Fawlty Towers UK vs Fawlty Towers USA (Snavely)

Part one of a three part series covering the American attempts at Fawlty Towers.
Twitter ► / official_jackw
Facebook ► goo.gl/wcXQMo
CREDITS
Written, Edited and Narrated by Someone Really Tired
Music ► incompetech.com/music/
The footage and images featured in the video were for critical review and parody, which are protected under the Fair Use laws of the United States Copyright act of 1976.
You're still here? Oh well, thanks for looking !
Catarang!

[@JackWolf10]

Part 2 where I look at Amanda’s is out now! Check it out!

[@blankadams3120]

Apparently Snavely unleashes a fire extinguisher on one of the guests, then hurls abuse at them in front of the inspectors... 19:05 ish...

[@Synnystershy]

Hmmm I dunno... I'm not exactly sure until I hear it a 3rd time. Then it'll be definite.

[@WorldNews92]

It's like if Basil wrote the script but Manuel directed it.

[@Gilmaris]

Fawlty Towers caught lightning in a bottle. The writing, the casting, the directing, the editing, all the pieces fell into place perfectly. For the Americans to think they could recreate this success, let alone improve upon it, is nothing short of hubris.

[@zybch]

Didn't really. Not till YEARS later. The press at the time savaged it and it took 6 years before the bbc agreed to produce the second series.

[@docskywalker51riftstudios58]

I didn’t know there was an American version, I just love the original

[@JackWolf10]

There's three, I'm covering them all

[@jbtv7955]

So did I I didn’t there was an American verison the original was better in my opinion

[@docskywalker51riftstudios58]

@@JackWolf10 great, this reminds me of the unshown American young ones

[@tailssonicteam1604]

Neither. Had no idea there was an American version

[@jbtv7955]

@@tailssonicteam1604 Idk they ever done an American verison I think the 1975 original is better

[@LabradorIndependent]

I can't wait to see the shoddy American remake of JackWolf

[@gabegeoff]

The US colours are all so beige and yellow they bleed into each other, so it's even offensive just to look at.

[@VitalVampyr]

Probably not the fault of the original production. I would assume that whoever uploaded the Snavely pilot to KZbin just found it on some decades old VHS tape that may not have been particularly well cared for.

[@casanovafunkenstein5090]

@@VitalVampyr it's also a product of the television technology of the era. PAL had much more accurate colour recreation and resolution (though a slower frame rate as each frame was drawn twice at half the resolution to save on bandwidth) whereas NTSC had lower resolution and the colours were all shifted a bit towards the green end of the spectrum for some reason Edit: this video goes into detail regarding why the colour shifting happens. It's not that the broadcast was that colour, it's that back when this was made the means to correct for fluctuations in the waveform responsible for the colour were manual controls on the set and weren't automated, as in later televisions using NTSC encoding kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXuppWmqa86dgtU

[@mankytoes]

Fawlty Towers also has some dodgy lighting and, my favourite, the wobbly sets (bbc budgets are never huge). Just adds to the charm in my opinion.

[@tetsuoshima7385]

@@mankytoes yep, same as the boom mic coming into shot too. Just all adds to its charm.🙂

[@iWhacko]

@@casanovafunkenstein5090 Also.... Fawlty Towers is a classic and has been released and remastered on dvd. So the quality is better.

[@KesselRunner606]

It's hard to adapt Fatty Owls to American humour, because it is so quintessentially English. It captures all the class insecurity and repressed rage. In fact, if an alien came down to Earth, landed in London, and you wanted to explain to them what it is to be British, show them Fawlty Towers.

[@keithscott4013]

Fatty owls?

[@Nickthegamingnerd]

@@keithscott4013 the sign outside They rearrange the letters ...

[@allahspreadshate6486]

So true. Most great British comedies involve struggling blue-collar level workers. American comedies are much more aspirational, characters typically have white-collar jobs, live in beautiful homes etc.

[@keithscott4013]

@justan idiot I know they do that just couldn’t remember fatty owls remember the rest tho

[@bluepepper100]

@justan idiot Farty towels?

