Plot: What’s it about?
Hyacinth Bucket (Patricia Routledge) likes to live a lifestyle of class, sophistication, and social graces, even if it isn’t her real lifestyle. She pronounces her name “Bouquet,” has frequent candlelight suppers, and tries to keep up with those around her, which isn’t easy in her case. She looks for any chance to climb the social ladder, from claiming more mail deliveries than her neighbors to having more gatherings than anyone else. Hyacinth wants to impress those around her, so they will see her as a social flower of sorts. This has met with mixed results, as she has outclassed her sisters Daisy (Judy Cornwell) and Rose (Shirley Stelfox or Mary Millar), but finds herself stuck below her sister Violet (Anna Dawson), who has a large house, sauna, and even a swimming pool. Even so, she does her best to put on a good front, as she keeps her house in order, her social skills on full showcase, and her real life hidden inside her home. But will her ambition and drive to have socially flawless events serve her purposes, or will they simply scare some folks off, or perhaps a little of both?
This series garnered both critical and audience acclaim, thanks to a fine premise and some terrific performances. As created by Roy Clarke, this series takes aim on class structure, as did many of Clarke’s creations. Some of Clarke’s other productions include Last of the Summer Wine, Open All Hours, and The Wanderer, not to mention several other popular programs. So Clarke brings his usual golden touch to this series, which is loaded with hilarious moments, sharp dialogue, and memorable characters. No character is as memorable as Hyacinth Bucket however, thanks to the superb performance of Patricia Routledge (Hetty Wainthropp Investigates). Her effort is so warm and humorous, her character of Hyacinth was voted one of the most beloved television characters of all time, by viewers in the United Kingdom. The rest of the characters are also well crafted, with a nice blend of personalities and quirks. I love the first season of Keeping Up Appearances, but as the series continued, I became less impressed. The jokes seem to remain the same throughout and while that worked at first, it starts to get a tad tiresome. But even so, this collection presents the first two seasons, which are masterful in most instances. I am giving this set a full recommendation, especially since the BBC has offered up a solid treatment.
This classic series is brought home by the folks at the BBC, who have vaults filled with beloved television shows. Even so, Keeping Up Appearances is one of the public’s favorites, so I am glad to see it has been well handled. This review covers the Hyacinth in Full Bloom release, which includes four discs of content. You can also purchase each of the four discs as separate releases, but unless you only want the first season, that doesn’t make much sense. Instead, you can grab all four discs at a discounted price, plus nab a nifty collector’s box to hold them all. If you do decide to pick up this collection, you will get a ton of content too, including some rare outtakes and several episodes never before released on home video. But the real meat of this collection is the show itself and here, you get the complete first and second seasons. Yes, even the ones never issued on home video before, every last show from the first two seasons of Keeping Up Appearances. In addition, this set contains all of the special holiday episodes, so you can spend the holidays with everyone’s favorite socialite, Hyacinth Bucket. This is a great overall treatment for a terrific series, so if you’re a fan, you won’t want to miss this release.
Video: How does it look?
The episodes are presented in full frame, as intended. This show made its debut in 1990, so these first couple seasons have over ten years behind them. Even so, the episodes look good in this release, with minimal problems to report. There is some softness and slight color bleeds, but nothing to be overly concerned about. I found these treatments to be better than the versions shown on television, which is all we can ask. The prints look clean enough, though as I mentioned, softness is an issue with this series. That could be due to the methods used however, as many British sitcoms often have a soft appearance. The colors look solid on the whole, but like I said, a few instances of bleeds can be seen. All in all however, I think these episodes look good and better than broadcast, so no real complaints.
Audio: How does it sound?
This series is all about dialogue, so while the audio won’t dazzle, it more than satisfies the needs of the material. The music sounds clean and well presented, while the sound effects are solid, but unmemorable. This allows the focus to remain where it should be, so we’re not distracted from the dialogue elements. After all, this is a dialogue driven comedy, so you wouldn’t want to miss out on the jokes, right? So all the vocals ring true, in crisp and always clear fashion. No troubles with muffled moments or volume errors either, just good, basic audio presentations. Not a dynamic effort, but it more than gets the job done.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This collection includes never before released outtakes, talent files, five bonus sketches, and a special profile on star Patricia Routledge.
