TVXOHOF'S FRIDAY FAREWELL TRIBUTE - HYACINTH BUCKET

From The Guardian:

Patricia Routledge, the stage and screen actor best known for starring as Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances and Henrietta “Hetty” Wainthropp in the television series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, has died at the age of 96.

“We are deeply saddened to confirm the passing of Dame Patricia Routledge, who died peacefully in her sleep this morning surrounded by love,” said her agent.

“Even at 96 years old, Dame Patricia’s passion for her work and for connecting with live audiences never waned, just as new generations of audiences have continued to find her through her beloved television roles.”

The statement added: “She will be dearly missed by those closest to her and by her devoted admirers around the world.”

HYACINTH BUCKET

O’Bservation:
Hyacinth was pre-deceased by her husband, Richard Bucket* and by her sister Rose.  They are survived by their son, Sheridan Bucket.  Her sisters Daisy and Violet are also still living.

From Wikipedia:
Hyacinth Bucket (née Walton; sometimes known as “The Bucket Woman”) is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom 'Keeping Up Appearances', portrayed by Patricia Routledge. Routledge won a British Comedy Award in 1991, and was nominated for two BAFTA awards in 1992 and 1993 for her portrayal.

Hyacinth is a social-climbing snob who constantly aims to impress people, particularly of the upper and upper-middle classes, and to give the impression that she is of high social standing, despite her modest status. This is epitomized in her insistence on pronouncing her surname as "Bouquet". She has an "acquired cultured accent which buckles under stress".

Hyacinth is married to Richard Bucket (who pronounces the name as "bucket"), and they live at 22 Blossom Avenue, in a bungalow which Hyacinth refers to as "The Residence" when sending letters. In an attempt to make callers think she is wealthy enough to employ domestic staff, she repeatedly answers the telephone with, "The Bouquet residence; the lady of the house speaking."

Hyacinth is the eldest of the four floral-named Walton sisters: in birth order, Hyacinth, Daisy, Violet, and Rose.

In 1991, Hyacinth appeared in a skit for Comic Relief, where Mr Blobby visits the Bucket Residence. Throughout 1993, Routledge also appeared as Hyacinth in a number of television advertisements for British Gas.

O'Bservation:
Based on what I've seen, the Comic Relief sketch dealt with the death of Daddy Walton.  Mr. Blobby appeared with the Buckets in an episode of 'Noel's House Party'.

Here are the appearances which gained the Lady of the House membership among her peers….

YOUNG HYACINTH (2016)

From Wikipedia:
'Young Hyacinth' is a prequel to the British sitcom 'Keeping Up Appearances', written by original writer Roy Clarke. The one-off special, set some forty years before the events of 'Keeping Up Appearances', follows the early life of Hyacinth Walton (later Bucket), as she desperately attempts to better her sisters and dad. The special premiered on 2 September 2016 on BBC One as part of the BBC Landmark Sitcom Season.

O’Bservation:

Aging inevitabilities – in either direction – are given a pass in my dislike of Recastaways.  Kerry Howard played Hyacinth Walton as she was 40 years prior to the series.

KEEPING UP APPEARANCES
44 Episodes (1990-1995)

NOEL’S HOUSE PARTY

Episode 3.2 (1993)

SECOND CHANCE UK INFOMERCIAL (1994)

KEEPING UP APPEARANCES TV LICENCE PROMO (1994)

COMIC RELIEF (1995)

BRITISH GAS COMMERCIAL (1995)

And while this would be in an alternate Toobworld from Earth Prime-Time, I thought you might find these interesting....

Welcome to the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, Mrs. Bucket.

As Red Skelton would say, “Good night and may God bless.”

* Clive Swift’s character of her husband Richard Bucket will eventually find his way into the TVXOHOF. 

SEPTEMBER, 2025 - DEPUTY DIRECTOR GORDON COLE

In order to complete the TVXOHOF tribute to David Lynch, who enriched Earth Prime-Time with the addition of the town of Twin Peaks, AND to complete the trifecta, we have one last induction to make into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame….

