In ‘Waldorf Salad’, some newly-arrived American guests’ request for transatlantic cuisine does not go down well with Basil in the kitchen. In 'The Anniversary', a secret party planned for Sybil (Prunella Scales) goes awry when the guest of honour storms out of the hotel. The Cheap Tatty Review is an odd sketch of John playing Basil talking on the phone at the FT reception in which he insists to the unknown person on the other end that the series is finished. The two other interviews are shorter: the Andrew Sachs interview is around 15 minutes and the interview with Prunella is even shorter.

Each six-episode season is given its own disc with a commentary track from John Howard Davies and Bob Spiers, directors of Season 1 and Season 2 respectively. Cleese and then-wife Connie Booth's setup, about a class-obsessed, rude hotel manager, his acid-tongued wife Sybil (Prunella Scales), their demure waitress Polly (Booth) and eternally confused waiter Manuel (Andrew Sachs) trying to run the title hotel provides a good foundation; in fact, it's versatile enough that you'd think someone would have ripped it off by now.Certain items can take longer to source than the estimated week, particularly during busy trading periods and may take longer to arrive at our warehouse. The snobbish, manic Basil, his over-coiffeured, domineering wife Sybil, the hopeless but ever-hopeful waiter Manuel, the calm and capable Polly, and of course the steady stream of abused guests — all live again in the pages of “The Complete Fawlty Towers”. I'm also going to come off like a stick-in-the-mud, because it's just a comedy TV show, but many of the Basil/Sybil relationship scenes are distracting to me. The Out Takes are a bit disappointing, in my opinion; there are only eight or so, none of which are as good as you might hope. The Builders’ sees Basil in hot water with Sybil when he employs the unreliable Irish labourer Mr O’Reilly (David Kelly) to do some work in the hotel lobby.

One of the main reasons most people will have opted for the DVD box set, or bought it even if they have the videos, is the third Special Feature disc. For items that are dispatched using our standard service, we ask that you wait 14 days from the date of dispatch before reporting any items as undelivered. Fawlty Towers" is far from my favorite sitcom (or even my favorite British sitcom), but it still has plenty of top-notch writing, sharp dialogue and brilliant physical comedy packed into its short run. Scales's Sybil is the genial but obliviously chatty voice of reason and Andrew Sachs mangles the English language as the Spanish bellhop Manuel, whose struggles with simple directions results in comic lunacy reminiscent of Robert Benigni. Interestingly, listening to these chats and hearing what Cleese thinks on an episode-by-episode basis probably improved my opinion of the show as a whole, so I suppose in that respect, it's excellent stuff; viewers should just be prepared for the incredibly laid-back atmosphere, which struck me as different than what might traditionally expected of a good commentary.Products labelled '*item fulfilled by Exertis on behalf of hmv' will be supplied to you directly by Exertis via their approved couriers.

Manuel bears the physical brunt of most of Basil's violent outbursts, whereas Polly slyly deflects or defuses Basil's complaints. It's a nice inclusion, but fans should be careful not to let Booth's participation be the defining reason to pick the set up.

Apparently they contacted the living relatives of Donald Sinclair (the inspiration for Basil), but none would appear in the film stating that Donald had been unfairly portrayed in the past. Usually, human Basil's frustration is due to his own incompetence, but for once it's actually out of his hands as the whole staff tries to track down the runaway rodent.

Much of this extra material was comfortably fitted onto the individually available Season 1 and 2 discs, so it’s a bit of a mystery why a third disc was deemed necessary for the box set. The show follows hotel manager Basil Fawlty (Cleese) as he runs the Torquay hotel 'Fawlty Towers' with the help of his wife Sibyl (Prunella Scales), chambermaid Polly (Booth) and Spanish waiter Manuel (Andrew Sachs). In the second, Basil backs himself into a corner with lies as usual, but this time there's a party guest (Ken Campbell) who sees through each and every one of his excuses and is visibly amused, giving the audience something to laugh at other than Basil's misfortune. Remember to watch the opening credits of each show to spot the creative misspellings on the hotel sign (our favorite: "Fatty Owls"). Basil Fawlty is a much put-upon, hard-working hotel manager whose life is plagued by dead guests, hotel inspectors and riff-raff.Basil Fawlty, as created and performed by John Cleese, is the rudest, most boorish, most hilariously obnoxious man on the face of the planet. Each disc has one of the famous "alternate hotel sign" title treatments on it, there is a disc breakdown on each of the flaps, and a booklet with an article about the show inside of it. In 'A Touch of Class', Basil's quest for a better class of clientele seems to have succeeded with the arrival at the hotel of Lord Melbury. I don't know how long ago it was, but I have a vague memory of watching the sixth episode of "Fawlty Towers".