[@ElinorMahoney]

Of course there was an American remake 😭

[@gorillaau]

... and they missed the point before butchering it.

[@davidfrost2819]

@@gorillaau And of course the yanks fucked up Man about the House

[@alstone4253]

Damn, Americans have been pulling this shit longer than I thought!

[@mk_gamíng0609]

Americanisation is everywhere and been around for a long time American producers have a belief that American Audiences will not understand anything if its not American

[@sheikhyaboooty]

Worse than that and even earlier, Sanford and Son, one of the most popular USA sit coms....a truely dreadful, sanitized and utterly missing the point remake of Steptoe and Son.

[@krashd]

@@mk_gamíng0609 You are using that word in reverse. Americanisation is not when the US assimilates non-US culture, it is when a non-US culture adopts something American.

[@Daracdor]

@@sheikhyaboooty I thought Sanford & son was a good sitcom. I know that it was a steptoe of sorts clone as such or if you are American "Per se" ( No one could compete with Steptoe ) but I enjoyed the difference . None of Sanfords characters were anything like Steptoe & son ... So it stood on it`s own merits . Dam , the late 60`s & early 70`s comedy shows in Britain were so good back then .. we were so lucky .

[@all_the_sith2129]

Cleese himself said the main thing he thinks that brings the humour was the editing: no second wasted and build the pressure quickly

[@Homerstar]

I think the main thing I notice about these American remakes is the fact that they seem to be doing the same jokes but seem to not understand what made it funny. Like the scene where the customer keeps getting the wrong food. It's funny in the UK version because he get's more irritated each time it happens where as in the US version he just say's the same thing both times.

[@markt804]

Fawlty Towers has been one of my favourite comedies for over 20 years and I never knew there was an American version. I think that says it all.

[@brucefraser4778]

John Cleese absolutely made Fawlty Towers, his ability to mimic just about any emotion and be believable is priceless

[@atomiccritter6492]

I think its the fact that the series was written and rewritten loads of times before it was even filmed is very significant

[@adamhickey396]

The fire drill scene must be one of the best comedic moments written for television. “Now *phonerings* WE’RE HAVING IT!!!”

[@ThePwnzerWillDie]

Fawlty towers uk has charm, snavely has an entirely studio vibe

[@AtomicShrimp]

Wow, it's painful. It's as though it was rewritten by aliens who had no concept of why jokes are jokes. *The humans are making the laughing noise because the tall human places his hand-appendage on the mouth-hole of the seated human. This is what humans call a 'joke'. We have never understood it.*

[@JackWolf10]

This is a lovely surprise! Very much enjoy your content, it's a refreshing style. Thanks for checking mine out!

[@christopherkendrick1582]

the easiest way to know the British Fawlty Towers is the superior version is that I was laughing throughout this video at the small bits and pieces that you included.

[@DanTheMan2150AD]

I can already see another JackWolf comparison series coming here.

[@xandertoner]

Hold on, do I follow you on Letterboxd?

[@DanTheMan2150AD]

@@xandertoner yes

[@Otuama3D]

I actually found this bit hysterical 10:35 . He tells her to keep it down but she thinks he means go deeper.

[@MidnightSvshi]

I say go in production order. Would be interesting to see if as time went on they adjusted their strategy after seeing where the last failed

[@winstonsmithsoul]

Looking at Afghanistan....no :)

[@DanTheMan2150AD]

When will America learn they can’t do British humour…

[@atomiccritter6492]

they can do great American humour though

[@JCRoberts97]

@@atomiccritter6492 well obviously

[@atomiccritter6492]

@@JCRoberts97 I like both well pretty much all types of humour

[@maccladoz]

When will America learn they can’t do humour…

[@markscouler2534]

American humour is shit lol

[@EatinPaste]

I somehow didn't know *_Wilf_* was in Faulty Towers!

[@jvblhc]

Bernard Cribbins has been around a long time. And long may he live!

[@BrendamProductions]

He was very big around that time. He even was the narrator of the wombles

[@AndrewHalliwell]

@@BrendamProductions And a policeman who mistook the TARDIS for a real police box in the second Peter Cushing Doctor Who film. (1960s)

[@jvblhc]

@@BrendamProductions He also narrated the "Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings" cartoons. In the U.S., they showed the same cartoons, but Bob Keeshan (aka Captain Kangaroo) did the narration.

