Basil: “They’re awful”. Although she is the youngest main character in Fawlty Towers, she is actually not that young compared to friends. This shows us that friends is aimed at the youthful generation where as Fawlty Towers is aimed at the older generation.
Manuel is a Spanish waiter from Barcelona. He is also a comic but key character, like Basil, although the main plot of Fawlty Towers is set around Basil, Manuel is there to add that extra humour. Manuel, however, is not all that bright and he speaks little English. Because of his small English vocabulary, others find it hard to communicate with him; even simple tasks may seem difficult. Because of this he can be compared to a clueless child or animal especially under Basils arrogance. This does, however, creates humour and is the usual cause for things to go wrong. Basil’s relationship with Manuel is usually very comical as Basil has the less communication skills than either Polly or Sybil, which causes even greater confusion and frustration between the two. The relation ship is more like Owner and Pet, Basil, obviously, being the owner, rather than manager and employee. This is because Basil usually resorts to violence as punishment if Manuel does something wrong or misunderstands something, which creates physical humour. “This Sybil. This Basil. This smack on head”.
Fawlty Towers is a Structured Plot. This means that the episode is structured around one narrative or main event; for example, in “Gourmet Night” the whole episode is structured around Basil’s special diner that he organises. This is different to friends, in friends many narratives are taking place and we drop in at an unscheduled part of their daily lives.
During the first scenes of Gourmet Night a sign that is outside of Fawlty Towers says “Warty Towels” but we know from past experience that it is meant to say “Fawlty Towers” and has obviously been changed around as a joke. This is an example of Spoonerism humour; this is a mix up of words that are intended to mean another thing.
The first scenes of Gourmet night are quite significant to what happens later on in the episode. Basil is outside and fixing his car, he owns a fairly small car, this may cause physical humour as Basil is tall and the car is quite small. After a few moments it is revealed that the car will not start despite the work which Basil is doing to it. Basil then creates humour by shouting at the car in frustration, this shows Basil is treating the car like a human and as if it has feelings. The cars horn sounds, just by co-incidence but it may seem that the car is actually replying to Basil’s insults which creates additional humour.
Manuel comes running out just as Basil is at the peak of his frustration and anger. Manuel states that the telephone is ringing, this is another example of Manuel’s ill communication skills, by not answering the phone and by being unable to answer Basils questions. It is also another example of Basil’s relationship with Manuel and that it is more like pet and owner as he drags Manuel into the hotel and resorts to violence as punishment as Basil realises that Sybil suddenly picked up the phone and therefore there was no need to disturb Basil. Not only did Manuel disturb Basil but he created an awkward situation as Basil was then questioned by Sybil about how he should take the car to be repaired by a mechanic rather then repairing it himself.
Basil walks in to the kitchen, Polly then enters then asks Sybil if she would like a glass of wine to celebrate the selling of her first painting, again another sign of Polly’s youth as its her first painting. Now all of the main characters are in the kitchen all sampling Kurt’s, the new high class Greek chef, food. Sybil then tells Basil again to get the car fixed, Basil then uses sarcasm and irony to indirectly get at Sybil whilst creating humour by replying to Sybil’s question with “ No, I left a couple of minutes ago but I’ll expect I’ll be back soon though!”. Kurt then states in a foreign accent that he and Manuel are good friends which is also significant for later scenes. Basil then drives of under Sybils command to go to the mechanics but when in fact when he is out of site of Sybils watchful eye he stops and continues to attempt to repair the car. This shows that he has some fear of Sybil but his arrogance seems to be greater than his fear which causes him not to go to the garage.
Now Andre, Basil and Sybil are sitting at the Fawlty Towers restaurant where Sybil is obviously drunk and clearly embarrassing Basil in front of Andre, who is another restaurant manager who is friends with Sybil and Basil. It is in this conversation where we hear about Basil and Sybils plans to host a Gourmet Night. Basil, tired of Sybils drunken jokes, walks around the restaurant where he comes into contact with a young boy. The boy states that the chips are “awful” and then Basil using the same kind of indirect, sarcastic, ironic insults like the ones which he uses with Sybil, says, “What shape do you usually have? Mickey mouse shape? Smarty Shape? Amphibious landing craft shape?” The boy then insults Basil and the hotel as he has acknowledged the fact that Basil has made an insult at him.
