Topic: Keeping Up Appearances

[Gurke and Hare]

I think it's just a damp sponge, used to moisten the stamp because licking it would be common.

[Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse]

Bear in mind during a rewatch that KUA was originally broadcast weekly. Shotgunning twelve episodes turns catchphrases and storybeats from familiar and charming to boring and repetitive.

[Magnum Valentino]

Bear in mind during a rewatch that KUA was originally broadcast weekly. Shotgunning twelve episodes turns catchphrases and storybeats from familiar and charming to boring and repetitive.

The very same is true of Shooting Stars, you can't binge it.

[Phil_A]

The very same is true of Shooting Stars, you can't binge it.

Also true of Big Night Out, I'd say.

[petrilTanaka]

I think it's just a damp sponge, used to moisten the stamp because licking it would be common.

they used to have them at post offices

[canadagoose]

they used to have them at post offices

I was going to say the same thing. I wonder when they did away with them? Probably just as well, given the whole COVID thing, eh.

[Jake Thingray]

https://youtu.be/zmXrAGyHXF8?t=1575

[Shaky]

Standard mention of the fact that Snoop Dogg is an unlikely fan of Keeping Up Appearances.

Wrong thread but along similar lines:

https://twitter.com/BeingBoycie/status/1342534189816668160

[turnstyle]

This is one of those archetypal TV shows that thrived in the days when there were only 4 channels and it was either this or horse racing. You watched it because it was simply on the telly, and we didn't have the internet or cheap space travel yet.

Looking back it feels like you could throw a load of recurring plot points into a tombola spinner thing and come up with an episode:

- 'It's pronounced bouquet'
- Hyacinth falls over into bin bags
- Sheridan enjoys musicals
- Sister wearing lippy, tall high heels and 'dating' several blokes
- Tradesperson given squinty eye
- Richard masturbating furiously in the attic
- Neighbour nervously making cup of tea
- Finding Onslow a tie for a smart event
- Daisy turning up at a candle lit supper
- Impressing a vicar

Pick three of them, BAM, got yourself an episode.

[the science eel]

Still preferable to Mock The Week or any of that shite

[the]

This is one of those archetypal TV shows that thrived in the days when there were only 4 channels and it was either this or horse racing. You watched it because it was simply on the telly, and we didn't have the internet or cheap space travel yet.

I've often heard this get stapled to any popular-yet-rubbish-old-show-you-care-to-mention as a pat "explanation" for its existence. Formulaic mainstream crap gets produced now as much (or even moreso) as it did then, this kind of made-up 'we knew no better, not like now!' historical contextualising gets on my tits.

Apart from the obvious formula and the class-premise that takes 30 seconds to get your head around, the reason I never liked KUA is that Hyacinth is like a fucking robot. She never lets the barriers down, and we're expected to enjoy spending the majority of the show's time with this immovably unpleasant person.

Also possibly a bit too Thatcher-like for comfort.

[Cuellar]

Friend of mine had a Keeping Up Appearances themed birthday party when she was 10.

[Fambo Number Mive]

This is one of those archetypal TV shows that thrived in the days when there were only 4 channels and it was either this or horse racing. You watched it because it was simply on the telly, and we didn't have the internet or cheap space travel yet.

Looking back it feels like you could throw a load of recurring plot points into a tombola spinner thing and come up with an episode:

- 'It's pronounced bouquet'
- Hyacinth falls over into bin bags
- Sheridan enjoys musicals
- Sister wearing lippy, tall high heels and 'dating' several blokes
- Tradesperson given squinty eye
- Richard masturbating furiously in the attic
- Neighbour nervously making cup of tea
- Finding Onslow a tie for a smart event
- Daisy turning up at a candle lit supper
- Impressing a vicar

Pick three of them, BAM, got yourself an episode.

I think we are in a similar situation to the 4 channel days in that while there is lots more to watch there is also much less to do than watch TV and so people come round to Keeping up Appearances and similar  a lot earlier than otherwise - it's unlikely I would have watched Hi De Hi or Keeping up Appearances if we weren't in the current situation, as I would be out doing other things.

[turnstyle]

I've often heard this get stapled to any popular-yet-rubbish-old-show-you-care-to-mention as a pat "explanation" for its existence. Formulaic mainstream crap gets produced now as much (or even moreso) as it did then, this kind of made-up 'we knew no better, not like now!' historical contextualising gets on my tits.

The point is that the lack of choice meant you'd watch pretty much anything. Of course, there is some right old shit on telly these days, and people watch it, because they want to, but in the glory days of 4 channels shows would command audiences in the hundreds of thousands, even millions, much more easily, even if they weren't that good.

Today you've got multiple streaming services competing for your viewing pleasure, all able to cater to your particular whim, not to mention other entertainment sources like YouTube, or the internet generally. Perhaps you don't want to watch a middle-class woman host a candle lit supper with hilarious consequences. Maybe you'd rather watch a woman of lower social status shove a 15-inch rubber horse dick up her arris.

[Fambo Number Mive]

Friend of mine had a Keeping Up Appearances themed birthday party when she was 10.

Your friend sounds awesome. Please tell me more about the party. Did everyone have to dress up and act like the characters?

[Fambo Number Mive]

Perhaps you don't want to watch a middle-class woman host a candle lit supper with hilarious consequences. Maybe you'd rather watch a woman of lower social status shove a 15-inch rubber horse dick up her arris.

Combined in the missing episode The Supper and The Rubber Cock.

[Cuellar]

Your friend sounds awesome. Please tell me more about the party. Did everyone have to dress up and act like the characters?

