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Keeping up Appearances is one of those sitcoms that critics can take or leave, but audiences lap it up. And while it’s fashionable to turn one’s nose up at traditional sitcoms with laughter tracks, I’ve never really paid that much attention to fashion, and I would happily spend many a lazy afternoon watching back-to-back episodes of this little gem.
Synopsis: For a British sitcom, KUA ran for a surprisingly high number of episodes: 44, to be precise; although, when you consider that it’s written by Roy Clarke, i.e. writer of all 295 (!) episodes of Last of the Summer Wine, this suddenly seems a modest number. KUA revolves around snob-extraordinaire Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced Bouquet), who is forever trying to impress her candlelight supper crowd, much to the dismay of her put-upon husband Richard (Clive Swift). However, her (whisper it) working class family threaten to taint her image…
As with all of Clarke’s sitcoms, a formula develops quickly, and it’s adhered to pretty rigidly for most episodes. But, while there’s undeniable repetition, there’s also something joyous about the familiarity of Hyacinth’s undercover visits to Daisy’s house, and her coffee mornings with Elizabeth (Josephine Tewson), with Clarke finding increasingly inventive ways to make them entertain. Furthermore, despite the number of episodes, KUA never became stale, with the situations being as fresh and funny as ever in the fifth series. And that’s not something that many can say.
Best Character: Hyacinth
Strangely, it is actually the main character that’s my favourite: Hyacinth herself. Well, really, it’s Patricia Routledge’s portrayal of her that I love. She puts her all into the role, with her powerful voice and surprising energy reducing me to tears of laughter almost every episode.
Best Episode: ‘Please Mind Your Head’
In an episode that differs from the norm, Hyacinth and Richard are staying in the roof of a country mansion, where, of course, they must invite a select few family and friends over. Not before they’ve taken the opportunity to pretend they’re going riding, however...
“Hello, hello! What’s going on? What’s all this shouting? We’ll have no trouble here!”
Welcome to Royston Vasey (“you’ll never leave!”), a town where the butcher sells “special” meat, the vet does more harm than good, and just don’t enter the “local shop” if you’re not local…
The League of Gentlemen are Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith and Jeremy Dyson, the creators of one of the funniest sitcoms to grace our screens and responsible for the majority of comedy catchphrases that came out of the early 2000s. Drawing from both horror films and real life, these guys really do love to push the boundaries of taste, but if you’ve only ever seen clips of the freaky Papa Lazarou (“Hello Dave!”), it’s really worth watching the show from the beginning. There are many entertaining gross-out moments, it’s true, but three fine comedic actors can make a bickering husband and wife just as outrageous as an exploding poodle.
Synopsis: Set in the fictional northern town of Royston Vasey, the show provides sketches of regularly occurring characters, eventually linked up by a loose plotline. Three of the four writers play almost every character, from the relatively ‘normal’ company workers Geoff, Mike and Brian, to the utterly grotesque Tubbs, Herr Lipp and Mrs Levinson.
Best character: Reverend Bernice Woodall (Shearsmith)
It’s a crime to pick just one character, really; Mr Chinnery the hopeless vet, Restart officer Pauline, and crazed shopkeeper Edward Tubbs would all make it into my top ten at the very least. But the character that never fails to have me laughing is the town’s hideous, foul-mouthed, lipstick-toothed non-believer, who delights in telling her parishioners how sinful they are. Especially if they’re children.
Best episode: ‘The Beast of Royston Vasey’
Young Benjamin (Shearsmith) accidentally melts his uncle’s favourite toads, the angry couple Stella and Charlie Hull have an awkwardly romantic meal, and the inept theatre group Legz Akimbo present a play about homosexuality (“Everybody Out!”) to a group of twelve year olds.
Best moment (not for tortoise-lovers):
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