[@unclenogbad1509]

The great Bernard Cribbins has been in anything good. They guy's around 90 now, and for about 80 of those years he's been a mainstay of British entertainment. May he live much longer, and to our benefit.

[@jtmichaelson]

I completely agree with you here, 100%. I'm an American and hate most American sitcoms. I usually stick to the British stuff; Doc Martin, IT Crowd, Keeping up Appearances, Alan Partridge, Are You Being Served, and, of course, Fawlty Towers.

[@davefiver]

Did you try Dad's Army?

[@trevorlambert4226]

The IT Crowd is just as bad as the average American sitcom.

[@pipsta]

@@davefiver I reccomend the show "Bottom"

[@davefiver]

@@pipsta epic show

[@pipsta]

@@davefiver 100%

[@JackWolf10]

Whoops, left an alternate take in at 19:10. This will be the new 'Peter wears contacts'

[@DanTheMan2150AD]

That cheeky little visual gag at 17:57 was what I was more interested in tbh Jack 😉

[@jvblhc]

I actually thought you showed that gag twice to highlight how dumb and unfunny it was!

[@chatteyj]

@@jvblhc lol me too, I thought it was done to highlight how little happened in the yank version so he thought it was worth highlighting twiice.

[@dannyspelman1468]

That scream at the end of The Hotel Inspector episode. I know it's coming but it still floors me every time! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@pastlife960]

I can’t believe I didn’t recognise Bernard Cribbins! I’ve seen Faulty Towers so many times and I never knew I was watching Wilf the whole time!

[@realnoahsimpson]

probably the Naaarthern accent

[@TheKosstImogen]

That's great, when he turned up as Wilf I recall blurting out "Yes! So much more interesting than PRETENDING TO BE A HOTEL INSPECTOR!" I love that we've had contrasting experiences but both based on loving a bit of Cribbins 😂

[@moodyguymick]

Cribbins is an incredible character actor.

[@davidfrost2819]

@@moodyguymick its about time he became Sir Bernard or as the yanks would say Ber Nard

[@blackdragoncyrus]

You've seen Fawlty Towers so many times you don't even know the name of the show. =D

[@bagpuss121]

Fawlty Towers UK Will Forever Be A British Comedy Classic .

[@solacechukwu3219]

So, to summarize: the British are better at comedy. End.

[@forestdad]

Two words.... The Office

[@gregh378]

The Americans make pretty great comedies*, they just can't replicate British comedy well. (*IASIP, Broad City, Parks and Rec, Arrested Development, etc...)

[@stevedotwood]

There are exceptions: 3rd Rock From The Sun was hilarious IMO

[@kjetilhansen5363]

For the most part, yes. The typical American sitcom is a pretty dull genre. American comedy can be great when it's more daring, though, when it explores and questions society's rigid norms and tackles taboo topics. 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' is one of the rare examples of this. However, for every good American sitcom, there are ten equally good British ones.

[@FreeMorpheme]

Hmmm. Think of the stand up comics they had in the US in the 70s and 80s while our version of comedy in that arena was overweight northerners cracking mother in law jokes - Steve Martin, Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy, Bill Hicks, George Carlin, Richard Pryor. The list goes on. Add in the ZAZ films, Mel Brooks, MASH, Woody Allen, we werent making anything like this at that time.

[@anthonymcintosh4243]

The big difference is the UK version is funny

[@davidmajor2793]

It's like Red Dwarf, they stuffed that one up also.

[@RickDangerousNL]

What? There's an american rip-offf of Red Dwarf?

[@davidmajor2793]

@@RickDangerousNL I think it was an unaired pilot. Had the original Kryten. You can find it here on KZbin

[@RickDangerousNL]

@@davidmajor2793 Thanks, I just watched it.. there's also a second one where they replaced the cat with a woman (same one who plays Jadzia Dax on DS9 if I saw that correctly) ... man it was bad :D

[@Knapweed]

Don't get me started on 'The Office'.

