"Keeping Up Appearances"

You know, it''s not a bad series, but quite honestly, it was one joke repeated ten billion times. The only reason it held together as well as it did, was because of Patricia Routledge. Without her, the show would have flopped. It wasn''t heavy on plot. It sort of ticks me off when people try to play it up as some comedy genius, when it really wasn''t.\ \ What do you think?

• It was fun to watch. That''s enough for me.

• The genius of this show cannot be overestimated.

  Tarquin

• It was aimed at and appealed to a very narrow audience. But within that demographic, retired lower middle classes, it did very well. It lamponed their more ''aspirational'' neighbours and the despised working classes while leaving them alone.

• So what...it worked and she was a comic genius that made it work.

• yes, it was a not so bad one joke series.\ \ in a field of horrible one joke series.\ \ so it would have been outstanding.\ \ with Routledge, it was sensational.\ \ I think I agree with you but I don''t see your point.

• Pat Routledge was a pleasure in that role.%0D\ I liked her and the whole cast.%0D\ %0D\ Why are we going over this?%0D\ The show was a hit! It is no longer in production and has gone on to become a sit-com classic.%0D\ %0D\ How many sit-coms from then or now can say the same thing?%0D\ Get over it OP, Keeping Up Appearances was a great show and YES, it was "comedy genius".

  Nancy Snodgrass

• One or two jokes repeated over and over is pretty standard for situation comedies isn''t it? On Bewitched every funny moment had to do with Samantha being a witch. On All in the Family every laugh came from Archie being a stupid bigot or Edith being a well-intentioned dingbat.

• I do not know whether this is true but Patricia Routledge is rumoured to be gay and in a LTR with another woman. %0D\ %0D\ I have heard two names bandied about for her supposed SO: ex Commons speaker, Betty Boothroyd (like this guess best, unmarried, no kids but unknown sexuality) and the out Pam St Clement (Pat Butcher in Eastenders), who is a total doll.%0D\ %0D

• [quote]How many sit-coms from then or now can say the same thing?\ \ In the Uk dozens. Just watch Dave. Keeping Up Appearances isn''t one of them.

• Any scene with that dishy Vicar did it for me.

  Our Rose

• Patty Routledge won a tony for best lead actress in a musical. Just fyi. For Jule Styne''s Darling of the Day. She tied with Leslie Uggams for Hallelujah, Baby. Also by Styne.%0D\ %0D\ just sayin''

• My cast album CD for "Darling of the Day" really gets a workout.

• I had no idea for the longest that Mary Millar (Rose #2) died back in 1998, bless her. Her Rose was sexy in a skeevy but cheeky way. Shirley Stelfox, on the other hand, captured that "rode hard and put up wet" look really well.

  Violet (the one with the Mercedes, sauna, and room for a pony)

• I give it an A-. I would have given it an A+ but I''ve rarely hated a character as much as I hated Elizabeth.

• This is why they hate us.

• Watch this show every Saturday night, just love it.

  unseen gay Sheridan

• Apparently Rose #1 actually was a prostitute at one time. I always wanted to know why she left the series.\ \ \ My partner and I are moving into a development called Gladiola Glade. My partner is certain that I will become Hyacinth Bucket.

• It''s good hangover TV. On the BBC they usually show it on Boxing Day, and that''s the only time I ever really watch it. It''s fun when you''re at a friend''s house and just waking up at noon and drinking tea and watching that.

• I wanna be Councilor Mrs Nugent!

• R19, in tweeds you probably look like Councilor Mrs. Nugent

• Councillor Mrs Nugent always had that ''wtf is happening to meeee?'' look on her face every time she got hijacked by Mrs Bucket.%0D\ %0D\ Loved the Vicar, Onslow, Daisy and Rose. Loved the alluded-to gay son, Sherdian, and his bf, Tarquin, whom mummy thought were good friends (and whom Richard knew them to be as gay as gooses). %0D\ %0D\ The only character that annoyed me was the vicar''s wife who was pointlessly jealous and needn''t have been.

• I agree with R21 I never got the Vicar''s wife at all She understood as well as everyone what a pill Hyacinth was so the whole jealousy thing wasn''t funny. %0D\ %0D\ My favorite episode was when they drove the old lady into town only to be hijacked by Daisy, Rose and Onslow.

• Agree with R21 and R22. Loved everyone, hated the vicars wife.%0D\ %0D\ "Stay away from the laadiesss!!!"

• Am I the only one who thinks Emmett is a hot daddy?

