YMMV / Keeping Up Appearances

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • See Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist on the main page for the standard interpretation. Hyacinth may be a highly competitive woman who constantly compares herself to her sisters, but having not received a lot of guidance in life, she's trying to live a respectable life by a set of standards cobbled together from Barbara Cartland novels and an amateur's interpretation of a Christianity she likely wasn't taught. Although she's intelligent enough to be able to see that she's out of her depth, her brittle pride makes her unteachable, because she regards a show of humility as a show of weakness—and that makes it all funny.
  • Is Richard really a saint? Or is he just an Extreme Doormat who can't be bothered to stand up to his wife? It makes the rare occasions that he does even more notable. Patricia Routledge says that she thinks Richard does appreciate Hyacinth keeping a nice house and putting dinner on the table - and that they are Happily Married in spite of it all.
  • How much does Hyacinth really love her father? While frequently critical of the rather haphazard care and lack of supervision provided by Daisy and Rose, Hyacinth never offers to care for Daddy herself, or even to share his care. In spite of being able to provide Daddy with a more materially comfortable living environment and a more "organised" household, Hyacinth does not offer to care for Daddy and gives reason such as "he makes those funny noises", and "he brings Sheridan out in a rash", or she's "rehearsing 'The Boyfriend'". She also refused to collect him from a police station, sending Richard "incognito", and once arranges him to attend afternoon tea earlier than other guests so that he will leave earlier. She might put herself across as a Daddy's Girl but she clearly loves her social climbing efforts much more. But you can also interpret it as that Hyacinth does love her family, but she just prefers to keep them away from certain people (those whom she wants to impress). Which would make her shallow and snobbish, yes. But she's not completely cold-hearted.
• Crosses the Line Twice:
  Hyacinth (on the phone): Rose, you will not commit suicide, I forbid it. No one in this family has ever committed suicide and I'm sure we're not going to start on the day I'm having the new Vicar over for tea and light refreshments.
• Fan-Preferred Couple: Whenever Richard and Elizabeth interact, they get along extremely well and have a degree of chemistry. Of course, Hyacinth and Richard being together is essential to the dynamic of the show, and Elizabeth is also married even though her husband always being off-screen makes it easy to forget this.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff:
  • The series is very popular in Denmark. This was acknowledged in one Christmas episode, where Hyacinth and Richard briefly visited Copenhagen to board the QE2.
  • It's got a considerable fanbase in The Netherlands and Finland as well.
  • It's considered one of the iconic Britcoms in the US and Canada, thanks to PBS airing it regularly ever since it premiered. The actors who played Onslow and Daisy even shot original footage for a best-of special made for PBS. It also aired late at night on YTV, a Canadian kids network^note think "Nick at Night", for years.
• Growing the Beard: Whilst Season 1 is still very entertaining, it doesn't become a truly classic sitcom until Mary Millar takes over as Rose and David Griffin joins the cast as Emmet at the start of Season 2.
• Jerkass Woobie:
  • Emmet radiates disdain towards Hyacinth. But who can blame him?
  • Hyacinth might cause a lot of trouble for her friends and family, and she certainly brings most of her problems on herself, but she so rarely comes out on top that you can't help but feel a little sympathy for her.
• Iconic Character, Forgotten Title: Some mistakenly remembered the series as being called 'Mrs Bucket', after Hyacinth. Even at the time, many viewers also used to refer to the show as simply "Hyacinth" rather than the actual title.
• Love to Hate: Hyacinth herself is so pompous and shallow, and yet she's quite brilliant. You have to admire the woman's determination to social climb.
• More Popular Replacement: Mary Millar is a more memorable Rose than Shirley Stelfox - who played her in Season 1.
• Platonic Writing, Romantic Reading: Quite a few people who got in in the middle of the show thought that Emmet and Elizabeth were a married couple because of their interactions. They're siblings, for the record.
• Special Effects Failure: In a scene when Hyacinth is playing the piano and singing, it is obvious she is not actually playing, as her hands come much too high about the keyboard.
• Stoic Woobie: Everyone - characters and viewers - feels sorry for Richard, and other characters go out of their way to do him favors. He, on the other hand, seems to have made peace with his lot—except for occasional snark, silent or otherwise.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: The average viewer is probably supposed to feel sorry for Richard, but his utter fecklessness and/or tendency to whine but still indulge Hyacinth's every whim makes it difficult at times.
• Values Dissonance: Several episodes portray higher class men sexually harassing and trying to forcibly kiss or fondle Hyacinth - sometimes in full view of Richard even. The humor is supposed to be derived from the higher class men Hyacinth's seeking to get to her candlelight suppers turning out to be just dirty old men, but today it is very uneasy to watch, particularly as Hyacinth most of the time does not stand up for herself but tries to downplay it.
  • Hyacinth could come across as (mildly) racist and xenophobic at times, particularly when getting angry about her phone line being mistaken for the Chinese take-away.
• The Woobie: Poor Richard.

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