Fawlty Towers - Coastal guest house by the Sea of Torquay on the British sitcom FAWLTY TOWERS/BBC/1975 & 1979. The inn was jointly owned by Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) and his wife, Sybil (Prunella Scales) who was the brains behind the operation. Sybil's level head and no-nonsense manner often clashed with her ill-tempered husband who verbally brutalized their guests. Among those to feel the brunt of  Basil's sarcastic wit was Manuel, the hotel's bellman (from Barcelona, Spain) who constantly misunderstood his orders ("Please try to understand before one of us dies!"); waitress Polly Sherman (Connie Booth); and Major Gowen (Ballard Berkeley) a regular resident at the inn.

TRIVIA NOTE: Two attempts to recreate the success of FAWLTY TOWERS have been undertaken by American television including AMANDA'S/ABC/1983 starring Beatrice Arthur as Amanda Cartwright, the owner of Amanda's by-the-Sea, a quiet coastal inn; and PAYNE/CBS/1999 starring John Larroquette as Royal Payne, the unscrupulous proprietor of Whispering Pines, a California hotel that he operated with his wife, Connie (played by JoBeth Willams).