Spaced. Extras. The Office. The Young Ones. Have you ever wondered why most British TV comedies end after only two seasons, which in brief British season numbers translates to a paltry 12 episodes? Blame Fawlty Towers. The 1975 series, starring John Cleese as an easily outraged hotel manager, is considered one of the funniest shows in British television history, and yet Cleese called it quits after only two series, before he ran out of ideas (which was the reason he gave for leaving Monty Python's Flying Circus). Released in a newly remastered boxed set today -- along with the remastered set of Rowan Atkinson's Blackadder -- it becomes painfully apparent that this is a show we would have gladly watched for another hundred episodes. After all, 12 episodes is only half of a regular American TV season, and we've watched full seasons of some pretty awful shows over the years.
Fawlty Towers is ostensibly an ensemble show, but aside from the wacky mistakes of the bumbling Spanish waiter Manuel, it's really all about Cleese's Basil Fawlty. Cleese uses everything he knows about physical comedy -- including how to maximize his lung capacity for sheer volume -- as the hotel manager who seems to hate his guests even more than he hates his wife and employees, and yet will do everything he can to hide disasters from them. Covering up corpses, outmaneuvering health inspectors, racing to pick up a takeout roast duck and trying not to offend German guests are just a few of the things that cause him to take comically huge strides and call everyone within earshot an imbecile.
Basil Fawlty was actually based on an actual hotel manager Cleese encountered while a member of Monty Python, one who criticized Terry Gilliam's table manners and threw bus schedules at guests. There will doubtless be many anecdotes, about the real Fawlty and the TV version, in Cleese's all-new commentary for this set, as well as in the new interviews with the rest of the cast. There's even a tour of the town of Torquay, the town where the show took place, and where the original hotel stood. They aren't new episodes of the show, but some new Fawlty Towers-related content is better than nothing.
Blackadder may have twice as many episodes in its complete collection as Fawlty Towers (plus a few specials, including a Christmas Carol parody), but it somehow seems just as small -- probably because each of their four series is a completely different show, giving us only six episodes to get to know each world. Rowan Atkinson plays the main character throughout, but each series sees him scheming venomously in a different era, with a different supporting cast and a different job description. In The Black Adder he's a prince in the Middle Ages, but in Blackadder II he's a Lord in Queen Elizabeth's court, while Blackadder the Third sees him as the butler to the Prince of Wales in Regency times, and Blackadder Goes Forth finds him on the front lines of World War I.
While Atkinson is at his most sarcastic and jaded here (the polar opposite of Mr. Bean), it's the supporting players who bring a lot of the humor by setting up his hilariously dry commentary. Hugh Laurie is a recurring face, playing the cheery and idiotic Prince of Wales throughout Series 3 (and a similar dope in Series 4), and Laurie's old partner Stephen Fry plays the Queen's Lord Chamberlain in Series 2 and a general in Series 4. (He also makes a guest appearance as the Duke of Wellington in Series 3.) Tony Robinson plays Blackadder's assistant/lackey Baldrick in all four series, and his naively optimistic utterances earn the lion's share of the laughs. Robinson would also play the role in later specials included in the DVD collection, including Blackadder's Christmas Carol, Blackadder: The Cavalier Years (a 15-minute episode set during the English Civil War) and Blackadder: Back and Forth, in which a present-day Blackadder and Baldrick hop through time in a time machine, including a trip to the time of the dinosaurs.
A fifth Blackadder series was often suggested, but never materialized, which is a shame, as the specials seem to indicate there's still life in the characters. Basically, it's a crime that both of these shows were allowed to end with so few episodes under their belt, but then, it's hard to think of an American series that has provided such a rich experience in such a short amount of airtime.
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You lost all credibility by leaving out Jeeves and Wooster.
I disagree completely with the point of this article. These shows were great in part because of their brevity. American shows have way too much filler and then end product suffers as a result of it. Shows need to learn how to keep the audience wanting more and get to the point while making sure they are indeed making a point. A glaring example is the drama Smallville, a good premise exploring his roots, but has been dragged out way too long, it could have been tighter at 13 episodes and done for maybe 3 seasons telling the story for about 3 seasons.
Another example is my favorite sitcom of all time Cheers, which should have quit after Diane left adn went out on top. Yes, the rating were great later on as well, but that does not mean the product was great.
One last example is Sanford and Son, which was comedy gold except for the last 2-3 seasons which went from bad to awful quickly.
I think there should be a happy balance between two 12 episode seasons of a British show and nine 22 episode seasons of Smallville or something like that. Yes, a lot of shows run too long but other great ones got cut too quickly when they had a longer run of greatness in them. If you've got ideas and vision, then I believe you can make a good show last for a while while maintaining the quality. Look at Supernatural. If you run a show properly, it can last AND still be good.
Sorry, two six episode seasons for British shows. Although some go for a few more, but still. Really short.
Not Duke of Wales, no such person, Prince of Wales, eventually George IV.
Also not Dickensian England (mid-late 1800's) but prior to the Regency (late 1700's - early 1800's).
Ricky Gervais (Creator of The Office and Extras) has repeatedly stated that it is his choice, and his preference to do 2 seasons, as it stops 'creative rot' where a dead horse is flogged for years because people still watch it. You've got to look at quality vs quantity. Do we really want brilliant shows to end up like Scrubs, that stopped being funny 3-4 years ago?
Fawlty is a must-own series! Try: http://product.half.ebay.com/Fawlty-Towers-The-Complete-Set_W0QQitemZ341247908911QQtgZvidetailsQQprZ3382074
Agreed with most - American TV could learn a lot from their British counterparts. I would rather be left wanting more than have a mostly great show ruined because it couldn't let go. I hate that some of the best shows in the history of television always have some kind of addendum at the end to explain how it became the suck towards the end of it's run, alienating fans an marring its reputation (The X-Files, The West Wing, etc.)
I love the Blackadder Series, they're so much fun. Blackadder the Third is my personal favorte, I love the "Dish and Dishonesty" where Blackadder goes up against, Pitt the younger, Pitt the even younger and Pitt the gleam in the milkman's eye...lol
One brilliant UK comedy (albeit Channel 4 ) was Green Wing. Set in an NHS hospital, it ran for two seasons plus a special and I thank God for my DVD copy.
I think the people are right to say that there's some happy medium between a show being cut painfully short and being made to last painfully long. However, if those are our only choices, I might err on the side of it lasting painfully long. I definitely get the romance of being left wanting more, but when I want more, I like to get more. Call me crazy. At least if shows last too long I can watch as long as it's good, then stop watching, buy the early DVDs, and remember the good times. As I did with Scrubs. Some one or two bad last seasons ruin the whole show. I don't think so. I just say that was a great show, but the last couple of seasons sucked (X-Files, anyone?)
I do think, however, that shorter seasons generally would be a good idea so that there wouldn't be so much filler padding out the seasons and the writers would have more time to come up with great ideas.
I love both of theses series. My favorite thing about Black Adder is watching him go down lower in class from a Prince to a Butler.
Shorter seasons sound fine. Doctor Who plans its short seasons so well that I don't mind it at all. Also, a lot of cable shows on American TV already do shorter seasons and it works out pretty well. However, cable tv has freedom from financial restraints that network tv doesn't.
I remember as a kid watching these Brit shows on PBS late Sunday night. It was Monty Python, Dave Allen at Large, and then Doctor Who. Then later they added in Fawlty Towers, Black Adder, and A Bit of Fry and Laurie. Good times!
I'm definitely, firmly on the side of the British here. There are Brit series I love and American series I love, but every American series I love includes painful memories of storylines that were dragged on too long, relationships that went stale with the stupid "will they or won't they?" game, jokes and character quirks that became tired, characters who became stupid caricatures of themselves ... all because of the pressure in American TV to produce SO MANY shows every season, for so many seasons. Those things taint the good memories of the shows I love. Whereas series like The Office (UK) and Extras are shining perfect gems, unsullied, because they did a good thing, did it well, and got out while it was still great. If only Americans would learn ...
