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Fawlty Towers reboot – the darker side of Basil Fawlty

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Fawlty Towers is back in the news, due to the announcement of a US reboot where Basil Fawlty is now running a boutique hotel in the States with his daughter – to be played by Cleese’s real-life daughter, stand-up comedian Camilla Cleese.

One question this raises is how on earth did Basil Fawlty, the cantankerous parochial hotelier in the English countryside, somehow end up with an American daughter? A second question is why are they bringing the show back at all?

Stylistically Fawlty Towers is a farce, which is a genre of comedy built around a series of increasingly absurd, exaggerated and improbable situations.

Sitcom wise, the last great farce was Frasier. But despite the extraordinary stage farce Noises Off being revived for a 40th-anniversary production, rebooting Fawlty Towers as a farce in the 21st century would be a mistake.

That’s because, as a form, the farce has been eclipsed by comedy drama (aka “dramedy”).

Fawlty Towers was released at a time when farce was a dominant cultural form – joined, for example, by Bedroom Farce by Alan Ayckbourn (National Theatre, London 1975) and the works of Ray Cooney. Farces are powered by a lie that gets out of control, the comedy driven by the increasingly desperate attempts of the protagonist to keep the lie going and all the chaos and absurdity this causes.

In a Fawlty Towers plot, for instance, Basil tells an initial lie to get out of a tight spot, then is forced into more and more convoluted lies in order to sustain the original lie, until it all becomes too convoluted and comes crashing down.

In classic stage farces, you’ll often find a lover hiding in a wardrobe of a hotel bedroom. In a nod to this kind of bedroom farce, in the “Kipper and the Corpse” episode of Fawlty Towers, Basil – along with a reluctant waiter Manuel and maid Polly – have carried the deceased guest Mr Leeman’s body out of his room whereupon resident guest Miss Tibbs sees the corpse and becomes hysterical.

On Basil’s urging, Polly slaps her to bring her to her senses but applies too much force and knocks her out cold. In a panic, they manhandle both the unconscious Miss Tibbs and the corpse into a nearby empty bedroom and hide them in the wardrobe. At which point – like the unfaithful wife’s husband – the couple who are staying in the room return and, of course, want to get something from their wardrobe.

Having an unconscious pensioner and a dead body inside is certainly upping the ante on the classic lover “hiding in the wardrobe” scenario.

If the show returned in the form of a farce, it would feel chronically dated alongside today’s best comedies that are a heady mix of comedy and drama. A case in point is the celebrated White Lotus, itself set in a hotel but with a class of guest that Basil could only dream of.

Comedy dramas have all the gloss of big-budget dramas and tackle darker and deeper subjects within their comedic frame than the traditional TV sitcom ever could.

The first season of White Lotus, in a pleasing echo of Basil Fawlty, has hotelier Armond, a tall moustachioed volcano of emotion covered up by a supercilious exterior. Armond, however, goes in directions Basil never would. He’s gay and a recovering addict, who falls spectacularly off the wagon and runs amok – leading to a death with more gravity and consequences than the demise of Mr Leeman.

But like Fawlty Towers, at the heart of the comedy, are lies that spiral out of control. For example, Armond claims to not have found a lost rucksack belonging to two young guests because this bag is his supply of drugs. Armond also continuously lies to cover up his incorrect booking of a room – a lie that spirals spectacularly out of control collides with his drug taking and leads to a grisly finish.

While the style and subject matter changes, the fundamentals of comedy remain the same. So it’s not that the new Basil shouldn’t be a chronic liar losing control of his falsehoods, but rather that stylistically the revival would be better off being in the dramedy mode, like White Lotus. This also opens up the show to the delicious possibility of a much darker and wilder Basil Fawlty.

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Rate cuts ahead? US stocks bounce as inflation cools

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Investor sentiment is improving as fresh data out of the US and Australia shifts expectations for central bank action.

Stronger-than-expected labour market figures in Australia have raised questions about whether the Reserve Bank will move ahead with a rate cut next week. While the RBA has signalled it is watching data closely, the resilience in employment may force a delay.

Meanwhile, in the US, softer inflation data has lifted hopes that the Federal Reserve could cut rates later this year. That news helped spark a sharp turnaround in US equities, with the so-called “sell America” trade now unwinding as buyers return to Wall Street.

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Trump’s $600B Middle East Deal: What It Means for Global Stability

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President Donald Trump’s four-day Middle East tour during his second term has sparked global attention, locking in a monumental $600 billion investment from Saudi Arabia. From AI to defence, space to energy—this economic pact is reshaping U.S. foreign policy.

In an unprecedented move, Trump also lifted long-standing U.S. sanctions on Syria after meeting its new president, raising eyebrows among traditional allies.

Ticker News anchor Veronica Dudo speaks with Erbil “Bill” Gunasti, former Turkish PM Press Officer and Republican strategist, to break down the implications for national security, global diplomacy, and the path to peace in Ukraine.

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Trump’s AI deals raise concerns over China ties

Trump’s AI deals in the Middle East spark division over national security risks and concerns over China ties.

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Trump’s AI deals in the Middle East spark division over national security risks and concerns over China ties.

In Short:
Trump’s AI deals with Saudi Arabia and the UAE are causing internal conflicts in his administration over US national security. Officials are concerned that American technology supplied to the Gulf could ultimately benefit China, leading to calls for enhanced legal protections.

President Donald Trump’s recent AI deals in Saudi Arabia and the UAE are causing internal conflicts within his administration.

Concerns are rising among officials, particularly China hawks, about the implications for US national security and economic interests.

Agreements include shipments of vast quantities of semiconductors from Nvidia and AMD to the Gulf states, prompting fears that American technology could ultimately benefit China, given the region’s ties with Beijing.

While the accords include clauses to limit Chinese access to the chips, some officials argue that further legal protections are necessary.

Critics, including Vice President JD Vance, have suggested that maintaining US dominance in AI is crucial, and shipping chips abroad might undermine that goal.

Supporters of the deals, including AI Adviser David Sacks, argue the need for American technology in the Gulf to deter reliance on Chinese alternatives.

Despite this, internal discussions are underway to potentially slow down or reassess the agreements due to ongoing national security concerns.

Conversations have also included proposals for a significant chip manufacturing facility in the UAE, which many officials deem risky due to China’s influence.

Additionally, worries persist about G42, an AI firm in Abu Dhabi, which has historical ties to Huawei.

The agreements with Gulf countries promise to enhance their technological capabilities while necessitating careful oversight to address US security priorities.

 

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