Fawlty Towers: Encyclopedia II - Fawlty Towers - Characters

Fawlty Towers - Characters

Basil is a snobbish, miserly, xenophobic, sexually repressed paranoiac who is desperate to belong to a higher social class, and sees the successful running of the hotel as his means to this end ("turn it into an establishment of class..."), yet he is trapped in a job where he has to be pleasant to people he either despises or yearns to be above socially; people he would much rather snub. He is terrified of his wife's sharp tongue, yet fiercely wishes to stand up to her. Always trying to cover his mistakes and always the penny pincher, Basil usually turns to Manuel or Polly to help him execute whatever scheme he has planned. It is, of course, imperative that his wife Sybil does not find out. It's bound to go horribly wrong, with all the blame firmly on Basil.

Basil has served in the Catering Corps of the British Army, possibly as part of his National Service and it is assumed that, on leaving, he utilised his gratuity to purchase a hotel where he can utilise his experience. He is frequently seen wearing a military tie and a military-type moustache. He also claims to have sustained an injury to his leg in the Korean War caused by shrapnel (even though Cleese himself was only thirteen years old at the time the war ended).

Basil is often verbally abusive of his wife, but on one occasion is referred to by her as "an ageing brilliantined stick insect". Basil's height and verbally abusive nature is a wonderful cover because, in reality, he is a "hen-pecked husband." Basil tends to hide or even physically recoil when he becomes the victim of Sybil's temper.

As Basil's wife, she's the only one that refers to him by his first name. She is often seen to be a more effective manager of the hotel, making sure Basil either gets certain jobs done or stays out of the way when handling difficult customers. Despite this, however, she rarely participates directly in the running of the hotel; during busy check-in sessions or meal-times, whilst everyone else is busy working around her she's frequently found talking on the phone to one of her friends (usually an unseen 'Audrey') or chatting to customers. She is characterised by an arguably annoying conversational tone and laugh, which Basil compares to 'someone machine gunning a seal'. Basil also refers to her by a number of epithets, occasionally to her face: these include "that golfing puff adder", "the dragon", "toxic midget", "my little nest of vipers", "my little piranha fish", and - memorably - "a rancorous coiffured old sow".

Polly, employed as a waitress, is often stuck doing many other jobs in the hotel. She is also the voice of sanity, although she loyally attempts to aid Mr. Fawlty when he is trying to cover for a mistake he's made.

Polly is, in theory, only employed part-time, and is supposedly an art student: in one episode, she is seen to draw a sketch (presumably an impressionistic caricature) of Basil, which everyone but Basil immediately recognizes. Which art college she studies at, or indeed if she actually does, is not explained. She does find time to sketch, and has managed to sell some occasionally to supplement her meagre waitressing income, even to the hotel guests.

Manuel, the waiter, is a well-meaning but disorganized and constantly confused Spaniard (from Barcelona) with a limited grasp of the English language and customs. He is afraid of Mr. Fawlty's quick temper and violent assaults, yet often expresses his appreciation for being given the position.

• Terry the Chef is probably the next most important character after Polly and Manuel. Terry's cooking style is quite relaxed and Basil occasionally gets frustrated with his "It's all right" attitude. Terry arrives in the second season after the relief of Curt (only seen in Gourmet Night). He used to work in the town of Dorchester.

• Major Gowen is a slightly senile old man who holds a permanent residence in the hotel. He enjoys talking about the world outside and is always on the lookout for the paper.

• Miss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby are the other two (often inseparable) permanent residents. They seems to take a fancy to Basil, though he switches from being overly kind to utterly rude during various talks with the two.

• The paperboy, though not seen very often, is responsible for changing the "FAWLTY TOWERS" sign to read various (sometimes crude) phrases.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Characters", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki