Definitely a DVD to cheer you up on a rainy day!

The lady of the house speaking
Review date: 2006-03-10 Rating: 8 out of 10

The three DVDs of this box-set contain all 16 episodes from series 1 and 2 - and that is all they contain. There are no extras whatsoever. Which is a shame, especially as there would have been a host to choose from, "Routledge/Funny Women" or "Comedy connections", for example. (If you are interested in those, as well as in a chance to actually see ALL episodes of the show, you will have to look for the Region 1 edition.) This edition doesn't even give the titles of the episodes, which - though, strictly speaking, "unofficial titles" - are used even by the BBC itself. So, if you want to know what, exactly, you are getting, the episodes included are:
Series 1 - "Daddy's Accident", "The New Vicar", "Stately Home", "The Charity Shop", "Daisy's Toyboy" and "The Christening".
Series 2 - "A Strange Man", "Driving Mrs Fortescue, "The Candlelight Supper", "Hyacinth Tees Off", "Problems with Relatives", "Onslow's Birthday", "Singing for Emmet", "The Toy Store", "The Three-Piece Suit" and "A Picnic for Daddy"

Personally, I found the picture and sound quality acceptable (although, admittedly, compared to watching the episodes on terrestrial TV in Norfolk, everything is.)

"Keeping Up Appearance" is not and never has been "cutting-edge" comedy. It is funny in a warmer, more comfy sense, and watching it is a bit like putting on a pair of nicely worn slippers: You know what is coming, and part of the fun is waiting for it to happen. There will always be a cheerful "The Bouquet residence, the lady of the house speaking", there will always be Liz, the hapless neighbour, spilling her coffee, and there will always be a phone call from darling Sheridan, asking for money - but at least he and his friend Tarquin will not let themselves be distracted by dalliances with girls. It might not be up-to-date, but it has a timeless quality which makes it so appealing. It is particularly nice to have another chance to see the first-ever episode (and the first season as a whole) which is hardly ever repeated. Here, the characters are edgier, Daisy and Onslow's house and home life are dingier, and there is Shirley Stelfox as Rose - although, brilliant as she is, I must admit that I prefer Mary Millar's even more over-the-top drama queen antics.

All of which makes this DVD box-set a good buy, even though its presentation is rather listless. But then again, "Keeping up Appearances" doesn't really need any extras to be a hit, does it?

Great Show - Poor Transfer to DVD
Review date: 2006-03-02 Rating: 4 out of 10

I'm sure you know the show, otherwise you wouldn't be thinking about purchasing it.

All I can say is that DVD has very poor quality. You can notice pixels from half way across the room.

Still for the price you can't really go wrong...

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