• I agree with the others that the Vicar''s wife was my least favorite character. Always priggishly lecturing her husband about proprieties, and totally convinced that he was being hit on by every female in his flock. And she didn''t even seem to trust him to say no to those predatory females.

• My affection for the ensemble has always been limitless. These people made many an evening very happy for me. There was no one I didn''t enjoy watching. Each had a corollaries in real life that made the shows every funnier. Routledge should be canonized a saint for all the happiness her brilliance has brought into our living rooms 30 minutes at a time. \ \ Now I listen more than I watch, being a familiar as I am with each episode. It just makes me happy to have their chatter in the background as I waste too much time on the computer.

  A single Richard type.

• No, there''s nothing brilliant in its concept and certainly not in its gags, it''s just a simple idea very well executed, particularly in Hyacinth.

• I work with someone whose last name is Planet. They insist to pronounce it PlaNAY when ever someone just says Planet. Amuses me to no end.

• Sit on it!

  The One Joke on "Happy Days"

• Mel? Kiss my grits!

  The One Joke on "Alice"

• The actor who played Onslow had the funniest delivery.

• [quote]My partner is certain that I will become Hyacinth Bucket.\ \ It''s Bouquet.

• The wonderful cast saved it from the rather ordinary writing each week.\ \ Particularly love Rose #2 Mary Millar, and that shaking, quivering voice of hers: "OH, ONSLOW!"

• R17, my partner doesn''t like to have the show on because he insists I AM Hyacinth.

• "Mind the Pedestrian, Richard."

• "You know, it''s not a bad series, but quite honestly, it was one joke repeated ten billion times. "%0D\ %0D\ What sitcom isn''t? That''s generally how they work, you know...

• The neighbor lady coming over and spilling her coffee on EVERY show while overacting shamelessly....that''s what Brits think is amusing? Reallllllly?

  Pity

• R34,\ \ We recently saw the episode where Hyacinth says something to the effect of,"Oh my, one doesn''t leave these things to committees!." My partner turned and said, "That is you!" I must confess, I do run the congregational life at my church with an iron fist. (I am also a member of the local woman''s club.)

  R17

• Actually, r17, Stelfox PLAYED a prostitute prior to this show. There''s a difference, or at least society''s recognized one in recent decades.

  Nell Gwynn

• I was cracking up the other day recalling the time Hyacinth wanted Richard to phone the Chinese Ambassador to stop the calls they were getting for the Chinese Restaurant.\ \ For anyone with social climbing relatives the show is pretty funny.

• I did like it, but the gaga where Routledge fell into the bush when the dog barked at her every time got very annoying.\ \ \ The first series was the best, particularly the "he offered me marriage" episode. Emmett got rather tiresome.

• One Foot in the Grave was much better.

• "One Foot in the Grave" was the best of them all.

• I love this show but it is conspicuously more one-note than most sit-coms. The same handful of jokes are set-up and re-delivered in nearly every episode. Elizabeth will spill her coffee. People will be startled by the barking dog and by Hyancinth''s singing. Sheridan will phone for money while dropping gay hints that Hyacinth doesn''t get. The car will backfire announcing the arrival of Daisy and crew at the worst possible momnent. Hyacinth will be humiliated in front of the one person she''s trying hardest to impress. Over and over and over. %0D\ %0D\ That''s why my favorite episode is the one where she and Richard go out in the "yacht" by themselves. It is the only original adventure I can recall them having.

• r11 Katherine Patricia Routledge prefers to be called Pat, not Patty and as annoyed as Hyacinth becomes when people call her Bucket, Pat cringes when people think her last name is Rutledge.

  Josephine Tewson

• I agree R44...that yacht episode was by far the funniest one they did. And mostly is was just Hyacinth and Richard being thrown into a totally new situation. %0D\ %0D\ Routledge said in an interview that she was shocked that the British public loved Hyacinth. Routledge thought they would hate Hyacinth for being such a phony and a snob.

• About 10 years ago, I searched online to find a hat like Onslow''s FH trucker hat. I always thought the FH must stand for "Fuckin'' Hell" but it''s actually a manufacturing company in New Zealand. The hats were a one-off promotional thing and one somehow made it into the show''s wardrobe department.

• In August The Sun reported that Geoffrey Hughes (Onslow) was in Portsmouth''s Queen Elizabeth Hospital battling prostate cancer undergoing "heavy radiotherapy" for the second time in a year. He and his wife, Sue, live on the Isle of Wight. Geoffrey is 66.%0D\ %0D\ %0D\ %0D

• [quote]Particularly love Rose #2 Mary Millar, and that shaking, quivering voice of hers: "OH, ONSLOW!"\ \ "I''ve come to a decision! I''m going to become a nun!" "He said he would phone! Why hasn''t he phoned?!"\ \ I hope she knew how much the gays loved her.

