"I'm sick to death with you..." or External Character Conflicts in Fawlty Towers

Contents:

Twelve Classics of Television Comedy

1. Conflicts in general

2. Conflicts in Fawlty Towers

3. Gender Conflict
3.1. Definition of Gender Conflict
3.2. Gender Conflicts in Fawlty Towers
3.3. Solutions to Gender Conflicts

4. Jealousy Conflict
4.1. Definition of Jealousy Conflict
4.2. Jealousy Conflicts in Fawlty Towers
4.3. Solutions to Jealousy Conflicts

5. Generation Conflict
5.1. Definition of Generation Conflict
5.2. Generation Conflicts in Fawlty Towers
5.3. Solutions to Generation Conflicts

6. Cultural Conflict
6.1. Definition of Cultural Conflict
6.2. Cultural Conflicts in Fawlty Towers
6.2.1. German Culture (The Germans)
6.2.2. American Culture (Waldorf Salad)

7. Class Conflict
7.1 Definition of Class Conflict
7.2 Class Conflicts in Fawlty Towers
7.3 Solution to Class Conflicts

8. Professional Conflict
8.1 Definition of Professional Conflict
8.2 Professional Conflicts in Fawlty Towers
8.3. Solutions to professional conflicts in Fawlty Towers:

Something Different

Bibliography

Twelve Classics of Television Comedy

Even 30 years after its first debut on BBC 2 Fawlty Towers is still "a high -water-mark in television comedy" (Perry 1994: 75). The show won various prizes, for example the Award for Best Comedy Series in both years when it was broadcasted, in 1975 for the first series and in 1979 for the second. As further proof of its popularity one may take a look at the high viewer rates of the repetitions still shown and the presence of catch phrases (e.g. "He’s from Barcelona" or "Don’t mention the war") within the British public’s mind. The reasons for the success are various: well written scripts with dialogs that show a clear Monty Python tradition and unpredictable plots that give no clue of the end up to the final scene. Furthermore, the performance and comedy timing of John Cleese as Basil Fawlty or the extraordinary character of the waiter Manuel make Fawlty Towers unforgettable. Another source of success are the numerous conflicts within the series. These conflicts fuel the plot and the conflict between Basil and Sybil is the main theme of many episodes. Therefore analyzing and categorizing the conflicts is of great importance to understand the motives and aims of the characters in Fawlty Towers. The question that arises then is: what kind of conflicts are shown in Fawlty Towers ?

The answer to this question cannot be found in any secondary literature but has to be looked for in the series itself. Some little help can be found in Reinhard Gratzke’s epilogue in a printed version of John Cleese’s Fawlty Towers or in Robert Langston’s book about John Cleese. But with only twelve episodes produced there is not much academic literature available about Fawlty Towers. A closer look at the constellation of the characters, their conflicts and the interaction of the characters that takes place will therefore be the main basis of the analysis. The following categorization of conflicts is the result of the effort to structure the material into conflicts that are essentially of the same type, although they may appear in numerous variations throughout the series. These categories are defined within each paragraph. To facilitate further research the episode the conflict appears will be listed in parenthesis after a quotation.

1. Conflicts in general

Conflicts are essential to drama and its subgenres comedy and of sitcoms^[1] too. Without conflicts a play can not evolve during the resolution or development of the conflicts. Just imagine Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet without the dispute between the Capulets and Montagues.

A definition of conflict could be:

An opposition which creates unease and demands resolution. It may be in the character’s mind; it may be between characters’ wills; or between a character and his family or social group; or between two families. [...] Conflict is essential to drama. The stronger the conflict, the stronger the interest. (Hodgson 1988: 76)

Or as Bernard Shaw puts it:

Unity [...]is fatal to drama; for every drama must present a conflict. The end may be reconciliation or destruction; or, as in life itself, there may be no end; but the conflict is indispensable: no conflict, no drama. (Hamlyn 1965: 108)

2. Conflicts in Fawlty Towers

Fawlty Towers as a TV sitcom inherits drama or more precisely comedy structures and rules and transfers them from stage to TV. In Fawlty Towers, as in every good TV series, the characters and main conflicts are set. The follies and reasons for these main conflicts are constant throughout the twelve episodes and they only vary in the way they appear or by letting other characters take part and influence these conflicts (Cleese 1997: 138). John Cleese and Connie Booth paid a lot of attention to the way the guests fueled these constant conflicts and how each guest brings in new aspects of the existing conflicts. Still a resolution to the conflicts as in a two hour movie or play with a happy ending cannot be possible and is not even intended. In the thirty minutes of each episode there is no time for the characters to evolve, no time for the characters to perceive their follies and change their attitudes, as for instance in Shakespeare’s comedies. In TV sitcoms the only way to treat character conflicts is to leave them unsolved, carry on with them in the next episode or to punish a character for his or her follies at the end of each episode. Still, the punishment in sitcoms will not result in the change of a character. Even after severe punishment the characters will stick to their follies and show them without any remorse in the next episode. Thus, the main conflicts are immanent and always carried on to the next episode to keep the series going. Because these conflicts are mostly the basis of the plots the resolution of the main character conflicts would inevitably mean the end of the series.

