Flowery Twats – the Missing Episode

[Zombie Jim Undead]

Due to various asides on the forum, I’ve just been reading about Fawlty Towers on the interweb.

Remember hearing about a lost 13th episode (filmed but never aired) ages ago…about a Blackout in the hotel, I believe.

However, there’s a new(ish) book out called “Fawlty Towers – a Worshipper’s Guide” written by a fellow who claims to have not only seen the 13th episode (in fact entitled “The Robbers”) but who also publishes the script in that very book.

My immediate reaction was to be “what utter arse scrapings”…but the book has a foreward by John Cleese in which he seems to give his praise and blessing to the material therein…though neither specifically confirming or denying anything.

The script apparently seems authentic…and pretty damned good.

Reasons for the finished episode not being aired seem to be somewhere between industrial action during post-production and a desire to make more Fawtly Towers in the future (apparently “The Robbers” pretty much wraps things up).

Been trying to find a copy of the script everywhere on the net…to no avail. Suppose I’ll have to buy the sodding book.

Topic

[Pete Part Three]

Intriguing stuff.

Read this the other week and there was no mention of a 13th episode.

Would assume it’s either a bit crappy or incomplete.

[Zombie Jim Undead]

If it did exist….how brilliant a Christmas Special would that be?!

[James]

http://www.fawltysite.net/thirteenth-episode.htm

[Pete Part Three]

If it was filmed, then they’d have been a studio audience and (considering that Fawlty Towers was fairly huge by the time that the second series finally appeared) you’d expect there to be much more publicity about it.

[locusceruleus]

I get the impression this is something that old fans of the series concocted to screw with newbies, like the Rocky Horror ‘Riff/Brad buttfuck scene’.

[pfm]

They probably shot some of it in a similar way to how some of ‘Earth’ was shot for VIII, i.e. IT NEVER HAPPENED.

[John Hoare]

It is an absolute pile of nonsense.

The ruse would have been more convincing if the guy had said it was written but not shot…

[Mr Flibble]

Yeah, it’s all bollocks. There are many more questions along the lines of “so where is it then?” than not.

[James]

>?so where is it then??

In da boook.

[locusceruleus]

I wouldn’t be surprised if one day you get a v.o.’d animatic of this so-called lost episode in a DVD box set, a la Bodysnatcher.

[Phil]

>I wouldn?t be surprised if one day you get a v.o.?d animatic of this so-called lost episode in a DVD box set

I sure would be. If Cleese isn’t interested in doing anything proper with the show why would he want to come back to voice some fan fiction?

[locusceruleus]

Because it takes half an hour and would make him a good few grand. You know – same reason he appeared in 3rd Rock From The Sun.

[Pete Part Three]

What, and you don’t think the fact that he hasn’t gone near the show in 30 years is a bit telling?

[locusceruleus]

Meh, fair enough.

[pigeonstreet]

Hi – I was very interested to get hold of the 13th episode script, so bought the Worshipper’s Companion from the net and read it. Interesting read throughout, covering some really in-depth explores with the show, even down to full chapter biographies of the characters in role.

Then came the last chapter about the missing episode – The Robbers.

I read the script with an open mind and after re-reading it 6 times, I am totally convienced for several reasons that this is a fake.
Firstly, the actors who play the four introductory characters, do not appear anywhere on the net and are not on RADA’s books.
Second, the script does not flow as well as the 12 we all know. Remember, Booth and Cleese re-drafted each script many times so as they were perfect, making sure there were at least two maybe three mini-plots going on at the same time, with the end getting them to meet with a bang. There are a notable fewer laughs in this Robbers script with a simple and single plot.
Third, the ending is pretty final – if this was to be the first episode in a third series, the ending here would mean the second one would have to either carry-on from there or Sibil wouldn’t be talking to Basil for a VERY long time.
Fourth, the 9th January is a different weekday to the airing of series one and two episodes.
And the last clear indication is the title on the board (the letters which change due to the little paperboy swapping them around) outside the hotel for the Robbers – ‘Slutty Bowels’, uses an S to start, whereas for the known 12, it either starts with a F or a W.

The Worshipper’s Companion is a very, very good book and well worth the mopney to buy, read and keep. It contains information which even the hard-nut Towers fan would love, but I think I can say with most agreement from everyone – the only way to beleive The Robbers is if we were to all see it.

Come on Mr. Cleese and Mr. Morton, please put as out of our misery, because until it is officialy confirmed and screened, and after me and others have read the script and made our conclusions, it must be treated as a fake. Until then, it is as someone says further back, a load of nonsence, because after reading the script, I would agree with that statement.

[Carlito]

I thought Cleese addressed it during the G.O.L.D. special and dismissed it as a load of bollocks?

[Danny Stephenson]

I hadnt’ heard of a 13th episode until i saw that G.O.L.D. special, and they said it doesn’t exist.

[Stephen Abootman]

What, and you don’t think the fact that he hasn’t gone near the show in 30 years is a bit telling?

How about 45 years? https://www.screendaily.com/news/castle-rock-john-cleese-camilla-cleese-to-revive-uk-comedy-classic-fawlty-towers/5178913.article 

[Author]

Replies