Keeping Up Appearances - British TV Show

We’ve all known neighbors who not only want to keep up with the Joneses, they want to trounce them and leave them behind in an envious daze. And if we haven’t, we can watch Keeping Up Appearances to get a feel for what it’s like. In the comedy that ran from 1990 to 1995, Patricia Routledge (To Sir, With Love) played Hyacinth Bucket, a woman “of a certain age” with delusions of grandeur who pretended to be upper-class but wasn't. Unhappily saddled with the entirely too common Bucket surname, she (and only she) pronounced it as “bouquet” and was quick to correct anyone who said it otherwise. She passed her time trying to prove to others (and to herself) that she was upper crust, even though she lived with her longsuffering henpecked husband, Richard (Clive Swift), in a middle class suburb. Her constant attempts to “prove” her social status included frequent candlelight suppers meant to impress guests with her finest table settings, flashing QE II brochures at anyone in sight, and giving Richard skis even though he doesn’t ski just so they can mount them on the car and appear to be living the high life. These attempts often overflowed upon her unfortunate neighbors, Elizabeth (Josephine Tweson) and her husband, Emmet (David Griffin). They were often terrorized by Hyacinth’s schemes, causing intense stress and avoidance for the politely obliging Elizabeth. Unlike Hyacinth, Richard doesn’t care for appearances and has grown to put up with her ridiculous schemes and off-putting snobbish manner. Not only was Hyacinth hell-bent on proving her own social graces, but she wanted to force them upon anyone she thought needed guidance. Unfortunately for her immediate family, they were such people. Her sister, Daisy (Judy Cornwell), was a kind and forgiving heavy-set and frumpy woman who lived in a small, shabby home with her slob of a husband, Onslow (Geoffrey Hughes). This simply would not do. Many episodes revolved around the Buckets avoiding their embarrassingly lower-class kin. Hyacinth’s father also lived at Daisy’s home, and he was a rather absent-minded character in his own right. Much to her dismay, Hyacith would never reach the social standing of her other sister, Violet, who likely inspired her eccentric behavior. It also featured Hyacinth’s third sister, the tarty middle-aged Rose, played by Mary Millar and Shirley Stelfox. The show suffered an unscheduled ending in 1995, even though a sixth series had already been written. Routledge abruptly decided she didn’t want to continue with the show, and despite BBC’s pleads, left the series, leaving it without a proper closing. She had been nominated for two BAFTA TV awards during her tenure as Mrs. Bucket. Routledge would soon go on to star in the BBC’s Hetty Wainthropp Investigates. In 2004, Keeping Up Appearances came 12th in the Britain's Best Sitcom poll.

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