I've only seen one photo, but I believe she was dressed as Hyacinth and they watched KUA. There were also candles on the table, so presumably an attempt at a candle light supper

[Fambo Number Mive]

Watching the 1994 Christmas Special. Watched the 1991 and 1993 ones yesterday. There's not much else to do really. Onslow is drinking out of a "This Sporting Life" cup, having a fag and talking about horse racing.

[turnstyle]

Onslow is drinking out of a "This Sporting Life" cup, having a fag and talking about horse racing.

That is so Onslow.

The 2016 prequel totally passed me by, although apparently over 4 million people watched it.

The prequel sees Hyacinth working as a maid and attempting to manage her family so they appear well above their means. In the special, Hyacinth is in a relationship with a Mr. William Hitchcock, whom Hyacinth forces to dress up and wear a hat when they walk. The special ends with her drunken Daddy falling into the canal, which Hyacinth's employers see, causing her great embarrassment. However, she blames Daddy's behaviour on "an old war injury"

[the]

The point is that the lack of choice meant you'd watch pretty much anything. Of course, there is some right old shit on telly these days, and people watch it, because they want to, but in the glory days of 4 channels shows would command audiences in the hundreds of thousands, even millions, much more easily, even if they weren't that good.

Today you've got multiple streaming services competing for your viewing pleasure, all able to cater to your particular whim, not to mention other entertainment sources like YouTube, or the internet generally. Perhaps you don't want to watch a middle-class woman host a candle lit supper with hilarious consequences. Maybe you'd rather watch a woman of lower social status shove a 15-inch rubber horse dick up her arris.

I agree that television audiences were concentrated into a smaller number of channels, but I don't agree with using that to frame any-old-show-of-your-choosing with this idea that it was only tolerated/justified because of the fact. Mass appeal is mass appeal, and that still rules the roost in the world of mainstream broadcasting, so I just view most attempts to 'explain' a perceived undiscerning past with it as present-day vanity.

[turnstyle]

I agree that television audiences were concentrated into a smaller number of channels, but I don't agree with using that to frame any-old-show-of-your-choosing with this idea that it was only tolerated/justified because of the fact. Mass appeal is mass appeal, and that still rules the roost in the world of mainstream broadcasting, so I just view most attempts to 'explain' a perceived undiscerning past with it as present-day vanity.

Mrs Turnstyle: Can you help me take the Christmas decorations down?

Me: NO! I'm too busy arguing with someone on the internet about the perceived mass popularity of Keeping up Appearances!

Mrs Turnstyle: That old sitcom with the posh woman?

Me: Yes! Well, she wasn't really posh, it was more a front to try and elevate herself to a higher social status.

Mrs Turnstyle: But...why?

Me: Because in a lot of older British comedy, class and the desire to move up the social ladder was a central component. Think about it. Steptoe and Son, Only Fools and Horses, Fawlty Towers...

Mrs Turnstyle: No, I mean why are you arguing with someone about Keeping up Appearances on the internet?

Me: Because I've lost control of my life.

[the]

Roy Clarke masturbates scribbles furiously

[buzby]

I saw in the Victoria Wood clip show the BBC had on over Christmas that Routledge played a very similar character on As Seen on TV called Kitty, who would deliver monologues to camera in similar garb, identical voice and with similar themes.
Could this be one of those things like the Mr Kahn character breaking out of Down the Line to his own series but with none of the original creators?

Wood's monologues for Kitty and choice of Routledge to play her were themselves at least partly based on Routledge's performance of the A Woman Of No Importance monologue in  Alan Bennett's original series of Talking Heads from 1982 (Walters had played the original version of the character, then called Dotty, in their 1982 Granada series).

[Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse]

Lads. It's like I said near the top of the page. The humour in a lot of sitcoms is built on catchphrases and repetition. This worked really well when you saw them once a week, as they were originally aired. The previous episode had time to fade in your memory, and seeing the same characters do similar things in the next episode didn't seem stale. Hyacinth approaching the car where Onslow's dog lived sparked anticipation of her falling into the hedge and you were almost laughing before it even happened.

If you binge-watch the episodes, the formula becomes obvious and the story beats become predictable. You don't even have to watch a dozen episodes a day for this to happen. About ten years ago Comedy Central showed two episodes of Scrubs Monday to Friday. After a month I could do an impression of an episode of Scrubs. As ridiculous as it sounds, binge-watching a show originally broadcast weekly is watching it wrong.

[the]

I have never 'binge-watched' Keeping Up Appearances, the mechanical creaking of the same shit every week was as blastingly apparent in its original BBC1 schedule as it is now.

[imitationleather]

Whereas I've been getting the squad round every weekend to binge on Keeping Up Appearances boxsets.

At least now I know why it started to feel a bit formulaic.

[Captain Z]

This is off topic and I'm only mentioning it here because it's from a similar era and I won't bother starting a thread for it, but I recently binged One Foot In The Grave and it was absolutely fantastic. I always thought of it quite fondly but had massively underestimated how well it would still hold up. First few episodes of S1 are a but slow but you could do a lot worse than rewatch that.

[turnstyle]

This is off topic and I'm only mentioning it here because it's from a similar era and I won't bother starting a thread for it, but I recently binged One Foot In The Grave and it was absolutely fantastic. I always thought of it quite fondly but had massively underestimated how well it would still hold up. First few episodes of S1 are a but slow but you could do a lot worse than rewatch that.

Agree. It's still stands up brilliantly.

[jenna appleseed]

I think it's just a damp sponge, used to moisten the stamp because licking it would be common.

yeah, but it really did look like a confusing blob of mashed potato though lol.

[mippy]

It gets repeated on CCXTV, along with occasional episodes of Slinger's Day and Bless This House. Not sure if that's a national channel (the trailers for upcoming shows are basically the same bloke overexplaining eg Men Behaving Badly iver clips, so I suspect it's low budget) but I can get it on Freeview.