[@johncleese-mogg365]

And with the IT crowd

[@bonesshed.]

The Americans destroy any British humour they try. Faulty Towers, The Office, The inbetweeners. However, imagine we took on Friends to re-make. We might actually make it funny !!

[@dr2stroke611]

Its odd they remake all our comedies yet we will happily sit through all of theirs. Perhaps its about time WE started remaking all American comedies just to keep our British actors in jobs

[@barryhomeowner9293]

I think the US office really works because it's not trying to be the original, not directly taking jokes and not having the same energy Also doesn't have Ricky Gervais, that's a win

[@dr2stroke611]

@@barryhomeowner9293 i might be wrong here but im sure the early 2 or 3 seasons of the US Office had all the same jokes and gags, Both versions having been written by the same people

[@swannvictor1388]

We sort of did: there was a BBC comedy called 'Coupling'. It sort of could be compared to friends, but much more...erm...adult, shall we say.

[@babajeezus]

The Brits tried a re-make of That 70s Show, which didn't work at all. Not that the original wasn't contrived or anything, but the US cast was perfection

[@Problembeing]

I watched Payne when I lived in New York... it was... ‘Payne...full’.

[@OfficialTomMason]

John himself loved that version

[@kaykutcher2103]

@@OfficialTomMason Still though saying you prefer vomiting over diarrhea or being constipated isn't much of a high praise.

[@52joker64]

Badum tss

[@marcjensen4093]

To why the american versions did´nt work is, as John Cleese himself said;"Of course they failed.. I was´nt in it!" :D

[@forestdad]

I don’t think he said it like that

[@Rig0r_M0rtis]

@@forestdad We all think that though

[@marcjensen4093]

Well, go look for the interview and correct me if I'm wrong! I'm not flawless! I can take it! :)

[@blackdragoncyrus]

didn't and wasn't*

[@thefourthwall9022]

I have an old book with the transcript for Fawlty Towers, and just reading it is absolutely hilarious. The script and the timing is masterclass.

[@mrawesomecool8191]

19:57 I didn’t expect that and I burst out laughing

[@gst013]

John Cleese is PERFECT for this kind of stuff 😅

[@mnomic8371]

Haha me either, I laughed out so loud 😂😂😂 John Cleese is awesome, and no one is as energetic or crazy as him to pull off this character.

[@oldvlognewtricks]

Holy hell it’s a masterpiece.

[@gspvideo5543]

Shows how great the writing was in the original, from the dialogue to the little details and build up to a joke.

[@RogueWJL]

I was watching a few clips of FT a couple of weeks ago, and even now still presented with something new. So layered so brilliant.

[@zybch]

Each episode took 6+ weeks to write by just 2 people (Cheese & Booth) on exactly the same page, and it shows. Compare to current day 'comedy' where an entire season is pooped out in 3-4 days by a committee of 'writers' running down a list of checkboxes and diversity quotas :(

[@samallison7647]

It's amazing that you see just how much they butchered it based on the camera and audio quality alone

[@contessa.adella]

JC is funny just by looking him…the lanky and ungainly look of a crow with John’s close set beady eyes…he is just instantly humorous before saying anything. That Snavely guy on the other hand had no such visual awkward humour going on. Then John unleashes that Brit sarcasm and backhanded compliments that aren’t. This is why Cleese is a legend and remains so into his later years…priceless.

[@marcschramm6958]

Harvey Korman is brilliant. Check Hedley Lamar in Blazing Saddles. The scenario of Snavely is terrible.

[@tidmouthmilk12]

16:53 "The best part of the original is seeing just how frustrated *Masil* becomes."

[@JackWolf10]

Masil Mawlty

[@zoewells3160]

18:10 you know it’s funny when the actors have to laugh to remind the audience to!

