Fortunately for those who affirm that “nothing can be said anymore” because it would offend certain groups (although sometimes it sounds like they need comedy to blurt out nonsense for no reason), there is a whole delicious archive of irreverent and outspoken comedies. For some reason the terrible claws of the politically correct have not erased them from existence, and sometimes they even decide to return.
It is less curious that current times are spoken of as the most repressive for comedy, with chapters eliminated due to jokes that have become too outdated, but series like ‘Hotel Fawlty’ at the time they caused problems directly with recurring characters (in Spain they tried to change the origin of the Barcelona waiter Manuel who did not understand a word of English). And even so, he came to see the light and can even be enjoyed in its entirety on Filmin.
This hotel is falling apart
Created by one of the best Monty Python as John Cleese in the company of his wife Connie Booth, the sitcom put us in a small coastal hotel in England run by a somewhat worn-out couple, with several employees under their charge such as the Spanish waiter and several recurring guests. In half hour pills follow the kind of adventures and hardships that come with owning a business like thisresorting to the classic elements of the sitcom that this series helped establish.
The structure that he decides to follow like clockwork is what helps make the chaos that breaks out in each episode so digestible and perfect, and has been influential for many television comedy productions both in the UK and abroad. Each episode of ‘Fawlty Hotel’ manages to make the most of desperate situations and incorrigible characters (literally, they learned nothing at the end of each episode and they always end up tripping over the same stones).
Cleese wanted to start turning the page on Python and be able to exploit the most poisonous and cynical part of his humor, who used to be one of the sharpest in the group’s skits. Basil Fawlty’s character condenses many of the ideas he developed in the comedy show, being a completely irascible character as well as pathetic for his ways of trying to get out of situations that he finds detestable, either because they don’t let him act freely or because people around him is unbearable.
‘Hotel Fawlty’: embarrassment and misanthropy
‘Hotel Fawlty’ was more politically incorrect than average at the time, as it didn’t shy away from language barrier jokes and even included Nazis in its nonsense. Cleese and Booth were at their most misanthropic in an ecosystem plagued by exaggerated behaviorsSome of them are based on stereotypes, and they completely dismantle the impeccable image of impeccable manners that is still associated with the British.
The key, yes, is that no matter how incorrect he decided to get, they were skilled so that the joke fell mainly on Basil. In the end he is the most damnable character, and for that reason he is the most hilarious in a sea of hilarious embarrassment. That’s why he managed to be a comedy as brown as it is exquisite and that is why it is one of those short series that is perfect to disconnect for a while or to accompany the brief time of food or coffee.
In Espinof | The best streaming comedy series