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<blockquote data-quote="Crimson" data-source="post: 438567" data-attributes="member: 5079">Having now gone back to the first episode, I can drop &quot;muted&quot; from my reaction.&nbsp; With closer attention and additional context, the episode &quot;clicked&quot; much better the second time around.&nbsp;&nbsp; A sitcom needs at least two things to work: a great cast and a clear but flexible premise.&nbsp; A man who hates the public but works with the public is about as solid a comedic foundation as one could hope for.&nbsp; If British shows weren&#039;t so short by default, this is a premise that could have lasted for years.&nbsp; Little wonder American producers were determined enough to make an adaptation work that it was attempted three times.On second watch, Basil&#039;s pretensions and frustrations add more depth to his surliness and temper.&nbsp; Still not likeable -- and surely not meant to be -- but understandable.&nbsp; I hadn&#039;t commented on Polly or Manuel previously as it wasn&#039;t entirely clear how they fully fit into the scheme of things in the first two episodes.&nbsp; Polly, at first, I assumed was the &quot;nice&quot; character, the relatable one, the voice of sanity.&nbsp; After the second episode, I&#039;m less sure.&nbsp; She was awfully fast to place the blame on the missing doors on Manuel, even when it was at least as much her fault.&nbsp; I had also expected her to be exempt from Basil&#039;s bullying but that was disproved in the second episode.&nbsp; (Probably a relief.&nbsp; If he&#039;s only cruel to minorities, this might play out as a comedic metaphor for British imperialism.)I haven&#039;t settled on how I feel about Manuel, except that he&#039;s been the funniest part of each episode.&nbsp; He might just be the last instance of a comic lineage that goes back at least as far as the great Silent film comics -- &quot;non verbal&quot;, childlike, bumbling, and obvious to both the chaos he causes and the chaos inflicted on him.&nbsp; The swift motion of Basil lifting Manuel up to forcibly demonstrate &quot;washing the windows&quot; is one of the funniest bits of slapstick that I&#039;ve seen.I hadn&#039;t earlier mentioned one reason I have avoided British TV because it seemed rude; my casual observation was they looked cruddy, at least compared to Hollywood productions.&nbsp; Maybe some vintage British shows do look poor, or maybe I&#039;m just used to seeing worn out copies aired endlessly on PBS.&nbsp; But it was a relief that FAWLTY is relatively on par visually with American TV of the era.&nbsp; Certainly not as crisply beautiful as MTM shot on film, but about on par with Normal Lear&#039;s videotaped shows. The two episodes of FAWLTY that I&#039;ve watched did have a slightly odd &quot;fish eye lens&quot; quality to them, where the edges of the screen are blurred; might just be the copies I have of the show.If I have a half-baked perception of the differences between US and British TV of the era it&#039;s that British TV was rooted in reality -- even when ugly -- and American TV was more aspirational.In years gone by,&nbsp; I would have been very resentful about a show I enjoy having so few episodes; now, I appreciate when a show recognizes that it&#039;s best to leave the audience wanting more.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Crimson, post: 438567, member: 5079"] Having now gone back to the first episode, I can drop "muted" from my reaction. With closer attention and additional context, the episode "clicked" much better the second time around. A sitcom needs at least two things to work: a great cast and a clear but flexible premise. A man who hates the public but works with the public is about as solid a comedic foundation as one could hope for. If British shows weren't so short by default, this is a premise that could have lasted for years. Little wonder American producers were determined enough to make an adaptation work that it was attempted three times. On second watch, Basil's pretensions and frustrations add more depth to his surliness and temper. Still not likeable -- and surely not meant to be -- but understandable. I hadn't commented on Polly or Manuel previously as it wasn't entirely clear how they fully fit into the scheme of things in the first two episodes. Polly, at first, I assumed was the "nice" character, the relatable one, the voice of sanity. After the second episode, I'm less sure. She was awfully fast to place the blame on the missing doors on Manuel, even when it was at least as much her fault. I had also expected her to be exempt from Basil's bullying but that was disproved in the second episode. (Probably a relief. If he's only cruel to minorities, this might play out as a comedic metaphor for British imperialism.) I haven't settled on how I feel about Manuel, except that he's been the funniest part of each episode. He might just be the last instance of a comic lineage that goes back at least as far as the great Silent film comics -- "non verbal", childlike, bumbling, and obvious to both the chaos he causes and the chaos inflicted on him. The swift motion of Basil lifting Manuel up to forcibly demonstrate "washing the windows" is one of the funniest bits of slapstick that I've seen. I hadn't earlier mentioned one reason I have avoided British TV because it seemed rude; my casual observation was they looked cruddy, at least compared to Hollywood productions. Maybe some vintage British shows do look poor, or maybe I'm just used to seeing worn out copies aired endlessly on PBS. But it was a relief that FAWLTY is relatively on par visually with American TV of the era. Certainly not as crisply beautiful as MTM shot on film, but about on par with Normal Lear's videotaped shows. The two episodes of FAWLTY that I've watched did have a slightly odd "fish eye lens" quality to them, where the edges of the screen are blurred; might just be the copies I have of the show. If I have a half-baked perception of the differences between US and British TV of the era it's that British TV was rooted in reality -- even when ugly -- and American TV was more aspirational. In years gone by, I would have been very resentful about a show I enjoy having so few episodes; now, I appreciate when a show recognizes that it's best to leave the audience wanting more. [/QUOTE]

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