With news breaking that this classic BBC comedy is to return to our screens in the future, it has got us thinking about not only what the show might look like, but also how the original has aged. After all, the sitcom first aired when the Health and safety at work act was still in its infancy in 1975.
There’s no question that we have come a long way, and the programme reflects older work practises. Technology has completely changed, for one – although self-check-ins at Fawlty Towers and less customer interaction wouldn’t be a bad thing at the Torbay-based hotel!
It will be interesting to see how the hotel looks in the digital age, and with the Health and Safety at Work Act now fully embedded into working life. Instead of violently crashing on his typewriter to create menus, Basil might end up making posters with employer duties and employee rights displayed for all to see.
Although mayhem, rudeness, poor practices are the main focus of the sitcom, we can’t help but think about what we would recommend to the hotel to ensure it runs smoothly, and that all guests (Germans included) have an enjoyable time – but most importantly a safe one.
To try and satisfy the staff and maintain the reputation of this Great British business, we’ve gone through our range of courses to highlight which ones would need to be taken to ensure Fawlty Towers reopens on the right foot.
Anti-bullying and harassment
Whose favourite character wasn’t Manuel? The Spanish waiter was often the target of the hotel owner’s ire, and watching back the treatment of the staff comes across as nothing more than bullying today. With tirades of verbal abuse as well as some occasions of physical assault, there are even accounts of the actor himself constantly being hurt whilst filming.
While over-the-top antics are the cornerstone of comedy programmes over the years, the abuse of the poor Spaniard was sometimes a hard watch. After completing our video course on Business Skills, you may agree – and wonder how the poor waiter stayed at Fawlty Towers for more than two episodes.
Food Hygiene
In one episode, Basil was actually quite taken aback when a public health inspector visited his kitchen. There’s some great acting on display in this episode, as the cast look very dismayed when the civil servant reads off a long list of complaints, ending with two dead pigeons in the water tank.
When there have been rats running around, and at one point a dead body lying about – as well as the chef’s mantra that “what the eyes don’t see, the chef gets away with,” calling this a relaxed approach to food safety would be a compliment. With food ratings coming a long way since then, and companies receiving low food ratings being public, the hotel’s status may not be survivable.
Thankfully for modern businesses, the principles of good food hygiene are easy and cheap to learn. Our own Achieving Food Hygiene Rating Level 5 video course costs just £10, and takes less than an hour – meaning there’s little excuse for a repeat in the reboot.
Working at height
The memory of first watching Basil tapping on the window after checking on a guest – and subsequently falling off the ladder – caused lots of laughter at the time, but the severity of his injury ought to have been a lot worse. Such a fall would likely be a career-ender, leaving the business without management, and staff stranded (although in this case, that could have been for the better).
Our RoSPA certified Working at Height course teaches the principles of safe working at height for anyone new to the subject, or simply requiring a refresh. With this, Basil can live another day – and intrude on the privacy of many more guests to come.
Equality and diversity
Dare I mention this one? From dealing with foreign guests to being unable to deal with hearing impaired guests, the Equalities Act plays a massive part in today’s business landscape. This being a sitcom from the 70s, there are almost too many breaches to mention.
The writer and creator himself said that he couldn’t get away with this now, although given some of his recent statements, he may be about to try anyway. If he wants to get a sense of how much things have changed (generally for the better), our Business Skills course is a good primer.
Fire awareness
The infamous fire drill scene where the security alarm is “at least a semitone” lower is pure genius, largely because his frustration at expecting the guests to know this showcases his intolerance of others. With the guests left waiting in the lobby for the drill, when a fire actually happens he has no way of warning people, and weakly says “fire” to guests, causing even more confusion and panic.
When called upon to use the extinguisher, Basil has to read the instructions, failing in his role as fire marshal yet again. A basic fire course such as our Fire Marshal course could have much better prepared him for such an event, and avoided catastrophic consequences for his guests and business.
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Whether or not this reboot will have the same impact on audience’s today, it is clear this is a programme from a different time, and would be a shock to new viewers. Perhaps the most interesting thing to think about is that it was based on a real hotel that Cleese stayed at when on tour with Monty Python, so the far-fetched antics were not that unheard of in this time period!
Fawlty Towers does remain a classic, but whatever Cleese intends to rail against this time, some changes to reflect the times seem inevitable. We’ll have to wait and see whether time robs the sitcom of what made it such a hit in the 70s, and the many decades after.