The Citroën M35 was a coupé derived from the Ami 8 , and equipped with a Wankel engine and a hydropneumatic suspension. The bodies were produced by Heuliez from 1969 to 1971.
99-444: The longitudinally mounted rotary engine had a nominal capacity of 498 cc delivering 49 bhp (37 kW; 50 PS) and 50 lb⋅ft (68 N⋅m) of torque. According to factory figures the car had a performance roughly on a level with that of a Morris 1300 . It could accelerate from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 19 seconds, 10 seconds faster than an Ami 8 , and reach a top speed of about 90 mph (140 km/h). The M35 also used
198-634: A "damn good thrashing". This episode was first shown in October 1975, by that time it was already out of production. In 1964, the 1100 was Wheels magazine's Car of the Year . For most of its production life, the ADO16 was Britain's best selling car, holding around 15% of the new car market at its peak, before finally being outsold by the Ford Cortina in 1972. The ADO16 ( Amalgamated Drawing Office project number 16)
297-460: A colossal inconvenience". Rosemary Harrison, a waitress at the Gleneagles under Sinclair, described him as "bonkers" and lacking in hospitality, deeming him wholly unsuitable for a hotel proprietor. "It was as if he didn't want the guests to be there." Cleese and his then-wife Connie Booth stayed on at the hotel after filming, furthering their research of its owner. Demolished in 2015, the building
396-426: A frying pan and smacks his forehead with a spoon. The violence towards Manuel caused rare negative criticism of the show. Sybil and Polly, on the other hand, are more patient and understanding towards Manuel; everyone's usual excuse to guests for his behaviour is, "He's from Barcelona "; Manuel even once used the excuse for himself. Basil longs for a touch of class , sometimes playing recordings of classical music. In
495-502: A higher social class than hers. Polly Sherman , played by Connie Booth , is a waitress and general assistant at the hotel with artistic aspirations. She is the most competent of the staff and the voice of sanity during chaotic moments, but is frequently embroiled in ridiculous masquerades as she loyally attempts to aid Basil in trying to cover up a mistake or keep something from Sybil. In " The Anniversary " she snaps and refuses to help Basil out when he wants her to impersonate Sybil in
594-620: A huff. In an interview in the DVD boxed set, Cleese claims this episode deliberately takes a slightly different tone from the others, fleshing out their otherwise inexplicable status as a couple. In keeping with the lack of explanation about the marriage, not much is revealed of the characters' back-stories. It is known that Basil served in the British Army and saw action in the Korean War , possibly as part of his National Service . ( John Cleese himself
693-423: A larger 11-gallon (43-liter) fuel tank to improve range, as the fuel tank in the standard Ami 8 was deemed too small. The engine was so smooth running that Citroën fitted an audible alarm that went off as the car approached its redline of 7,000 rpm. The engine was supplied by a company formed in 1967 by NSU and Citroën called Comotor . The M35 was an experimental vehicle and was not officially sold - rather it
792-706: A larger engined model to the ADO16 range came at a time when most cars of this size were now available with larger engines than the 1100 cc unit which until then had been the only engine available in the whole range. Its key rivals in the 1960s were the Vauxhall Viva (in HA form from 1963 and HB form from 1966) and the Ford Anglia (and from the end of 1967, the Anglia's successor, the Escort ). From 1970, it had gained another fresh rival in
891-404: A metal one and that he was responsible for most of the violence on the show, which he felt was essential to the type of comical farce they were creating. Later, when Sachs's clothes were treated to give off smoke after he escaped the burning kitchen in " The Germans ", the corrosive chemicals ate through them and gave Sachs severe burns. Manuel's exaggerated Spanish accent is part of the humour of
990-425: A new carburettor and a higher compression ratio in the new 1965 automatic transmission cars: indeed a press report of the time found very little power loss in the automatic 1100, though the same report expressed the suspicion that this might in part reflect the unusually high level of power loss resulting from the way in which the installation of the transversely-mounted "normal" manual gearbox had been engineered. At
1089-623: A number of epithets, occasionally to her face, including "that golfing puff-adder", "the dragon", "toxic midget", "the sabre-toothed tart", "my little kommandant", "my little piranha fish", "my little nest of vipers" and "you rancorous, coiffured old sow". Despite these nasty nicknames, Basil is terrified of her. The 1979 episode " The Psychiatrist " contains the only time he loses patience and snaps at her (Basil: "Shut up, I'm fed up." Sybil: "Oh, you've done it now."). Prunella Scales speculated in an interview for The Complete Fawlty Towers DVD boxed set that Sybil married Basil because his origins were of
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#17328802212961188-423: A point at which he gets on his knees and crawls off the stage while crying. As Basil tries to raise the tone of the hotel, the aristocratic Lord Melbury comes to stay at the hotel. Basil fawns over him at every opportunity, causing himself to neglect or annoy other guests, until Polly discovers Melbury is actually a confidence trickster. Meanwhile, Sybil orders Basil to hang a picture. Major renovations are made to
