Keeping Up Appearances - The Full Bouquet Set (Vols. 1-8)

Buy This Item Keeping Up Appearances - The Full Bouquet Set (Vols. 1-8) by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)  Available from Amazon  $94.99  on 9-21-2008     American sitcoms usually have a bland, likable central character who has to cope with obnoxious acquaintances--who usually provide most of the actual comedy. The British smartly put the comic personalities front and center, and <I>Keeping Up Appearances</I> has one of the best: The petty, pretentious, tyrannical Hyacinth Bucket (played by the impressive Patricia Routledge), a dowdy middle-class social climber with a piercing voice and an unshakable faith in herself. Upon learning that her mailman has seven children, she declares disapprovingly, "Quite an achievement when you have to be up so early." Whether she's scheming to invite a minor local celebrity to a garden party or scowling at an enormous dog left in her driveway, Hyacinth terrorizes all around her, particularly her long-suffering husband Richard (Clive Swift), who takes a small delight in subverting her efforts from time to time; her trembling neighbors Elizabeth and Emmett (Josephine Tewson and David Griffin), who scarcely leave their house lest they be invited in to coffee; and her sexually frustrated lower-class sisters Daisy and Rose (Judy Cornwell and Mary Millar) and Daisy's layabout husband Onslow (Geoffrey Hughes), who longs to be left in peace to eat chips and watch the races. Though Americans aren't as class-conscious as the Brits, snobbery is universal, and Keeping Up Appearances has developed an appreciative cult following on this side of the Atlantic. <I>--Bret Fetzer</I> Reader Reviews Fantastic DVD Set if you love the Hyacinth Bucket BBC TV Show. No matter how many times you see an episode, you still laugh when you see it again. Its ashame that DVD sets start at high prices, because there are so many shows like this people would like to own, but its the cost factor. If your patient, prices do come down and you can experience, like me, the fun of watching a sitcom such as this one. Highly recommend.

Keeping Up Appearances - The Full Bouquet Set (Vols. 1-8) Available from Amazon Price: $94.99 Updated on 9-21-2008.

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