[@NextDavidAttenborough]

jack. i was just talking about the fawlty towers us remake today. this is just perfect

[@TheKosstImogen]

Very interesting and well made, thank you! My Mum just had to have her kidney removed at short notice and I sent her this to break the monotony of hospital, she literally said "Oooooh!", and if you knew how stoic she is you'd know what a success that was! I'd heard of Payne and that's probably only because it happened in my lifetime, wasn't aware at all of this particular car crash. I'd suggest simply doing these in chronological order, a) because that's how they happened, and b) because then if you need to reference back to previous attempts at "adapting" (we say "ripping-off"!), we the viewers have already seen that. But honestly whatever order it turns out being, I'm going to watch.

[@milojones8464]

A great video as always. really enjoy these comparison ones

[@jvblhc]

What made Fawlty Towers (or "Farty Towels") is the writing by John Cleese and Connie Booth, the perfect cast and the amazing energy - something is always going on in Fawlty Towers. Harvey Corman, Bea Arthur and John Larroquette are all talented and funny in many things they have done over the years, but remaking Fawlty Towers is not one of those things.

[@Steven-ze2zk]

America triumphed with Friends and did really well with the brilliant Frasier. There's also The Simpsons. When America sticks to American comedy the result can be great but trying to emulate a typically British comedy like Fawlty Towers can never work. Cleese was simply magnificent and he made the show what it is. Fawlty Towers is extra special.

[@maccladoz]

I understand humour is subjective, but Friends...Fraiser...neither of which is the least bit funny. I agree with the Simpsons, though, that along with South Park are the only two American comedies that are worth watching.

[@dcan911]

@@maccladoz Friends and Frasier are both funny. Not my favourite US sitcoms, but nobody with a sense of humour would say they're unfunny

[@maccladoz]

@@dcan911 I respectfully have to disagree with you. I have a great sense of humour, pretty much the only TV shows I watch are comedies and I can't stand Friends, it's just overhyped, overrated and just not funny. Fraiser is just absolute rubbish. To be honest, apart from The Simpsons & South Park I can't actually think of an American comedy show that is worth watching or funny. It's strange as some of my favourite comedy films are American, it seems they just can't transfer comedy from the big screen to the little screen. And I'm not anti-American. I've visited the US on several occasions and I love the country and the people, maybe I just don't get American humour, but I'm fine with that, plenty of hilarious British shows out there to keep me entertained. And even though I am from New Zealand, I must add that Australians and New Zealanders can't make funny TV shows either.

[@zingzangspillip1]

@@maccladoz Have you seen Curb Your Enthusiasm? It is my favourite American comedy series. I agree that Friends/Frasier aren't great. Try Curb.

[@realtalk6195]

@@dcan911 Friends is probably the most overrated TV show in history next to LOST. It's average to above average at best, nothing special (and Lost is outright garbage).

[@adeparker]

Still one of the funniest comedies ever made (well the UK version, at least). Looking forward to parts 2 and 3.

[@gentleman1s319]

Yooo i didnt even realise you were back, i havent had a single notification till this one. I thought you quit, glad you're still here!

[@guaposneeze]

I understand that in the 1970's, there wasn't a ton of experience with the dangers of adaptation of British TV. But it's deeply disappointing that modern adaptations tend to make a lot of the same problems. Snavely should be a required course in film school for anybody going into the television business. It reminds me so much of recent disaster adaptations like the US version of Taskmaster. There should be plenty of academic analysis of the problems by now, so modern productions can avoid them.

[@Fatwreckman]

Holy shit, I watched Snavely after watching this. You were genuinely so polite about it.

[@CricketEngland]

I own what I believe is probably one of the only complete PAL promotional copies of Payne on VHS in the UK (including the episode never aired in the USA)

[@peterdavies2960]

R.I.P. Harvey Korman (1927-2008) R.I.P. Betty White (1922-2021) 😢🙏🕯💐

[@lohphat]

I had no idea they tried a US version. And I can't believe Harvey Korman and Bette White agreed to do it.

[@StraightEdgeScotsman]

I really enjoyed this - it makes you remember how truly special Fawlty Towers was. I'd favour you looking at Payne next, solely because I saw an episode once - yay familiarity bias!

[@JackWolf10]

Thank you! Fawlty Towers is an incredible show, I have such admiration for what they pulled off

[@peterwallis4288]

I did too. Dad and I watched the first episode. He hated it.