1287-596: A room of her own at the hotel. Manuel , a waiter played by Andrew Sachs , is a well-meaning but disorganised and confused Spaniard from Barcelona with a poor grasp of the English language and customs. He is verbally and physically abused by his boss. When told what to do, he often responds, "¿Qué?" ("What?"). Manuel's character is used to demonstrate Basil's instinctive lack of sensitivity and tolerance. Every episode involves Basil becoming enraged at Manuel's confusion at his boss's bizarre demands and even basic requests. Manuel
1386-454: A script copy, featuring Basil climbing out his bedroom window to avoid sex with a drunken Sybil, who had wanted to make up. It has long been rumoured that a 13th episode of the series was written and filmed, but never progressed further than a rough cut. Lars Holger Holm, author of the book Fawlty Towers: A Worshipper's Companion, has made detailed claims about the episode's content, but he provides no concrete evidence of its existence. On
1485-492: A short time as a nightclub named "Basil's" after the series ended, before being destroyed by a fire in March 1991. The remnants of the building were demolished and a housing estate was built on the site. Few traces of the original site exist today. Other location filming was done mostly around Harrow : firstly the 'damn good thrashing' scene in " Gourmet Night " in which Basil loses his temper and attacks his broken-down car with
1584-503: A stab at it by reeling off a list of random anniversaries, starting with the Battle of Agincourt , for which he receives a slap from Sybil, who becomes increasingly frustrated and angry. He continues guessing even after Sybil is out of earshot, and mentions other anniversaries (none of which happened on 17 April), including the Battle of Trafalgar and Yom Kippur , just to enhance the surprise. Sybil believes he really has forgotten, and leaves in
1683-446: A third series of either The Office or Extras , citing Fawlty Towers' short lifespan. Rik Mayall , Ben Elton and Lise Mayer , the writers behind The Young Ones , which also ran for only two series (each with six episodes), used this explanation as well. Victoria Wood also indicated this influenced her decision to limit dinnerladies to 16 episodes over two series. The origins, background and eventual cancellation of
1782-524: A tree branch. It was filmed at the T-junction of Lapstone Gardens and Mentmore Close ( 51°34′52″N 0°18′33″W / 51.5811°N 0.3091°W / 51.5811; -0.3091 ). Secondly the episode " The Germans ", the opening shot is of Northwick Park Hospital . Thirdly "Gourmet Night"'s exterior of André's restaurant was at Preston Road ( 51°34′24″N 0°17′40″W / 51.5734°N 0.2944°W / 51.5734; -0.2944 ). It
1881-524: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . BMC ADO16 The BMC ADO16 is a range of small family cars built by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and, later, British Leyland . Launched in 1962, it was Britain's best-selling car from 1963 to 1966 and from 1968 to 1971. The ADO16 was marketed under various make and model names; however, the Austin 1100 and Morris 1100 were
1980-487: Is afraid of Fawlty's quick temper and violent assaults, yet often expresses his appreciation for being given employment. He is relentlessly enthusiastic and is proud of what little English he knows. During the series, Sachs was seriously injured twice. Cleese describes using a real metal pan to knock Manuel unconscious in " The Wedding Party ", although he would have preferred to use a rubber one. The original producer and director, John Howard Davies, said that he made Basil use
2079-661: Is eminently quotable ('don't mention the war') and stands up to this day as a jewel in the BBC's comedy crown." A sequel series starring Cleese and his daughter Camilla, announced in February 2023, is in development. In May 1970, the Monty Python comedy group stayed at the now-demolished Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay , Devon while filming on location in Paignton . John Cleese was fascinated with
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#17328802212962178-515: Is forced to hide a dead body ("2 dead, 25 to go.") and in his comments about Sybil ("Did you ever see that film, How to Murder Your Wife ? ... Awfully good. I saw it six times.") and to Mrs Richards, ("May I suggest that you consider moving to a hotel closer to the sea? Or preferably in it."). Basil's physical outbursts are primarily directed at Manuel, an emotional but largely innocent Spaniard whose confused English vocabulary causes him to make elementary mistakes. At times, Basil beats Manuel with
2277-476: Is his eccentricity, not his lust, that drives the plots. The events test to the breaking point what little patience Basil has, sometimes causing him to have a near breakdown by the end of the episode. The guests at the hotel typically are comic foils to Basil's anger and outbursts. Guest characters in each episode provide different characteristics (working class, promiscuous, foreign) that he cannot stand. Requests both reasonable and impossible test his temper. Even
2376-568: Is immediately arrested, and spends the entire holiday in a Spanish jail. He is released just in time to go back on the plane with Sybil. It was very funny, but I couldn't do it at the time. Making "Fawlty Towers" work at 90 minutes was a very difficult proposition. You can build up the comedy for 30 minutes, but at that length there has to be a trough and another peak. It doesn't interest me. I don't want to do it. Cleese also may have been reluctant because of Connie Booth 's unwillingness to be involved. She had practically retreated from public life after