• Although I enjoy KUA I truly love watching One Foot In The Grave. The Meldrews are people I love watching but would not want them living next door to me.

  Mrs. Warboys

• r8 her relationship of more than twenty years is with artist Phyllis Claymore.

• As Time Goes By is the perfect companion piece.

• (Almost) everything you wanted to know about "Keeping Up Appearences" ...

  http://www.uk-comedy.com/index.htm

• I think so, R24.

• OP, thank you for sharing your ignorance of British comedy with us. It is not unusual for people to feel lost and a bit put upon by things about which they are unfamiliar. It''s even harder when dealing with popular art forms that appear to be familiar and accessible.\ \ In short, you either get it or you don''t. You don''t.

  Onslow''s dirty tee shirt

• R55 doesn''t know that I''m secretly British. tee hee.

  OP

• My Royal Doulton Tea Set with hand-painted periwinkles ,called the Braganza line, it was produced by the Colclough China subdivision of Royal Doulton. The pattern, #8454, was active from 1990 through 1996, when it was discontinued. The pattern is relatively inexpensive.

  http://k43.pbase.com/g6/42/347642/2/81439742.eYGmmHY5.jpg

• i''m an american who watches it RELIGIOUSLY every saturday night on pbs. i love hyacinth''s hats & purses. i want them all!!!!!!!%0D\ %0D\ the entire cast is wonderful.

  their american cousin, lavendar woodbush

• I actually prefer "Waiting For God" because Hyacinth gets on my nerves. My local PBS station runs "Keeping Up Appearances," "As Time Goes By," and then "Waiting For God" on Saturday evenings.

• I''m so glad you mentioned the "peddiwinkles", R57! I know the show was repetitive in ways but it was still fun to watch. Maybe it was just predictably entertaining. I''m surprised no one''s mentioned Elisabeth''s brother (his name escapes me). We know he was divorced and i always figured it was because he wasn''t into vagine.

• Is anyone watching Fortysomething with Hugh Laurie? His three sons are adorable. Sunday night @ 8:00 on WLIW in the NYC area. Last week Stephen Fry made a guest appearance and he was so funny.

  Ciaran

• r57, those are not hand painted, they are decal ans the color is not periwinkle. \ \ \ Is that the reason she only had candlelight suppers?

• OP/R56 doesn''t know that that it''s no secret that cluelessness about national cultural norms have nothing to do with genetics or mailing address. Tee hee.

  Daisy''s thighs rubbing together in wasted anticipation

• "...and room for a pony."

• Only Molly Sugden has made me happier on any given weekend.

• I have the hots for Elizabeth''s brother, Emmett. One hot daddy! Yum!%0D\ %0D\ Anyone in the UK know anything about the actor?

• R66 \ He lives in France with his wife and kids.

• why does "Emmett" ping big time for me? Am I the only one? Or is it that Brit thing?

• Join me, wont you, in a glass of the Dowager Lady Ursula''s homemade gooseberry wine!

• There was a point in the show when the actor who played Emmett was looking very thin and sickly. At the time people thought he had AIDS.

• David Griffin, the actor who played Emmett, was also in TROG with our beloved Joan Crawford.

• "I have the hots for Elizabeth''s brother, Emmett. One hot daddy! Yum!%0D\ %0D\ Anyone in the UK know anything about the actor?"%0D\ %0D\ He died recently.%0D\ %0D\ I don''t know whether he was married. I had read that he was gay. %0D\ %0D\ Seemed a sweet guy.

• Apologies, not the guy you were talking about, r66. Sorry got the wrong name.%0D\ %0D

• Have any of us here ever partaken of a waterside supper with riparian entertainments?

• Well Ciaran R61 we all damn sure know who the fuck Stephen Fry is now, DON''T WE?!\ \ We were TOLD with a capital "T."\ \ Ha, ha! I''ll say!

• R72, you seem to have discovered the completely erroneous information that David Griffin has died, which he hasn''t, but you can''t check IMDB to see he''s married to a French woman and has two kids? \ \ Well, I guess it is easier to make things up, at that.

• I had the hots for the "dishy vicar"

• R37 = Sonja Barker-Finch

• Slightly OT, but if you are a Routledge fan and haven''t heard her rendition of "Marvellous Party" on the Cowardy Custard cast recording, break land-speed records to do so.

• Loved this show.

