Editing British sitcom (section)

===''Fawlty Towers''===
Described in the BBC's profile of the show as "the British sitcom by which all other British sitcoms must be judged", ''[[Fawlty Towers]]'' (1975 and 1979) is eminently quotable; the repetition in the episode known as ''[[The Germans]]'' of 'don't mention the war' has become a [[catchphrase|catch phrase]]."<ref name="BBCFT1">{{cite news |title=Fawlty Towers |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/fawltytowers/ |access-date=28 December 2021 |work=BBC Comedy}}</ref> In two series, only 12 half-hour episodes were made, because the writers, John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, felt that they could not continue to write comedy of the same quality.<ref name="BBCFT">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/september/fawlty-towers/|title=First episode of Fawlty Towers|work=BBC 100|access-date=3 January 2022}}</ref> The series starred Cleese as [[Basil Fawlty]], Prunella Scales as [[Sybil Fawlty]], Connie Booth as [[Polly Sherman]], and [[Andrew Sachs]] as [[Manuel (Fawlty Towers)|Manuel]]. Supporting roles included Major Gowen, played by [[Ballard Berkeley]], Chef Terry, played by [[Brian Hall (actor)|Brian Hall]], and Miss Gatsby and Miss Tibbs, played by [[Renee Roberts]] and [[Gilly Flower]]. Other well known guests from stage and screen, usually two or three for each episode, were featured in various episodes and among many others included [[Yvonne Gilan]], [[Conrad Phillips]], [[Bernard Cribbins]], [[James Cossins]], [[Allan Cuthbertson]], [[Ann Way]], [[Brenda Cowling]], [[Joan Sanderson]], [[Elspet Gray]], [[Geoffrey Palmer (actor)|Geoffrey Palmer]], [[Derek Royle]], [[Richard Davies (Welsh actor)|Richard Davies]], [[Ken Campbell]], [[Una Stubbs]], and [[John Quarmby]]. The show was produced by [[John Howard Davies]] and [[Douglas Argent]], directed by Davies and [[Bob Spiers]] and the music was by [[Dennis Wilson (composer)|Dennis Wilson]]. The show was ranked first on a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000,<ref name="BBCFT"/> and in 2019 it was named the greatest ever British TV sitcom by a panel of comedy experts compiled by the ''[[Radio Times]]''.<ref name="The Guardian">Mattha Busby, 9 April 2019, [https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/apr/09/fawlty-towers-greatest-ever-british-sitcom "Fawlty Towers named greatest ever British TV sitcom"]. ''The Guardian'', Retrieved 31 December 2021</ref> Basil Fawlty has been listed by Channel 4 as the second greatest television character.<ref name="GreatestTVcharacters"/><ref>[https://www.itv.com/news/2019-04-09/fawlty-towers-and-father-ted-top-list-of-britains-favourite-sitcoms/ "Fawlty Towers and Father Ted top list of Britain's favourite sitcoms"]. ITV. Retrieved 31 December 2021</ref>