2475-401: Is now a Chinese and Indian restaurant called Wings, next to a launderette . Both Cleese and Booth were keen on every script being perfect, and some episodes took four months and required as many as ten drafts until they were satisfied. Cleese said one of the reasons the series worked so well was the quality of the scripts and the care taken over the editing. He told a TV interviewer that while
2574-549: Is often verbally abusive (describing him as "an ageing, brilliantined stick insect") but although he towers over her, he often finds himself on the receiving end of her temper, verbally and physically (as in " The Builders "), and it is only on one occasion when Sybil mistakenly believes he is stalking an attractive Australian guest that he finally snaps and stands up to her. Basil usually turns to Manuel or Polly to help him with his schemes, while trying his best to keep Sybil from discovering them. However, Basil occasionally laments
2673-663: Is set in Fawlty Towers, a dysfunctional fictional hotel in the English seaside town of Torquay in Devon . The plots centre on the tense, rude and put-upon owner Basil Fawlty (Cleese), his bossy wife Sybil ( Prunella Scales ), the sensible chambermaid Polly (Booth), and the hapless and English-challenged Spanish waiter Manuel ( Andrew Sachs ). They show their attempts to run the hotel amidst farcical situations and an array of demanding and eccentric guests and tradespeople. The idea of Fawlty Towers came from Cleese after he stayed at
2772-516: Is unable to do so. Cleese described Basil as thinking that "he could run a first-rate hotel if he didn't have all the guests getting in the way" and as being "an absolutely awful human being" but says that in comedy if an awful person makes people laugh they unaccountably feel affectionate towards him. Indeed, he is not entirely unsympathetic. The " Hotel Inspectors " and " Gourmet Night " episodes feature guests who are shown to be deeply annoying, with constant and unreasonable demands. In "Gourmet Night"
2871-543: The Army Catering Corps . He also claims to have sustained a shrapnel injury to his leg; it tends to flare up at suspiciously convenient times. The only person towards whom Basil consistently exhibits tolerance and good manners is the old and senile Major Gowen , a veteran of one of the world wars (which one is never specified, though he once mentions to Mrs Peignoir that he was in France in 1918) who permanently resides at
2970-810: The Austin Victoria . In Denmark the ADO16 bore the Morris Marina name from 1962 to 1972 - the same name as the British-built and better-known range of saloons produced in the British Leyland range from 1971 to 1980. The MG models were sold as the MG Sports Sedan there, as it was in North America from 1962, and was available with a two-door bodyshell that was unavailable in the UK until 1968. The Vanden Plas Princess
3069-613: The British Film Institute in 2000, and in a 2001 poll conducted by Channel 4 , Basil Fawlty was ranked second on their list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters . In 2019, it was named the greatest ever British TV sitcom by a panel of comedy experts compiled by the Radio Times . The BBC profile for the series states that "the British sitcom by which all other British sitcoms must be judged, Fawlty Towers withstands multiple viewings,
Citroën M35 - Misplaced Pages Continue
3168-519: The Ford Cortina , had long since grown larger, putting ADO16 into the small, rather than medium-sized class, which British Leyland was now competing in with the Austin Maxi , Morris Marina as well as the long-running Austin 1800 saloons. The ADO16's final key rivals were the Ford Escort , Vauxhall Viva and Hillman Avenger . Foreign cars were also becoming increasingly popular on the UK market during
3267-552: The Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay , Devon , in 1970 (along with the rest of the Monty Python troupe), where he encountered the eccentric hotel owner Donald Sinclair . Stuffy and snobbish, Sinclair treated guests as though they were a hindrance to his running of the hotel (a waitress who worked for him stated "it was as if he didn't want the guests to be there"). Sinclair was the inspiration for Cleese's character Basil Fawlty. While some critics derided Fawlty Towers upon release,
3366-619: The Morris Marina in 1971, but the Austin and Vanden Plas versions remained in production in the UK until June 1974. The three-door estate version followed in 1966, called Countryman in the Austin version and Traveller in the Morris one, continuing the established naming scheme. The Austin 1100 Countryman appeared in the Fawlty Towers episode " Gourmet Night ", in which the short-tempered owner of Fawlty Towers Basil Fawlty ( John Cleese ) gave it
3465-618: The Worboys Committee in the 1960s when the British road signage system was being redesigned, the silhouette of the ADO16 (since it was the UK's best selling car of the time) was used in many of the new road sign designs which are all still in use. The car was sold with various names in different markets. In Spain it was sold as Morris, Austin and MG, starting production in the Pamplona Authi ( Au tomóviles de T urismo H ispano I ngleses ) factory in 1966, and evolving by 1972 into
3564-436: The " riff-raff ", " cretins " and " yobbos " that he believes regularly populate his hotel. His desperation is readily apparent as he makes increasingly hopeless manoeuvres and painful faux pas in trying to curry favour with those he perceives as having superior social status. Yet he finds himself forced to serve those individuals that are "beneath" him. As such, Basil's efforts tend to be counter-productive, with guests leaving