• I love this show. My great-aunt is a bit of a Hyacinth (right down to the submissive hubby, even dresses a bit like the character) and my grandmother is a bit of a Daisy (my grandfather used to lie on the couch all day watching TV in his slippers). So, even though it was a one-joke thing it made me laugh for years.

• It was far from being a one joke series. There were several running jokes going on all through the series. Don't believe it? I'll list as many as I can. 1) Hyacinth's pretentiousness, the primary joke. 2) Her brow beaten husband, Richard, who goes along with Hyacinth just to keep the peace. 3) Her slobby sister and brother in law. 4) Her promiscuous sister who suffers a crisis at the beginning or end of every relationship. 5) The next door neighbours whose nerves are shattered every time they are around her. 5A) The milkman, postman, paper boy, or any other tradesman or visitor to the Bucket residence whose nerves are shattered by Hyacinth. 5B) Anyone unfortunate enough to receive an invitation to a candlelight supper or other function put on by Hyacinth. 5C) Anyone unfortunate enough to receive a telephone call from Hyacinth. 5D) The reactions of anyone with the misfortune to encounter Hyacinth during the times when she leaves the house. 6) Daisy and Onslow's car. 7) Daisy and Onslow's dog. 8) Daisy and Onslow's house, it's furnishings, and state of disarray. 8A) Daisy and Onslow's front garden complete with junk car, miscellaneous debris and the gate that comes away in your hand. 9) The vicar and his wife who try to maintain their spirit of Christian sympathy and charity even though they can't stand Hyacinth. 10) The never seen son, Sheridan, who always needs money and of whom it is hinted at that he is some sort of gay, communist revolutionary to the distress of Richard but to which Hyacinth seems completely oblivious. 11) The well to do sister, Violet, with the husband who seems to come more and more out of the closet each time they are mentioned or shown. 12) The daft old father who keeps escaping from Onslow and Daisy's custody and then goes a streak of mayhem typically involving molesting women, nudity, or re-enacting the war. 13) Onslow's television that requires a sharp smack or special combination of sharp smacks to make it turn on, off, or to change the channel. 14) Rose's telephone conversations with her boyfriends. 15) The person who keeps ringing Hyacinth attempting to order Chinese take away and her responses. 16) Daisy's desperate attempts to get any sort of affection from Onslow. 17) Hyacinth's back seat driving. 18) Hyacinth's singing. 19) Daisy's chipped, cracked, or dirty tea cups that never bother her, Onslow, or Rose, but irritate Hyacinth greatly when she is offered tea in their house. Those are just the ones that I can think of quickly. I'm sure if I took some time and though about it further I could come up with at least several more that I forgot, so KUA is definitely not a one joke series.

  Joe

• I love Patricia Routledge and she was brilliant in the show, but in real life I can't fathom why they all didn't get together and kill the bitch. How she gets away with what she does and no one dresses her down is beyond me. I feel the same way about Lucille Ball and "I Love Lucy" for decades I loved this show. It was comfortable, but now I can barely watch it without wanting to kill the bitch.

• There was one episode I remember - I can picture Richard and Hyacinth in the car and he finally loses his shit. He yells at her and Hyacinth actually shuts up.

• Mary Millar, the 2nd and best Rose, was in the original London cast of "Phantom of the Opera" as Carlotta and can be heard on the original sountrack recording. Would have loved to have seen her.

• R82, OP meant "one-joke" in the sense that a majority of the elements listed appear in every single episode. Not that they didn't make me laugh every single time because they were so well executed, but face it, every episode consisted of these comfortingly predictable elements.

  Councilor%20Mrs%20Nugent

• [quote]There was one episode I remember - I can picture Richard and Hyacinth in the car and he finally loses his shit. He yells at her and Hyacinth actually shuts up. If performed in front of an audience, Richard would have probable received a long, loud round of applause. As someone else wrote, I used to watch the show on occasion and wondered why no one ever stood or spoke up to Hyacinth (I know, it's just television). I had the same feeling toward "Seinfeld" -- any time I tried watching an episode, I always had the feeling of "these characters are such assholes" which made it difficult to like them.

• It was one of the last great British TV shows before the Reality TV flood ruined TV in England.

• I enjoy the show and the cast is wonderful, especially Routledge, but it is the same plot every time. In fact, that plot is summarized in the opening; setting up for a grand celebration, discovering a catepillar (the fly in the ointment) and looking around to see if anyone else has seen the intruder, and, finally, the books collapsing in an finale filled with Hyacinth's exasperation. Yes, I watch it too much, but I'm right.