Hugh Laurie plays the Prince of Wales; the Prince Regent (since his father, George III is too mad to rule. You'd think Americans would remember him!)...making it the Regency era.
Charles Dickens lived was a novelist of the Victorian era, which was a whole other century
I grew up watching both of these fantastic shows, so the brevity of them never really struck me until later in life when I started watching some American shows. But while Cleese probably did quit with Towers mainly because of pressure to "maintain the funny", let's not forget that by season two he had split with Connie Booth (first wife, writing partner on Towers, also played Polly) - so while they did remain on friendly terms, it's a bit much to have to work with your ex for such an extended period of time!
That being said, I do think the Brits are just playing it smart. To be honest, I think shows like Spaced and The Office would have started to go stale if protracted any longer (just look at the US version of The Office). Extras probably could have squeezed out another season or so, but there was the added pressure of finding at least one celebrity for each episode. And at least Gervais was kind enough to give us a xmas special for each of his shows, to wrap up things nicely for the characters. Seinfeld stopped doing his show for the exact same reason but after nine seasons - so it's clearly not about the length of a series, just knowing when to quit.
These shows that continue to be drawn out are done so purely out of greed - those involved just want to keep getting paid. Fair enough you say, but the viewers suffer because the writers clearly have no idea where they are going with the storyline, because they in turn have no idea how long the show is going to be on air, so no clearly defined arc can emerge. Heroes and Smallville are two good examples. Smallvile especially, as that originally was intended to be eight seasons only - now in it's ninth - but the show expired long before then. These kind of shows would benefit greatly from setting a finite number of seasons and establishing a story arc over that finite amount of time.
As for Blackadder - pure classic. Gotta agree with Anne, Third is the best - I think because he's just that much smarter than his other counterparts, and it's the only season where things end well for our Edmund!
Blackadder is one of my all-time favourites, and always will be. It's not just sarcastic and entertaining, it's using history without abusing it. (I'm looking at you, The Tudors.)
Add Black Books, Yes Prime Minister and Jeeves & Wooster, and it's a brilliant world of British comedy.
What no Spaced?
I loved Blackadder, but I'm glad they didn't continue it. The last episode with the boys going over the top of the trench and the fade to the poppies was beautiful and a little heartbreaking.
These two shows are the best sitcoms ever made. Anywhere. And a lot of that is because they finished when they did and didn't go on to ruin themselves in the American vein. Plus, Hugh Laurie played the Prince Regent in Blackadder the Third, not the Duke of Wales.
Quizzabella's right ... the ending of Blackadder IV is perfect. You've been laughing at these ridiculous characters all through the series and suddenly you're crying (at least I was). It's my favourite of the Blackadder series.
It's not all about choice. TV budgets in the UK are much, much smaller - and even hit shows tend to have restricted runs. They'll order 6 episodes apiece of four different shows, rather than 22 eps of one hit show. Perhaps it's because UK shows are never chasing syndication, so nobody's truly motivated to get 100+ shows taped.
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Amen to that. I loved these shows!
Valuable thoughts and advices. I read your topic with great interest.
One of the reasons these work is they are written by just one or two people, rather than the writing teams the US favours - so you have a real sense of an author and a vision. It also partly explains why they have short runs - you can't expect one person (or even two) to turn out such high quality 22 times a year for 7 years...
I see Jeeves & Wooster mentioned here, but as far as I can see, that is a show that despite its short run ran for longer than it should have.
The first season is as brilliant as anything made, while season two was pretty good and season three was pretty bad.
Black Adder and The Young Ones were the best. Pulling is another great British commedy, also gone after only two seasons even though the writer apparently had one more season planned. They run it on Sundance Channel now and then.
The main reason UK shows are shorter simply has to do with not having the budget or resources the US does. They often don't have the extra crew that would allow for more shows to be made each year.
And even though British shows tend to have shorter runs, they often have better writing. When a series goes longer it often gets a lot of filler thrown in. Although some shows manage to stay strong throughout the year, shows such as Heroes that try to keep an overall storyline would be better shorter rather than longer.