For Better or Werts : TV Worth Watching

DOWNLOAD THIS: Free 'Fawlty' fun

UPDATED Tuesday, Nov. 17 --

Oops, it's too late now for the free Ally McBeal episodes, but iTunes is offering another download treat -- three Fawlty Towers extras in which cocreator/star John Cleese shares the secrets of his ageless hotel farce.

Cleese talks about the making of Fawlty (20 minutes), key characters like Manuel, Sybil and The Major (16 minutes), and the refining of his favorite series moments (10 minutes), from beating up his little red car to insulting the Germans to coping with that other troublesome Basil, the rat.

Though it hardly seems possible, the scenes are even funnier after Cleese deconstructs their logic and timing. (Yes, it's possible to get laughs about hiding a dead body.)

Some shows never get old.

You can buy the new remastered Fawlty Towers DVD set here for just $25, featuring new interviews, including the long-sought sit-down with cocreator/costar Connie Booth (Polly).

ORIGINAL POST --

Just discovered this, and not sure how long it lasts, but iTunes has free downloads of Ally McBeal's 1997 pilot. Also gratis is the second episode ("Compromising Positions") of David E. Kelley's influential, Emmy-winning hour comedy series.

Other episodes are iTunes' standard $1.99 each ($25 for the season). Click here for a list of iTunes' free TV downloads.

Ally McBeal finally came out on DVD this month, too -- Amazon.com has the entire series of 5 seasons (plus bonus extras DVD and soundtrack CD) for $104. Or the first season DVD set for $26. And yes, the sets include the original songs so crucial to the series' impact. Click here to buy on disc.

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Diane Werts has been glued to the tube since she can remember, growing up in a household where the TV came on first thing in the morning and stayed on till bedtime and beyond. She worked for the USA Film Festival, then for The Dallas Morning News writing about everything from Shakespeare to macrame art to rock music (and has the hearing loss to prove it). She moved to New York's Newsday to edit their glossy TV magazine, then returned to writing about television, specializing in its stranger permutations. She's a past president of the Television Critics Association.

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