[@pastaking3639]

What I notice is there is alot less cuts in the American one it makes everything feel sluggish and stops you from feeling as high energy as Basil would feel. Like in the choking sence you can see the shot cut to the inspector and back to Basil it makes you feel more anxiety filled like Bazil would be.

[@Ivan-pr7ku]

Fawlty Towers was a comedic farce play, not the typical sitcom that all those "remakes" were trying to imitate. The cast and character writing is so cohesive and well woven together, it makes any attempt at replicating from outsiders null and void of purpose.

[@hugoalynstephens9166]

Poor Connie. 😢

[@maycontainnuts3127]

I feel the simplified nature and the slower pace would definitely appeal more to American audiences

[@home_ofmovies]

I had no idea there was an American version! I like how every episode shows the sign getting worse like the hotels form 😂😂😂. I also LOVE Manuel in the English version! He’s so funny!! Did you also know that John Cleese and Connie Booth (Basil and Polly) wrote the show together and were married when the show was written! They aren’t now though.

[@lorddarlo6194]

Love the Intersection Designer music. Also Connie's alarm sounds like a Fire alarm I thought there was a Fire Drill or something

[@Problembeing]

there was another (sort of) that was popular, ‘Newhart’, but only because it was set in a hotel. That’s where the similarity ends.

[@jvblhc]

Bob Newhart was something completely different. Basil was always yelling at someone. Newhart, as always, was much more subdued, which made his character very funny.

[@Problembeing]

@@jvblhc yes, but I think I read somewhere the idea of setting it in a hotel was. Inspired by Fawlty Towers. I love Bob Newhart, grew up listening to his albums on carte tape that my grandmother got me as she loved him in the 60s. I really enjoyed ‘Newhart’ from the episodes I’ve watched :)

[@danielmoksmann5654]

This is a great comparison. Well done! I've always thought that Fawlty Towers is the embodiment of THE perfect ensemble cast. Basil is a fantastic character: rude, stern at times, trying to get his way behind his wife's back. Cleese has said in interviews that THE most important trait of Basil is his paralyzing fear of Sybil -- all of that is gone from this American adaptation. Also, I feel that this suffers from what a lot of American comedy shows at the time suffered, which is their attempt of making the "comedy bit" of the show AS LOUD AND VISIBLE AS POSSIBLE. While in Fawlty Towers you laugh because of a series of well-timed events (Cleese said that he spent a lot of time in the editing room cutting, pasting, just so that the scenes would have a nice rhythm to them - the rhythm we see in the original is the result of that), in Snavely you were expected to laugh because someone said a punchline ("COMEDY!"), or because someone laughed in a funny way ("COMEDY!") and so on. BTW, Ballard Berkeley is one of the finest actors of UK theatre and television. Cleese said in an interview that it was a pleasure to have him on the show, a fitting end for his brilliant career. Fawlty Towers is in my opinion the best comedy TV series of all time - any American show trying to follow on its footsteps was bound to suffer anyway.

[@TighelanderII]

OMG! I never knew of these attempts to match perfection.

[@ConstantineAtByron]

Nice informed analysis of each version. Good work.

[@JackWolf10]

Thank you! More on its way!

[@JoeEnglandShow]

I say go chronologically. Do Amanda next! It's just neater that way.

[@sylviaelse5086]

They tried to remake Red Dwarf too. That didn't work either. Oh, and Coupling. However, the yanks have produced some brilliant comedy. Perhaps the problem is that the people who want to do remakes are doing it exactly because they lack the originality to make good stuff.

[@FrankNFurter1000]

That ghostly Chris Chibnall at 17:57 sent me. Looking forward to your next video on US Falwty!

[@johnnynotty]

Will always be comedy gold...no one can ever change that

[@SuperDirk1965]

The question is "Why?". The British version is in English so it shouldn't be too difficult for most Americans to understand.

[@kezmsfilms1300]

19:53 Perfectly Cut Screams

[@terrier_productions]

The Rev W Awdry once stated “Once the Americans get a hold of it [Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends], the whole series would be vulgarised and ruined”. Mattel currently own Thomas & Friends and in the last couple of years the show has been god awful and as of 2021 the show has been re-booted to a 2D design with the main target audience being pre-schoolers..