3663-644: The 1100/1300 between 1971 and 1974 in favour of the Morris Marina and the Austin Allegro . The ADO16 was marketed under the following make and model names: In line with BMC's policy at the time, Austin badged versions of the ADO16 were built at Longbridge, whilst Morris and MG versions were assembled at Cowley. However, some were also built in Spain by Authi , in Italy by Innocenti , in Yugoslavia (Slovenia) by IMV , and at
3762-498: The 2CV lacked. BMC engineer Charles Griffin took over development work from Issigonis at the end of the 1950s while Issigonis completed work on the Mini. Griffin ensured the 1100 had high levels of refinement, comfort and presentation. Griffin would later have overall responsibility for the Princess , Metro , Maestro and Montego ranges. Autocar reports in October 1973, while the car
3861-501: The AD016 featured front-wheel drive instead of rear-wheel drive. The Mark I Austin / Morris 1100 was available, initially, only as a four-door saloon. In March 1966 a three-door estate became available, badged as the Morris 1100 Traveller or the Austin 1100 Countryman. Domestic market customers looking for a two-door saloon would have to await the arrival in 1967 of the Mark II version, although
3960-480: The Austin and Morris models were announced, with the larger engine making it into these two makes' UK market ranges in October 1967 (as the Austin 1300 and Morris 1300). An 1100 version of the Mark II continued alongside the larger-engined models. Unusually for cars at this end of the market, domestic market waiting lists of several months accumulated for the 1300-engined cars during the closing months of 1967 and well into 1968. The manufacturers explained that following
4059-449: The Austin having wavy bars and the Morris straight ones. The 1100 had been introduced with synchromesh on the top three ratios: all synchromesh manual gearboxes were introduced with the 1275 cc models at the end of 1967 and found their way into 1098 cc cars a few months later. Mark II versions of the MG, Riley, Vanden Plas and Wolseley were introduced in October 1968, at which time Riley abandoned
Citroën M35 - Misplaced Pages Continue
4158-682: The BMC ADO16 model, but the design was not taken up by the then merged British Leyland . This was after BMC had investigated a Mini shaped version. The 1800 version was however used by chief engineer Harry Webster and was known within the Austin Morris division as the Yellow Peril. Fawlty Towers Fawlty Towers is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth , originally broadcast on BBC Two in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The series
4257-470: The Corpse ", the pampered Shih Tzu dog of an elderly guest bites Polly and Manuel. As revenge, Polly laces the dog's sausages with black pepper and Tabasco sauce ("bangers à la bang"), making it ill and eventually killing it. Despite her part-time employment (during meal times), Polly frequently is saddled with many other duties, including as manager in " The Germans " when Sybil and Basil are incapacitated. In
4356-461: The Corpse" and "Rat" for "Basil the Rat", which have been printed in some programme guides. In addition, some of the early BBC audio releases of episodes on vinyl and cassette included other variations, such as "Mrs. Richards" and "The Rat" for "Communication Problems" and "Basil the Rat" respectively. In 2022, a "lost" scene cut from the episode "The Anniversary" (that went unfilmed) was uncovered as part of
4455-657: The Kestrel name. The Riley 1300 Mark II was discontinued in July 1969, and signalled the demise of the Riley marque, proving to be a shade of things to come as the 1970s would see British Leyland discontinue the Wolseley marque and sell most of its model ranges under a solitary brand. At the London Motor Show in October 1969 the manufacturers introduced the Austin / Morris 1300 GT, featuring
4554-466: The Mini, the ADO16 was designed around the BMC A-Series engine , mounted transversely and driving the front wheels . As well as single piston swinging caliper disc brakes at the front, which were not common on mass-produced cars in the early 1960s, the ADO16 featured a Hydrolastic interconnected fluid suspension system designed by Alex Moulton . The mechanically interconnected Citroen 2CV suspension
4653-466: The US, Canada and Switzerland between 1968 and 1972. This two-door version of the car featured a 60 bhp (45 kW) 1275 cc engine. Various modifications were made to suit the US market including an "anti-pollution air injection system", a split circuit braking system, rocker switches in place of some of the dashboard mounted knobs, a "hazard warning system" and flush door locks. The ADO16 also formed
4752-445: The afflicted annoy him, for example in the episode "Communication Problems", revolving around the havoc caused by the frequent misunderstandings between the staff and the hard-of-hearing Mrs. Richards. Near the end, Basil pretends to faint just at the mention of her name. This episode is typical of the show's careful weaving of humorous situations through comedy cross-talk. The show also uses mild black humour at times, notably when Basil
4851-465: The average BBC half-hour comedy script had 65 pages, the ones for Fawlty Towers had between 135 and 140 pages. "We literally did twice as many camera cuts - average shows got 200, we used to have 400. So there was an enormous amount in there. The other thing is that they were very well constructed," he said. Once an episode was in the can, the editing process started. "We did anything between 20 and 25 hours editing each show. Almost every minute you see up on
