The BBC,Faulty Towers and The Germans.

[wunt be druv]

I don't like censorship of any kind,I in no way would ever dream of condoning that language,but at that particular time,it was in common usage and the BBC should not try to pretend it wasn't. Thankfully society has moved on now.The Beeb were wrong to remove it.

 

[Billy the Fish]

All the Germans I've ever met actually find the jokes about them and the war quite funny, they don't give two shits that we take the piss out of them, they do it to us, the dutch, the french, the poles etc

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

All the Germans I've ever met actually find the jokes about them and the war quite funny, they don't give two shits that we take the piss out of them, they do it to us, the dutch, the french, the poles etc

I've got a lot of German family and they love that episode (and Fawlty Towers in general). They bought the DVD box set so they can watch it back in the fatherland......

This kind of tinkering by the beeb harkens back to communism in the 20th century. I'm sure George Orwell would have had something to say.

 

[Mackenzie]

It offends me that they have edited one of, if not the, greatest comedy show ever produced. Shame on the BBC.

 

[Bakero]

I think a few of you are missing the point. They haven't removed the German scene. They've removed a scene with 2 racial slurs as it was going to be screened before the watershed. No, it's not hypocrisy to leave Kraut but remove the N-word. The words do not share the same history of racism and subjugation.

Obviously it's all about context. We all know Fawlty Towers isn't racist show and the scene highlights the absurd bigotry of the major. However, children (and some adults no doubt) may not understand and interpret the scene correctly. This is why programmes with adult themes and language and shown post-watershed. If the episode was on after 9pm the scene would remain untouched.

I'm not saying I fully agree with the BBC decision but I understand it. It's not political correctness gone mad.

 

[Lethargic]

Rewriting history, Fawlty Towers is what it is and was part of comedy history by editing it they are effectively rewriting history a dangerous game to play. We should be able to look back with affection and be able to realise that that behaviour is no longer relevant or acceptable.
And the Germans do have a sense of humour having lived there for 3 years many a German I meet thought this episode was hilarious.

 

[KZNSeagull]

Anyone of reasonable intelligence can recognise that leaving the original alone makes the Major look even more of a fool by today's standards, therefore making that scene even funnier. Shame on the BBC.

 

[Worthing exile]

I was more embarrassed watching the new Yes Prime Minister last night and the welcoming speech at the dinner. That remake is just not funny.

 

[life on mars 73]

What the Major was saying was simply the political correctness of the early 20th Century. Read any history or geography book from that era, and there is an absolute assumption that the British, in particular the English, were a superior race. Foreigners were, by defenition, inferior and funny.

Very bizarre by today's standards, but in 100 years' time, people will look back at the politically correct orthodoxy of our era and shake their heads in wonder.

 

[life on mars 73]

PS Curious that we are only picking up on the racist stuff. What about all the anti-women comments ?

 

[JOLovegrove]

So what did they actually edit out?

 

[EDS]

My favourite comedy of all time is only fools and horses but they are now edited unbelievably, even if you buy the dvd boxset it is edited everywhere. Even the word paddy is edited out, I had to buy an old release of the dvd's just to get them in relatively original form.

 

[chez]

So they removed offensive retorts about Germans and words such as 'niggers' and 'wogs'.

Quite right too. That kind of racism shouldn't be lauded as 'comedy'.

It's one of the most famous & funny parts of any comedy ever.

If you're going to remove it you may as well not bother showing the whole episode.

 

[Marxo]

There are still people who think that "Till Death Us Do Part" is a racist show because of Alf Garnett, unfortunately there are always (too many) people who completely miss the point. The BBC will always err on the side of caution, that's the world we live in.