[@trevorlambert4226]

This perfectly illustrates what a fine line there is between good comedy and bad, and why it's so hard to get it right.

[@xenon8117]

These two videos have made me want to rewatch Fawlty Towers now, great show.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

12:36 I think one of the things here is (although most modern audiences wouldn't laugh and Americans wouldn't get it due to using a British slur, so the joke doesn't land anymore, just like mother in law jokes) the joke was meant to be a subversion. As at first you think in the story he is talking about, he was annoyed at her for saying a radical slur and the joke being he said she was wrong because she didn't use the right radical slur. You are not meant to be on the colonels side. Whereas in this one the joke is sexual assault happened, which I don't think was funny now or then.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

I don't know why, but I've just realised phone changed racial to radical 🤦‍♂️

[@zacmumblethunder7466]

@@Alex-cw3rz Phones like to do that sort of thing. They're trying to turn us into Basils.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

@@zacmumblethunder7466 haha If it doesn't stop doing it, I'll find a stick and give it a dam good thrashing, like Fawlty did to his car

[@rodericblack4657]

Why wouldn't modern audiences laugh at it?

[@mankytoes]

@@rodericblack4657 It's extremely jarring to a modern viewer to hear what is a pretty pg show- I think the most offensive regular swear word is "bastard" and all the sexual stuff is innuendo- use the n word liek that. Although, I'll be honest, I do laugh at the joke, it's actually quite a good joke, and the overt offensiveness of the language is a funny contrast to the character (the major is normally a quite pleasant chap).

[@sanchoodell6789]

In other words *don't* mess with a classic! There has been (at least) one example of a British version of an American comedy series being made. It was called 'The Upper Hand' made from 1990 to 1996 based on 'Who's The Boss' (84-92) And I thought that was fairly successful and worked quite well. Only some minor tweaks here and there to fit its English based location & one of the main characters being changed from Italian-American New Yorker into a Cockney east Londoner etc but both series a good watch.

[@mrmegahousefly]

The Upper Hand had Honor Blackman, Kellie Bright, Diana Weston, and Joe McGann, a strong cast, and scripts that did not need much changing. If Sam's father had been a retired American football player or basketball player, I do not think any changes would have worked.

[@ShrekReacts]

There was a US version? Oh god.

[@shoogamoogaman]

Snavely accidently unleashes a fire extinguisher on one of the guests, then hurls abuse at them in front of the inspectors.

[@CricketEngland]

6:16 look at the Major and see how he just tucks into the cheese omelette on queue

[@dominickroberts4653]

This is why Americans can never copy us in how we write our jokes.

[@marianm2680]

American version is a pure BLASPHEMY!

[@Horsley-Green]

I think, in America, the comedy that is closest in spirit to our British comedy are the cartoons (Bob’s Burgers, The Simpsons, etc). I think it’s ironic that pretty much all of Bob’s Burgers and the first 8 or 9 series of The Simpsons (both of which I love) are less cartoony than a lot of live action American comedy.

[@brianfinlay756]

You should cover when the UK tried to do American shows and failed. Like the dire UK version of married with children. Or that 70s show.

[@mauriceosullivan6832]

Brian,, the Americans are dross.

[@robertbrookes2000]

I hope after the CBS 'original' US adaptation of BBC's Ghosts comes out that you'll do a review/comparison between the two.

[@timbo472]

I love that show

[@BrendamProductions]

Oh god they’re gonna Americanise ghosts... that’s a very British show that I doubt Americans will handle

[@JackWolf10]

I’ll check it out!

[@AmazinglyGayPhil]

American takes are always horriffic. Same as the Office i just don't dig it.

[@harenterberge2632]

The US version of red dwarf is also terrible.

[@daneng3641]

The Office was actually a decent remake. It got even better when they found their own pace and didn't try to do scene for scene recreations. Had a lot to do with a great cast. As with most American sitcoms of course it went on too long and lost its edge.

