Fawlty Towers R1 set-Missing some dialogue!!! (1 Viewer)

Greetings!
I don't post often,but I'm here daily
I just noticed on disc three-" The Kipper and the Corpse" episode at apx. the 3:30 mark-the line "Is it your legs?" is missing!
I noticed it right away-first Basil asks this line,then the laugh track comes,then Mr. Leeman replies ...I'm sorry?

It goes like this:

ML - Do you think I might have breakfast in bed in the morning?
BF - In bed?
ML - Yes.
SF - Of course,Mr Leeman.
BF - Yes,we can manage that,can we dear?
SF - Yes,we can(to phone)I'll call you back.(puts phone down)
BF - Is it your legs?
ML - ...I'm sorry?
BF - Well, most of our guests manage to struggle down in the morning.

I'm a huge FT fan,but just got around to watching this ep. on DVD
I've tried it in three different players-and it is missing.
Can anyone else confirm this,it makes me wonder what else might be missing elsewhere,as I have not gotten to see them all on dvd yet.

Has anyone noticed anything else missing/changed on their copy?

Thanx!

CHEERS! jefff

Yeesh, have any British shows ever actually come out complete in the US?

The set "Full Bottom" appears to have the episodes intact. At least there's more complete scenes and less editing than when it aired here on YTV in the mid-90's (possibly due to commercial considerations, although 'taste' may have played a roll)

Anyone notice any more "edits" in the R1 Fawlty Towers?" I've been debating between the R1 & R2 versions.

You think this edit is an ADA/PC thing?

so it it confirmed that the R1 version does indeed have this line missing?

Just checked my R2 and it's missing the same line too. I've got the UK version.

Greetings!
Here is a few responses I got from another forum:

Yes, indeedy. The line is missing, although it is present on the old CBS/Fox VHS and the laserdisc, both of which I still have and have checked. Why's it gone? Who knows? It has irritated me since day one and I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed!

Also, the running times for a few of the DVD episodes are slightly off (shorter) when compared to the laser version-- I suspect some editing was done during remastering to clean up some rough scene changes. Perhaps the missing dialogue was simply a "casualty"?

Well spotted, anyhow!
------------------------------------------------------------
In the same episode, a trim has been made to remove a shot of Derek Royle peering out the corner of his eye at something off-camera. I think it was when Mrs. Tibbs was out cold on the floor and his arm was still swinging from, obviously, helping Gilly Flower to lie down.

The transfer, as you probably noticed, is also far from perfect-- it suffers from compression artifacts (just look at the curtains in the lounge, the wallpaper, and Basil's undershirt in "Communications Problems"). Plus there are numerous audio level changes and glitches-- one particularly nasty one occurs during "Gourmet Night". Just listen to Mrs. Hall say "Fortunately, I love it!" It's jarring, to say the least.

Cleesie, himself, did comment in an interview some (many?) years ago about the possibility of tightening up some of the editing in these shows for a re-release. He talked at length about the (at the time) upcoming release of "How to Irritate People" and how he had approved some small "changes" to make it flow better and that the same thing might be done with "Fawlty". I can't imagine that this would include removing jokes so I will assume the missing dialogue was simply a mastering error.

Funny thing is, this has got me wondering how "complete" the Region 2 version is. Guess I'll have to do some huntin' and find someone who can say.

I'm also gonna have to re-watch this set to see if anything else is gone (ah, curiosity!) If you find anything else missing post it here.

Thanx Robbie!

The BBC has raped my childhood!

CHEERS! jefff

Then you should know about the new "TV Shows on DVD" forum, which is where I'm moving this.

M.

The missing line of dialogue is present in the Fox laserdisc box set, so this must have been a glitch which occurred during the making of the DVD set. There certainly wouldn't appear to be any plausible reason why the line would have been deliberately omitted.

For whatever good it will do, I've emailed Warner Home Video's customer service department about this problem.
I suspect, though, that this is probably a fault of the BBC since they are the ones responsible for providing the finished masters to WHV.
I can't, for the life of me, find an appropriate email address for either BBC video or BBC America. Anybody got one?

--Robbie