From the episode "The Builders" - Basil and Sybil are away, Polly is asleep, which means Manuel's the boss. If you have any favourite clips from the show, let us know and we'll upload them! All copyrights belong to the BBC.
Younger people may not get this joke. When this was made Francisco Franco was still dictator of Spain and one of his titles was Generalissimo (which means commander of the army akin to Commander in Chief in the US).
Yes, Manuel in an uncanny way mocks Fawlty’s habit of deriding every other caller with a ‘tuh-tuh’ snort, as if Manuel can make up for his language deficit and still get his displeasure across.
I remember watching Fawlty Towers when it came out and seeing Andrew Sachs being interviewed and finding it almost impossible to believe that it was the same man. A brilliant actor and a lovely man. So sad that he - like so many of the people who made my life enjoyable - is no longer with us.
At 1:27, Manuel gingerly approaches the ringing telephone in the same way young adults today, in the first week at their first job, approach the old landline when it unexpectedly goes off. Yes, there’s a little bit of Manuel in nearly everybody today.
The bearded Irish builder with tattooes - HAS to be Mr Baxter from Grange Hill. And in Grange Hill, he also made good use of his punch - to floor a nasty abusive PE teacher!
That look on the man with the beard's face when he instantaneously goes into attack mode at 3:53 is hilarious, it would have to be about the funniest thing I've seen on the show.
Out of everything I have ever watched in my lifetime of 37 years - countless shows, countless great films, old, new, not so great films and TV shows but had that odd character that you'd always remember, legendary great films that you'll remember and re-watch forever - and the sheer number of characters portrayed on screen/cinema that I've seen, some characters that may have only ever been in a few scenes too but left an impact forever, but most forgotten - out of everything, everything, Fawlty Towers is just one of those shows that continues to remain at the forefront of my memory and in my top 10, I mimic a lot of quotes and things from there in my everyday life and have done since young, and I have no idea why! I think it must be the one show that I mimic (or talk to myself) the most of anything else I've watched, and of the quotes - more of Manuel's than Basil's. Testament to the writing, precision of the direction, and Andrew Sachs himself. his character of Manuel is just going to be one of those characters that will remain engrained in your head whilst you watch and forget countless other characters and performances on a daily basis and even from other greats too. And when you want a real and proper laugh this is what you'll turn to.
Could you imagine Mrs Bucket (of Keeping Up Appearances fame) answering, “The lady-of-the-house speaking. How are you? Nice day’? Well, if she was incredibly flustered and her composure wrecked. It would have been funny. And if she had ever done so, everybody watching would instantly recall dear old Manuel. Have a nice day.
At least they never had Hungarian guests since their language is not related to Spanish and Manuel would probably misunderstand them and offer them food, because it would sound like they were hungry!🙂
The scary thing about this episode is that i was talking to some Irish builders this week and and they were complaining about all the qualifications they needed to service my boiler?
At 2:50 Manuel mocks uncannily Fawlty’s unsparing derision of every other caller with a ‘tuh-tuh’ snort directed down towards the already hung-up phone: Manuel does so to compensate for his limited powers of expression in English, leaving anybody gathered in the lobby in no uncertain terms as to how easy it is to incur the displeasure of the big boss.
The racist and prejudiced Fawlty, the racist and prejudiced Irish builder. But Manuel who has the innocence of a child and the heart of a warrior. I have seen/heard Spanish people decrying this depiction of a Spanish man, but in the series Manuel is the glue that holds the whole show together....he always means well, he will try and help everyone, he has no spite and no hidden agenda. In many ways he is the star of the show....and Andrew Sachs played him so wonderfully. Manuel being bullied by a monster isn't a sign of weakness...it is showing the hideous nature of the English Hotel owner.
To Whom It May Concern, Our man from Barcelona, our waiter, Manuel, is the glue that holds the whole of our bright little show down here in Torquay together. He sticks to his daily tasks, and every now and then gets stuck to tasks beyond his normal routine - which in many ways is no bad thing (when our hotel has been stretched during the many busy periods of the seasons). Now he always means well … many a time he has wedged himself into many a tricky situation during the day-to-day running of our hotel such that I have had to shake him out of them. That’s keenness for you! As I say, he means well and he does try (no doubt about that!) … and try he does to help literally every poor sod who ventures into our establishment, whether employee, guest, visitor or ghastly Irish builders (who are perfectly capable of helping themselves … to whatever they like of our stuff). There is no better show than Manuel’s commitment to the cause. The rather sedate ambience of our hotel had always needed a livening up in any case; a shot in the arm, as it were. And so Manuel’s enthusiasm, not so obvious at first sight, has proved the ideal tonic for our too English an establishment. He understands the hierarchy at Fawlty Towers, don’t get me wrong. The evidence for this is in the way that I happen to observe him point me out to various guests, saying “He manajar.” (Though I wonder if he was saying “He manacle.” Or “He maniac!” That is a joke, by the way. I do take jokes, contrary to what you have probably heard through the hotel trade. I took Manuel. Again, a joke. Genuine.) Allow me to emphasise that Manuel has no spite nor hidden agenda. Manuel (to the best of my knowledge) is no Communist (Party member or sympathiser - so far no such ilk has dared darken our door such that Manuel would drive them away), and neither is he an anti-Capitalist. Indeed, he seems to know El Generalissimo personally (who resides to this day in Madrid - Franco, not my wife). Now where was I? Yes, I do declare that Manuel has the innocence of a child as well as the heart of a worrier. If the odd Spanish visitor has ever stayed with us and has decried the lot of this heart-warming, down-to-earth, unsophisticated little man, well they, as would be dictated by their haughty Madrid manner, have only ever seen their busy little sweating compatriot scurrying back and forth. (We are always busy and there is never a dull moment at our place). In fact, I do recall being told that on more than a few occasions I have ended up stamping up and down in great endeavours of mine to get through to these well-off, well-dressed Spanish guests of ours that there is so much more to Manuel than meets the eye. I should say that Manuel is no mere extra in this particular enterprise of ours (do visit soon). Manuel is the star of the show! Although I am the first to admit that I, being the manager, do not run anything as glamorous as Rick’s café in ‘Casablanca’ , having Manuel on our team has delivered that mysterious Continental, exotic, cosmopolitan element to our designs (as he would to yours). Manuel has played his role in that regard impeccably, as I have witnessed up close, first-hand. You know, it’s infuriating that I, I, a notorious bully in the trade, a typically hideous small English hotel owner all the same, of the old school, pertaining to a particular form of our charming eccentricity, which is how it all boils down in reality, as you and I well know, having both been in the game long enough, should not break, in the end, the wonderful idiosyncrasies of our beloved little foreign waiter. I must be an even nicer chap than I give myself credit for. If so, the presence now of our proud waiter from Barcelona at Fawlty Towers shows the proof of that. If not for me, his big boss towering over him, he would never be the man he is today. Not to blow my trumpet, but I have teased out the best in him. And so he desires, as I do, that he broadens his horizons. I would be most happy to send Manuel to his new job forthwith the moment you need him. You can even just ring me here at Fawlty Towers. Yours most insincerely, Basil Fawlty Fawlty Towers Torquay.
Here's a thing - who would have thought that after 45 years you would spot something new in Fawlty Towers? Or at least, something you never really thought about before. At 2:23 - that's Polly's room? She has her own room in the hotel?
@@stephenroney2366 Absolutely. But that kind of fits. There are several references to the idea that they've kind of 'taken in' Manuel. But Polly...I dunno. I always just assumed she'd have her own flat somewhere...