• I always wanted to see more of her sister Violet ( the one with a Mercedes, sauna and room for a pony) and her cross-dressing husband Bruce. Plus whatever happened to Hyacinths' mother ? Would love to have known why she named all 4 daughters after flowers.(Hyacinth, Rose, Daisy & Violet )

• I l; loved the episode where they are on the QEII and Hyacinth thinks Onslow & Daisy are stowaways ( they actually won the trip ) Best scene was Hyacinth & Richard disguised as "Americans" in tracksuits and baseball hats ( I think Hyacinth's was a purple Minnesota Vikings hat ..... definatly not a one joke show. Also loved the one where Hyacinth bought the tiny little garret room in the country manor house as a "weekend getaway"

• I liked the one where Hyacinth insisted on Richard taking her to the Rolls-Royce dealership for a test drive, then forcing him to squire her around town in a Silver Spur so people would think it was theirs. Then they ended up getting apprehended by the cops for car theft.

• You have to understand that we Brits adore this stuff for a while - then it goes OFF, and it's horrible. Then we rewatch it - and it's suddenly amusing beyond words ('allo 'allo is the best example) "Guards! Arrest all Gypsies driving fire engines" "Last of the Summer Wine" is fun too...

• Great show...of course it wouldn't have worked without her...it was created for her and built around her comedy genius. It is what it is, simple and silly broad comedy. Its like saying I Love Lucy wouldn't have worked without Lucy...obvious.

• "Last of the Summer Wine" (which our local PBS shows when it's had its fill of KIA) completely eludes me. I do love love love that village where it was filmed, though.

• [quote]Also loved the one where Hyacinth bought the tiny little garret room in the country manor house as a "weekend getaway" Love this episode too!!! the 'apartment' must have been 100 square feet (and with low ceilings)

• I do wish they had given her a foil to play off of. Someone who could either take the wind out of her sails or react with bemused amusement. The fact that everyone was under he influence, even if it was to run away, got tiresome after a while. Basically, the show is a modern day "Lucia", she needed a "Miss Mapp",or perhaps an "Olga Bracely". The production design on the show was somewhat irritating. What were those cheap made-in-Japan figurines doing in the telephone niche? And why did Onslow and Daisy's bedroom wallpaper change every fourth episode or so?

• OP, I agree with you completely. I have watched many episodes of this show. I agree that the roles are well cast, and the actors are very talented. I even like the premise and the characters. What confounds me is that with all the richness of the characters and the talent, the show just never seems to go anywhere. The plots are weak; just imagine how good the show could have been if the writers had had some idea of how to build up to a comic climax. I really hate it when a show ends abruptly with an incomplete resolution. KUA did this with regularity.

  Anonymous

• During a PBS fund raiser, Josephine Tewkson (Elizabeth) said the creator/writer, Roy Clarke, wouldn't let the actors change a single word. The series ended in 1995 after five years because Pat felt that every possible storyline had been done (some more than once) and several years later refused to a Reunion show. On Friday the 17th, Pat turns 83.

• "Also loved the one where Hyacinth bought the tiny little garret room in the country manor house as a "weekend getaway"" That episode was hilarious! Especially when she was trying to make coffee or tea in that tiny kitchen for her guests, they could barely move. Was this the same episode when some Lord or Earl was constantly trying to pounce on Hyacinth, grabbing her ass etc?

• Mary Millar also played Sally in Follies.

  And Mrs Potts in the London Beauty & The Beast

• The look on Hyacinth's face when Richard finally grows a pair and tells her to shut up is priceless.

• R100 , I think t6here were several lusty old men who coveted Hyacinth's arse, one was the Commodore ( a visiting dignitary she was assigned to greet at the train station, and the other was the Major, a neighbour and frequent guest at her candlelight suppers. He chased her around his conservatory while she was gathering some flowers.

• R82, you forgot the beaker for Elizabeth because of her fear/reputation for spills and breaking.

  Mrs.%20Councillor%20Nugent

• I love this show! I have been watching it just about every Saturday night on PBS for the past 14 years or so. Even though I've seen every episode numerous times, it never gets old like Golden Girls and Designing Women.

• It's too bad that the PBS shows are edited down to fit into a half hour time slot. When BBCAmerica used to air the show, they were about 45 minutes long. I really enjoyed a drunken Hyacinth being strapped into the car by Richard the varlet.

• Lol they're not edited, BBC has commercials, thus a 40 minute length,PBS is uninterrupted.