4950-693: The basis of the Australian Morris 1500 sedan (coded YDO15 ), Morris 1300 sedan (YDO15 ) and Morris Nomad five-door (YDO9 ), the Italian Innocenti Morris IM3 and Austin I4 and I5, the more powerful South African Austin, Morris and Wolseley 11/55 and Austin Apache and the Spanish Austin Victoria and the Austin de Luxe of 1974 to 1977, which had a 998 cc engine. The Austin Apache
5049-468: The behaviour of the owner, Donald Sinclair , later describing him as "the rudest man I've ever come across in my life". Among such behaviour by Sinclair was his criticism of Terry Gilliam 's "too American" table etiquette and tossing Eric Idle 's briefcase out of a window "in case it contained a bomb". Asked why anyone would want to bomb the hotel, Sinclair replied, "We've had a lot of staff problems". Michael Palin states Sinclair "seemed to view us as
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#17328802212965148-417: The chef gets drunk and is unable to cook dinner, leaving Basil to scramble in an attempt to salvage the evening. Much of the time, Basil is an unfortunate victim of circumstance. Sybil Fawlty , played by Prunella Scales , is Basil's wife. Energetic and petite, she prefers a working wardrobe of tight skirt-suits in shiny fabrics and sports a tower of permed hair augmented with hairpieces and wigs necessitating
5247-477: The chef's alcoholism, Basil must try to get hold of a duck from his friend, André. This, combined with the Fawltys' faulty car and his social awkwardness leads Basil ever closer to a nervous breakdown. With Sybil in the hospital with an ingrown toenail, a moose's head to hang up and some German guests arriving the next day, Basil has his work cut out for him. After an attempted fire drill goes wrong and Basil lands up in
5346-563: The company's own plant in Belgium. It was the basis for locally adapted similar cars manufactured in Australia and South Africa . Various versions including Austin, Morris, MG, Wolseley and Riley were assembled in New Zealand and Malta from CKD kits from 1963 until the final Austin/Morris versions were discontinued in 1974, a year after the launch of its replacement, the Austin Allegro . The vehicle
5445-499: The couple are around. When Basil hears of hotel inspectors roaming Torquay incognito, he realises with horror that guests he has been abusing could easily be among them. Basil becomes increasingly obsessed with trying to determine which guests are hotel inspectors, and gets frustrated when his suspects turn out not to be. But then, without warning, the real inspectors show up. Basil holds a gourmet night to attract posher guests and climb Torquay's social ladder. Unfortunately, thanks to
5544-602: The devaluation of the British Pound in the Fall / Autumn of 1967 they were working flat out to satisfy export market demand, but impatient British would-be customers could be reassured that export sales of the 1300s were "going very well". MG, Wolseley, Riley and Vanden Plas variants with the 1300 engines were already available on the home market in very limited quantities, and Austin and Morris versions would begin to be "available here in small quantities in March 1968". The addition of
5643-1031: The early 1970s, with perhaps the biggest imported rival to the ADO16 being the Datsun Sunny from Japan . The range of models available in the United Kingdom more than doubled to twenty nine. Models available: Austin two-door: 1100 or 1300, Deluxe or Super Deluxe (4). Austin four-door: 1100 or 1300, Deluxe or Super Deluxe (4). Austin Countryman estate: 1100 or 1300 (Super Deluxe) (2). MG two-door: 1300 (1). MG four-door: 1100 or 1300 (2). Morris two-door: 1100 or 1300, Deluxe or Super Deluxe (4). Morris four-door: 1100 or 1300, Deluxe or Super Deluxe (4). Morris Traveller estate: 1100 or 1300 (Super Deluxe) (2). Riley Kestrel four-door: 1100 or 1300 (2). Wolseley four-door: 1100 or 1300 (2). Vanden Plas Princess four-door: 1100 or 1300 (2). As of February 2016 according to DVLA data there were 640 examples that were taxed and on UK roads. During
5742-504: The end of May 1967, BMC announced the fitting of a larger 1275 cc engine to the MG , Riley Kestrel , Vanden Plas and Wolseley variants. The new car combined the 1275 cc engine block already familiar to drivers of newer Mini Cooper S and Austin-Healey Sprite models with the 1100 transmission, its gear ratios remaining unchanged for the larger engine, but the final-drive being significantly more highly geared. The Mark II versions of
5841-412: The end of some episodes, Basil succeeds in annoying (or at least bemusing) the guests and frequently gets his comeuppance. The plots occasionally are intricate and always farcical , involving coincidences , misunderstandings, cross-purposes and meetings both missed and accidental. The innuendo of the bedroom farce is sometimes present (often to the disgust of the socially conservative Basil) but it
5940-445: The first episode he is playing music by Brahms when Sybil remarks, after pestering him asking to do different tasks: "You could have them both done by now if you hadn't spent the whole morning skulking in there listening to that racket." Basil replies, with exasperation, "Racket?? That's Brahms! Brahms' Third Racket !" Basil often displays blatant snobbishness as he attempts to climb the social ladder, frequently expressing disdain for
6039-606: The first series, Polly is said to be an art student who, according to Basil, has spent three years at college. In " Gourmet Night ", she is seen drawing a sketch (presumably of Manuel), which everyone but Basil immediately recognises and she sells it to the chef for 50p. Polly is not referred to as a student in the second series, although in both series she is shown to have a flair for languages, displaying ability in both Spanish and German. In "The Germans", Basil alludes to Polly's polyglot inclination by saying that she does her work "while learning two Oriental languages". Like Manuel, she has