3. Gender Conflict

3.1. Definition of Gender Conflict

A gender conflict arises when a character does not stick to his or her gender role within society or if she or he has a different concept of the hierarchic structures of the sexes. These hierarchic structures are defined by the surrounding society and are subject to changes over time. Women and men have different opinions and concepts of how to solve problems or how to manage daily life. Since these concepts can be of an opposing nature the realization of the concepts can lead to conflicts. Gender conflicts can appear in different environments such as work place or politics but the most common situation is within relationships.

3.2. Gender Conflicts in Fawlty Towers

The most obvious and most important gender conflict in Fawlty Towers is the conflict between Basil and Sybil Fawlty. Since he calls himself the manager of the hotel Basil thinks he can run Fawlty Towers without the help of his wife. When he gets the chance to prove his abilities during Sybil’s operation in the hospital, he tells her: "[...] I can cope, you know [...]" (The Germans). But there is an obvious exchange of gender roles. Sybil and partially Polly are the ones who really run the hotel. Despite being the owner and manager of Fawlty Towers Basil shows no signs of the skills needed to run it. The simplest tasks turn into major problems for him and every little problem demands too much of him. Even such daily tasks like hanging up a picture (A Touch of Class) lead to a major crisis. Still Basil would never admit being unable to manage the upcoming tasks. He rather tries to do all sorts of different little jobs by himself and this inevitably leads to chaos that has to be hidden from Sybil. So he tries to hide his mistakes and these attempts to hide something from Sybil make it even worse. He is captured within his (outdated) model of society where he as the man has to be able to cope with all the tasks that come up. When he is already banging his head against something out of frustration, Sybil or Polly try to solve the problems with the guest by using their common sense and politeness. Sybil does not feel uncomfortable in the role of being in charge but still prefers her position of being able to talk to her girlfriends instead of answering the telephone or registering arriving guests. She then just calls for Basil to do the job. So Sybil does not really want to be in charge and Basil is not able to. For her it is much more interesting to talk to her friends, the guests or to take care of her hair instead of doing the work and taking real responsibility for the tasks of running a hotel. Nevertheless, she is still more competent than Basil.

BASIL: I wish you’d help a bit, you’re always refurbishing yourself.

SYBIL: Actually, Basil. I’ve been working. I mean getting things done as opposed
to squabbling with the guests. (The Hotel Inspectors)

3.3. Solutions to Gender Conflicts

All Basil can do, is complain and get rid of his aggressions by giving Sybil nasty names like "my little nest of vipers" (The Psychiatrist). Nevertheless, these names have no effect on Sybil. She is too dominant in their relationship and just ignores his insults. Since this is one of the main conflicts of the sitcom there will be no reconciliation for Sybil and Basil. If they suddenly accepted the role they are in fact playing within the hotel there would not be much left of a conflict to quarrel about. If Basil accepted his role as subordinate husband and give all the responsibilities over to Sybil he would lose his face and his dignity would be destroyed. So it is his never ending effort to prove Sybil (and himself) that he is able to run Fawlty Towers and the always resulting evidence that he is not able to do so keeps the plot going. He is a sort of tragic figure (Cleese 1997: 139) but since he never learns from his sometimes devastating attempts to hide his totally unacceptable solutions, pity is not the feeling that comes to mind when we think of Basil Fawlty.

4. Jealousy Conflict

4.1. Definition of Jealousy Conflict

Jealousy conflicts appear when one character has something another character is craving for. Or within relationships, they appear when one character which another character loves is showing interest in another person, or of course when another person is obviously attracted to the beloved one. A jealousy conflict can be expressed in different ways. The most common feelings expressed are sadness and disappointment which can again lead to anger and aggression or depression and self-pity.

4.2. Jealousy Conflicts in Fawlty Towers

Basil’s and Sybil’s jealousy is another basis for conflicts. As a young and attractive man (Mr. Johnson) with open shirt checks in at Fawlty Towers and tells some jokes Sybil feels attracted to him, whereas Basil cannot understand Sybil’s affection for the young man.

SYBIL: From my angle he looks very attractive...easy, amusing and charming.

BASIL: He must be the bravest orang-utan in Britain. (The Psychiatrist)

[...]

^[1] Short for situation comedy