• Has anyone read Harold Snoad's book, It's Bouquet - Not Bucket?

  http://www.amazon.com/Its-Bouquet-Not-Bucket-Harold-Snoad/dp/1846243513

• I own all the DVD's of this show, along with all the old AYBS series. I have a huge collection of Brit Coms, but of all of them, these two shows are my all time favorites. These are classics I never tire of watching. With all of life's problems in our crazy world, it's nice to watch these lovely comedies in their simplicity. I don't mind repeated punch lines or situations. They are a welcome escape from the hurley burley and always put a smile on my face. They lift my spirits and allow me to truely relax and enjoy myself. There are so many fans of this show, so it suprises me to hear people try to down grade it. My only complaint is I only wish they had made more! I could never get enough, and find myself longing for new episodes, which sadly I know will never happen.

  Delia Wheelright

• I know several unrelated people in suburban London. They all have difficulty understanding the appeal of KUA and AYBS in America. They thought both shows were stupid.

• Yeah it was a one joke show. I prefer "Gilligan's Island." Did you see the one where they are about to get off the island and Gilligan screws it up? Another good show is "Three's Company." Did you see the one where Jack and Chrissie (or Cindy or Terri) are in another room and Janet (or Mr Roper or Mr Furley) over hear and think they're having sex. Of course "I Love Lucy" is much better. Remember the episode where Lucy tries to get into Ricky's show. Or....

  Wacky%20Woman

• "It was aimed at and appealed to a very narrow audience. But within that demographic, retired lower middle classes, it did very well. It lamponed their more 'aspirational' neighbours and the despised working classes while leaving them alone." Just. Like. Datalounge. Hence the Love.

• R98 sums it up perfectly, for me. Which is why we never watched it beyond the pilot and the odd half an episode when waiting for something else. Great premise, great characters- but shitty sub-"Last of The Summer Wine" writing. The best peak into lower-middle suburbia actually came in the form of "One Foot In The Grave", however even that got crapulent in its last few series. But it had a good run. Also amusing, and daft like KUA was "Waiting For God"- but again, much better writing. KUA was always such a disappointment. It could have been brilliant, it scraped mediocre. I can see why you yanks love it though- it's a totally cartoon vision of the 'Laura Ashley Lower Middles' of late 80s/early 90s Britain. But it was always considered a 'gentle' also-ran here- OFITG got the ratings because of its dark underbelly, dry humour and surreal but relatable farce.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DIpEBLQno-hU

  ayb

• Anyone know how Hyacinth climbed out of her lower class upbringing with Daisy and Rose to marry Richard?

• R108 I read it. The book is more about Snoad and his rather large ego than anything else. He seems to have had a very chilly relationship with Routledge and goes out of his way to cast her in a negative light. Having said that, Routledge does come across as a bit haughty but it's hard to tell whether it's professionalism or pique.

• There are 2-3 British series I've watched that recycle the same plots and characters episode after episode. Little Britain and, later, Come Fly with Me. Some of it was funny but after a while, you see that it's the same old, same old. BBC America ran something called 'Katy Brand's Big Ass Show' a few times recently; the same 5-6 characters and skits over and over. While watching them, I started to wonder if British people love to see the same stuff over and over. The same stuff became tedious after a while.

• How come we never get Dr. Who in the US? I hear about it all the time. What am I missing?

• R117, Doctor Who is on BBC America. Some local PBS stations rerun it as well, but not all.

• Doctor (not "Dr.") Who is also available on iTunes.

• "hurley burley"? "Truely"? REALLY, Mary, Queen of Cantspell??

• Daisy and Onslow just my favorite couple.

• The problem with KUA is that Hyacinth never had a worthy adversary, except maybe herself. If she had someone to play against, there could have been more conflict and more possibilities for plotting. She needed a Miss Mapp.

• R22 I have just read through the thread and had exactly the same thought as you. Hyacinth is Lucia in modern form and definitely needed a Mapp.

• OP, theres no i in Team

  Patricia

• I love Hyacinth's wardrobe - all those floral dresses are very pretty.

• It's just reality in certain middle class suburban white UK ghettos.

  Url

• R125, what I like is that she clearly has about five dresses to her name. You see the same blue house dress over and over. The nautical outfit makes several appearances, etc.

• Blooper reel:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D1w37YjGJhMI

• Nice interview with Patricia Routledge and Judy Cornwell (who sounds rather posh in real life).

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Dy62kzksURbI

• It's spelled B-U-C-K-E-T No I can assure you it's pronounced BOO-Kay

• I Think Patricia was brilliant.

  louie

• Does anyone remember the episode where Hyacinth came in the room and everyone hid?