[@graham1281]

Same as the remake they tried to do on Bewitched , it was bloody dire. I understand they're doing a revamped series of bewitched as well, I shudder to think how they're going to murder THIS fabulous old comedy

[@jokerfleckcast3196]

🎉🎉 the Snavely remake is actually pretty good. The lead actors are very good. It actually deserved to go to a series. Watered down or not, it was reasonably good.

[@exetone]

Much like the inbetweeners, i didn't know there was a version other than the original. Still a strange concept to me. Imagine a british remake of friends.

[@hugoalynstephens9166]

There was a That 70s Show remake on ITV1 called Days Like These back in 1999. Only ran for one series.

[@robertclive491]

Mates

[@mankytoes]

Our answer to Friends was Coupling- confusingly, the Americans then tried to remake Coupling (which failed)

[@allahspreadshate6486]

You mean like "Friends" but funny?

[@Jamaicafunk]

Harvey might have made this work under better direction...After all he was 'Headley Lamar'. And could you imagine getting Tim Conway to play the Manuel character?

[@brucedanton3669]

Thank you for this of course. Whilst of course I have seen the British series many times, the American one I have not, as others have put too. As you say it is dire really in comparison somehow too. Well done though too!

[@MrTimtim65]

That was great! Spot on Jackwolf! I'd love to see a review of some of the guests who stayed at Fawlty Towers, many of them were such characters. Also a review of each of the main characters (one video each please!). But one thing puzzles me: what's going on with the colour? The British one is clean & crisp, the US one has an orange hue and is blurred. Was it just a bad video recording?

[@fightthepowerman]

I don't know but I'd imagine the British version has DVD releases whereas the American one doesn't.

[@VitalVampyr]

Fawlty Towers has been remastered since it's original release. That video of the Snavely pilot was probably just recorded directly off a VHS tape that had been sitting in some archive for decades.

[@JoeDouglas]

Americanisation = rip the guts out of it and turn it into an absolute insult to those involved with the original.

[@l0u13__3]

It’s not what the joke is, it’s how you deliver

[@destinyhope2425]

America fails at remakes of classic British shows. Fawlty Towers, The IT Crowd, The Inbetweeners, Skins etc. The ones that did not fail are. Shameless, Being Human, The Office etc.

[@atomiccritter6492]

Dont we also fail at converting their stuff Miranda, Shona...

[@destinyhope2425]

@@atomiccritter6492 Just had to look up the Miranda remake and I never knew it existed.

[@judgeberry6071]

Ah the late great Harvey Korman. He was absolutely hilarious as Hedley Lamarr in Blazing Saddles.

[@t__tech6447]

Love the vid but now I just want to go back to when I didn't know about this abomination

[@jbcatz5]

The writers of Snavely clearly did not understand how comedy works. Despite surface appearances good comedy needs time, step up and pay off rather than dashing off one liners or funny in the moment slapstick. Fawlty Towers knew how to build up a series of events, character actions, interactions that culminated in glorious chaos. Only by setting up the myriad aspects of The Kipper and the Corpse, the dissatisfaction of the guests (nothing new there), the efforts to hide the body, the doctor trying to move heaven and earth for a few sausages to give us the final scene of Basil just giving up and being carried away in a laundry basket. The twist that it’s not the kippers that are out of date, but the sausages, is another brilliant layer. Snavely should have been an interpretation of how badly things can go when someone unfit to be in customer service runs a hotel. That’s where John Cleese and Prunella got their ideas. Don’t regurgitate punchline with the set up missing, go stay in a hotel and hope it’s dysfunctional. Don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself. Fawlty Towers had jokes mocking or ribbing the British, Basil’s concussed ramblings were a satire of some British people rather than a dig at Germans, and one episode has two guests complaining about their meals to each other but have nothing but praise when Basil asks about their meal.

[@pow1983]

Tell me you don't understand comedy without telling me you don't understand comedy...

[@ethanoreilly2002]

It's like putting Fawlty Towers into an American filter that drains all the things that make the genuine Fawlty Towers so clever

[@NothingHereToSee155]

17:57 Don't think I missed that!

[@tristanwhite]

I'd be really interested to see what you think of Amanda's by the Sea!