers’ set to re-open as a boutique hotel

THE classic British sitcom Fawlty Towers is being revived and developed by Castle Rock Television with original series co-writer and star John Cleese and his daughter Camilla Cleese set to write and star. Filmmaker Rob Reiner, Michele Reiner, Matthew George,  and Derrick Rossi will executive produce the series. According to early reports, the new FT will explore how the over-the-top, cynical […]

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Andrew Sachs dies at age 86 – R.I.P. Manuel from ‘Fawlty Towers’

As the news broke early Thursday evening that Andrew Sachs had passed away at the age of 86 on November 23, I am at this moment officially done with 2016. Diagnosed with vascular dementia four years ago, Andrew was, by far, best known for his spot on portrayal of Manuel, the constantly confused waiter from Barcelona with a limited grasp of the English language and customs. […]

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Fawlty Towers Revisited migrates to Tellyspotting

Back in 2005, several of us had the good fortune of producing a special for PBS to celebrate the 30th anniversary of, perhaps, the greatest British comedy of all-time, Fawlty Towers. Hosted by Andrew Sachs, who brilliantly played Manuel, Fawlty Towers Revisited was both an unbelievable joy and a daunting challenge to produce. The daunting […]

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Equal time request: The 10 best Dr. Watsons

Hopefully, by now, you have been able to select your favorite Sherlock Holmes of all-time. We all know who you selected so, to be clear, you’re in good company if you selected Benedict Cumberbatch. However, it’s been pointed out by several readers that Dr. Watson wants a little equal time. As with the Sherlock rankings, […]

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Adams' Dirk Gently comes to BBC Four

The late, great Douglas Adams, whose best known work, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, was brilliantly transformed into a short run British comedy television series, will have another classic adapted for the small screen. According to our friends at the British Comedy Guide, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, written by Adams in 1987, has […]

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Former Python, John Cleese, embarks on Alimony Tour

At 71, former Monty Python star, John Cleese, is showing no signs of slowing down. Frankly, he can’t afford to. His upcoming, appropriately titled, Alimony Tour kicks off in 2011 throughout the UK. Admitting that he would rather be reading books, writing or drinking, Cleese, with three exes as of this writing, might find it difficult to […]

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British comedy pipeline – Going Postal

May not be immediately top of mind, but many long-time British comedy fans have e-mailed asking about Richard Coyle (Jeff,Coupling). Having left the successful Steven Moffat series after the third season, Coyle starred in the one and only season of Strange, where he played an ex-priest who dedicated his life to hunting down demons. Coyle […]

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Happy 80th, Manuel!

OK, officially, Manuel may only be 35 years of age,  but Andrew Sachs, the actor who brilliantly portrayed the most famous waiter from Barcelona turns 80 today, Wednesday, April 7. Best known for his role as the hapless waiter, Manuel, in, perhaps the greatest British comedy of all-time, Fawlty Towers, Sachs has had, and still enjoys, a […]

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Fawlty Towers Revisited?

In an eerily similar occurrence to the original during rehearsals of Fawlty Towers at the King’s Theatre in Gloucester, seems as though after all these years, Basil Fawlty still hasn’t gotten the hang of hitting Manuel on the head with a frying pan without inflicting real pain. According to the particulars during rehearsal at the […]

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IT Crowd headed for 4th season plus more for 2010…

As a follow-up to a recent post on the in’s and out’s of getting a comedy series commissioned from the BBC, I thought it would be of interest to everyone to see just what’s on the slate for the coming year from an output standpoint. Thanks to our good friends over the The British Comedy […]

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