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#17328802212966138-611: The form of the HC Viva, and also from a new Rootes Group model, the Hillman Avenger . On the outside, a slightly wider front grille, extending a little beneath the headlights, and with a fussier detailing, differentiated Austin / Morris Mark IIs from their Mark I predecessors, along with a slightly smoother tail light fitting which also found its way onto the FX4 London taxi of the time. Austin and Morris grilles were again differentiated,
6237-470: The hotel in disgust and his marriage (and sanity) stretching to breaking point. Basil Fawlty , played by John Cleese , is a cynical and snobbish misanthrope who is desperate to belong to a higher social class . He sees a successful hotel as a means of achieving this, yet his job forces him to be polite to people he despises. He is intimidated by his wife Sybil Fawlty . He yearns to stand up to her, but his plans frequently conflict with her demands. She
6336-450: The hotel. When interacting with Manuel, Basil displays a rudimentary knowledge of Spanish (Basil states that he "learned classical Spanish, not the strange dialect he [Manuel] seems to have picked up"); this knowledge is also ridiculed, as in the first episode in which a guest, whom Basil has immediately dismissed as working-class, communicates fluently with Manuel in Spanish after Basil
6435-432: The humour comes from Basil's overly aggressive manner, engaging in angry but witty arguments with guests, staff and, in particular, Sybil, whom he addresses (in a faux-romantic way) with insults such as "that golfing puff adder ", "my little piranha fish" and "my little nest of vipers ". Despite this, Basil frequently feels intimidated, Sybil being able to cow him at any time, usually with a short, sharp cry of "Basil!" At
6534-471: The idea, Cleese said: We had an idea for a plot which I loved. Basil was finally invited to Spain to meet Manuel's family. He gets to Heathrow and then spends about 14 frustrating hours waiting for the flight. Finally, on the plane, a terrorist pulls a gun and tries to hijack the thing. Basil is so angry he overcomes the terrorist, and when the pilot says, "We have to fly back to Heathrow" Basil says, "No, fly us to Spain or I'll shoot you." He arrives in Spain,
6633-519: The introduction of the Morris 1100 in 1962, the Austin/Morris 1100/1300 retained its position as Britain's top-selling car, with 132,965 vehicles registered as against 123,025 for the Ford Cortina , in that year entering its third incarnation. By the time the two millionth ADO16 was produced, at the end of June 1971, the Morris-badged version of the car had been withdrawn in order to create space in
6732-420: The lobby while the Fawltys are out, but when a misreading causes the incompetent builders to mess it up spectacularly, Basil must try to remedy the situation before Sybil finds out. Basil gets annoyed when a young, flirtatious couple start "hanky-pankying" under his nose and tries to avoid the advances of a female French antique dealer. Meanwhile, misfortune conspires to put him in compromising situations whenever
6831-543: The main character checks into a small-town hotel, his very presence seemingly winding up the aggressive and incompetent manager (played by Timothy Bateson ) with a domineering wife. The show was broadcast on 30 May 1971. Cleese said in 2008 that the first Fawlty Towers script he and Booth wrote was rejected by the BBC . At a 30th anniversary event honouring the show, Cleese said, Connie and I wrote that first episode and we sent it in to Jimmy Gilbert , [the executive], whose job it
6930-423: The most prolific of all the ADO16 variants. The car's ubiquity at the height of its popularity led to it simply being known as the 1100 (eleven-hundred) in its home market. Also made with a 1275cc engine, it was then typically called 1300 . In production for 12 years, the ADO16 range sold 2.1 million units between 1962 and 1974, more than half of those being sold on the UK home market. British Leyland phased out
7029-511: The piece badly, although in the end they did not. The series focuses on the exploits and misadventures of short-fused hotelier Basil Fawlty and his acerbic wife Sybil , as well as their employees: waiter Manuel , Polly Sherman , and, in the second series, chef Terry. The episodes typically revolve around Basil's efforts to "raise the tone" of his hotel and his increasing frustration at numerous complications and mistakes, both his own and those of others, which prevent him from doing so. Much of
7128-498: The range and in the showrooms for the Morris Marina . 1971 turned out to be the 1100/1300's last year at the top of the UK charts. The Mark III models were introduced in September 1971. At the launch of the Morris 1100 in 1962 the manufacturer stated that they intended for the ADO16 models to remain in production for at least ten years, which despite BMC's vicissitudes through the 1960s turned out to be reasonably prescient. The range
7227-538: The running of the hotel. During busy check-in sessions or meal times, while everyone else is busy working, Sybil is frequently talking on the phone to one of her friends with her phrase "Oohhh, I knoooooooow" or chatting to customers. She has a distinctive conversational tone and braying laugh, which Basil compares to "someone machine-gunning a seal". Being his wife, she is the only regular character who refers to Basil by his first name. When she barks his name at him, he flinchingly freezes in his tracks. Basil refers to her by