• I agree with anyone who said that someone should create a Sheridan and Tarquin show. Sheridan could speak to his mother and aunts on the phone, but in this case, they would be the ones never shown on camera.

• My great-aunt was the American inspiration of the creators of the series - the neighbors hid from her, her husband was ... henpecked, etc. My parents and I thought she'd come back from The Beyond when we first saw the show. Emmett seems to strike everyone I know as gay. The vicar wasn't all that dishy, but Hyacinth's tradesmen were all kinda cute, especially the meter reader. One thing I never got past was Hyacinth's being able to buy the country "property" without Richard's signature, just wouldn't happen in real life that way.

  TheBritcomAddict

• [quote]Does anyone remember the episode where Hyacinth came in the room and everyone hid? I have never seen that episode. But have you seen the one where she corrects the guy pronouncing her name wrong?

• My favorite running jokes were Daisy and her romance novels....also her attempts to get Onslow interested in passionate lovemaking. Another fav is Onslow always reading very highbrow, intellectual books. In fact, of all the characters, Daisy and Onslow are the only two ever shown reading on a regular basis.

• Emmett was a divorced man who worked in musical theater and lived with his sister. The man was as gay as a picnic basket. The vicar's wife also pinged my lezdar a lot. Maybe she and the vicar were in a mutual bearding arrangement.

• The QE2 episode is about the only one I really don't care for. If there were ever any doubt about the Dishy Vicar and Emmett, watch the episode where they play 1920's flappers (with gusto!) on stage.

  TheBritcomAddict

• Another character who struck me as gay was the fellow whose mother insisted "Daddy" had promised to marry her ("I got witnesses!") - pretty obvious Rose's feminine wiles downright horrified the boy.

  BritcomAddict

• [quote]Does anyone remember the episode where Hyacinth came in the room and everyone hid? Can you blame them, she's quite the squirter. Did she diddle it by hand or did she use a long taper from one of her candle lit suppers?

• [quote]You know, it's not a bad series, but quite honestly, it was one joke repeated ten billion times. You could say the same about "Married with Children" which ran 11 seasons on Fox.

  Al%20Bundy

• Tangwipes, anyone?

  BritcomAddict

• The Vicar was a truly gorgeous homosexual. (Are there any nude photos of the Vicar?)

• R114 presumably the same way her wealthy sister Violet married above herself, too.

• [quote] I agree with anyone who said that someone should create a Sheridan and Tarquin show. I wholeheartedly agree.

  Tarquin

• Sheridan is gay. There is a defining scene in Series 2, where Hyacinths husband is looking under the hood of a neighbors car. Hyacinth talks about a telephone conservation where she says Sheridan has moved in with a male flatmate who makes his own clothes and is teaching him needle point. Her brother in law, also with his head under the car hood, looks at Hyacinths husband and the husband rolls his eyes. That is the scene which outs Sheridan as gay.

• What did Colton want to wear to Comic Con?

  http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m78s8lEvTd1qhuajdo2_250.gif

• r8, rumor has it Pat's current longtime partner's name is Phyllis, an artist.

  phyllis

• Hyacinth referred to Bruce as a "turf accountant." He was actually a bookie.

• In one of the videos posted here, Pat said her favorite episode was QE2. 200 passengers signed-up to be in the dance scene. The episode(s) where everyone hid took place in the church hall.

• Re: the one where "everyone hid" Is that the one with the rehearsal for "The Boyfriend" where the Vicar and Emmett dance like flappers (think: Paul Lynde and Charles Nelson Reilly's love children)? The Vicar is far too pretty for me - I kinda like Bruce, from the little we see of him.

  TheBritcom%20Addict

• R149, turf accountant is the Brit term for bookie, so Mrs. Bucket isn't using a euphemism in this instance.

• Geoffrey Hughes has died. He was 68. RIP.

• Here's the link.

  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19032928

  R153

• That is sad - he did a terrific job as Onslow!

• Keeping Up Appearances was one of the greatest Brit coms. Viva Mrs. Bucket!

  Canuck

• It's Buckét.

• I loved the first Rose.

• The other day, I heard Tom Jones singing "She's a Lady" thinking of Hyacinth as there's a PBS montage of her at her most loony with that as background music.

• Did we ever find out who lived in #23? Hyacinth was always rattled by them and resented when they got burgled and she didn't.

• "Mary Millar, the 2nd and best Rose, was in the original London cast of "Phantom of the Opera" as Carlotta and can be heard on the original sountrack recording. Would have loved to have seen her." Actually, r85, Mary Millar was Mme. Giry (the spooky ballet mistress), not Carlotta (the diva). Although while we're on the subject, the young Patricia Routledge would have made an incredible Carlotta.