After much anticipation and waiting, gourmet night finally arrives. All of the main characters are dressed up much more formally than usual, and even the hotels restaurant looks formal, this shows the importance of this evening to Basil as it is what he wants the hotel to be like always; with no “riff-raff”. Basil and Sybil welcome the guests unaware that anything is wrong. Basil leads a couple to the bar when Polly appears, she states to Basil that Kurt, the chef, has “potted the shrimps” when really she is trying to say discreetly is that Kurt is drunk but does not want to cause any panic among the guests. However Basil is too worried about the guests, he has already forgotten the names of one of the couples. When Polly eventually tells Basil in private that Kurt is drunk, he drops the bottle that he is holding showing that he feels an overload of emotions, shock anger etc.
Kurt has become drunk as he revealed that he had a crush on Manuel and Manuel rejected him. This causes great anger with Basil and states that one kiss between the two wouldn’t do any harm. This creates humour as Basil is to blind with anger to realise what he’s saying.
As Kurt cannot cook, Basil calls Andre another chef and orders duck with just two sauces. Using physical humour, Basil runs into a small car and drives off anxiously. He picks up the duck and brings it back to Fawlty Towers. But however he drops the duck by mistake, which adds humour, then using ludicrous humour, Manuel walks in and steps onto the duck showing that not only has he got ill communication skills but also is not bright at all which gives him an image of being a comic character and relates him to Joey from friends as he often creates humour without meaning to. Basil then picks up the duck and throws it aggressively at Kurt who is responsible for the whole thing going wrong.
Basil again using physical humour runs even more anxiously into the small car and drives off. He arrives at Andres and almost picks up the duck when he is distracted meanwhile another identical dish with a lid is laid next to the duck. Basil then unknowingly picks up the wrong dish then runs off. This is an example of dramatic irony when the audience knows soothing which the characters do not. Meanwhile at the hotel, Manuel and Polly make a vain attempt to entertain the guests by singing to them; this is an example of ludicrous humour as it is totally un-expected.
Basil is now on his way home when the car breaks down. Basil’s anger then soars; he leaves the car, still with the camera focused on the car, and Basil then repeatedly hits with a tree branch as if the car can feel pain, which creates humour. Yet again more physical humour as Basil runs all the way back to Fawlty Towers with the dish and the lid on.
Basil eventually arrives at Fawlty Towers and presents the duck, still with the lid on, into the dining hall; there is a sigh of relief. Basil then sharpens the knives in anticipation of lifting the lid. When he eventually does there is trifle, not duck. Everyone is horrified especially Basil but he tries to keep cool by adding, “Trifle anyone?” This adds humour. Then completely unexpectedly, after constant questioning from the guests, he dives into the trifle using his hands to search for the duck, this causes ludicrous and visual slapstick humour. He then adds, “Ducks off” and almost immediately the credits roll up.
Fawlty Towers produces many different types of humour purely due to the characteristics of the main characters. If one of the characters were taken out of fawlty towers it wouldn’t be able to achieve all of the types of humour it currently contains. For example, Basil’s role in the sitcom is to provide verbal wit, ludicrous and preposterous humour. Without this role its unlikely he could have made Fawlty Towers so popular.
As mentioned earlier, friends is an “organic plot”. This means that the plots are not in such strict logic or structure; this can also be recognized as a “slice of life” sitcom. Because of this it is apparent that we drop in every week to observe how each character is coping with their private lives and what they do in certain situations. The impression is given that the characters are there all of the time but we view them at an unstructured and unedited part of their daily lives. This may be the case with friends but it is not, however, with fawlty towers. In fawlty towers the whole episode is based around a certain event and only, usually, contains one narrative whereas friends contains two or three narratives.
In friends various characters can relate to characters in friends; Joey and maybe Phoebe can relate to Manuel as they all create humour without meaning to. Chandler can relate to Basil as they both create sarcasm, irony and verbal wit therefore creating humour purposefully.
