“Oh no, you’ll be deceived!”
Kicking off our countdown, the eleventh and penultimate episode of Fawlty Towers is perhaps the most conventionally ‘sitcom-ish’ of the two series, as it marks Basil and Sybil’s 15th wedding anniversary in extraordinary style. It’s also the only time we get to meet the Fawltys’ friends, and they’re given an afternoon they’ll never forget.
In many ways The Anniversary is also the wackiest of the dozen stories. Interestingly, it’s a particular favourite of its now divorced creators John Cleese and Connie Booth as they “were beginning to explore character a little bit more”. Happily, this means that er, um, Polly Sherman (Booth) has a lot more to do, and even throws in a sarcastic mention of the Marx Brothers for added screwball effect.
This “less farcical” vignette even sees Basil finally attempting to do something nice for the “trouble and strife”. That’s Cockney stinking rhyming slang to you, me and the eel pie. Only, Basil being Basil, he goes about it in the cringiest, most convoluted way possible, so, naturally, it all goes badly wrong and descends into the ultimate marital feud.
Though there is method in his increasing madness, poor Mr F starts off with a little white lie, but as is so often the case, a little fib becomes a large one. Only this time it’s Polly who, in a rare case of “if you can’t beat them, join them” makes the situation worse. Much, much worse.
Polly wants to borrow £100 from her employers so she can buy herself a little four-wheeled runaround. Sybil said it’s okay, but miser Basil’s dragging his feet: “I don’t think she quite understands the cash-flow situation, viz-à-viz the frozen assets,” he contends.
When Polly quietly lets it be known that Sybil’s visibly upset over him forgetting their anniversary, Basil reveals that he’s only pretending. In actual fact he’s planned a surprise party and paella get-together but the long-suffering wife stomps off in tears before the chums arrive. So to avoid embarrassment Basil needs an explanation – Polly suggests he tells them she’s ill in bed, then helps embellish the cover story with disastrous and injurious consequences.
Basil’s panic truly sets in (First signs of it? “It’s perfectly Sybil, Simple’s not well; she’s lost her throat and her voice hurts.”). However, when Mr F is forced to escort the group upstairs to “just say Hello”, he ropes a resistant Polly to impersonate Sybil. Polly says she’ll do it but on the condition she gets “a hundred for the car.”
Poor put-upon Pol puts on Sybil’s wig and shades, pads out her cheeks with cotton wool, and gets into bed. With subdued lighting, the ruse goes well until Basil steps out for a moment then old pal Virginia (Pat Keen) asks for a closer look – “I am a nurse, Basil! – so the normally unflappable Polly punches her in the face!
“Don’t! Don’t hit our friends!” is one of the most brilliantly bizarre lines in the entire series. As is “That man this morning… he looked like a doctor.” Hysterical!
As the lies/eyes/thighs get more extreme, Basil becomes more and more frantic; Cleese delivers a phenomenal performance, and the episode features so many brilliant exchanges and hilarious sequences.
Another of the Fawltys’ friends mentions she saw Sybil driving around in the town and Basil covers it up by claiming “that’s another woman… who looks slightly like Sybil. She’s from the North.” Personally, every time I see a monstrosity from British Leyland I can’t help but think of this episode. We’ve got Sybil’s Maxi and Roger’s Princess, but neither terror matches the horror show poor Basil faces here.
Half a century on and our neighbour here in Wales is still referred to as “Ohhh Roger” – a simple line, beautifully delivered by Una Stubbs. One of the funniest aspects of the plot involves said character only half-heartedly going along with the ruse despite knowing something’s not right, and repeatedly toying with Basil.
Ken Campbell plays Roger, and he was clearly a genius. An odd, impish, brilliant genius, and it’s worth pointing out that he was a last minute replacement when Julian Holloway from the Carry On series had to withdraw due to a strike-related delay. All of which makes Ken’s cameo as the impishly witty shit-stirrer all the more remarkable. As Patsy Stone would say, “Oi! Peanuts!”
When the little kommandant returns, Basil pretends she’s the fictitious lookalike — “How extraordinary, we were just talking about you. How is the North?” — and locks his disoriented spouse in a cupboard while he says goodbye to his battered and bewildered guests. Naturally, Basil has a plan, though we never find out what that is.
Out esteemed colleague Catherine Walters bemoans the lack of denouement in this episode, but for me it’s the perfect example of snowball storytelling: and the final scene is perhaps the best moment as the injured guests hobble off helplessly as Terry and Manuel brawl on the kitchen floor. In other words, complete carnage.
Great fun.