GORDON COLE

From the Twin Peaks Wiki:
Gordon Cole was a Regional Bureau Chief, and later Deputy Director, within the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Special Agent Dale Cooper's immediate superior, in a career that spanned more than four decades, and resulted in severe and permanent hearing loss. He was a part of the Blue Rose Task Force, and oversaw the murder investigations of Teresa Banks, Laura Palmer, and Maddy Ferguson, as well as the investigation into Cooper's doppelganger.

On February 28, 1989 - four days after Agent Cooper had been assigned to the murder investigation of Laura Palmer - Cole called Cooper at the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Department to update him on Laura's autopsy results. He also warned that Agent Albert Rosenfield intended to press assault charges against Sheriff Truman. Cooper vehemently insisted that he would fight against it, and implored Cole to intervene. Later in the day, Gordon faxed Cooper a reconstruction of a plastic fragment found in Laura's stomach, which was part of a One Eyed Jacks poker chip.

Cole arrived in Twin Peaks in person on March 8, following Cooper's shooting at the Great Northern Hotel. He interrupted Truman's questioning of Donna Hayward to introduce himself, and to share Rosenfield's lab report on the shooting incident and the syringe found on Phillip Gerard.

Later, Cole met Cooper at the sheriff's station, enthusiastically greeting him and remarking that Cooper reminded him of a "small Mexican chihuahua." In Truman's office, Cole conveyed Agent Rosenfield's concern that Cooper was getting in over his head, and shared a troubling message sent to the bureau from the escaped Windom Earle - the first move in a chess game.

That evening, along with Cooper, Truman, and Deputy Hawk, Cole withheld Gerard's haloperidol dose and watched as he was possessed by Mike, an inhabiting spirit from the Black Lodge. Mike explained his nature and his purpose: to stop BOB, his former partner in crime. He then revealed that BOB was, at that moment, somewhere at the Great Northern.

Early the next morning, Cole mentioned to Cooper and the others that pages from Laura Palmer's secret diary had been found a mile away from the crime scene; Cooper sent Deputy Hawk to search Harold Smith's home for the diary. Cole then took his leave, heading for Bend, Oregon on secret business, and wished them luck.

Dale Cooper's superior, Gordon Cole shared many of his quirks, including a love of donuts, coffee, and cherry pie. Due to his hearing loss, Cole would occasionally hear a mundane comment from another character then go off on a tangent about a phonetically-similar yet categorically different topic, though it would generally be impossible to tell what he heard that made him think such tangents were appropriate.

Combined with his loud voice, Cole had a habit of annoying people around him, including the Log Lady, Sheriff Harry S. Truman, and Albert Rosenfield, although it was generally unclear if he was aware of this.

Despite his generally care-free attitude, Cole was still very professional in his work. He admonished Cooper during a phone call for attacking Albert when the latter put out a complaint against Sheriff Truman, and made a point to be sure Denise Bryson's colleagues were supportive of her during her transition.

At some point between 1989 and the 2010s, he made a decision to hold more private conversations by increasing the volume on his hearing aid, which prevented him from having to shout all the time, at the cost of making some of the simplest noises excruciating to hear.

Here are the productions which qualified Cole for membership in the TVXOHOF:

TWIN PEAKS
7 Episodes  (1989 - 1991)

TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME (1992)

O’Bservation:
While this was a theatrically released movie, it served as a prequel to the television series and so it has been absorbed into Earth Prime-Time while it also exists in the Cineverse.

TWIN PEAKS: THE MISSING PIECES (2014)

TWIN PEAKS
11 Episodes (2017)

By the way….

This is not a memorial tribute induction for Director Cole.  

Unless circumstances dictate otherwise (character’s appearance took place in the distant past; character was killed off within the storyline), Toobworld Central sees no reason why Deputy Director Cole, like Special Agent Albert Rosenfield before him, should not be still alive in Toobworld.

Welcome to the Hall, Deputy Director.  

Live long and prosper.  

Enjoy every donut....