Joey is a comic and youthful character as his main role in the sitcom is to create humour. He usually creates humour unknowingly as he is not all that bright. His low intelligence causes him to have a much relaxed or laid back attitude, because of this he is a failed actor but may find some work on an unpopular show which can create humour. In the episode in question, he lives with chandler, his flat mate.
Chandler characteristics are different to Joey; he is less useful, he creates humour, a lot like Basil, using verbal wit and sarcasm. He also has a secure office job that pays a fair amount showing that he is harder working than Joey; Chandler however is not as stylish or as much of a womaniser as Joey. This contrast of characteristics among the characters makes the sitcom more entertaining rather then them all being all the same which would make it less interesting as their lives would be similar.
Monica is a perfectionist. She has a perfect image of what she wants her life to be like. She is fashionable but has a history of having an overeating disorder that may have caused her to become a chef. To create humour she uses verbal wit and sarcasm a lot like Chandler or Basil but mainly causes humour using perfectionism.
Phoebe is also a comic and youthful character, like Joey. She frequently creates humour without meaning to but can sometimes use verbal wit. She is currently unemployed but is interested in the supernatural world maybe as she has had an unusual upbringing.
Ross’s role in the sitcom is to be the sensible and clever one but things in his life do not go as he would like them to. He creates humour by using verbal wit and sarcasm but sometimes can create humour without meaning to. At the start of the episode he sets an image of being the clever and sensible one but unexpectantly however towards the end of the episode he creates humour without meaning to as he gives the image of being childish. This gives the impression of not being so clever and like being more similar to Joey or Phoebe.
Rachel is the most fashionable character but this can sometimes cause envy between the other female characters especially sometimes Monica in other episodes. She can be described as a “Jewish American Princess” which shows that she is fashionable and youthful also. She is not a comic character but in this particular episode she creates invective humour buy stating that Julie, Ross’s new girlfriend, is a “Manipulative Bitch”, this comes totally unexpectedly as she had just made friends with Julie.
There is no main character in friends unlike fawlty towers where the episode is normally set around Basil. In friends all of the characters are equal, there are exactly three girls and three boys and what one character has another one lacks. For example Joey is not clever but is fashionable and is a womaniser where as Chandler is clever but is not much of a womaniser.
There are three main narratives in this episode of friends that involve all of the main characters. The opening scene starts with all of the main characters in the girls’ flat, which is big, fashionable and very feminine, very different to the boys’ flat. Carol, Ross’ ex partner is breastfeeding her and Ross’ baby, Ben. Joey and Chandler feel uncomfortable about this and walk off into the kitchen, Ross, being the sensible and grown up one, comes over not to be shy and to ask Carol questions. Joey then asks Carol “ If you blow into one, does the other get bigger?” Joey creates humour as he’s being serious but is not bright enough to realise what he’s actually saying, it is now clear that he is a comic character.
Soon after the beginning credits role introducing you to the characters and the setting without anything being said. The next scene then begins, a shot of “Central Perk” is shown where the characters generally meet, it shows the time of day and the weather also. Most of the characters are shown having coffee and talking, Rachel is a waitress working there. Julie, Ross’ new girlfriend who Rachel is envious of, is kind by tying up Rachel’s apron; Rachel is polite by saying thanks but then turns around and calls Julie a “Bitch”. This creates invective humour, as it’s totally unexpected, as they had just shown an act of kindness to each other. Rachel then goes off and Julie invites anyone who’d like to go shopping with her, Monica, a friend of Rachel but also Ross’ brother accepts, Julie then leaves. Phoebe then says to Rachel how by going shopping “Its like cheating on Rachel in her house of worship” This worries Monica.
The next scene starts, Joey is in the apartment store where he is working and trying hopelessly to sell men’s aftershave but no one seems interested. An unknown stranger then walks in, he is tall has a deep voice and wears a black cowboy suite, Joey feels intimidated especially as the stranger starts selling another men’s after shave called “Hombre” to people successfully. Joey’s self confidence falls dramatically.