7326-577: The same 1275 cc twin carburetter engine as that installed in the MG 1300, but with a black full width grille, a black vinyl roof and a thick black metal strip along the side. This was BMC's answer to the Ford Escort GT and its Vauxhall counterpart . Ride height on the Austin / Morris 1300 GT was fractionally lowered through the reduction of the Hydrolastic fluid pressure from 225 to 205 psi. During 1970, despite being fundamentally little changed since
7425-432: The screen, we spent one hour editing and it was only by doing that you could just tighten it up, just tighten it there and take out a line of dialogue, sometimes take out a repetition, they'll then lose two lines of dialogue there. That's what really got the pace on it." The theme music was composed by Dennis Wilson . It was recorded by the highly respected Aeolian Quartet , who were asked by director John Davis to perform
7524-452: The semi-darkness of her bedroom in front of the Fawltys' friends, Basil having dug himself into a hole by claiming Sybil was ill instead of admitting she had stormed out earlier in annoyance with him. Polly finally agrees, but only on condition that Basil lends her money to purchase a car, which he has previously refused to do. Polly generally is good-natured but sometimes shows her frustration, and has odd moments of malice. In " The Kipper and
7623-679: The series is set in Torquay, no part of it was shot in South West England . For the exterior filming, the Wooburn Grange Country Club in Wooburn Green , Buckinghamshire was used instead of a hotel. In several episodes of the series (notably " The Kipper and the Corpse ", " The Anniversary ", and " Basil the Rat "), the entrance gate at the bottom of the drive states the real name of the location. This listed building later served for
7722-475: The series soon received acclaim. In 1976 and 1980, it won the British Academy Television Award for Best Scripted Comedy . In 1980, Cleese received the British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance . The popularity of Fawlty Towers has endured, and it is often re-broadcast. The show was ranked first on a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by
7821-474: The series were later humorously referenced in 1987's The Secret Policeman's Third Ball in a sketch in which Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry present Cleese—whom they comically misname "Jim Cleese"—with a Dick Emery Lifetime Achievement Award ("Silver Dick") for his contributions to comedy, then launch into a comical series of questions regarding the show, including Cleese's marriage and divorce from Booth, innocently ridiculing Cleese and reducing him to tears, to
7920-452: The show finished (and had been initially unwilling to collaborate on a second series, which explains the four-year gap between productions). The decision by Cleese and Booth to quit before a third series has often been lauded as it ensured the show's successful status would not be weakened with later, lower-quality work. Subsequently, it has inspired the makers of other shows to do likewise. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant refused to make
8019-452: The show. In fact, Sachs's original language was German; he emigrated to Britain as a child. The character's nationality was switched to Italian (and the name to Paolo) for the Spanish dub of the show, while in Catalonia and France , Manuel is a Mexican. The first episode of Fawlty Towers was recorded as a pilot on 24 December 1974, the rest of the series being recorded later in 1975. It
8118-502: The subject of whether more episodes would be produced, Cleese said (in an interview for the complete DVD boxed set, which was republished in the book Fawlty Towers Fully Booked ) that he once had the genesis of a feature-length special—possibly sometime during the mid-1990s. The plot, never fleshed out beyond his initial idea, would have revolved around the chaos that a now-retired Basil typically caused as he and Sybil flew to Barcelona to visit their former employee Manuel and his family. Of
8217-475: The time when there was passion in their relationship, now seemingly lost. Also, it appears he still does care for her and remains loyal to her, and actively resists the flirtations of a French guest in one episode. The penultimate episode, " The Anniversary ", is about his efforts to put together a surprise anniversary party involving their closest friends. Things go wrong as Basil pretends the anniversary date does not remind him of anything though he pretends to have
8316-507: The two-door 1100 saloon had by now been introduced to certain overseas markets, including the United States where a two-door MG 1100 was offered. An Automotive Products (AP) four-speed automatic transmission was added as an option in November 1965. In order to avoid the serious levels of power loss then typical in small-engined cars with automatic transmission the manufacturers incorporated
8415-418: The use of overnight curlers . She often is a more effective manager of the hotel, making sure Basil gets certain jobs done or stays out of the way when she is handling difficult guests. Typically when Basil is on the verge of a meltdown due to a crisis (usually of his own making), it is Sybil who steps in to clear up the mess and bring some sense to the situation. Despite this, she rarely participates directly in
8514-406: Was assessed in the mid-1950s by Alec Issigonis and Alex Moulton (according to an interview by Moulton with Car magazine in the late 1990s), and was an inspiration in the design of the Hydrolastic suspension system for the Mini and Austin 1100, to try to keep the benefits of the 2CV system (ride comfort, body levelling, keeping the tyres in contact with the road), but with added roll stiffness that
