Keeping Up Appearances
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Keeping Up Appearances is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. Centred on the life of eccentric, social-climbing snob Hyacinth Bucket (who insists that her surname is pronounced Bouquet), the sitcom portrays a social hierarchy-ruled British society. It jokes about a small obsessive world where a determined snobbish middle class woman desperately and continually looks for opportunities to climb the social ladder, despite being wedged between a working class background and upper class aspirations.
The show stars Patricia Routledge as Hyacinth Bucket, the pompous and self-serving central woman obsessed by perfection, image and etiquette, and also includes performances from Clive Swift as her calm, tolerant and long-suffering husband, Richard Bucket, and her neighbour Elizabeth (Josephine Tewson) as a friendly pushover who is continually fearful of Hyacinth's presence. In Series Two Elizabeth's recently divorced brother Emmett (David Griffin) moves in with her. Judy Cornwell, Geoffrey Hughes and Mary Millar play Hyacinth's relatives, Daisy, Onslow her husband, and Rose, whose working-class presence she is continually fearful of. Her dotty father lives with Daisy, and appears to be Hyacinth's sole reason for visiting such a declasse neighbourhood. On the other hand, she loses no opportunity to brag about her sister, Violet ("It's my sister, Violet! The one with the Mercedes, sauna and room for a pony!"), who has lots of money and a shaky marriage. There is also her never-seen son, Sheridan, a perpetual student at University, about whom Hyacinth constantly brags. He frequently calls home asking for money. It is strongly hinted that Sheridan may be gay, which seems to be obvious to all except Hyacinth.
Broadcast between 1990 and 1995 on BBC One, the sitcom spawned five series and forty-four episodes—four of which are Christmas specials. Enhanced by Routledge's receipt of two BAFTA nominations for her performance, Keeping Up Appearances received abundant success in its native origin while captivating a large audience in the US and Australia, but production ceased in 1995 when Routledge wanted to move on to other projects. Since its original release, all five series—including Christmas specials—are available on DVD. Its original success has been reinforced by its regular repetition worldwide (PBS in the US; BBC One and G.O.L.D. in the UK) and when, in 2004, the sitcom was ranked 12th in the countdown of Britain's Best Sitcom.
