Product Details

• Actors: Patricia Routledge, Clive Swift, Geoffrey Hughes, Judy Cornwell, Josephine Tewson
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Studio: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
• VHS Release Date: May 20, 1997
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304432712
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #258,914 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Hyacinth Bucket, England's favorite patrician wannabe, plans to make the most of her weekend at her rich sister's country cottage by inviting a select few to a candlelight barbecue in "Violet's Country Cottage." Never mind that none of the guests want to be there and that her "to the manor born" idols are drunken, gun-toting, leering ne'er-do-wells. Events similarly spin out of Hyacinth's control when she convinces husband Richard to ferry an ill-tempered wealthy widow to an appointment in "Driving Mrs. Fortescue," ending with the widow enjoying a quaff with Hyacinth's lowbrow relatives while she gets a ride in the back of a flatbed truck. Booze again plays a role in the final 28-minute episode, "Country Estate Sale," in which Richard curbs Hyacinth's bidding so that all she walks away with is a bottle of homemade gooseberry wine, while the rest of her family struggles with the question "Will Father be able to abandon his married, Polish-speaking mistress living in the family car?" --Kimberly Heinrichs

From the back cover

Violet's Country Cottage. A chance to borrow her sister's cottage sets off a grand plan to have a "selected few" guests for a barbeque. Her rural affair calls for the level of intricate planning used by Churchill in the last war. When a single gunshot and a missing dog swell the guest list, Hyacinth takes a shot at some impromptu social climbing. Driving Mrs. Fortescue. The upper-class Mrs. Fortescue needs a lift to town. This could be Hyacinth's ticket to the ranks of the upper crust. But the ride encounters a few bumps that threaten to bring Hyacinth's social aspirations to a crashing halt. Country Estate Sale. An estate sale and auction promises Hyacinth the chance to "mingle with the aristocracy"--and leads husband Richard to take drastic measures to keep her from bidding. Meanwhile, Hyacinth's less-than-reputable father is embroiled in a scandal with a married woman that could tarnish the already blemished Bucket name.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Britcoms Rule!, August 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Keeping Up Appearances: Mistaken for Aristocracy [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Sex never strays far from the thoughts of those American sitcom-writers. But, there are TONS of Britcoms that have absolutely nothing to do with that subject and turn out HILARIOUS (e.g., "Keeping Up Appearances")! Patricia Routledge is brilliant as Hyacinth Bucket, and the show gets you in stitches! Buy it, buy it now!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laughs, April 29, 2009

By 

S. Spanheimer "A Dragon Fan" (S.E. Washington, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Keeping Up Appearances: Mistaken for Aristocracy [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I bought this for a 93 year old woman who loves the British comedies, she really enjoyed this!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Brit's Best, May 2, 2000

By 

Gary Ei (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Keeping Up Appearances: Mistaken for Aristocracy [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Along with "Chef" and "Waiting for God",this is indeed one of Britain's better sitcoms. A tour de force for Patricia Routledge, who's Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced Bouquet)is one of TV's better fleshed out characters.Check Routledge out in a non-comedic role in Hetty Wainthrope to really appreciate her comic turn in "Appearances." One of the best episodes (to my knowledge) has never aired on American TV, but is shown aboard the QE2 and chronicles Hyacinth and Richard's much ballyhooed cruise aboard the legendary ocean liner. One catch, Daisy and Onslow have won a free cruise and are along for the ride much to Hyacinth's chagrin. And Onslow wears a tuxedo! Plenty of misadventures for Hyacinth and company. A must see for any serious Anglophile. As much as I enjoy Britcoms and British dramas, I must point out that the Brits have plenty of inane TV as the Americans do,if not more. On this side of the pond we see only the best of British TV - and their best rivals ours. No offense to the other reviewers, but having spent much time in the UK, I hesitate to denigrate American TV. Let's not forget such ingenious American gems as Barney Miller, Night Court, Taxi and Seinfeld to name a few.

If you haven't watched "Appearances" on PBS, then by all means buy the videos as you will watch them over and over.