Look at the bucket on that woman! (Keeping Up Appearances)

Member Name: bruffyboy

Product:	Keeping Up Appearances
Date:	20/02/09 (56 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: relatable

Disadvantages: none

WHAT IS IT ABOUT:
This British sitcom from the 90s featured Patricia Routledge as Hyacinth Bucket, a larger than life snob who does everything she can to advance in society, whilst trying to hide her working class family. It ran five seasons between 1990 and 1995.

IS IT ANY GOOD:
I have to say that I love this show, even though I am quite clearly not its demographic. At its heart, this show is all about those people (we all know them) who want to make out they are middle or upper class, when really they are working class. The premise is as simple as that, yet it's perfectly executed through a few brilliantly written and acted characters.

An example of the comedy you can expect from the show is Hyacinth's insistence that her surname, bucket, be pronounced bouquet. Her outrage at anything different is brilliant!

Richard, the longsuffering husband, is equally brilliant. Again, the comic quality comes from being able to relate to the battered down, repressed husband whose wife runs the roost - if not you, then someone you know is surely like this.

It's nice to see Geoff Hughes' character 'Onslow', a warm up for a similar role in The Royle Family a while later I can't help but think.

This show is a great way of mocking your friends who are like Hyacinth. My mother in law is EXACTLY like her - working class mutton dressing up as middle class lamb, and I take great pleasure in letting her know how much she reminds me of her.

IF YOU LIKED IT:
There are two books on the series, both written from Hyacinth's perspective:
* Hyacinth Bucket's book of etiquette for the socially less fortunate
* Hyacinth Bucket's Hectic Social Calendar


IN CONCLUSION:
A brilliant stab at those who try to pretend they're something they're not.

Summary: watch it