• Only recently did I get around to seeing the fifth and final season. I was surprised at how fresh and funny it was. Earlier seasons seemed more repetitious. The writers outdid themselves to come up with new situations in the final year. It was smart to start showing Violet who turned out to be pretty cool despite her unhappy marriage. The episode where Hyacinth turns an elegant barbecue into a sing-along to cover a loud quarrel between Violet and Bruce was particularly funny. It contains the unforgettable scene where Richard successfully commands Hyacinth to obey him for once. The look on her face after she flings a bucket of dung on her dessert table is priceless.

• Was that this scene, R162?

  https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DLaDcJyLzgnQ

• It was kind of the opposite of Green Acres. On that show, Oliver Wendell Douglas was the only sane person and everyone else was obliviously crazy. On KuA, Hyacinth is obliviously crazy and the rest of the world is sane.

• Love how Onslow often reads intellectual books and hard science.

• [quote]Did we ever find out who lived in #23? Hyacinth was always rattled by them and resented when they got burgled and she didn't. Sonia Barker-Finch and her husband (Hyacinth makes a few references to her/them). Since this thread has been bumped up can I ask, who was your favorite Rose? I preferred Rose #2

• What will become of my objet d'art?

• Yes, R163! And Hyacinth reacts with wounded dignity, as if she were a long-suffering martyr living under the tyranny of a brutish husband.

• I love Elizabeth's reaction in that video clip, R168, like shes swooning for Richard the hero.

• It was never cutting edge, but it was very well done, and kind of soothing like comfort food. It hasn't aged badly like some other BRitish comedies.

• Patricia was Hal's first choice to play Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd. She would have been amazing.

• I THINK I've seen all the episodes but I can't be sure since PBS doesn't run them in any particular order. Can anyone here tell me if we EVER saw Sheridan? Was there ever an official final episode where they attempted to say goodbye to the characters? I love this show so much.

• To me, the problem with the show was that she was never given an adversary. This is what made it a one joke show. If there actually was a Sonia Barker Finch for her to play off of, there would have been more variety. The show is essentially a modern day version of the Lucia books. She needed a Miss Mapp. Is the same with AbFab. The show was interesting when Saffron was a sort of Greek chorus commenting on what the other two did. When she became just another victim of their bad behavior, the show no longer became interesting.

• "Keeping Up Appearances" is actually a very well-written show, because unlike a lot of sitcoms it's character-driven not plot-driven. In most American sitcoms the humor is supposed to come from the characters getting caught in some wild situation every week thus feels forced. The writers were also ingenious in that they manged to keep telling the same joke and keep it fresh. It set out it's characters well and let humor arrive from Hyacinth's own attempts at social climbing. It's strength was that you knew Hyacinth would actually fall on her face and she didn't know.

• It clearly follows the literary definition of farce, a form that most Americans are not familiar with. "Farce is usually considered to be a boisterous comedy involving ludicrous action and dialogue which is intended to excite laughter through exaggeration and extravagance rather than by a realistic imitation of life. It contains exaggerated physical action which is often repeated, exaggeration of character and situation, absurd situations, and surprises in the form of unexpected appearances and disclosures. The characters and dialogue are almost always subservient to the plot and situation which are so complex that the events happen with bewildering rapidity."

• Well smell you, r175. I bet you speak French too! Pompous asshole.

  just%20kidding

• I do speak French, actually.

• But I'm not part of the continental classes.

• DELIA Barker-Finch, not "Sonia." Standards!

  HB

• "Last number redial facility." I need to remember that every time I hit redial.

• My face is red – I must correct myself: it is Delia Wheelwright. Mea culpa.

  HB

• Our local PBS station shows only a few of the episodes over and over. This was not always the case, they used to show more of them. They will no longer show "East Enders", a show I enjoyed. I don't understand "As Time Goes By", but I think Lionel is a hot older man.

• [quote]The show is essentially a modern day version of the Lucia books. She needed a Miss Mapp. On the contrary: Hyacinth is a Miss Mapp type in need of a Lucia. Only I don't think she needs a Lucia. I like her show just fine.

• Hi webbie! You put blocks and permanent PT on huge chunks of the US and Europe, preventing countless innocent people from posting... Yet here I am. You will never be rid of me. You've ruined DL. Stupid cunt.

  Princess%20PP%2C%20Former%20Schoolmarm

• ^Mental illness.