Phoebe is now sitting in Central Park; Monica anxiously walks in and tells Phoebe that she was with Monica the whole time Monica was out. This shows that Monica is worried about Rachel’s feelings that give her the reputation of a kind person. Rachel then casually asks Phoebe what she did today, Phoebe becomes nervous as she is put on the spotlight and doesn’t want to become involved in Monica and Rachel’s affairs. Phoebe then states that she went shopping for “fur” even though she is against the selling and purchasing of fur. This creates humour as Phoebe is being funny but not meaning as she is anxious but this causes Rachel also becomes more suspicious.
The setting is now changed back to the apartment store where Joey is trying hard to sell his product but still no one seems to be interested. Annabel, another worker at the department store, walks in. Joey confidently asks Annabel out for some coffee she rejects and then leaves with Hombre Man not Joey. An old man is standing at the desk staring at Joey; Joey adds “What? Its not the first time I’ve lost a girl to a cowboy spraying colone” Joey again creates humour without meaning to as there are very few cowboys which spray colone.
The scene then changes to the kitchen of the girl’s apartment and Ross is about to feed Ben with breast milk in a bottle but warms it up first. Phoebe then picks up the milk, puts a sample on her arm to test the temperature and to everyone’s disgust, tastes it. Phoebe creates humour again without meaning to as this is a very unordinary thing to do but she doesn’t see anything wrong with it. Joey then, creating the same kind of humour, tastes it as well whilst stating that there is nothing wrong with it. Ross however detests at this, this is the start of his immaturity.
Everyone leaves the girls apartment apart from Rachel. Monica then walks in wearing the coat which she borrowed of Rachel (a sign of their strong friendship). Rachel then puts the coat on and finds a receipt showing clearly that Monica had been out with Julie. Rachel is now upset but Monica tries to reason with her by saying “It only happened once” and “I was thinking of you the whole time” This gives off the image of a heterosexual couple having an argument about someone’s unfaithfulness. This does however create humour, as they do not mean to give off the image of a heterosexual couple having an argument.
Ross and Chandler are now in the main sitting area of the girls flat, they are sleeping next to the cot. Carol and her partner Susan walk in; they sit down and a conversation starts about how Ross is uncomfortable about people drinking breast milk. When it becomes apparent that even Susan has tried the milk, rivalry develops between Ross and Susan and Ross is determent to try the milk.
The scene changes to the less tidy and fashionable boys apartment where Joey tells Chandler what happened with the Hombre man. This tells us that Chandler and Joey are good friends as they can speak about their problems freely to each other. However to add comedy on this scene a “Western Barman Parody” is used where Chandler is the barman who is serving Joey, the customer. After the conversation Chandler adds, “Now go see Miss Kitty and she’ll fix you up with a good hooker” to explore the western parody more.
Monica, Rachel and Phoebe are now in Central Perk, Rachel is working. Monica is dressed in black, Rachel is dressed in white, they start talking and eventually Rachel forgives Monica and they make up by hugging and being very emotional. Phoebe then joins in as she didn’t want to feel left out but had no part in it at all and it was completely unexpected, this creates humour. They then all agree that Rachel should give Julie a chance.
We then switch back to the apartment store where Joey is now in a white cowboy suite showing that he is challenging Hombre man. Hombre man is dressed in black. Western/Mexican music starts playing giving a Western Parody. The first customer comes in; it’s a race to see who can sell the product first. Joey is delayed as there is something wrong with the spray mechanism but in anticipation, Hombre man sprays the customer in the eyes. The customer is very angry and says that he’ll sue, the boss then turns to Hombre man and shouts “Todd!” angrily. It is now revealed that Hombre man is not so big and threatening to Joey especially as Todd adds in a high voice “I’m’ sorry, I’m so clumsy” showing a lack of confidence. Annabel then walks in and realises what happens and instead walks off with Joey into a simulated sunset which again explores the western parody.
Now we are in Central Perk again and Rachel and Julie are talking and it looks like they get one well but when Julie leaves Rachel says to herself “What a manipulative bitch” again creating invective humour and it shows that everything is back to normal.
Now the ending credits role up, Ross, Chandler and Joey are sitting at the table in the kitchen with a sample of breast milk and some cookies. Western music is playing in the background; Ross reluctantly tastes the sample and then immediately puts a pile of cookies into his mouth whilst adding “not bad”. Ross is no longer the sensible and grown up one that he shows himself to be at the beginning of the episode.