8613-729: Was briefly the MG Princess 1100 in North America, while that market also saw an unusual two-door Austin 1100 (with a hybrid of Mark I and Mark II components). The ADO16 was not a strong seller in the Northern American markets - particularly in the USA where it was by far one of the smallest cars on sale. In the Netherlands the Austin version was sold as the Austin Glider. The Austin America was sold in
8712-638: Was deemed satisfactory and a dual rotor version of it was used in the GS Birotor in 1974; the gearbox used in the M35 was the GS 1015's gearbox (albeit with a normal shift pattern); certain suspension parts found their way into the GS line when it was introduced in 1970 and the seats that reclined just above the waist were found in none other than the SM . This article about a classic post-war automobile produced between 1945 and 1975
8811-576: Was designed by Sir Alec Issigonis . Following his success with the Mini , Issigonis set out to design a larger and more sophisticated car which incorporated more advanced features and innovations. Pininfarina , the Italian styling studio that had worked with BMC before on the Austin A40 Farina , was commissioned to style the car. ADO16 had comparable interior space to the larger Ford Cortina . In common with
8910-541: Was gradually reduced, with the MG 1300 dropped in 1971 and the Wolseley 1300 in 1973. The final British ADO16, a Vanden Plas Princess 1300, left the factory on 19 June 1974. When British Leyland replaced the ADO16, it was replaced variously by the Austin Maxi (1969), the Morris Marina (1971), and the Austin Allegro (1973). The luxury Vanden Plas 1500 version of the Allegro debuted in 1975. By this time, its original rival,
9009-470: Was launched as the Morris 1100 on 15 August 1962. The range was expanded to include several rebadged versions, including the twin-carburettor MG 1100 (introduced at the end of September 1962), the Austin 1100 (August 1963), the Vanden Plas Princess 1100 (October 1963) and finally the Wolseley 1100 (1965) and Riley Kestrel (1965). The Morris badged 1100/1300 models were discontinued on the launch of
9108-510: Was only 13 when the Korean War ended, making the character of Basil at least five or six years older than he.) Basil exaggerates this period of his life, proclaiming to strangers, "I killed four men." To this Sybil jokes that "He was in the Catering Corps . He used to poison them." Basil is often seen wearing regimental and old-boy style ties, perhaps spuriously, one of which is in the colours of
9207-417: Was paid £ 6,000 for 43 weeks of work and supplemented his income by appearing in television advertisements. He states, "I have to thank the advertising industry for making this possible. Connie and I used to spend six weeks writing each episode and we didn't make a lot of money out of it. If it hadn't been for the commercials I wouldn't have been able to afford to spend so much time on the script." Although
9306-660: Was produced until 1977, the last of the ADO16 line, ending a production run of 15 years. In 1967 Pininfarina unveiled at the Turin Motor Show a concept car based on the BMC ADO17 (BMC 1800 aka the Landcrab) called the BMC 1800 Aerodinamica. The sleek design predated the Citroen CX by some seven years. The car was evaluated by BMC, and Pininfarina developed a further smaller model based on
9405-489: Was replaced by a new retirement home named Sachs Lodge in memory of Andrew Sachs who played Manuel in the sitcom and who died in 2016. Cleese was a writer on the 1970s British TV sitcom Doctor in the House for London Weekend Television . An early prototype of the character that became known as Basil Fawlty was developed in an episode ("No Ill Feeling") of the third Doctor series (titled Doctor at Large ). In this edition,
9504-438: Was still in production, that approximately 2,365,420 ADO16s had been produced. The original Mark I models were distinctive for their use of a Hydrolastic suspension. Marketing material highlighted the spacious cabin when compared to competitor models which in the UK by 1964 included the more conservatively configured Ford Anglia , Vauxhall Viva and BMC's own still popular Morris Minor . Unlike almost all of its competitors,
9603-461: Was supplied to loyal Citroën customers to get their comments on the usability of the design. Due to its experimental status, each car featured a banner at the bottom of the rear window which read in French “This Citroën M35 prototype fitted with a rotary piston engine is undergoing long term testing at the hands of a Citroën customer.”. Many aspects of the M35 made it to regular production. The rotary engine
9702-539: Was then originally broadcast on 19 September. The 12th and final episode was first shown on 25 October 1979. The first series was directed by John Howard Davies , the second by Bob Spiers . Both had their premieres on BBC Two . When originally transmitted, the individual episodes had no on-screen titles. The ones in common currency were first used for the VHS release of the series in the 1980s. There were working titles, such as "USA" for "Waldorf Salad", "Death" for "The Kipper and
9801-443: Was to assess the quality of the writing, said, (and I can quote [his note to me] fairly accurately,) "This is full of clichéd situations and stereotypical characters and I cannot see it as being anything other than a disaster." And Jimmy himself said, "You're going to have to get them out of the hotel, John. You can't do the whole thing in the hotel." Whereas, of course, it's in the hotel that the whole pressure cooker builds up. Cleese
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