More appearance than reality
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| German title | More appearance than reality |
| Original title | Keeping Up Appearances |
| Country of production | Great Britain |
| original language | English |
| Year (s) | 1990-1995 |
| Episodes | 40 + 5 special episodes in 5 seasons |
| genre | Comedy |
| idea | Roy Clarke |
| First broadcast | October 29, 1990 (GB) on BBC1 |
| German-language first broadcast |
June 14, 1996 on ZDF |
| occupation | |
More appearance than being (Original title: Keeping Up Appearances ) is a British sitcom , which was produced by the BBC 1990-1995. The main character of this series is the snobbish housewife Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced "Bouquet" by her), who tries in every episode to impress others with all means to improve their social status. The series was developed and written by Roy Clarke .
background
The screenwriter of the series was inspired by a real-life story about the character Hyacinth Bucket. Clarke met a man whose last name was Bottom, but that person emphasized the name "Botome".
The series first aired in October 1990 and quickly became a huge hit. A total of 5 seasons with a total of 40 episodes and 4 specials were produced. Audiences in the USA, Canada and Australia also took a liking to the series and it also achieved cult status there and is still broadcast to this day. The ZDF broadcast the series on Fridays in the evening program, but the format was not successful in Germany. Due to the synchronization, most of the humor was lost and the ZDF canceled the series after 6 episodes due to low ratings.
In 1996 the series was discontinued because Patricia Routledge left the series at her own request to devote himself to other projects. Clive Swift reported that Routledge feared the audience would only be remembered for the role of Hyacinth Bucket. Routledge played after the series a hobby detective similar to Angela Lansbury in Murder Is Her Hobby and was also able to book a success in this role.
action
Hyacinth Bucket - in their opinion, the surname "Bouquet" (French for "bouquet") is pronounced; “Bucket” in English simply means “bucket” - is a housewife of advanced age who lives with her husband, the civil servant and later early retiree Richard, in a house in an unspecified small town.
Hyacinth tries with all means to rise socially in the community and to impress their fellow human beings with their supposed sophistication and elegance. However, it only succeeds to a limited extent; Most of the time, her sometimes absurd actions only shake her head from her fellow men. Some even run away at the sight of them, including the postman and the vicar.
Her neighbor Elizabeth and her brother Emmett, who lives with her, suffer particularly. The down-to-earth Elizabeth is repeatedly overrun by the always overpowering Hyacinth and drawn into the absurd actions. At first Elizabeth is always a bundle of nerves about it, but as the series progresses she gains self-confidence. The completely talent-free Hyacinth tries to convince the music teacher and choir director Emmett time and again of her “qualities” as a singer. Emmett in turn becomes a bundle of nerves, which relaxes the situation for Elizabeth, so that she can gradually build up a certain serenity towards Hyacinth, which is shaken every now and then.
Hyacinth, a classic narcissist , tries to ban everything (mostly in her eyes) "ordinary", "repulsive" and "vulgar" from her life. She herself comes from a poorer background, so her relatives have no place in her life. Only reluctantly does she go into the company of her sisters, Daisy, who is constantly reading romance novels, and Rose, hungry for men, as well as her brother-in-law, the long-term unemployed Onslow, and her senile father. The only relatives Hyacinth boasts are her younger sister Violet, who married the wealthy Bruce, and her son Sheridan, who Hyacinth believes is highly educated.
The consequences end in each case with the complete failure of Hyacinth's actions and the resulting chaos.
occupation
- Patricia Routledge - Hyacinth Bucket
- Clive Swift - Richard Bucket
- Judy Cornwell - Daisy
- Geoffrey Hughes - Onslow
- Shirley Stelfox - Rose (Season 1)
- Mary Millar - Rose (Season 2 or later )
- Josephine Tewson - Elizabeth Warden
- David Griffin - Emmet Hawksworth
- Anna Dawson - Violet
- George Webb - Daddy
synchronization
In the German version, Renate Danz as Hyacinth, Dieter Okras as Richard and Evelyn Meyka as Daisy spoke .
Trivia
- Hyacinth's son Sheridan never makes an appearance, but he does have an important role in the series. Sheridan gets in touch with his parents regularly when he needs money, and Hyacinth treats those around him with anecdotes and photo albums from Sheridan's childhood. It is never spoken directly, but because of the stories it becomes clear to the viewer that Sheridan is homosexual , which everyone except Hyacinth is aware of.
- Much like Sheridan, Hyacinth's younger sister Violet was only part of the plot through phone calls with her sister. In the final season she appears regularly.
- The Queen Mum was a huge fan of the series and Patricia Routledge was named Officer of the British Empire during the series' running time .
- Episodes of the series were subsequently dedicated to the late main actors Mary Millar, George Webb and Geoffrey Hughes.
- In 2010 Roy Clarke adapted the series for the stage. The piece successfully toured the UK.
- In 2015, the broadcaster BBC announced that it had commissioned several spin-offs of successful sitcoms, including Mehr Schein als Sein . Roy Clarke was again in charge of the script. The 30-minute Young Hyacinth special is about 19-year-old Hyacinth (played by Kerry Howard) and was released in 2016.
Web links
- Appearances can be in the Internet Movie Database (English)